A Top House Republican Doesn’t Concede Defeat On Health Law Repeal
Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said that getting rid of the health law and tackling Medicaid regulations would be top priorities for the coming year. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has called on Congress to fully re-fund the CHIP program, saying that the lawmakers' short-term solution isn't good enough.
The Hill:
House GOP Whip: Entitlement Reform, ObamaCare Repeal On 2018 Agenda
ObamaCare repeal and entitlement reform are at the top of the agenda for House Republicans in 2018, Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday. "The next big thing you're going to see is a need for workers, and I think the next thing we can do is to go and reform those welfare programs that are trapping people in a failed welfare state," Scalise said on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning. (Hellmann, 1/2)
The Hill:
Conservative Groups Push For 2018 Repeal Of ObamaCare
Conservative groups are pushing President Trump to make ObamaCare repeal a priority in 2018, even as some Republicans signal a desire to move on from the issue. A letter to Trump signed by 43 right-leaning groups calls for health-care reform to be the focus of the fast-track process known as reconciliation this year. Using that process would allow Republicans to repeal ObamaCare in the Senate without Democratic votes, but it would also preclude them from using the tool for other priorities like welfare reform. (Sullivan, 1/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Congress Faces Long To-Do List, Short Deadlines
At the end of 2017, Congress punted the long-term resolution of a number of thorny issues into this year. Here’s a rundown of what lawmakers will need to hammer out in early 2018. ... While lawmakers broadly support a five-year reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, they have yet to decide how to pay for it. In its latest short-term spending bill, Congress made $2.85 billion available to shore up states’ funding for the program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have indicated that should be enough to get states through the end of January or early February, a House GOP aide said. But states have signaled they need more certainty. (Peterson, 1/3)
The Hill:
Clinton: Short-Term CHIP Extension 'Doesn't Cut It'
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called on Senate Republicans to bring a full extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program to the floor for a vote. “This alleged extension until March doesn’t cut it as states freeze enrollment & send out letters warning that coverage will end,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee tweeted. (Weixel, 1/2)
KPBS:
Advocates Urge Congress To Provide Long-Term Funding For Children's Health Insurance Program
CHIP provides health insurance to 1.4 million California kids, and nine million nationwide. CHIP funding expired last September, but Congress funded the program for three more months right before the holidays. (Goldberg, 1/2)
In other news from Congress —
CQ:
Hatch's Exit Will Influence Health Policy Debates
The news that Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah would retire after this year resonated in health policy circles Tuesday. Hatch’s decades-long influence over health issues is hard to overstate. In the near term, Hatch will oversee a long-term renewal of financing for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which he and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., created in 1997. The politically popular program extended coverage to the children of poor families who didn’t qualify for Medicaid, the program for the poor. CHIP was reauthorized multiple times over the last two decades, and Hatch is currently trying to extend the program’s financing for another five years. (Siddons, 1/2)
Stat:
In Orrin Hatch's Retirement, Pharma Loses Chief Congressional Ally
Drug makers are about to lose a key ally in Washington. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a longtime advocate for the drug industry, announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of his term this year. Across a four-decades-long career in the Senate, Hatch used influential positions atop the Finance Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Judiciary Committee to advance the industry’s major policy priorities. (Mershon, 1/2)