Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Repeal Of Obamacare Taxes On House GOP Minds As Shutdown Looms
Natioinal Journal: House Republicans Really Think They Can Amend Obamacare This Fall
While congressional leaders continue to debate whether to pursue near-full repeal of the Affordable Care Act through budget reconciliation, and GOP presidential candidates lay out Obamacare-replacement proposals, House Republicans are looking at a smaller batch of changes to the health care law they think could make it to President Obama's desk. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady told National Journal that his panel could mark up health care tax legislation later this year. He floated bills related to over-the-counter drugs, health savings accounts, and—perhaps most ambitiously—a repeal of Obamacare's unpopular "Cadillac tax" on high-end insurance plans. The health care agenda will be determined in part by Capitol Hill's other business. (Scott, 8/24)
The Hill: House GOP Adds Healthcare Tax Bill To Fall Agenda
House GOP leaders are eyeing a package of healthcare bills this fall that will target some of the most despised taxes under the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee's Health Subcommittee, said he expects a comprehensive bill repealing healthcare taxes to be ready sometime after lawmakers return from recess. (Ferris, 8/24)
Politico: House GOP Leaders Desperate To Avoid Shutdown
An explosive confrontation brewing between the House Republican leadership and conservatives over Planned Parenthood is threatening to shut down the government for the second time in three years. And House GOP leaders have yet to settle on a strategy to avert it. Desperate to avoid another closure, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his team would prefer to build bipartisan opposition to funding the group through a series of high-profile Congressional investigations. But, at this point, that seems unlikely to cut it with a bloc of House conservatives who have said they simply won’t vote for a large-scale spending plan that funds Planned Parenthood. (Sherman and Palmer, 8/25)
