Senate Republicans Reluctant To Tinker With Medicare, Despite House GOP’s Eagerness
Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan dismisses Democrats' attacks over his vision for overhauling the program as "MediScare politics."
Politico:
GOP's Medicare Plans Run Into Wall In The Senate
The GOP’s dream of privatizing parts of Medicare is running up against resistance among Senate Republicans. Interviews with more than a dozen GOP lawmakers reveal they’re not planning to pursue big changes to the popular health care program for seniors — at least not in the first year of the Trump administration. That hesitation starts with the chairman who would lead any overhaul in the Senate. (Haberkorn and Cancryn, 12/2)
In other national health care news —
Bloomberg:
GOP’s Delayed-Repeal Obamacare Strategy Faces Major Obstacles
Republicans are coalescing around a plan to quickly pass next year a delayed repeal of Obamacare to give them two or three years to craft an alternative. But that plan, designed to create a “cliff” that according to lawmakers and aides would push Congress to get its act together, comes with significant perils. “We’re going to begin immediately to repeal Obamacare and reconciliation is the only way to do it. And I believe we will have 51 Republican senators or 52 to vote for that,” Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who chairs the health committee, told reporters Thursday. (Kapur, 12/1)
Stat:
Drug Makers Are Getting Ready To Shape Trumpcare
The upcoming fight over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act promises to shake up hospitals and insurers, but drug makers also stand to gain — or lose — a lot. On the upside, congressional Republicans have already signaled that they plan to roll back billions of dollars in fees the law imposed on the industry. But drug makers also risk losing millions of new customers who became insured under the health care law. And if President-elect Donald Trump and Congress decide they need to cover the full cost of whatever they propose to replace the law, they might turn to drug companies to pay up. (Scott, 12/2)
Reuters:
Pharma Execs Weigh In On Possible Changes Under Trump
Top executives from large U.S. drugmakers on Thursday discussed for the first time possible changes for the industry under President-elect Donald Trump, and issues that have damaged the reputation of their industry. (Pierson, Berkrot and Humer, 12/1)