Congress Returns To Grueling Schedule Including Two Health Care Hearings This Week
Governors and state insurance commissioners are expected to testify at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearings this week. The chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), has set an ambitious timeline for drafting legislation to shore up the health law marketplaces. Meanwhile, hard feelings over the failed replacement efforts may complicate future health policy discussions.
The Hill:
Week Ahead: Congress Returns To Take Up Bipartisan Health Care Effort
The Senate's Health Committee will hold two hearings in the coming week on a bipartisan healthcare bill, with testimony from governors and state insurance officials on Wednesday and Thursday, in addition to two more hearings the following week. The goal is to pass a bill by the end of the month to stabilize the insurance markets for 2018. (Hellmann, 9/5)
Politico:
Alexander Sets Ambitious Timetable For Obamacare Fixes
The chairman of the Senate health committee is aiming to break years of stalemate and pass a bipartisan Obamacare repair bill to try to stabilize health insurance markets in the remarkably short span of just three weeks. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) envisions a narrow bill that won't fix everything but would provide some assurances for insurers selling coverage next year. (Haberkorn, 9/1)
The Associated Press:
GOP Ability To Dismantle Health Law Expires At Month's End
Senate Republicans will soon run out of time to rely on their slim majority to dismantle the Obama health law. The Senate parliamentarian has determined that rules governing the effort will expire when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, according to independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. The rules allow Republicans to dismantle President Barack Obama's health care law with just 51 votes, avoiding a filibuster. (9/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Push On Bipartisan Health Proposal Signals Deeper Rift Between GOP, Trump
A number of Senate Republicans are gathering behind a bipartisan push to shore up the Affordable Care Act, reflecting a growing divide between President Donald Trump and many GOP senators. Republicans brushed off a call by Mr. Trump to continue working on a repeal of the 2010 health-care law after their bill to roll back and replace it failed by a single vote in the Senate in late July. Mr. Trump has called for letting the ACA implode on its own, and on Thursday the administration cut funding for ads and grants to encourage ACA sign-ups, a move that Democrats said would destabilize insurance markets. (Armour and Peterson, 9/1)
Politico:
Senate’s Obamacare Fixes Would Build On Heavy Lifting By States
While Congress was busy bickering over repealing the health law, officials in red and blue states worked frantically to soothe anxious insurers, tamp down rate increases and insulate their markets from the ceaseless chaos in Washington. The result is an Obamacare system that’s still vulnerable, but far from the “disaster” President Donald Trump and his top health officials describe. (Cancryn, 9/5)
Los Angeles Times:
As Some In Congress Look To Move Past The Obamacare Standoff, States Offer A More Bipartisan Model
With interest growing among congressional Republicans and Democrats in modifying the Affordable Care Act to bolster the nation’s health insurance markets, states are emerging as potential models for bipartisan cooperation. The political battling over the 2010 healthcare law, widely known as Obamacare, may not be over, especially with President Trump continuing to undermine the law. (Levey, 9/3)
Reuters:
Bad Blood Over Obamacare Fight Lingers As Congress Returns
When the U.S. Congress returns from summer vacation on Tuesday, for the first time in years gutting Obamacare will not be the main order of business on the healthcare agenda. But leftover hard feelings in the wake of the long, partisan Obamacare wars could poison other issues. (Drawbaugh and Lewis, 9/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Deadline Looms For Insurers To File Rate Proposals
A deadline for insurers to file 2018 prices for health insurance sold through Affordable Care Act exchanges arrives Tuesday, but state regulators are still struggling to make decisions about pricing and coverage amid uncertainty in federal health policy. The upshot is confusion in what is typically an orderly, regimented regulatory process for reviewing insurance offerings that will go on sale to consumers on Nov. 1. (Wilde Mathews, 9/4)