Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Governors Step Up As Senators Step Back; More Tough Takes On The GOP Health Plan
The Washington Post: Governors Push Back While GOP Lawmakers Roll Over
If House and Senate Republicans have largely been supine in the face of President Trump’s assaults on the truth, fiscal probity, conflicts of interest, climate change and health care, governors have not and therefore point the way toward restoration of a once admirable party. (Jennifer Rubin, 7/16)
The New York Times: A Legislative Easter Egg Hunt In The Health Bill
The big changes in the new Senate bill — including dropping a tax cut for the rich and rolling back insurance regulation — were meant to influence blocs of senators and to address policy concerns. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 7/15)
Los Angeles Times: Here Are The Hidden Horrors In The Senate GOP's New Obamacare Repeal Bill
enate Republicans unveiled a new, “improved” version of their Affordable Care Act repeal bill Thursday, so the treasure hunt is on: the search for provisions so horrifically inhumane that they’ve had to be concealed deep in the measure’s legislative language and procedural maze. We’ve found quite a few, with the help of professional spelunkers Andy Slavitt, David Anderson, Larry Levitt and others. Here are some of the provisions in the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act, or BCRA, that the Senate GOP really doesn’t want you to know about. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/14)
Bloomberg: Put Trumpcare Out Of Its Misery
Congressional Republicans have just produced their latest version of Trumpcare. On the plus side, this one gives up on earlier proposals to repeal three taxes that the Affordable Care Act imposes on the wealthy, making it a bit less fiscally reckless. On the minus side, it's still a terrible plan. (7/14)
The Washington Post: On Health Care, History Is Watching. And It’s Watching Four Senators In Particular.
Over the past century, there has been a characteristic American cycle of response to far-reaching social reforms. When the breakthroughs are first proposed, conservatives fight them with a devout passion, warning that the measures on offer would move the nation toward socialism and perdition. Then, over time, the disastrous consequences never materialize, the reforms prove their worth, and Americans come to see the once-new benefits as rights. (E.J. Dionne, 7/16)
The New York Times: ‘Medicare For All’ Isn’t Sounding So Crazy Anymore
During the 2016 campaign, Andrea Barton Gurney thought that single-payer health care was simply out of the question. A self-described moderate, Ms. Gurney, 56, assumed that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats would keep trying to make the Affordable Care Act work. (Suzy Khimm, 7/15)
USA Today: The ‘Pro-Life’ Movement Is A Joke And Trumpcare Proves It
They might have gotten away with it if not for those meddling disability activists. Until several members of ADAPT were yanked from their wheelchairs and arrested for conducting a sit-in outside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on the day the Senate GOP’s first draft of Trumpcare went public, Republicans had done a beautiful job of hiding the truth about their effort to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. (Jason Sattler, 7/17)
The Washington Post: The Fundamental Error In The CBO’s Health-Care Projections
In the coming days, the Congressional Budget Office will release an updated analysis of the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The CBO will likely predict lower health insurance coverage rates if the bill becomes law. The American people and Congress should give this prediction little weight in assessing the bill’s merit. (Marc Short and Brian Blase, 7/14)
Boston Globe: Freedom’s Just Another Name For Less Coverage And More Paperwork
Longer life expectancies, the withering of defined-benefit pensions, and the growing demand for long-term care all have staggering implications for the entire economy. But the frontier spirit insists that individuals are supposed to deal with the consequences on their own. (Dante Ramos, 7/15)
