Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Supreme Court Alignment Will Shape Health Care For Years To Come
Politico: Not Just Obamacare: How Supreme Court's Conservative Majority Could Remake American Health Care
Across four days of hearings, senators reviewing Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court sparred extensively over Obamacare’s future. Left largely unmentioned, though, is the many ways the court’s buttressed 6-3 conservative majority could quickly steer America’s health care system to the right even if Obamacare survives its looming legal showdown. On tap for the justices to consider are rules to require people on Medicaid to work or lose their benefits, skimpier insurance alternatives for Obamacare that the Trump administration has championed, and cuts to federal funding for Planned Parenthood clinics. (Luthi, 10/15)
Modern Healthcare: 4 Non-ACA Cases The Supreme Court Could Consider This Term
While Senate Democrats have focused most of their energy in Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings warning that the Supreme Court could strike down the Affordable Care Act, the court may also consider several other cases this term with big implications for the healthcare industry. When Barrett joins the court she will also have a choice in which cases are chosen for consideration. (Cohrs, 10/16)
Politico: Senate Republicans Wave Away SCOTUS Threat To Obamacare
Republicans have a surprising new message: Obamacare is safe under them. After spending a decade trying to repeal the 2010 health care law, Republicans are now insisting it is not in peril and that there’s no proof Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will attempt to strike it down when the high court hears a challenge to Obamacare on Nov. 10. Their assertion that there’s nothing to fear comes as Senate Democrats are making the Supreme Court’s threat to the Affordable Care Act their central argument against Barrett’s confirmation. (Levine and Miranda Ollstein, 10/15 )
KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Democrats May Lose On SCOTUS, But Hope To Win On ACA
Republicans appear to be on track to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court before Election Day, cementing a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court regardless of what happens Nov. 3. Democrats, meanwhile, lacking the votes to block the nomination, used the high-profile hearings to batter Republicans for trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, a number of scientific journals that typically eschew politics, including the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, threw their support to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, citing what they call the Trump administration’s bungling of the coronavirus pandemic. (10/15)
USA Today: Amy Coney Barrett: What Happens Next In Her Confirmation Process
Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings are over. The proceedings in the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t appear to derail her nomination, keeping her on a fast track to be confirmed to the Supreme Court before Election Day. Throughout the four days of hearings, senators peppered President Donald Trump's nominee with questions about her views on controversial issues that could come before the court, such as abortion, guns and the Affordable Care Act. (Hayes and Wu, 10/15)
