Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicaid Expansion Drives Wedge Between GOP Governors
The Associated Press: Plan To Repeal Obama Health Law Shows GOP Governors Are Torn
The nation’s governors don’t want people in their states to lose health coverage under a repeal of the Obama-era health care law, but even after a weekend of bipartisan meetings, they still don’t agree on the best approach to replace it. Governors attending the winter meeting of the National Governors’ Association met Monday morning with President Donald Trump at the White House, where the president marveled about the intricacies of health policy. (Nuckols, 2/27)
CNN: Governors Divided Over Medicaid's Future, But Don't Want Anyone To Lose Coverage
One thing that unites the governors is that they don't want anyone to be left uninsured by the Trump administration's and Congress' drive to repeal the health care law, said Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe, president of the National Governors Association whose effort to expand Medicaid in his state was blocked by Republican lawmakers. ... Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said he left the meeting with the administration feeling good that Americans would be able to keep their coverage. He did not specify why. (Luhby, 2/27)
CNBC: Governors Fear They'll Get Stuck With Bigger Health Care Bill
Now, governors across the country worry that a key element of the proposed GOP overhaul will leave the states stuck with an even bigger bill. A Medicaid proposal by GOP governors, a draft of which was obtained by the Associated Press, urges Congress to change Medicaid from an open-ended federal entitlement to a program designed by each state and funded with fixed block grants within a financial limit. (Schoen, 2/27)
Morning Consult: GOP Tells Governors No Firm Plans Yet on Medicaid Expansion
Governors who gathered for a meeting with congressional Republicans were told a summarized plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act “does not reflect current thinking,” a senior Senate Republican said Monday, as lawmakers remain divided over key provisions such as the Medicaid expansion. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, said governors were told that a 19-page summary of how House Republicans could overhaul Obamacare was dated. (Reid and McIntire, 2/27)
Detroit Free Press: Snyder Praises Trump, Says Obamacare Not Working
Gov. Rick Snyder today praised what he called "unprecedented" collaboration with President Donald Trump's administration and Congress as they look at ways of reforming the Affordable Care Act, adding that what has become known as Obamacare across the U.S. has failed to adequately serve Americans. Speaking after he and several other members of the National Governors Association met with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other members of Trump's administration, Snyder spoke about the 2010 health care reform law in what may be his toughest rhetoric to date, saying "it hasn't worked" and that insurance access markets are "collapsing." (Spangler, 2/27)
The Detroit News: Snyder Backs Trump’s Health Care Warning
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder backed President Donald Trump’s warning on Monday that the nation’s health care system is in danger of imploding as he argued for replacing the Affordable Care Act while keeping an expanded health program for the poor. Trump said at a White House meeting with dozens of governors including Snyder that he hoped to reform the American tax system, but that was a “tiny little ant” compared with what the effort needed to overhaul the law also known as Obamacare. He said Congress must make fundamental changes to former President Barack Obama’s law. (2/27)
Seattle Times: Inslee Now ‘More Concerned’ After Meeting With Trump On Health Care, Immigration
Gov. Jay Inslee says he walked away from his first in-person encounter with President Donald Trump feeling even grimmer about the new administration’s plans for health care and immigration. ... Inslee pronounced himself shocked by Trump’s comment at the meeting that, “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” The Democratic governor, whose national profile has been rising as an anti-Trump voice, called the president’s statement irresponsible given the GOP’s sweeping plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. (Brunner, 2/27)
Indianapolis Star: Holcomb Not Yet Backing Specific Changes To Medicaid
Gov. Eric Holcomb is supporting an effort by GOP governors to revamp Medicaid but declined to say Monday whether those changes should include the spending cuts proposed by some Republican lawmakers. “We’ll run the numbers when we know what the equation looks like. There are a lot of different factors,” the Indiana Republican told IndyStar after attending the National Governors Association winter meeting. “What we are seeking as states, as Republican governors, is more control to have a better handle on cost.” Holcomb said he expects the GOP governors' plan to be put forward "within a matter of days, weeks." (Groppe, 2/27)
CQ HealthBeat: Trump Wants A Health Care Plan In Two Weeks
President Donald Trump is pushing forward on an aggressive two- to three-week goal for his own administration's plan to replace the health care law, even as Republican lawmakers and governors say they are still working to find common ground on basic policy issues. "The president today, in our meeting at the White House, asked Dr. Price that question [about the timeline for a replacement plan], and he said he'd have something out in three or four weeks," Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D-Va., said after a bipartisan meeting with Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price earlier Monday. "And the president said, 'I want to see it in two,' or something like that." (Mershon and Williams, 2/27)
Boston Globe: Groups Urge Governor Baker To Oppose Medicaid Cuts
More than two dozen groups representing Massachusetts hospitals, nonprofits, labor unions, and other organizations are urging Governor Charlie Baker to oppose any federal policy changes that could threaten Medicaid coverage for thousands of poor and disabled people across the state. President Trump and the Republican-led Congress say they will replace key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, a move that could include Medicaid cuts. Trump spoke with Baker and other governors Monday, again calling for an overhaul of the health care law. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/27)
