Trump Pledges His Health Care Plan Will Provide ‘Much Better’ Insurance For ‘Everyone’
But the incoming president offered no further details on what that would look like. Meanwhile, Congress has scored an early victory with the budget vote, but now it will face pressure to deliver on its promises.
The Washington Post:
Trump Vows ‘Insurance For Everybody’ In Obamacare Replacement Plan
President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. (Costa and Goldstein, 1/15)
San Jose Mercury News:
Obamacare Repeal: Could Trump's 'Insurance For Everybody' Work?
The news left many California health care experts perplexed. “I’ve yet to see the unicorn Trump promised, and I doubt it exists, but I would be overjoyed to welcome it to America,” said Jill Horwitz, a law professor and health policy expert at UCLA. She defined the unicorn — according to what Trump has suggested he’d like to see — as universal coverage, low deductibles, insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, and no mandates, among other hints. (Seipel, 1/16)
The Associated Press:
Early Win On Budget Pressures GOP To Deliver On Health Care
Republicans have won a gateway victory in Congress in their seven-year trek toward scuttling President Barack Obama's health care law. Now with Donald Trump a week from taking the presidential oath, achieving that goal is possible, but the pressure is on for them to deliver a final product. (1/14)
Politico:
Trump, Price And Hill GOP At Odds On Obamacare
Donald Trump and his pick to lead the Obamacare repeal effort, Rep. Tom Price, share a vision that the current health care system needs to be completely uprooted. But the two men have articulated wildly divergent visions for what comes next — and that's making it hard for Hill Republicans to figure out where to start on a coherent replacement plan once Obamacare is gone. (Everett and Haberkorn, 1/16)
The New York Times:
‘Repeal And Replace’: Words Still Hanging Over G.O.P.’s Health Care Strategy
In March 2010, on the day before President Obama was to sign the Affordable Care Act into law, a group of senior Republican aides huddled in Senator Mitch McConnell’s Capitol suite to try to come up with a catchy slogan to use against it. Many conservatives were simply advocating a vow to repeal the new law, but Republican strategists worried that pressing for repeal without an alternative could backfire. So they batted around a few ideas before Josh Holmes, then a top communications adviser to Mr. McConnell, tossed out the nicely alliterative phrase “repeal and replace.” (Huse, 1/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Chief Senate Parliamentarian Will Play Crucial Role In Health Care Legislation
Late last year, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) told a group of senior GOP lawmakers that the person they needed to watch in the Senate in 2017 was Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Warren?” one lawmaker asked. “No,” Mr. Ryan replied, according to a lawmaker in the room, “Elizabeth, the Senate parliamentarian.” Elizabeth MacDonough, the sixth person and first woman to hold the title of chief Senate parliamentarian, will play a crucial role in determining what can be included in legislation enabling the Senate to roll back major parts of the Affordable Care Act with just a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually needed. (Peterson, 1/16)
The Associated Press:
IRS Letters Warn Millions About Health Insurance Penalty
If you haven't signed up for health insurance, you may soon be getting a not-too-subtle nudge from the taxman. The IRS is sending personalized letters to millions of taxpayers who might be uninsured, reminding them that they could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in fines under the federal health care law if they don't sign up soon through HealthCare.gov. It's an unusual role for a revenue-collection agency. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/14)
And in other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Trump Health Secretary Pick’s Longtime Foes: Big Government And Insurance Companies
The assuredness that defined Mr. Price as a surgeon has carried into his political career. He has always listened politely to other viewpoints but never swerved from his policy mission to protect his former profession from what he views as heavy-handed government intrusion. Many who knew Mr. Price as a doctor here in Atlanta’s affluent northern suburbs praise his commitment to his patients. But his legislative record shows that over eight years in the Georgia Senate and 12 years in Congress, he has advocated at least as much for physician groups and health care companies — seeking to limit damages in malpractice cases, for instance, and voting against legislation that would have required the government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. (Goodnough, 1/16)
Reuters:
Trump Team Defends Health Pick Tom Price Over Ethics Charge
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team defended his nominee for health and human services (HHS) secretary, Tom Price, from charges that he bought shares in a company days before introducing legislation that would have benefited the firm. A Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday for Price, a Republican congressman from Georgia who, if confirmed, would be a lead agent in carrying out Trump's plans to overhaul President Barack Obama's signature health care law. (Holland, 1/17)
Politico:
Ryan And Trump Set For Medicare Showdown
Since the election, Paul Ryan has accommodated and deferred to Donald Trump on all sorts of issues they don’t see eye-to-eye on. But when it comes to Ryan’s career-defining cause — overhauling Medicare and other entitlements — the speaker has held his ground. The clashing philosophies between the GOP's two top pols — Trump once called Ryan's doctrine "political suicide" — is about to come to a head. Left unresolved, it threatens to sink tax reform, a top priority for both men. (Bade, 1/17)
The Washington Post:
The United States Already Has A Vaccine Safety Commission. And It Works Really Well, Experts Say.
This week, President-elect Donald Trump met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading proponent of a scientifically discredited conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism. Afterward, Kennedy said that he and Trump had discussed creating a commission on vaccines, which Kennedy would chair. The United States already has a commission on vaccines. A top U.S. public health official said Friday that it relies on an array of medical, scientific and community experts to set policy on vaccines, and does so in an open and deliberative process. (Sun, 1/13)
The New York Times:
Physician Aid In Dying Gains Acceptance In The U.S.
Historically, aid in dying has generated fierce resistance from the Catholic Church, from certain disability-rights activists, and from others who cite religious or moral objections. Even the terminology — aid in dying? assisted suicide? death with dignity? — creates controversy. But the concept has long drawn broad support in public opinion polls. (Span, 1/16)