Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is Rape Considered A Preexisting Condition? The Answer To This - And Other Questions Related To The GOP Health Plan - Aren't Always Simple
NPR: House Republicans Defend Health Bill Against Accusations It Hurts Rape Victims
At a town hall meeting in Willingboro, N.J., on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur was confronted by angry constituents who demanded to know how the Republican health care bill that he helped write would affect rape victims. A young man named Joseph said he understood that the bill would allow insurance companies to deem rape a pre-existing condition and deny coverage to people who have been raped. (Kodjak, 5/11)
The Associated Press: GOP Lawmaker Cautions Health Care Bill Is Obamacare 'Tweak'
After campaigning on repealing the health care law and voting to gut it, an Iowa Republican is cautioning constituents fearful of losing coverage that the House GOP replacement is just "a tweak of Obamacare" that would have gone further had he had his way. (5/12)
In other news on repeal-and-replace efforts —
Modern Healthcare: GOP Senators Likely To Pass ACA Repeal Bill Because Failure Is Not An Option
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell faces a seemingly herculean task in getting at least 50 Republican senators with sharply diverse views to reach consensus on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. After that, he and his lieutenants will have to forge an agreement on the legislation with the generally more conservative House Republicans, who passed their widely panned replacement bill earlier this month. Senate Republicans intend to move the bill through the budget reconciliation process with no Democratic support. No committee hearings are planned. With 52 GOP senators, McConnell can't afford more than two defectors. Vice President Mike Pence could be called on to break a tie vote. (Meyer, 5/12)
The Hill: Portman, Toomey Tasked With Medicaid Talks
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has asked Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to discuss a way forward on the issue of Medicaid, according to Senate GOP aides. Portman and Toomey are tasked with discussing how quickly to wind down ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion and how quickly a cap on Medicaid payments should grow. (Sullivan, 5/11)
The Hill: McConnell Promises Women Can Take Part In Healthcare Meetings
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has provided assurance to GOP colleagues that women will be invited to attend future meetings of a special working group tasked with negotiating healthcare reform. The assurances made in private, backed up by a public statement earlier in the week, have quelled concern in the GOP conference that the rollout of the working group would be derailed by controversy over gender politics. (Bolton, 5/12)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Ron Johnson Joins Effort To Fix House Health Care Bill
As Senate Republicans struggle in the many weeks ahead to agree on a health care bill, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson says he intends to be in the thick of that debate. On his own initiative, he has joined a loosely defined health care “working group” of GOP senators that met for the first time Tuesday. (Gilbert, 5/11)
Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Native: Fix Obamacare, Don't Rip It Apart
An East Tennessee native who was one of the key architects of the Affordable Care Act urged Congress on Thursday to repair what’s wrong with the landmark health care law – and even rebrand it if necessary – but implored lawmakers not to decimate the protections it has provided to millions of Americans. “Don’t strip away the essential health care that people have gotten now,” said Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was a top health care adviser to former President Barack Obama. “That would be a terrible mistake.” (Collins, 5/11)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: 17 Pennsylvania Mayors Say Don't Defund Planned Parenthood
A bipartisan group of 106 mayors from 28 states, including Mayor Kenney and 16 others from Pennsylvania, have signed a letter to congressional leaders opposing efforts to “defund” Planned Parenthood, according to the family planning organization...The House of Representatives last week narrowly voted for a GOP health plan that would dramatically changing health funding and other parts of the Affordable Care Act. The GOP's American Health Care Act, which is expected to face a tough battle in the Senate, would block federal Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood for a year. (McCullough, 5/11)
The New York Times: Midwestern Manners A Memory At One Iowa Republican’s Town Halls
It is still uncertain whether Republicans in Congress will succeed in undoing the Affordable Care Act, but the debate over repealing it may have already done in Midwestern Nice. It was Tuesday evening, and inside a community college gymnasium, the jeers were hailing down on Representative Rod Blum, a Republican from northeastern Iowa, as he defended his vote for a bill that would reshape health care and repeal much of President Barack Obama’s biggest domestic accomplishment. (Healy, 5/11)
KQED: ‘I’m Andrew Janz And I’m Here To Repeal And Replace Devin Nunes’
Protesters gathered in front of Congressman Devin Nunes’ office in Clovis on Thursday, upset about his vote to support the GOP health care plan and critical of his handling of the investigation into Russian election interference. And, to hear from the first challenger to Nunes in the 2018 midterm election, a 33-year-old Fresno County deputy district attorney making his first run for office. (Rancano, 5/11)
