Will Republicans Switch From An Obamacare Repeal To An Obamacare Bailout?
With the Better Care Reconciliation Act's prospects appearing dim, are there next steps? In other news on repeal efforts: what Americans want for health care is murky; a look at how the proposed bill would affect you; subsidies to help pay for coverage; the number of uninsured in the U.S. is climbing; and more.
Los Angeles Times:
With Senate Republicans At An Impasse Over Obamacare, Many Ask: Now What?
Senate Republicans, having hit an apparent impasse in their long campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, return to Washington this week in search of a way forward, with support dwindling, time running out and deep divisions within their ranks. Options are limited as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) assesses the legislative landscape for his Obamacare replacement, which has virtually no hope of passing unless it is substantially amended. (Mascaro and Levey, 7/10)
NPR:
Americans Don't Want Senate's Health Care Plan, But It's Unclear What They Do Want
Americans really, really don't like the Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Only 17 percent of U.S. adults approve of the health care bill, according to a recent NPR/Marist/PBS NewsHour poll. In fact, a majority of Americans now approve of the ACA, also known as Obamacare — but just nine months ago, that wasn't true. So what do they want? (Kurtzleben, 7/10)
NPR:
FAQ: How Would The Senate Health Care Bill Affect You?
When covering the GOP efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, we tend to focus on the big picture: billions of cuts in Medicaid spending, say, or millions of fewer people with health coverage. But the real impacts would be felt in states, cities and towns, and they would vary a lot depending on where you live, how old you are and your particular health concerns. (7/10)
The New York Times:
The Hidden Subsidy That Helps Pay For Health Insurance
As Republican senators work to fix their troubled health care bill, there is one giant health insurance subsidy no one is talking about. It is bigger than any offered under the Affordable Care Act — subsidies some Republicans loathe as handouts — and costs the federal government $250 billion in lost tax revenue every year. (Zernike, 7/7)
The Associated Press:
Survey: US Uninsured Up By 2M This Year As Gains Erode
The number of U.S. adults without health insurance has grown by some 2 million this year, according to a major new survey that finds recent coverage gains beginning to erode. The new numbers highlight what's at stake as Congress returns to an unresolved debate over Republican proposals to roll back much of former President Barack Obama's health care law. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/10)
The New York Times:
Why Obamacare’s Loudest Critics Aren’t As Loud Anymore
Members of Congress returning home for the July 4 recess last week were met with rallies, sit-ins and Independence Day demonstrators, as activists on the left intensified their push to defeat Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The groups on the right that once fueled the party’s anti-Obamacare fervor might as well have been on vacation. (Zernike, 7/8)
The CT Mirror:
Obamacare Repeal Would Roll Back Dozens Of Federal Taxes
The Senate health care bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would roll back nearly $1 trillion in taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act to expand coverage to the poor and middle-income individuals. ... That has given Democrats and other critics of the bill heavy ammunition to call the Better Care Reconciliation Act or ”Trumpcare,” as it’s detractors call it, a giveaway to the nation’s wealthy at the expense of helping middle-class Americans purchase health insurance and cutting Medicaid, the government-run health program for the poor. (Radelat, 7/9)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Senate GOP Bill Would Lower Taxes But Cause Millions To Lose Insurance
Republican senators return to Washington next week with the challenge of winning 50 votes for a health care bill that meets their broad goals of rolling back the Affordable Care Act and cutting taxes, but that also would cause millions of people to lose their health insurance. The bill has won lukewarm support among some conservatives as a step in the right direction. (Boulton, 7/7)
