Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

McConnell’s Gloomy Attitude Over Health Law Has Some Wondering If Larger Strategy Is At Play

Morning Briefing

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been downplaying the chances the Republicans’ legislation has of passing the Senate. But some think his reserved comments might be all part of the game. In other news about the efforts: lawmakers begin to see a path they can take; a look at how the measure could affect middle- and working-class Americans; Twitter cheers on Sen. Claire McCaskill and more.

HHS Secretary Promises Curbing High Drug Prices Is ‘Absolute Priority’

Morning Briefing

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price tells the Senate Finance Committee that President Donald Trump asked his department for recommendations on policies that would reduce the costs of medications.

Price Defends Trump’s Budget Plan For Medicaid, Saying A Reduction In Growth Is Not A Cut

Morning Briefing

Although the Congressional Budget Office says the administration’s budget would reduce Medicaid funding by $610 billion in the next decade over current expectations, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services says you can’t consider it a cut because the amount of money would continue to grow.

NIH To Award $1B To Young Researchers After Dropping Plan To Cap Support To Some Labs

Morning Briefing

The controversial proposal to limit the size of federal grants to individual labs raised concerns among senior scientists, so National Institutes of Health offered this compromise. Also in the news: a House panel is expected to again take up its investigation of a lab problem two years ago.

Powerful GOP Chairman Backs Insurance Subsidy Payments: Americans ‘Should Not Be Left Out To Dry’

Morning Briefing

The uncertainty surrounding the payments has created instability in the marketplace, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) says. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price dodges questions on the subsidies during a Senate committee hearing.