Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers, Headed Home For Recess, Braced To Face 'Dam-Bursting Levels' Of Activism
The New York Times: Congress Goes Home, And Constituents Fired Up Over Health Care Are Waiting
As Republican lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for a weeklong congressional recess, liberal groups and Democratic Party organizers are hoping to make their homecoming as noisy and uncomfortable as possible. But national organizers concede they are playing catch-up to a “dam-bursting level” of grass-roots activism that has bubbled up from street protests and the small groups that have swelled into crowds outside local congressional offices. (Zernike and Burns, 2/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmaker Answers To Hometown Critics At Town Halls
Rep. Tom Reed (R., N.Y.) easily won re-election last year after being one of the first congressional Republicans to endorse President Donald Trump. On Saturday, he drew huge, often angry crowds in this small-town area as he tried to sell a Republican agenda that the president’s victory made possible. At a veterans hall and senior citizens center along New York’s Southern Tier region, Mr. Reed made his pitch for repealing the Affordable Care Act and explained why he had cast a committee vote against allowing members of the panel to review Mr. Trump’s tax returns. (Hughes, 2/18)
NPR: New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed Faces Angry Crowds, Deep In Trump Country
New York GOP Rep. Tom Reed probably knew what kind of day he was in for when he arrived at the Ashville senior center for his first town hall on Saturday. The crowd was so large the gathering had been moved outside to a slushy parking lot. "First and foremost, we are going to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare," Reed said at the outset, using a loudspeaker propped up on a ladder to try to reach the sprawling crowd. The response was loud and sustained boos. (Taylor, 2/19)
Georgia Health News: Protesters In Atlanta Urge Preservation Of ACA
[Vicki Hopper] was among scores of people who gathered Monday across the street from the state Capitol in Atlanta to rally against Republican plans to repeal the ACA. The noon rally was part of the Save My Care Bus Tour, a two-month, cross-country effort to oppose repeal efforts. The tour is being led by the Alliance for Healthcare Security, a coalition of groups including Doctors for America and the Service Employees International Union, according to the Washington Post. (Miller, 2/20)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Rally To Maintain Affordable Care Act Draws Hundreds
Republican lawmakers in Washington, who for years derided the measure as coercive and expensive for healthy individuals, are now balancing campaign promises to repeal the plan with potential blame for disruptions or loss in coverage if no replacement plan is enacted. While Georgia Republicans took a wait-and-see approach after Donald Trump was elected president, Democrats have focused on Medicaid. (Baruchman, 2/20)
