McConnell’s Gloomy Attitude Over Health Law Has Some Wondering If Larger Strategy Is At Play
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been downplaying the chances the Republicans' legislation has of passing the Senate. But some think his reserved comments might be all part of the game. In other news about the efforts: lawmakers begin to see a path they can take; a look at how the measure could affect middle- and working-class Americans; Twitter cheers on Sen. Claire McCaskill and more.
The Wall Street Journal:
McConnell’s Reserved Approach On Health Bill Leaves Lawmakers Guessing
Before he began clicking through a PowerPoint presentation on Republican health-care options this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a private warning to his Senate Republicans: If they failed to pass legislation unwinding the Affordable Care Act, Democrats could regain power and establish a single-payer health-care system. Mr. McConnell (R., Ky.) has been nearly as downcast in his public comments about Senate Republicans’ chances of passing sweeping legislation to overhaul the country’s health-care system. (Peterson, Armour and Radnofsky, 6/9)
The Associated Press:
GOP's Pursuit Of Health Care Overhaul Comes With Risks
Republicans are taking a big political risk on health care. They're trying to scale back major benefit programs being used by millions of people. And they're trying to do it even though much of the public is leery of drastic changes, and there's no support outside the GOP. It's not stopping them. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/12)
The Hill:
Senate GOP Sees Path To ObamaCare Repeal
A path is emerging for Senate Republicans to pass their ObamaCare repeal bill, even though there are major obstacles ahead. Critically, Senate moderates are indicating that they can agree to ending the additional federal funds for ObamaCare's expansion of Medicaid, albeit on a slower timetable than other Republicans want. A compromise on Medicaid funding would remove one of the biggest obstacles for the bill. (Sullivan, 6/11)
The New York Times:
Flexibility That A.C.A. Lent To Work Force Is Threatened By G.O.P. Plan
In recent years, millions of middle- and working-class Americans have moved from job to job, some staying with one company for shorter stints or shifting careers midstream. The Affordable Care Act has enabled many of those workers to get transitional coverage that provides a bridge to the next phase of their lives — a stopgap to get health insurance if they leave a job, are laid off, start a business or retire early. (Abelson, 6/11)
The Hill:
GOP Looks To Blunt Impact Of Health Bill On Older People
GOP senators are trying to strike a balance that’s proving difficult: lowering healthcare insurance premiums for young adults while shielding older people from massive price hikes. At issue is an ObamaCare provision that essentially caps how much insurers can charge older people for premiums. Republicans want to raise that cap, saying it vastly undercharges older people for their healthcare services, creating higher costs for younger, healthier adults. (Hellmann, 6/11)
Bloomberg:
Cruz Goes From ‘Lucifer’ To Dealmaker In Health-Care Overhaul
The first-term senator from Texas is seeking to unite warring wings of the Republican Party around an effort to kill Obamacare and is showing a new willingness to compromise with colleagues to devise a replacement plan. It’s a significant departure for the formerly obstructionist [Ted] Cruz, who lost the Republican presidential contest to Donald Trump and has long had icy relations with other lawmakers. Cruz once called Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar on the Senate floor, and former Republican House Speaker John Boehner once called Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh” and the most “miserable son of a bitch” he had ever worked with. His most notable legislative accomplishment so far has been to help force a shutdown of the government for 16 days in 2013 in an unsuccessful effort to strip funding from Obamacare. (Dennis, 6/12)
Kansas City Star:
Twitter Reacts To Claire McCaskill Tirade About GOP Health Plan
In a three-minute scolding during a Senate Finance Committee meeting, McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, dressed down committee chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, for what McCaskill called a legislative process even more partisan than what transpired during passage of the Affordable Care Act. ... By mid-morning Friday her remarks had triggered more than 12,000 retweets on Twitter. (Montgomery, 6/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate GOP Plans To Strip Planned Parenthood Funding In Health Bill
Senate Republicans plan to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood Federation of America and add several other abortion restrictions to their health-insurance overhaul bill, creating another potential concern for centrist GOP senators who are considering whether to back the legislation. Republican leaders believe they have the votes to keep the defunding measure in any final Senate bill, people familiar with the discussions said, though they still could remove it should that be the deciding factor in the bill’s passage. (Hackman, 6/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Opioid Crisis Complicates GOP’s Health-Law Push
The nation’s worsening opioid crisis has become another sticking point in Republican plans to dismantle major portions of the Affordable Care Act, with key GOP senators hesitating to support a bill that could threaten addiction treatment for millions of people. Several provisions of the ACA, also known as Obamacare, allowed millions of Americans seeking substance-abuse treatment to gain coverage, including through an expansion of the Medicaid health program for the poor. But the House bill repealing the ACA, passed in early May, would roll back that Medicaid expansion beginning in 2020 and allow insurance companies to charge some people with drug addictions higher premiums or deny them substance-abuse coverage. (Nunn, 6/11)