Almost No Health Players Back Repeal-And-Delay Plan, But GOP Remains Resolute
No major industry executives, patients and doctors groups nor insurers who have been vocal opponents of the health law are voicing support for the Republicans' strategy. On the contrary, most warn that it will be disastrous. Meanwhile, to save the insurance market from collapsing amid uncertainty, Republicans may have to rely on the "bailouts" they so hated during the Obama administration.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump And The GOP Are Charging Forward With Obamacare Repeal, But Few Are Eager To Follow
As they race to repeal large parts of the Affordable Care Act, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are leaving behind nearly everyone but their base voters and a handful of conservative activists. Not a single major organization representing patients, physicians, hospitals or others who work in the nation’s healthcare system backs the GOP’s Obamacare strategy. New polls also show far more Americans would like to expand or keep the healthcare law, rather than repeal it. (Levey, 12/12)
Politico:
GOP Will Kill Obamacare … And Then Fund It
Republicans are going to kill Obamacare — but first they might have to save it. The already fragile Obamacare markets — beset by soaring premiums and fleeing insurers — are likely to collapse unless Republicans take deliberate steps to stabilize them while they build consensus on a replacement plan, say health care experts. That could lead to a mess for the roughly 10 million Americans currently getting coverage through the government-run marketplaces — and backlash against the GOP. (Demko, 12/9)
In other national health care news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Insurers Step Up Lobbying With An Eye To Health-Law Changes
Health insurers are bracing for rapid changes to the Affordable Care Act, preparing contingency plans for their business and readying a full-court lobbying press as Congress looks to overturn swaths of the law as soon as January. Republican leaders in the House and Senate have promised quick action on the health law. They have said that much of the dismantling—and replacement—could take effect after a transition period of as long as a few years. (Wilde Mathews and Radnofsky, 12/11)
The Washington Post:
New Push To Replace Obamacare Reignites Old GOP Tensions
Republicans on Capitol Hill are already laying the groundwork for a rapid repeal of President Obama’s signature health-care law beginning on the first day of the new Congress, before President-elect Donald Trump is even sworn in. But the urgent efforts to make good on a Republican campaign promise six years in the making obscure major GOP divisions over what exactly to replace Obamacare with and how to go about it, and how long a transition period to allow before the law’s insurance would go away. (DeBonis and Snell, 12/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Opioid Epidemic Is An Immediate Test For Donald Trump’s Administration
Donald Trump’s plans to tackle the opioid crisis are taking on new urgency as deaths from the drugs are rising sharply in the U.S. The number of deaths from heroin overdoses surged by 23% to 12,990 in 2015, while fatal overdoses from powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl rose by more than 73% to 9,580, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. (Adamy, 12/9)
The New York Times:
Wary Drug Makers Move To Fend Off Further Attacks Under Donald Trump
If the nation’s pharmaceutical executives thought Donald J. Trump would grant them a reprieve from scrutiny over high drug prices, he made them reconsider that idea in the last few days. “I’m going to bring down drug prices,” he told Time magazine in an interview published on Wednesday. “I don’t like what’s happened with drug prices.” ... But unlike those other companies, many drug makers have already been taking steps in recent weeks to insulate themselves from future attacks. (Thomas, 12/9)
The New York Times:
Abortion Foes, Emboldened By Trump, Promise ‘Onslaught’ Of Tough Restrictions
Christina Hagan, the youngest woman in the Ohio Legislature, received a surprise last week. The toughest piece of abortion legislation in the country — a bill she had championed for years — suddenly passed. The measure, which would ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks, was long presumed dead. But now that Donald J. Trump is headed to the White House, the political winds have changed, and it passed with overwhelming majorities. (Tavernise and Stolberg, 12/11)