Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Moderates Balk At Undermining Coverage For Those With Preexisting Conditions
Politico: Pre-Existing Conditions Drive Moderates' Concern Over Repeal Bill
Moderate Republicans are largely withholding their support for the Obamacare repeal bill, arguing it would hurt people with pre-existing conditions. House Republican leaders hoped that the House Freedom Caucus’s endorsement of the latest Obamacare repeal bill would light a fire under enough moderates to get their whip count to the 216 votes needed to pass the measure. Instead, the holdouts are digging in, saying that the latest changes only moved the bill to the right and could put more Americans at risk of losing their health insurance. (Haberkorn, 4/27)
The Hill: New Bill Tests GOP Promise On Pre-Existing Conditions
The revised Republican ObamaCare replacement bill is testing the party's pledge to preserve protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. House Republicans' own website states that people should "never" be charged more for having a pre-existing condition, but the revised bill would allow just that in states that are granted a waiver from ObamaCare’s protections. (Sullivan, 4/28)
Marketplace: For People With Pre-Existing Conditions, The Republican Health Care Plan Contains Plenty To Worry About
Before the Affordable Care Act, if you were living with a pre-existing condition, it usually meant you'd pay through the nose for coverage, your condition might not get covered or you'd have no insurance at all... In the House Republicans' most recent effort to repeal the health law, a new amendment would allow states to charge the sick higher rates — if those people dropped their coverage. (Gorenstein, 4/27)
Kaiser Health News: 2 Health Care Issues Collide On Capitol Hill And The Result Is Confusion
Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, was interviewed on Here & Now by WBUR’s Robin Young Thursday. They discussed changes approved by Republican conservatives for the House bill to replace the Affordable Care Act — which would give states the option to loosen provisions in the health law requiring insurers to offer coverage to people with preexisting conditions and guaranteeing that policies cover essential health benefits — and the debate between the parties over whether the government will continue to fund subsidies that help pay for many out-of-pocket expenses for low-income people who purchase coverage on the health law’s marketplaces. (4/27)
