In Marathon Sessions, GOP Health Plan Gets The Nod Of Two House Committees

The Washington Post: Obamacare Revision Clears Two House Committees As Trump, Others Tried To Tamp Down Backlash
The GOP proposal cleared the Ways and Means and the Energy and Commerce committees on party-line votes after marathon sessions that lasted through Wednesday night and into Thursday. It now heads to yet another panel, the Budget Committee, and it remains on track to land on the House floor by month’s end. But the proposal faces challenges with both GOP conservatives and moderates, in addition to Democrats, many of whom questioned the lightning-fast process and raised dueling qualms about its policy provisions. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to echo a Democratic attack on the House legislation, saying lawmakers need to see the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate of how the bill will affect the federal deficit and the number of insured Americans. (DeBonis, Sullivan and Snell, 3/9)

Politico: Ryan Planning More Health Care Votes Alongside Repeal Effort
House Republicans will vote on a second health care bill the week they vote to repeal Obamacare, Speaker Paul Ryan told Sean Hannity on Thursday afternoon. The Wisconsin Republican did not divulge many details about the legislation, though he said it would likely allow people to purchase insurance through association health plans. Such a proposal has always been part of the GOP alternative, Ryan told Hannity, but Senate rules bar leadership from including it in their fast-tracked repeal bill. (Bade, 3/9)

NPR: House Speaker Paul Ryan Sells Health Care Bill As 'Once-In-A-Lifetime' Chance
"This is the chance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said the speaker, roving the stage with a wireless mic, gesturing at both the audience in front of him and the PowerPoint presentation behind him. TED Talk? Late-night infomercial? Nope — it was House Speaker Paul Ryan, making a hard pitch for his health care plan after a week of loud conservative criticism. (Detrow, 3/9)

Unifying conservatives behind the proposal remains a sticking point for its future —

The Wall Street Journal: House GOP Leaders Surprised By Conservative Opposition To Health Plan
Rep. Mark Meadows, who leads a group of conservative House lawmakers, was home in North Carolina about two weeks ago when he learned details of the emerging Republican health-care plan. Mr. Meadows jumped in the car and drove back to Washington, where he said he warned White House officials he couldn’t support the bill being pushed by House Speaker Paul Ryan. (Armour, Hughes and Peterson, 3/9)

CNN: In Major Shift, White House Privately Backing Earlier Rollback Of Medicaid Expansion
The White House is privately lining up behind conservative calls to roll back Obamacare's Medicaid expansion sooner than the health care reform bill currently calls for, two senior administration officials and a senior House conservative aide told CNN on Thursday. White House officials are beginning to urge House GOP leadership to include an earlier sunset of the Medicaid expansion funds authorized under Obamacare than the 2020 date set by the current bill. The change comes just days after the bill was unveiled and follows a blitz of activism aimed squarely at the White House and President Donald Trump, who has met with conservative leaders in recent days. (Diamond, 3/9)

USA Today: Republican Leaders Warn That Changing Health Care Bill Would Doom It In Senate
House Republican leaders warned their members Thursday that any major changes to the proposed GOP health care bill will prevent its passage in the Senate and kill their best shot at ending Obamacare. Those warnings came as both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee approved the GOP's American Health Care Act on Thursday without significant amendments after marathon debates. (Kelly, 3/9)

The White House spotlight focuses on the role President Donald Trump will play in the upcoming policy battle —

The New York Times: After Halting Start, Trump Plunges Into Effort To Repeal Health Law
President Trump, after a halting start, is now marshaling the full power of his office to win over holdout conservatives and waffling senators to support the House Republicans’ replacement for the Affordable Care Act. There are East Room meetings, evening dinners and sumptuous lunches — even a White House bowling soiree. Mr. Trump is deploying the salesman tactics he sharpened over several decades in New York real estate. His pitch: He is fully behind the bill to scotch President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement, but he is open to negotiations on the details. (Haberman and Pear, 3/9)

Los Angeles Times: He Might Not Call It 'Trumpcare,' But The President Will Likely Own Any Obamacare Replacement
Trump and his advisors have yet to utter the term “Trumpcare,” and some still doubt his commitment to the latest congressional plan to alter President Obama’s signature healthcare law. But there’s little question that the outcome of the healthcare debate will play a major role in defining Trump’s first term in office, affecting his ability to deliver on other priorities such as a $1-trillion plan to rebuild public works, a multibillion-dollar border wall and a daunting challenge to rewrite the tax code. (Bierman and Mascaro, 3/9)

From Medicaid to mental health services, news outlets continue to examine how programs would be impacted by the GOP bill —

The Washington Post: GOP Health-Care Bill Would Drop Addiction Treatment Mandate Covering 1.3 Million Americans
The Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act would strip away what advocates say is essential coverage for drug addiction treatment as the number of people dying from opiate overdoses is skyrocketing nationwide. Beginning in 2020, the plan would eliminate an Affordable Care Act requirement that Medicaid cover basic mental-health and addiction services in states that expanded it, allowing them to decide whether to include those benefits in Medicaid plans. (Zezima and Ingraham, 3/9)

The Associated Press: Women's Health Services Face Cuts In Republican Bill
Women seeking abortions and some basic health services, including prenatal care, contraception and cancer screenings, would face restrictions and struggle to pay for some of that medical care under the House Republicans' proposed bill. The legislation, which would replace much of former President Barack Obama's health law, was approved by two House committees on Thursday. Republicans are hoping to move quickly to pass it, despite unified opposition from Democrats, criticism from some conservatives who don't think it goes far enough and several health groups who fear millions of Americans would lose coverage and benefits. (Jalonick, 3/9)

NewsHour: Medicaid Cuts Are ‘Going To Affect Everyone,’ Insurance CEO Says
Dr. Mario Molina of Molina Healthcare, an insurance executive whose business is focused on Medicaid patients, is concerned about the way the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will not only affect patients on Medicaid, but cause major economic ripples for states and the health care system. Molina joins William Brangham to discuss what he sees as at stake. (3/9)