Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Bill Would Cut Medicaid, Which Candidate Trump Said He Would Not To Do
Stat: Trump Pledged Not To Cut Medicaid. Is He Keeping That Promise?
It’s among his most famous campaign promises: Donald Trump pledged he would not cut Medicaid as president. But the legislation that Trump has aggressively promoted, and that Congress is expected to vote on ... appears to do exactly that. It would reduce Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years, compared with current law, while dramatically altering the financing of a program that covers 70 million Americans.The White House, however, says it is not “cutting” Medicaid. (Scott, 3/23)
The Wall Street Journal: How Health-Care Coverage Would Change Under GOP Proposal
The House Republican proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act would bring big changes to health-care coverage and funding for many Americans. Here are some of the important differences. (Armour and Hackman, 3/23)
The Washington Post: Nine Health-Care Bill Changes Aimed At Wooing Moderates And The Far-Right
The legislation, dubbed the American Health Care Act, faces resistance within the House GOP from both moderates within the party and the most conservative faction. As a result, the bill’s authors have proposed to alter parts of the bill in ways to appeal to one camp or the other — and even offered a change specifically targeting a handful of representatives from Upstate New York. Here’s how the bill has changed. (Goldstein, Schaul, Soffen and Uhrmacher, 3/23)
From Americans' retirement plans to the upcoming tax reform debate, there are other unexpected policy areas that will be impacted by the current legislative action —
Bloomberg: Trumpcare Has Seniors Rethinking Early Retirement
After decades of saving diligently, Dan Maize, 53, of Williamsburg, Va., made the decision last year to retire early. He stayed at his job, managing a grocery store, until February—just before Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a health-care bill that could make his early retirement much harder to afford. Under the American Health Care Act, the Obamacare overhaul that faced a congressional vote on March 23, costs could fall for many younger Americans. The majority of older people would pay much more, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and others who analyzed an early version of the legislation. (Steverman, 3/23)
Earlier KHN coverage: GOP Fix To Insurance Markets Could Spike Premiums For Older Customers
CQ Roll Call: GOP, Seeking Health Care Votes, Misses Target With Tax Cuts
The House Republican leaders’ attempt early this week to steer more party members behind the proposed health care bill included some inducements they hoped would be hard to resist: tax cuts that take effect sooner. But four days later the attempt appears to have done little to persuade the staunchest conservatives to back the House bill (HR 1628) to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). House leaders abandoned their goal of a floor vote Thursday amid doubts that they could muster a majority. Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, as well as other Republican leaders were apparently trying to thread a needle in the manager’s amendment released Monday. (Ota,3/24)
Kaiser Health News: Popular Guarantee For Young Adults’ Coverage May Be Health Law’s Achilles’ Heel
The Affordable Care Act struck a popular chord by allowing adult children to obtain health coverage through a parent’s plan until their 26th birthday. ... The policy has proven to be a double-edged sword for the ACA’s online health exchanges because it has funneled young, healthy customers away from the overall marketplace “risk pool.” Insurers need those customers to balance out the large numbers of enrollees with chronic illnesses who drive up insurers’ costs — and ultimately contribute to higher marketplace premiums. (Heredia Rodriguez, 3/24)
Reuters: Factbox: A Look At U.S. Healthcare Spending As Obamacare Repeal Looms
Following are some questions and answers about healthcare spending and health insurance coverage in the United States as Republicans try to throw out President Barack Obama's signature piece of domestic policy, the 2010 Affordable Care Act. (3/23)
