Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Repeal And Replace': How An Enduring Slogan Highlights Importance Of Messaging In ACA Battle
The New York Times: ‘Repeal And Replace’: Words Still Hanging Over G.O.P.’s Health Care Strategy
In March 2010, on the day before President Obama was to sign the Affordable Care Act into law, a group of senior Republican aides huddled in Senator Mitch McConnell’s Capitol suite to try to come up with a catchy slogan to use against it. Many conservatives were simply advocating a vow to repeal the new law, but Republican strategists worried that pressing for repeal without an alternative could backfire. So they batted around a few ideas before Josh Holmes, then a top communications adviser to Mr. McConnell, tossed out the nicely alliterative phrase “repeal and replace.” (Huse, 1/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Chief Senate Parliamentarian Will Play Crucial Role In Health Care Legislation
Late last year, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) told a group of senior GOP lawmakers that the person they needed to watch in the Senate in 2017 was Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Warren?” one lawmaker asked. “No,” Mr. Ryan replied, according to a lawmaker in the room, “Elizabeth, the Senate parliamentarian.” Elizabeth MacDonough, the sixth person and first woman to hold the title of chief Senate parliamentarian, will play a crucial role in determining what can be included in legislation enabling the Senate to roll back major parts of the Affordable Care Act with just a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually needed. (Peterson, 1/16)
And in other news —
Politico: Republicans Move To Spend Billions On Obamacare — Before They Kill It
On their way to killing Obamacare, Republicans are leaning toward funding up to $9 billion in health care subsidies this year to keep the program afloat — even though they sued the Obama administration to stop those exact payments. The move is the most significant sign yet that the GOP is serious about propping up Obamacare temporarily to provide a smooth transition to a yet-to-be disclosed Republican replacement. (Haberkorn, 1/13)
USA Today: Obamacare Repeal Threatens Public Health Funding To States
The funding for many state public health and prevention programs is in jeopardy along with insurance for 20 million people as Congress moves to repeal the Affordable Care Act. While the ACA requires insurers to cover mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive care, a less prominent provision authorized a federal fund to prevent the soaring incidence of chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease. It also funds education targeting college suicides, smoking and low-income new mothers. The ACA’s Prevention and Public Health Fund has survived about 60 votes in Congress, and it was tapped to help pay for the recently enacted 21st Century Cures Act, which funds pharmaceutical research and development and opioid treatment. (O'Donnell, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Q&A: What The Republicans Are Doing With The Health Law
Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have said one of their priorities is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 health law that expanded insurance coverage to millions of Americans. Now, the Republicans are moving forward, and the outcome could bring big changes to the health system. Here are some questions and answers about the goals and complexity of their effort. (Peterson and Armour, 1/13)
Bloomberg: American Hospitals Are Disappearing -- And Repealing Obamacare Will Make It Worse
All kinds of services are moving outside hospitals: hip and knee replacements, heart valve repairs, even child birth. Mt. Sinai Health System in New York City, which is closing an 856-bed hospital to reopen at the same site as a 70-bed facility, has a program that provides hospital-level care in patients’ homes for conditions such as congestive heart failure and cellulitis infections. ... The driving forces behind the change are the payers of hospital bills -- insurers and the government -- seeking to cut costly hospital admissions through a mix of reimbursement restrictions and incentives. The Medicare program for the elderly is the biggest payer for medical services in the country, but lowering the costs of the Medicaid program for the poor, which is jointly funded by the federal government and states, is also a major focus. (Lauerman, 1/13)
Kaiser Health News: Large Employer Health Plans Could Also See Some Impacts From Obamacare Overhaul
If you think that because you get health insurance through your job at a big company, you won’t be affected if Republicans overhaul Obamacare, think again. Several of the law’s provisions apply to plans offered by large employers too (with some exceptions for plans that were in place before the law passed in March 2010). (Andrews, 1/17)
