Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Next Steps Uncertain For GOP, As Defeat Weighs Heavy On Future Goals
Kaiser Health News: House Leaders ‘Came Up Short’ In Effort To Kill Obamacare
It’s not clear what will happen next to the Republican effort to overturn or modify Obamacare. But White House officials told members Thursday that if they couldn’t pass the legislation, the president wanted to turn to other priorities, including tax reform. “The president understands this is it,” Spicer said. “We had this opportunity to — to change the trajectory of health care, to help improve — put a health care system in place and to end the nightmare that Republicans have campaigned on called Obamacare.” (Carey, 3/24)
CNBC: Paul Ryan Says House Will 'Proceed' With Tax Reform Despite Health-Care 'Setback'
"Yes, this does make tax reform more difficult. But it does not, in any way, make it impossible. We will proceed with tax reform," [Speaker Paul Ryan] told reporters after the House pulled the embattled health-care plan shortly before a planned vote. (Pramuk and Mangan, 3/24)
Wall Street Journal: GOP House Leaders Pull Their Health Bill
House Republicans met in a basement in the Capitol to decide their next steps, but it was starting to look like House GOP leaders had simply decided to abandon health legislation that was years in the making. Mr. Trump, through White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, had said Thursday night that he was done negotiating and issued an ultimatum to Republicans, insisting that a vote take place on Friday, with the party moving on if the legislation was defeated. (Hughes and Peterson, 3/24)
Stat: GOP Leaders Punt On Health Care Bill, Postponing Vote
Republican streaming out of a conference meeting gave no clear indication of where the party would head next on health care either. Some lawmakers expect Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to take regulatory actions to address problems Republicans see in the law. But there seemed to be a general sense that Congress would have to come back to the issue, at some point. (Scott, 3/24)
The Hill: Trump: White House Moving On From Healthcare Push
President Trump is moving on after the House GOP pulled its healthcare bill from a floor vote, he told The Washington Post’s Robert Costa Friday afternoon. Trump told Costa by phone that a push to repeal and replace ObamaCare — the centerpiece of Republican messaging throughout the last several elections — won't come up again in the near future. (Kamisar, 3/24)
Politico: Trump: I Never Said Repeal And Replace Would Come In 64 Days
President Donald Trump signaled Friday that his failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare won’t be his last try. “You’ve all heard my speeches. I never said repeal it and replace it within 64 days,” Trump told reporters. “I have a long time.” (McCaskill, 3/24)
NPR: Republicans Kill Health Care Vote As GOP Members Defect
The legislative stalemate endangers Trump's and the GOP's agenda and casts a cloud over the legislative path forward after an election waged almost entirely as the antithesis to a progressive agenda enacted by former President Barack Obama, Trump's predecessor. (Taylor, 3/24)
Reuters: Republicans Pull Healthcare Legislation Plan In Blow To Trump
The House failure to pass the measure called into question Trump's ability to get other key parts of his agenda, including tax cuts and a boost in infrastructure spending, through a Congress controlled by his own party. "There's nobody that objectively can look at this effort and say the president didn't do every single thing he possibly could with this team to get every vote possible," Spicer told reporters before the legislation was pulled. (Volz and Lawder, 3/24)
The Hill: GOP Senators Pitch Alternatives After House Pulls ObamaCare Repeal Bill
Republican senators are pitching their own plans for repealing and replacing ObamaCare after their House counterparts pulled their bill on Friday afternoon. But the initial responses from GOP senators appeared to underscore the differences that could divide the caucus moving forward. (Carney, 3/24)
Politico: Did The GOP Just Dodge A Bullet?
One aspect of the GOP health care bill seemed settled even before House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the plug Friday: public opinion. Polls conducted since House Republicans released the first draft of legislation three weeks ago show little public support for the bill, the surest sign that Americans were not yet on board with the GOP plan. In the most recent survey, a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, only 17 percent of registered voters approved of the legislation — far fewer than the 56 percent who disapproved. (Shepard, 3/24)
