‘The Senate Is Starting From Scratch’: Upper Chamber’s Version Of Health Bill Expected To Be Radically Different
House Republicans last week celebrated narrowly passing their health care plan, but lawmakers in the Senate say that version of the legislation has "zero" chance of passing their chamber.
Bloomberg:
Senate Republicans Plan Health Bill That Keeps Some Of Obamacare
Republican senators plan to write a health-care bill that could be radically different from the one passed last week by the House, including keeping some of the benefits and safeguards currently enshrined within Obamacare. The Senate’s different approach means there’s no clear timetable for producing a bill, and it likely ensures that President Donald Trump and House Republicans will eventually have to face legislation that doesn’t fully repeal the Affordable Care Act despite their repeated campaign promises to do it. (Strohm and Brody, 5/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Tackles Rewrite On GOP Health-Care Bill
Republican senators planned Friday to begin a formal full rewrite of the House GOP health-care bill, driven in part by a sense that the House version made insurance cheaper for young people but costlier for older Americans—an influential, mostly GOP voting bloc. Among the provisions senators are tackling is one that allows insurers to charge older Americans five times as much as younger people and lets states obtain waivers that could make that disparity even larger. (Armour and Peterson, 5/5)
The Washington Post:
As Some Republicans Rush To Defend House Health Bill, Senate GOP Warily Pauses
The Republican split screen on health care revealed the frothing debate within the party about how to gut aspects of the Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010 and whose demise has been promised by the Republican Party to its conservative base. (Costa and Wagner, 5/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Bernie Sanders Says GOP Health Care Bill Is 'Never Going To Pass' Senate
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday called the GOP-backed Obamacare repeal bill "one of the most disgusting pieces of legislation ever passed," and called it a "death sentence for thousands" of Americans who may not seek medical care when they get sick. (Mai-Duc, 5/7)
The Associated Press:
Trump Pushes Senate Republicans To Act On Health Care Bill
President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans on Sunday to "not let the American people down," as the contentious debate over overhauling the U.S. health care systems shifts to Congress' upper chamber, where a vote is potentially weeks, if not months, away. (Superville, 5/7)
The New York Times:
House Health Care Bill Is ‘Us Keeping Our Promises,’ Paul Ryan Says
Speaker Paul D. Ryan said on Sunday that criticism of the way the House passed its health care bill — no hearings were held on the final version, and it has yet to receive an evaluation from the Congressional Budget Office — was “kind of a bogus attack from the left.” “This is a rescue mission” as “Obamacare is collapsing,” Mr. Ryan said on ABC’s “This Week.” “This is a crisis. We are trying to prevent this crisis.” (Weiland, 5/7)
The New York Times:
Measure On Pre-Existing Conditions Energizes Opposition To Health Bill
From the moment the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a plan to overhaul the health care system, an onslaught of opposition to the bill has been focused on a single, compact term: pre-existing conditions. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee began running digital ads warning that the legislation would leave “no more protections” for people with a history of illness or injury. Pointing to the power that states could have to set the terms for insurers under the G.O.P. bill, Democratic leaders announced they would make pre-existing conditions an issue in every gubernatorial and state legislative race in the country. (Burns and Goodnough, 5/5)
The New York Times:
‘No District Is Off The Table’: Health Vote Could Put House In Play
In a suburban Chicago district, Kelly Mazeski, a breast cancer survivor, used the day of the vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act to announce her House candidacy, vowing to make Representative Peter Roskam pay for his vote “to make Americans pay more and get less for their health care.” In western New York, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul has stirred talk of a congressional race with her slashing criticism of Representative Chris Collins, who rallied fellow Republicans to vote for the health measure, then conceded in a national television interview that he had not read the bill. (Martin and Burns, 5/6)
The Washington Post:
‘Mail My Body To Paul Ryan’: An Extremely Morbid Way To Protest The GOP Health-Care Bill
Mailing human ash is not nearly as complicated as you might think. You basically just need some bubble wrap, a sturdy box and a special label, according the U.S. Postal Service’s handy guide. But why? ... Maybe you want a loved one’s ashes sealed inside blown glass. Or maybe (not in pamphlet) you want your own mortal remains shipped to one of the Republican House members who just passed a health-care bill widely expected to strip insurance from millions of people and hike medical costs — just in case that leads to your death. (Selk, 5/6)
The New York Times:
Fact Check: Rumors, Claims And Context On G.O.P. Health Bill
Rumors that the Republican health care bill counts rape, domestic violence and ulcers as uninsurable pre-existing conditions are circulating among opponents of the bill. But these claims are overly simplistic. (Qiu, 5/5)
The Associated Press Fact Check:
Are Pregnancy, Rape Pre-Existing Conditions?
Pregnancy, sexual assault and domestic violence could be considered "pre-existing conditions" that make it hard to keep insurance coverage under the Republican health care bill, according to a number of news articles and social media posts. The bill doesn't specifically refer to any of these things, and headlines suggesting that it does are misleading. (5/5)
The Associated Press:
Obama Urges Congress To Show 'Courage' On Health Care
Former President Barack Obama, in his first public comments about the ongoing debate over his signature health care plan, implored members of Congress on Sunday to demonstrate political courage even if it goes against their party's positions. Obama briefly returned to the spotlight as he accepted the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at JFK's presidential library in Boston. (5/7)