Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Pledges His Health Care Plan Will Provide 'Much Better' Insurance For 'Everyone'
The Washington Post: Trump Vows ‘Insurance For Everybody’ In Obamacare Replacement Plan
President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. (Costa and Goldstein, 1/15)
The New York Times: Trump Promises ‘Insurance For Everybody’ As Health Law Replacement
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Mr. Trump said. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” In the interview, Mr. Trump provided no details about how his plan would work or what it would cost. He spoke in the same generalities that he used to describe his health care goals during the campaign — that it would be “great health care” that left people “beautifully covered.” (Shear, 1/15)
Modern Healthcare: Trump Says His ACA Replacement Includes 'Insurance For Everybody'
Trump did not share specifics on how he would accomplish what sounds like universal healthcare and whether is concerned that the idea would put him at odds with members of his party. (1/16)
The Washington Post: Trump Spokesman Says Obamacare Replacement Will Harness Marketplace Competition
A spokesman for Donald Trump sought Monday to elaborate on the president-elect’s plans to replace the Affordable Care Act, vowing that the new administration would lower health-care costs by infusing more competition into the marketplace, including by allowing insurers to sell health plans across state lines. (Wagner, 1/16)
The Hill: Trump’s Healthcare Plan Will Offer ‘Insurance For Everybody’: Report
Trump said he’ll push Congress to act fast on the repeal. “The Congress can’t get cold feet because the people will not let that happen,” Trump said. And his replacement plan is “very much formulated down to the final strokes.” “We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said, adding that he’s waiting for Health and Human Services nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) to be confirmed. (Master, 1/15)
San Jose Mercury News: Obamacare Repeal: Could Trump's 'Insurance For Everybody' Work?
The news left many California health care experts perplexed. “I’ve yet to see the unicorn Trump promised, and I doubt it exists, but I would be overjoyed to welcome it to America,” said Jill Horwitz, a law professor and health policy expert at UCLA. She defined the unicorn — according to what Trump has suggested he’d like to see — as universal coverage, low deductibles, insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, and no mandates, among other hints. (Seipel, 1/16)
Politico: Trump, Price And Hill GOP At Odds On Obamacare
Donald Trump and his pick to lead the Obamacare repeal effort, Rep. Tom Price, share a vision that the current health care system needs to be completely uprooted. But the two men have articulated wildly divergent visions for what comes next — and that's making it hard for Hill Republicans to figure out where to start on a coherent replacement plan once Obamacare is gone. (Everett and Haberkorn, 1/16)
In other news —
Stat: The Doctor Behind The President-Elect's Meeting With Hospital CEOs
When President-elect Donald Trump summoned a small group of national health care executives to his Florida home in December, the group included a less familiar name: Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, a primary care physician who is a prominent figure in Palm Beach. Moskowitz told STAT that he knows Trump through the Palm Beach community and that he helped put together the group that met with the president-elect, which included the heads of the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and Partners HealthCare. (Swetlitz, 1/16)
