Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: John Oliver; Replacing Obamacare; And Birth Control In The Military
HBO: Obamacare: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Congressional Republicans could soon vote to repeal Obamacare. John Oliver explores why their replacement plans are similar to a thong. (2/26)
The Atlantic: The Five Biggest Hurdles For Republicans Replacing Obamacare
For Republicans seeking an Obamacare replacement now, the challenge is growing with each passing day. Re-energized Democrats are defending the ACA with a ferocity unseen in past years, and new polls show that the law is becoming more popular than ever before. (Russell Berman, 2/27)
Vox: Interview: Former Gov. Steve Beshear Explains How He Sold Deep-Red Kentucky On Obamacare
Democrats have selected former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear to deliver the party’s response to President Donald Trump’s congressional address on Tuesday. Beshear bolstered his national reputation by implementing Obamacare in an especially conservative area. Under the health law, Kentucky’s uninsured rate has fallen from 20 percent to 7.5 percent — the largest drop in the country. (Sarah Kliff and Byrd Pinkerton, 2/27)
FiveThirtyEight: Republican Health Plans Have Winners And Losers, Just Like Obamacare
Last week, Republican members of the House put forward the outline of a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care bill. The ACA was decried by Republicans as an unmitigated financial disaster and touted by Democrats as a resounding success at providing coverage to the uninsured. But like any health policy, it required tradeoffs, and the Republican plans to replace the ACA are no different. (Anna Maria Barry-Jester, 2/23)
The New Yorker: Trumpcare Vs. Obamacare
The pitchforks are changing hands. In 2009, it was Democratic members of Congress supporting health-care reform who were set upon by outraged constituents. When they passed the Affordable Care Act anyway, it cost their party control of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections. House Republicans subsequently voted more than fifty times to repeal or cripple the A.C.A. Nineteen Republican-led states spurned the offer of federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage. In January, Donald Trump’s first act as President was to order government agencies to avoid implementing, as much as is legally possible, what has become known as Obamacare. (Atul Gawande, 2/25)
Vox: I'm Witnessing The Near Defeat Of AIDS In Africa. But I Fear What Comes Next.
Ending the epidemic will require us to reach people who have not yet benefited from lifesaving prevention and treatment. That will mean President Donald Trump will need to reinforce the US commitment to its AIDS relief program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). As Bill Frist, a former Republican Senate majority leader, recently highlighted in the New York Times, PEPFAR is Trump’s opportunity to contribute to the goal of an AIDS-free generation. (Elizabeth Radin, 2/25)
The Atlantic: The Challenge Of Accessing Birth Control In The Military
While she was deployed in Somalia and Iraq as a colonel in the army, Elspeth Cameron Ritchie handled her period with limited privacy, often in isolated or flooded bathrooms for five tours, sometimes as the only woman in her unit. It was “difficult and sticky and kind of embarrassing,” she says. (Leslie Nemo, 2/23)
Modern Healthcare: C-Suite Gender Gap: Leadership Training Efforts Falling Short
This inequality at the C-suite level has gotten the attention of those healthcare organizations that are striving to improve the diversity of their leadership teams. Their efforts are helping women advance further along in their careers. But societal stereotypes and cultural norms continue to remain stubborn barriers standing in the way of faster progress, experts say. ...Increasingly, healthcare organizations have recognized that a diverse executive team leads to better performance and improved outcomes because innovative ideas are brought to the table. Yet, women are often passed up for leadership roles despite the fact that they dominate the healthcare industry for entry level and lower management positions. (Maria Castelluci, 2/25)
