Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What's The Path Forward For The Senate Health Care Bill?
The Wall Street Journal: Short On Backers, GOP Delays Vote On Health Bill
In a test of his leadership, Mr. McConnell now will need to bridge a divide between conservative Republicans, who say the bill retains too many of the ACA’s regulations to significantly lower premiums, and GOP centrists, who worry the legislation goes too far in cutting funding to Medicaid. (Armour and Peterson, 6/27)
Los Angeles Times: Crunch Time For McConnell As Senate GOP Is Forced To Delay Vote On Healthcare Bill
The seasoned GOP leader will be aided by what amounts to a $200-billion piggy bank to push Republicans holdouts over the line. That’s the bill’s extra savings compared with the House version that McConnell can tap to provide perks to individual senators, from more opioid assistance to expanded tax-free health savings accounts. A similar strategy — delay and enticements — worked well in the House, where Republicans last month passed their healthcare bill on the third try. (Mascaro, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Trump, Senate Leaders Attempt To Regroup After Postponing Vote To Overhaul Obamacare
Just how realistic a vote is after July 4 remains unclear. At least one senator who had publicly opposed the procedural vote McConnell had hoped to take Tuesday — Dean Heller (Nev.) — indicated that he was willing to reconsider his initial opposition, if the bill was going to be reworked. At the White House, Heller playfully but pointedly complained about a Trump-allied super PAC that was airing ads against him in Nevada. By Tuesday night, the group had decided to pull the ads, and Heller had signaled to McConnell that he would continue to engage — far from a “yes” vote, but open to discussing his concerns. (Sullivan, Snell and Eilperin, 6/27)
Bloomberg: McConnell Scrambles To Win GOP Votes For Troubled Health Measure
GOP leaders seemed surprised by the extent of the objections from within their party. At least five Republicans made clear ahead of time that they weren’t ready to advance the measure this week. and another three Republicans announced their opposition after McConnell delayed the vote. (Litvan, 6/28)
Boston Globe: Why Susan Collins Won’t Vote Yes On Healthcare Even After The Delay
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine announced Monday night that she would vote against a procedural motion on the Senate health care repeal bill and said that unless the bill changed significantly she would vote against the bill itself. Majority leader Mitch McConnell should not even try to negotiate with Collins. (Pindell, 6/27)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: With Senate Health Care Bill In Jeopardy, Perdue, Isakson To Huddle With Trump
Georgia’s two U.S. senators were planning to join many of their GOP colleagues at the White House Tuesday afternoon after Senate leaders abruptly hit the breaks on a health care overhaul they had been planning to bring to a vote later this week. Republicans David Perdue and Johnny Isakson both voiced support for their party leaders’ decision to take the July 4th recess to rework their Obamacare replacement legislation after it became clear there were not enough votes as written. (Hallerman, 6/27)
Politico: 5 Changes McConnell Can Make To Get Repeal Bill On Track
Mitch McConnell has little margin for error as he tries to salvage the Senate’s Obamacare repeal effort over the July 4 break. (Cancryn, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal: Senate Republican Health Bill: What’s Next After Delay?
Here’s what to expect as the debate on health care moves forward. (Jamerson, 6/27)
USA Today: Obamacare's Architects Emanuel And Sebelius Outline How It Could Be Fixed
As Senate Republicans struggle to find the votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the architects of Obamacare have an idea to try if they fail. Just fix it. (Page, 6/27)
