Trump Calls House Bill ‘Mean,’ Says Senate Version Should Be More ‘Generous’
President Donald Trump hosted senators at the White House to discuss their health care push, and he, according to sources, took a much different tone on the House's version than he did when he was celebrating its passage..
The Associated Press:
Sources: Trump Tells Senators House Health Bill 'Mean'
President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill he helped revive is "mean" and urged them to craft a version that is "more generous," congressional sources said. Trump's remarks were a surprising slap at a Republican-written House measure that was shepherded by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and whose passage the president lobbied for and praised. At a Rose Garden ceremony minutes after the bill's narrow House passage on May 4, Trump called it "a great plan." (Fram, 6/13)
In related news —
The New York Times:
Trump Says Market Is Failing, But One Insurer Bets Big On Obamacare
The Obamacare insurance markets aren’t as shaky as President Trump seems to believe. On Tuesday, the insurer Centene announced plans to expand aggressively into the state marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act. Centene said it intended to sell individual policies for the first time in Nevada, Missouri and Kansas, and to grow its presence in six other states, including Ohio and Florida. (Sanger-Katz and Abelson, 6/13)
The Associated Press Fact Check:
Obamacare 'Death Spiral' Is A Half-Told Tale
An AP Fact Check finds that the Trump administration is being selective with its information when it argues Obamacare is in a "death spiral." Vice President Mike Pence made that case Tuesday in remarks to federal employees. He correctly cited statistics showing 10.3 million people are enrolled in subsidized health insurance markets, far fewer than the 23 million projected for 2017. But he left out the fact that the law's Medicaid expansion is covering an estimated 12 million people. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/14)
The Washington Post:
Where The Obamacare Exchanges Might Have Zero Insurance Options In 2018
Next year, dozens of counties across the country could be left with no insurance companies offering insurance in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Nationwide, that leaves 35 thousand marketplace enrollees living in a county with no affordable way to purchase insurance (As it stands, people who receive subsidies can only use them to purchase coverage in the marketplace.), and 2.4 million would be left with just one insurer’s plan to choose from. That’s out of 12.2 million enrollees total. (Soffen and Uhrmacher, 6/14)
USA Today:
Latest Estimate: 13 Million People To Lose Health Coverage With GOP Plan
About 13 million people will lose health insurance in the next 10 years if the House-passed Affordable Care Act replacement plan is enacted, according to a new report out Tuesday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' office of the actuary. The estimate, while hardly rosy, is still about 10 million fewer people than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated would lose coverage under the American Health Care Act (AHCA), now being considered by the Senate. (O'Donnell, 6/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP Congressman Sees Health-Care Bill On President’s Desk By August
A Republican congressman who helped shepherd the party’s health-care overhaul bill through the House last month predicted Tuesday that a final bill will pass the Senate and land on the president’s desk before August. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden’s estimate, described at The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network meeting in Washington, suggests he is optimistic that Senate leaders will be able to meet a self-imposed July 4 deadline for passing their health legislation. (Hackman, 6/13)