Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Ways And Means Chairman Working With Trump To Figure Out Ways To Unfreeze Insurer Payments
The Hill: GOP Chairman In Talks With Trump Officials On Restarting Key ObamaCare Payments
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Monday that he is in talks with the Trump administration about ways to restart key ObamaCare payments that the administration abruptly suspended this month. The administration’s surprise suspension of $10.4 billion in payments to insurers this month set off a round of warnings of rising premiums and condemnation from Democrats who said it was further GOP “sabotage” of the health-care law. (Sullivan, 7/16)
The Hill: Top Dems Urge Trump Officials To Reverse Suspension Of ObamaCare Payments
Top congressional Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to reverse its decision to suspend key ObamaCare payments to insurers, warning the suspension will cause premiums to rise. “The Administration's decision to suspend these collections and payments, which are required under federal law, appears to be yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to sabotage the nation's health care system for partisan gain,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Sullivan, 7/16)
And in other news —
California Healthline: States Attacking ACA Would Hurt Most If Shield On Preexisting Conditions Were Axed
If the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions are struck down in court, residents of the Republican-led states that are challenging the law have the most to lose. “These states have been opposed to the ACA from the beginning,” said Gerald Kominski, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “They’re hurting their most vulnerable citizens.” (Rowan, 7/17)
