Republicans Detest The Individual Mandate, But Other Options Aren’t Any More Palatable
Most health care economists believe lawmakers will be hard-pressed to come up with an effective and politically tolerable alternative to what has become the symbolic heart of the health law. “Carrots are expensive,” says Paul Van de Water, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Sticks are unpopular.” Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan reiterates that the plan to dismantle and replace the Affordable Care Act will be completed this year.
Politico:
GOP Boxed In Replacing Unpopular Obamacare Coverage Mandate
The most hated piece of Obamacare is the mandate requiring most Americans to get health insurance. The Republican alternatives on the table may not prove any more popular. As the GOP weighs elements of a repeal-replace plan, one of lawmakers' biggest headaches is finding another way to persuade insurers to cover people with pre-existing health care problems. And all of the options under discussion would either raise the uninsured population or run afoul of GOP principles. (Demko, 2/8)
The New York Times:
Issues Facing Republicans In Replacing Affordable Care Act
Ever since Democrats began pushing the Affordable Care Act through Congress more than seven years ago, Republicans have been trying to come up with an alternative. Candid conversations leaked from a conclave of Republican lawmakers in Philadelphia last month, and public comments since, show they are nowhere near agreement. (Pear, 2/7)
Reuters:
U.S. House Speaker Says Obamacare Replacement Will Pass This Year
The U.S. House of Representatives' Republican leader said on Tuesday that legislation to replace former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law would be completed this year, trying to dispel the idea that the party is retreating from its campaign promise to dismantle Obamacare quickly. (Cornwell, 2/7)
CNN:
Cruz, Sanders Face Off On Obamacare
Sen. Ted Cruz urged fellow Republicans Tuesday to quickly "honor the promises" the party made over the years to repeal Obamacare. "2010, 2014, 2016, I believe were a mandate from the voters. We're tired of the premiums going up. We're tired of deductibles going up," Cruz said at a CNN town hall debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders over the future of Obamacare. "Should Congress move swiftly to repeal Obamacare? Absolutely." Cruz and Sanders -- two senators with diametrically opposed views of government's role in health care -- faced off at the debate moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and featuring questions from an audience consisting of both defenders and critics of the Affordable Care Act. (Lee and Watkins, 2/8)
In other national health care news —
Bloomberg:
GOP Shrugs At Price’s Stock Trades In Bid To Confirm Trump Picks
Tom Price is on a glide path to win Senate confirmation later this week as Health and Human Services secretary, where he would lead President Donald Trump’s effort to undo Obamacare, even as Democrats insist he still needs to answer questions about his stock trades. Senate Republicans have brushed off concerns raised by Democrats that Price, a Republican representative from Georgia, purchased stock in a few health-care companies and may have been financially motivated to develop or vote in favor of legislation that would benefit those businesses. (Edney, 2/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Backs ‘Right To Try’ Law For Terminally Ill Patients
The White House is giving a big boost to proponents of a federal Right to Try law that they contend would give terminally ill patients easier access to medicines that haven’t won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Some supporters of the bill met Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence, and last week they won a supportive statement from President Donald Trump, who has been contending that too many FDA rules in general pose unnecessary hurdles to drug approval. (Burton, 2/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Biotech Executives Sign Letter Against Immigration Order
More than 150 biotechnology executives and venture capitalists have voiced opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration order, which they say threatens the U.S.’s thriving medical research industry. “If this misguided policy is not reversed, America is at risk of losing its leadership position in one of its most important sectors, one that will shape the world in the twenty-first century,” the executives wrote in a letter to the editor of Nature Biotechnology, a scientific journal, and published online on Tuesday. (Walker, 2/7)
McClatchy:
Americans More Worried About Health Care Cost Than Other Concerns
American families aren’t as worried about terrorism or crime as they are about paying their health care bills, a new poll suggests. Health care costs have emerged as the No. 1 concern for American families, according to a new national Monmouth University poll. Health care costs outranked a variety of other concerns that registered in the single digits, including college tuition and taxes. (Clark, 2/7)