As Conservatives Dig In On Complete Repeal, GOP Leaders Warily Eye Growing Intra-Party Divide
The Freedom Caucus vows to block any legislation that doesn't go far enough. Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan is making the rounds to try to gin up support.
The Hill:
Rift In GOP Threatens ObamaCare Repeal
House Republicans are facing a major split on ObamaCare repeal that threatens to stall the effort. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus late Monday vowed to oppose any ObamaCare repeal bill that doesn’t go as far as what Congress passed in 2015. But the bill being pushed by the Freedom Caucus would repeal ObamaCare’s expansion of Medicaid, an option that centrist Republicans are wary of supporting, particularly in the Senate. (Sullivan, 2/14)
The Washington Post:
Ryan Faces Major Test In Selling Obamacare Repeal And Replacement
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) spent Tuesday on a door-to-door tour of the Capitol in hopes of salvaging his plan to repeal and largely replace the Affordable Care Act by spring. The day-long blitz comes as Republicans in Congress have made virtually no visible progress in recent weeks on overhauling the health-care system, according to interviews with several senior GOP aides. (Snell and DeBonis, 2/14)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Conservatives Want Fast Health Law Repeal, Leaders Cautious
Conservatives have demanded a quick vote on erasing much of President Barack Obama's health care law, with some threatening to oppose less sweeping legislation. But House Republican leaders said they were working deliberatively as the party continued its struggle to find a replacement that could pass Congress. "This affects every person and every family in America," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Tuesday. "That's why we're taking a step-by-step approach." (Fram, 2/14)
Politico:
GOP May Boost Medicaid Spending In Order To Slash The Program
Republicans determined to cut Medicaid may first have to pour more money into it, to keep the peace between Republican governors who expanded health care for low-income people under Obamacare and those who resisted. It’s all part of the GOP’s long-term plan to dramatically revamp the health care entitlement for the poor in order to cap what they see as runaway federal spending. (Haberkorn and Pradhan, 2/15)
Stat:
The Next Big Alzheimer's Trial Came Up A Dud
Merck pulled the plug on a closely watched trial in Alzheimer’s disease after finding out its in-development drug had no effect on patients with mild forms of the disorder. The drug, verubecestat, showed “virtually no chance” of meeting its goal in a 2,200-patient study, Merck said. The trial was meant to read out later this year, but Merck, on the advice of its independent data monitors, pulled the plug early. (Garde, 2/14)
The Washington Post:
CDC Reports More Progress Against HIV, But Gay Latinos Contracted More Infections
The government reported more evidence of progress against HIV on Tuesday, citing an 18 percent decline in the number of U.S. infections between 2008 and 2014 and even sharper drops among heterosexuals and people who inject drugs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the estimated number of infections fell from 45,700 in 2008 to 37,600 in 2014, after remaining at roughly the same level for more than a decade. Heterosexuals saw a 36 percent decline in HIV diagnoses during the same period, and intravenous-drug users experienced a 56 percent drop despite a burgeoning opioid epidemic. (Bernstein, 2/14)