Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Policy Perspectives: GOP Plan Would Create 'An Unworkable Quagmire'; Graham-Cassidy A 'Threat To Children'
USA Today: Scrap Graham-Cassidy Health Bill Or Plunge America And GOP Into Misery
Take it from someone who has overseen the implementation of a massive new health care law: For all the promises Republicans have made about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, a bill like the one they aim to pass this week would not just hurt people, it would enmesh the GOP in an unworkable quagmire. (Andy Slavitt, 9/25)
Los Angeles Times: Republicans Should Gladly Pay For My Preexisting Condition
It’s a question I encounter frequently when I discuss healthcare with conservatives, particularly after I note that I have a chronic and costly preexisting condition, Type 1 diabetes. “Why should I pay for your healthcare?” they ask. (David Lazarus, 9/26)
Los Angeles Times: The GOP's Revised Obamacare Repeal Bill Is Even Worse For People With Pre-Existing Conditions
What may be of more interest to Americans in all states, however, is that in their revised draft, the sponsors also weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditions even more than did their original version. (Michael Hiltzik, 9/25)
Stat: The Graham-Cassidy Bill Is A Threat To Children
As a physician whose job it is to provide lifelong care for babies like [Jimmy] Kimmel’s son, I agree with him — it is time for all of us to politicize our children’s health problem. But, it is also time to listen to each other. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that the bill “may be disguised under a different name, but it contains the same dangerous policies as the legislation that failed to advance out of the Senate earlier this summer. In fact, Graham-Cassidy goes even further in its attacks on Medicaid.” (Angira Patel, 9/25)
Los Angeles Times: I Have A 1-Year-Old Son. If Cassidy-Graham Had Been In Place, He Probably Wouldn't Have Been Born
My son recently had his first birthday. He hates wearing clothes but loves eating cheese (“cheeee”). I don’t know that he’d be here if it weren’t for the Affordable Care Act. Republicans are once again jockeying to repeal and replace that law — this time through a bill from Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy. The GOP has pitched Graham-Cassidy as a friendly and fair instance of federalism — a chance to turn Obamacare’s money and regulatory power over to the states. (Craig Fehrman, 9/26)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Graham-Cassidy Jeopardizes Ohio's Health Care System
Graham-Cassidy is, ostensibly, intended to provide states with more flexibility to manage their health care needs. In truth, the bill is a poorly developed, partisan attempt to deprive health care dollars from those who need it most. (Coleman Drake, 9/25)
Seattle Times: Health-Care Reform That Cuts Medicaid Fails Children
Medicaid has earned broad bipartisan support since its inception in 1965 as a cost-effective safety net to keep children and families healthy. The program is critical to ensuring that children from low-income families and children with special health-care needs receive timely, quality health care. The Graham-Cassidy proposal would jeopardize health care for millions of children and families. (Rupin Thakkar and Elizabeth Meade, 9/25)
Lexington Herald Leader: If Health-Care Money Is Sent To States, Could We Trust Bevin With It?
Here is a question for Gov. Matt Bevin and his millionaire Republicans who now control the Kentucky legislature: If the new Republican health-care plan is approved, sending billions of federal dollars back to Kentucky, would he spend it on health care for the poor, the disabled, the aged? Or, would he find other uses, such as saving Kentucky’s under-funded pension plans, that do more to help higher-ups than the average working Kentuckian? (Frank Ashley, 9/25)
