Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Hints At 'Big Surprise' Coming From Senate Health Bill Efforts
Politico: Trump Teases 'Big Surprise' On Senate Obamacare Repeal Effort
President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that “a big surprise” could be coming in the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, a tease that came hours after the president predicted that Senate Republicans are “going to get at least very close” to passing their stalled health care bill. “And just to do a little official business, health care is working along very well. We could have a big surprise with a great health care package. So, now they're happy,” Trump said, gesturing to a group of reporters during a meet-and-greet with the visiting World Series champion Chicago Cubs. (Nelson, 6/28)
The Hill: Trump Claims GOP Has A 'Big Surprise' On Healthcare
When asked for further clarification about his remarks, the president repeated his claim about a big surprise. "We're going to have a great, great surprise," he said. (Beavers, 6/28)
Politico: Trump To Warring GOP Senators: I'm On Your Side
Rand Paul and Susan Collins are on opposite ends of the Republican Party when it comes to health care, yet somehow the two senators both left this week’s Obamacare repeal meetings with President Donald Trump thinking he’s on their side. Paul wants to gut as much of Obamacare as possible and recalled after his one-on-one meeting that the president “realizes that moderates have gotten everything so far” on the health care talks. The centrist Collins, on the other hand, left a larger Tuesday gathering with the president sure that he still wants to make the bill’s health care offerings more robust, explaining that “he did leave me with that impression.” (Everett and Dawsey, 6/28)
The Hill: Trump: Democrats 'Purposely Misstated' Medicaid Cuts
President Trump argued in a tweet Wednesday that Democrats are misrepresenting Medicaid cuts in the Senate's ObamaCare replacement bill. While Medicaid spending would still go up every year under the bill, a new cap put in place by the legislation would mean that Medicaid spending would not rise as fast as medical costs. States would therefore either have to find more money in their own state budgets to put into the program or cut back on enrollment or services.The Congressional Budget Office finds that the bill would cut Medicaid spending by $772 billion over a decade. (Sullivan, 6/28)
The Hill: Schumer To Trump: Meet With Democrats On Healthcare
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is asking President Trump to meet with Democrats to discuss a bipartisan deal on healthcare. "President Trump, I challenge you to invite us, all 100 of us, Republican and Democrat, to Blair House to discuss a new bipartisan way forward on healthcare in front of all the American people," Schumer said on Wednesday, referring to the President's Guest House. (Carney, 6/28)
The Hill: Gingrich: Trump’s Sales Pitch Needs Healthcare 'Translator'
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said President Trump will be able to push the Republican healthcare bill message after "somebody translates it," according to a Wednesday Associated Press report. Gingrich, who is a close Trump ally, also said GOP lawmakers have struggled to effectively communicate the new healthcare bill and address the complexities of health care policy because “nobody has served as a translator.” (Beavers, 6/28)
