House, Senate’s Negotiated Tax Package Includes Repeal Of Individual Mandate
The agreement will also allow taxpayers to continue to deduct high out-of-pocket medical expenses. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) tells reporters that he was confident the final bill would be approved next week.
The New York Times:
Republican Tax Bill In Final Sprint Across Finish Line
The day after suffering a political blow in the Alabama special Senate election, congressional Republicans sped forward with the most sweeping tax rewrite in decades, announcing an agreement on a final bill that would cut taxes for businesses and individuals and signal the party’s first major legislative achievement since assuming political control this year. ... In a break from the House bill, the agreement would allow taxpayers to continue to deduct high out-of-pocket medical expenses, and it would retain a provision allowing graduate students who receive tuition stipends to avoid paying taxes on that benefit. Also included in the consensus bill is the Senate’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act requirement that most Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty and a provision that opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to energy exploration. (Tankersley, Kaplan and Rappeport, 12/13)
Bloomberg:
GOP Tax Compromise Would Repeal Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
Republican lawmakers will overturn a key piece of the Affordable Care Act in their tax overhaul, a victory in a long GOP campaign against the health law. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the compromise tax bill from House and Senate negotiators will end the health law’s requirement that all individuals buy insurance or pay a fine. Doing so could jeopardize Obamacare’s already-shaky marketplaces, by reducing the number of healthier people who sign up for insurance. (Tracer and Rausch, 12/13)
Sacramento Bee:
What Will GOP Tax Plan Mean For Jerry Brown's 2018 Budget?
California receives more than $2 billion annually from CHIP to enroll about 1 million children in Medi-Cal. Palmer estimates that money will run out in January. Without federal support, which compromises at least two-thirds of the program’s funding, the state will have to find another way to pay for it. (Koseff, 12/13)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
Collins Confident Health Subsidies Will Be In Spending Bill
Funding for key ObamaCare insurer subsidies is likely to be included in the upcoming government funding bill, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Wednesday. Collins said she had received reassurances Tuesday from Vice President Pence that the subsidies, opposed by House conservatives, would be in the funding bill. (Weixel, 12/13)
The Washington Post:
Facing Senate Rejection, Controversial Pick To Head EPA Chemical Office Bows Out
Michael Dourson, whose nomination to become the Environmental Protection Agency’s top chemical safety official drew widespread criticism, withdrew from consideration Wednesday after it became clear the Senate probably would not confirm him. Dourson’s decision, which was confirmed by two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, prevents him from likely becoming the first Trump nominee rejected by the Senate. (Dennis and Eilperin, 12/13)
Stat:
‘Big Black Box Called PBMs’ Draws Attention From Lawmakers Trying To Solve Drug Prices
As lawmakers are puzzling over the question of why so many patients are paying so much money for prescription drugs — and what to do about it — Republicans are focusing increasing scrutiny on the middlemen: pharmacy benefit managers. “What I’m seeing, and what the public sees, is that we’ve got this big black box called PBMs,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Virginia Republican, at a Wednesday House subcommittee hearing. (Swetlitz, 12/13)
Stat:
Precision Medicine Is Rapidly Advancing. Precision Public Health Could Be Next
Rapid advances in personalized medicine have sparked interest in another new idea: precision public health. Essentially, it’s the thought that if doctors could pinpoint populations with genetic vulnerabilities — like those prone to obesity, depression, or cancer — they might be able to treat those diseases sooner, slow their progression, or even prevent them altogether. It could be a more effective preventive medicine tactic than the blanket approaches used right now (Thielking, 12/13)