Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Shutdown Threat Heightens As Democrats Also Try To Wrap Spending Bill
The New York Times: Democrats’ Bill Would Go Far Toward ‘Patching The Holes’ In Health Coverage
An estimated 3.4 million Americans would gain health insurance as a result of the legislation, which passed the House last month but faces a tough road in the 50-50 Senate. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said Tuesday that his goal is to have it pass before Christmas. The bill would expand health care access for children, make insurance more affordable for working-age adults and improve Medicare benefits for the disabled and older Americans. Separately, its health provisions are a “piecemeal of incremental changes,” said Caroline Pearson, a senior vice president for health care at NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization. But taken together, these policies represent the biggest step toward universal coverage since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. (Abelson, Kliff, Sanger-Katz and Gay Stolberg, 12/1)
The Washington Post: Shutdown Odds Grow As Conservatives Push GOP Leaders Over Vaccine And Testing Mandates
The U.S. government on Wednesday moved one step closer to a potential shutdown, as some Republicans seized on a fast-approaching fiscal deadline to mount fresh opposition to President Biden’s coronavirus vaccine and testing mandates. The emerging conservative campaign quickly divided GOP lawmakers, enraged congressional Democrats and threatened to unravel days of delicate bipartisan talks on Capitol Hill. The current federal spending agreement is set to expire Friday at midnight. “We’re opposed to the mandate,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “We don’t want the federal government to be able to fund them in any way shape or form.” (Romm, DeBonis and Min Kim, 12/1)
Roll Call: House Won't Take Up Stopgap Funds Wednesday As Disputes Linger
The House wrapped up votes for the day Wednesday without taking up a temporary spending bill that's needed by Friday at midnight in order to avert a partial government shutdown. Top lawmakers and others familiar with the talks nonetheless expressed confidence a shutdown would be averted, despite calls from some GOP conservatives to force a funding lapse if Democrats won't add language to the continuing resolution that would bar funds for the Biden administration's private sector vaccine and testing requirement. (Krawzak and Lerman, 12/1)
Roll Call: Advocacy Blitz Targets Medicare Coverage Of Obesity Treatment
A coalition of patient advocates, medical groups and pharmaceutical companies is ramping up pressure on Congress to add coverage of obesity drugs and weight-related behavioral therapy under Medicare. The push centers on securing regulatory changes or including a long-standing bill in must-pass legislation. The bill would remove Medicare’s ban on coverage of weight loss drugs and expand behavioral therapy coverage. (Clason, 12/1)
In Massachusetts —
The Boston Globe: Lawmakers’ Spending Plan Spreads COVID Money Far And Wide
House and Senate negotiators on Beacon Hill filed a $4 billion state spending plan Wednesday night that would set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for various causes ranging from housing to healthcare to workforce training, in a broad effort to help Massachusetts recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill, the outcome of months of public hearings and private negotiations, would draw roughly $1.5 billion from surplus money left over from the last fiscal year, along with roughly $2.5 billion from the federal stimulus legislation known as the American Rescue Plan Act, according to Senate Ways and Means chairman Michael Rodrigues. This would leave nearly another $2.5 billion in ARPA funds for the Legislature to deploy at a later date. (Chesto, 12/1)
