Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Repealing Mandate That Was 'Weak' In First Place May Not Radically Change Customers' Behavior
Politico: Obamacare Mandate Repeal May Not Deliver Predicted Blow
Repealing Obamacare's individual mandate might not be the devastating blow to health insurance markets that supporters of the law fear. Because the tax penalty for not having insurance is far less costly than what many Americans would have to pay for coverage, many have chosen to take the fine. Eliminating it, therefore, might not radically change behavior — or fulfill the dire predictions of spiking premiums and vast increases in uninsured people that economists, health providers and politicians once predicted. (Haberkorn and Demko, 11/20)
The Hill: Study Finds Less Coverage Loss From Repealing ObamaCare Mandate
A new report from Standard & Poor’s predicts less savings and coverage loss from repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate compared to the most commonly-used estimate. The study from S&P finds that repealing the mandate, as Senate Republicans are proposing in their tax-reform bill, would result in three to five million more uninsured people and $60 billion to $80 billion in savings over 10 years. That estimate is far less than the more commonly-used Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, which predict 13 million more uninsured people and $338 billion in savings over the same period. (Sullivan, 11/17)
The New York Times: Will Cutting The Health Mandate Pay For Tax Cuts? Not Necessarily
Alexia Manon Senior is 27 and healthy — the type of person who might be most tempted to forgo health insurance if Republicans enact a tax bill that repeals the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most Americans have coverage or pay a penalty. But Ms. Manon Senior, a graduate student in Miami, said she would hold tight to her coverage, at least as long as she keeps getting nearly $5,000 a year in government subsidies to pay for most of it. (Zernike and Goodnough, 11/19)
Meanwhile, the White House say it's open to taking the repeal of the mandate out of the tax bill —
The Associated Press: White House Open To Striking Health Provision From Tax Bill
The White House says it's willing to strike a health-care provision from Senate legislation to cut taxes and overhaul the tax code if the provision becomes an impediment to passing one of President Donald Trump's top legislative priorities. The provision would repeal a requirement that everyone in the U.S. have health insurance or pay a fine, but has emerged as a major sticking point for Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote the White House needs. Collins said Sunday that the issue should be dealt with separately. (Superville, 11/20)
The Hill: Trump Met Senate Republicans On ObamaCare Fix
A group of Republican senators met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday to push him to support a bipartisan ObamaCare fix, according to a Senate GOP aide. The meeting with the president, which was first reported by Politico, was attended by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). (Sullivan, 11/17)
And a look at where others stand on the issue —
The Hill: Collins: Pass Bipartisan ObamaCare Bills Before Mandate Repeal
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday that she wants two bipartisan ObamaCare bills to pass before the Senate takes up a tax bill that repeals the health law’s individual mandate. Collins, a key swing vote on the tax bill, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she did not think the mandate repeal should be in the tax bill, but she indicated she thinks the rise in premiums from repealing the mandate could be mitigated if two other bills passed first. (Sullivan, 11/19)
The Hill: Murkowski Signals She Can Support Tax Bill — If Alexander-Murray Is Part Of Package
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is signaling she can support the repeal of ObamaCare’s mandate in the Senate tax bill if Congress also passes a bill to stabilize individual health insurance markets. “I think that there is a path and I think the path is a reasonable path,” Murkowski told Roll Call, highlighting how she could vote for the legislation. (Roubein, 11/17)
The Hill: Murkowski: ObamaCare Fix Not A Precondition
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday that passing a bipartisan ObamaCare bill is not necessarily a precondition for her to support a tax bill that repeals ObamaCare’s individual mandate. The statement posted on Murkowski’s Facebook page appeared to clarify comments she made to Roll Call on Thursday, which seemed to suggest that the bipartisan ObamaCare bill from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was a prerequisite for her vote for the tax bill. (Sullivan, 11/17)
Bloomberg: Mulvaney Says Would Be OK To Drop Mandate Repeal In Tax Plan
The White House wouldn’t oppose removing from the Senate tax plan a controversial provision to repeal the individual health-care mandate of the Affordable Care Act, budget director Mick Mulvaney said, a move that could help secure the vote of key Republicans. The provision could be dropped if it becomes “an impediment,” Mulvaney, head of the Office of Management and Budget, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Krasny and Brody, 11/19)
The Hill: Cotton: I Hope We Go Back To Health Care Next Year
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Sunday that he hopes the Senate revisits ObamaCare repeal next year after its tax-reform push. “I hope next year that we return to health care, but right now I’m focused on this tax bill,” Cotton told CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” (Shelbourne, 11/19)
Politico Pro: Governors React To Individual Mandate Repeal In Senate Tax Reform Bill
Vice President Mike Pence touted the GOP's tax plan during a speech at the Republican Governors Association Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, this week, portraying the Senate version that repeals the ACA's individual mandate as a "tax cut for the middle class." ..But Democratic governors panned the proposal and urged Congress to instead focus on a bipartisan deal to stabilize ACA markets. (Ehley, 11/17)
The Hill: National Ad Targets Republicans On 'Sneaky Repeal' Of ObamaCare In Tax Plan
A new national ad is slamming Republicans for including a "sneaky repeal" of ObamaCare in tax-reform legislation. In the ad, pro-ObamaCare group Save My Care urges voters to call their members and ask them to vote "no" on tax reform. (Hellmann, 11/17)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Would Repealing Obamacare's Individual Coverage Mandate As Part Of The Tax Bill Help You Or Hurt You?
Now that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved its controversial plan to revise the tax code, the tax debate shifts to the U.S. Senate. Unlike the House plan, the pending Senate overhaul would rescind the Affordable Care Act's "individual mandate," which imposes tax penalties on those who forgo buying health insurance. (Eaton, 11/17)
Kaiser Health News: Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ Tax Bill Or Health Bill?
Republican efforts to alter the health law, left for dead in September, came roaring back to life this week as the Senate Finance Committee added a repeal of the “individual mandate” fines for not maintaining health insurance to their tax bill. In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss the other health implications of the tax bill, as well as the current state of the Affordable Care Act. (11/17)
