Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sen. Murray, Rep. Pallone Launch Effort To Get Public Health Insurance Option
Roll Call: Democrats In Both Chambers Launch Public Option Effort
Two key committee chairs in the House and Senate are taking the first step toward crafting legislation to create a public health insurance option, reviving a debate between the parties on the federal government’s role in coverage and setting up a fight with the insurance industry. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., issued a request for information Wednesday asking for input on a public option, which would establish a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers. (McIntire, 5/26)
NBC News: Top Democrats Jump-Start Push To Offer A Health Care 'Public Option,' A Biden Promise
Two Democratic committee chairs overseeing health care policy are seeking to jump-start a legislative push to craft a "public option" to compete with private insurers. House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote a letter to interested parties Wednesday seeking their input by July 31 on how to structure a government-provided plan. (Tsirkin and Kapur, 5/26)
Politico: Biden Expected To Use Budget To Strengthen Abortion Rights Bona Fides
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden told Democratic primary voters that he “could no longer continue to abide by the Hyde Amendment” — the prohibition written into annual congressional spending bills since 1976 barring almost all federal funding for abortion. The first real test of his resolve will come when Biden sends his fiscal 2022 budget proposal to Capitol Hill on Friday. (Ollstein, 5/27)
Stateline: Infrastructure Overhaul Should Focus More On Safety Advocates Say
But as President Joe Biden pushes a huge infrastructure plan and states hash out plans to fix roads and bridges and modernize highways, some critics say safety is getting short shrift. Even though the pandemic kept people off the roads in 2020, traffic fatalities rose by nearly 5%. And the number of pedestrians killed by drivers increased by about 44% between 2010 and 2019. "We need a fundamentally new approach to transportation at the federal level that makes safety the top priority overall for all projects, not just a separate program," said Steve Davis, a spokesperson for Smart Growth America, a Washington, D.C.-based urban planning advocacy group. (Bergal, 5/27)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
AP: Signs Point To Shift In Combating Sexual Assault In Military
Momentum in Congress for taking sexual assault prosecution powers away from military commanders, combined with a more flexible view by some military leaders, is pointing to a historic shift in the battle against what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calls “the scourge of sexual assault.” The leading lawmaker voice on this issue, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, has bipartisan, filibuster-proof support for a bill that would take prosecution decisions out of the chain of command for major crimes, including sexual assault, rape and murder. The legislation is caught in a procedural struggle in the Senate that supporters see as an effort to stall the bill and water down its language. (Burns, 5/27)
The Washington Post: Bills Touted By Jon Stewart May Help Millions Of Veterans Get Care For Toxic Exposure
Two measures introduced in Congress by lawmakers this week would overhaul the way the Department of Veterans Affairs cares for millions of former service members who were exposed to toxic substances, from atomic radiation sites in the Pacific to open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sweeping legislation, mostly focused on the issue of burn pits from recent wars, would compel VA to presume certain illnesses are linked to exposure to hazardous waste incineration, removing the burden of proof from veterans. (Horton, 5/26)
