Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Supports Plan To Tie Repeal Of Individual Mandate To Tax Overhaul, Throwing GOP A Curveball
The Wall Street Journal: Repeal Of ACA’s Individual Mandate Could Be Part Of Tax Overhaul
Republicans may seek to repeal the Affordable Care Act requirement that most Americans must have insurance coverage or pay a fine as part of their tax overhaul package, part of a push to undo or delay parts of the health law in the aftermath of the failure of a broader repeal effort. President Donald Trump, in posts on his Twitter account Wednesday, threw his support behind the proposal. (Armour and Peterson, 11/1)
The Hill: Trump Suggests Repealing ObamaCare Mandate In Tax Bill
President Trump on Wednesday suggested using the GOP tax bill to repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate. “Wouldn't it be great to Repeal the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate in ObamaCare and use those savings for further Tax Cuts,” Trump tweeted. (Weixel, 11/1)
Politico: Trump Tries To Tie Obamacare Repeal To Tax Cuts
The president’s position represents a bit of a reversal from the White House. Asked about the individual mandate at Tuesday’s press briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters, “I don’t believe it has to be part of tax reform, but the child care tax credit is something he’d certainly like to see.” (McCaskill, 11/1)
Bloomberg: Trump Calls For Using Tax Bill To Repeal Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
A "skinny" repeal of Obamacare that scrapped the individual mandate failed in July to pass the Senate after three GOP senators defected. Scrapping the mandate’s tax penalty on most Americans who don’t purchase insurance would raise $416 billion over a decade, and increase the number of uninsured by 15 million, according to a December 2016 estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. (Kapur, 11/1)
Roll Call: Trump Position On Individual Mandate In Tax Bill Complicates Task
President Donald Trump threw congressional Republican tax-writers a curveball Wednesday, suddenly voicing support for using a coming overhaul measure to repeal the 2010 health care law’s individual insurance mandate. Trump endorsed a provision being pushed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., with whom he has met several times in recent weeks. Cotton has been working with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees to include the repeal of the health care law’s individual mandate in a tax overhaul bill. He said if he is unable to convince the leaders of those panels to include it in their tax bills, he will try to attach it as an amendment. (Bennett, 11/1)
