Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Enrollment Deadline Looming, Obama To Renew His Arguments For The Health Law
USA Today: Obama's Day: Health Care Letters
President Obama devotes Tuesday to defending his health care law. In the morning, Obama meets with ten people who have written him letters about how the Affordable Care Act has helped them. ... The Obama event with letter writers takes place as the Republican-run House plans to vote again Tuesday to repeal the law, saying it has led to higher insurance premiums and canceled policies. Obama has vowed to veto the House bill, though previous efforts to repeal the health care law have stalled in the Senate. (Jackson, 2/3)
The Associated Press: Obama Aims To Shore Up Health Law As 2nd-Year Deadline Nears
President Barack Obama is seeking to shore up support for his health care law by putting its beneficiaries on display at the White House. The White House says Obama will meet Tuesday with 10 Americans from across the country who wrote him letters about how they benefited from the Affordable Care Act. Obama plans to speak and hold a photo-op with them in the Roosevelt Room. (2/3)
McClatchy: Medicaid, CHIP Add 10.1 Million Since Insurance Marketplaces Opened
More than 10.1 million people have enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the first 14 months since marketplace enrollment began, the Obama administration reported Monday. (Pugh, 2/2)
Also, some Micronesians in Hawaii are finding themselves kicked off Medicaid --
The Associated Press: Micronesians In Hawaii To Be Switched To Affordable Care Act
Hawaii Pacific Islanders, including about 7,500 Micronesians, will automatically be enrolled in insurance mandated by the federal health care law on March 1 after losing their Medicaid coverage Feb. 28. The 7,500 Micronesians are among the more able-bodied among nearly 14,000 citizens of Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia who are living in Hawaii. Medicaid or Medicare coverage still will be retained by people who are blind, pregnant, disabled or 65 years old or older. (2/2)
And news outlets examine what the latest health law battles mean for the GOP --
Politico: Supreme Court Obamacare Case Poses Political Peril For GOP
The Supreme Court could be months away from blowing a huge hole in Obamacare — and Republicans on Capitol Hill are at odds over how they’ll respond if their side wins. It’s the latest example in a long-running quandary for Republicans: They don’t agree on what alternative, if any, their party should offer to President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. But the issue is taking on new urgency for the GOP congressional leaders as the court takes up a case that could leave more than 5 million people without Obamacare’s crucial subsidies. (Haberkorn and Raju, 2/3)
The Washington Post's The Fact Checker: A Zombie Obamacare Stat Emerges Again, Earns Four Pinocchios
“Under Obama, Average Family Premiums Have Increased $4,154.” The RNC circulated this talking point during the State of the Union address, and it is now popping up in the twitter feeds of Republican House members and state parties. But this is a zombie statistic; a version of it keeps coming back no matter how many times we try to debunk it. So let’s try to explain once again why it does not really say much about health-care inflation under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. (Kessler, 2/3)
