Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Republicans On Health Law Replacement: Give Us 'Another Month Or So'
The Hill: GOP Group Promises ObamaCare Replacement Plan — Soon
A group of senior House Republicans is promising to deliver proof that the party is making headway in its six-year struggle to replace ObamaCare. "Give us a little time, another month or so," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told reporters this week. "I think we’ll be pretty close to a Republican alternative." Upton is one member of a four-person task force that is supposed to come up with a replacement plan for the healthcare law, at the behest of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). For now, the group is still in "listening mode," Upton said. When asked who they are listening to, Upton said: "You name it – the world." (Ferris, 4/18)
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., becomes the target of Planned Parenthood's first Senate ad of the year —
Politico: Planned Parenthood Aims At Ayotte
Planned Parenthood is making a major splash into the battle for control of the upper chamber, going up with its first Senate ad of the year in New Hampshire — a marquee race that could become ground zero for women’s issues. The organization’s political arm is going after Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) with a nearly $400,000 ad buy that highlights two top-tier issues that have become entwined for abortion-rights groups: The future of Roe vs. Wade and the current Supreme Court vacancy following the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. The ad, obtained by POLITICO in advance of its release, hits Ayotte on both counts, attacking what the women’s health group called her “abysmal record on women’s health and her obstruction of the Supreme Court nomination process.” (Kim, 4/19)
