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REPUBLICANS HESITATE TO FOLLOW TRUMP INTO THE OBAMACARE BREACH: Republicans are waiting for the Trump administration to take the lead on a replacement plan for Obamacare after President Trump promised the public they would see a plan that would be “far better” than current law if the courts agree with his position that Obamacare should be thrown out.
Roy Blunt of Missouri, the fourth-ranking Senate Republican and the party’s chief policymaker, told the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker that there have been no internal discussions on healthcare and emphasized there are no plans to develop alternatives to Obamacare absent clear direction from Trump. “We’ll be eager to see the president’s proposal,” Blunt, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said Wednesday.
“I’m anxious to see what the White House is going to recommend in terms of a healthcare delivery system that looks like somebody designed the damn thing on purpose,” added Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. Asked if Trump or his deputies have assured Republicans that the administration will provide congressional Republicans with a blueprint, Kennedy conceded they have not. “I’m assuming they will.”
Later in the day, Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence‘s chief of staff, said the Department of Health and Human Services will release a plan to replace Obamacare in the coming months, though he was short on details.
“The administration will continue to come forward with more free-market reforms that we think will continue to lower the price of healthcare,” Short said on MSNBC. He added that Trump would only support legislation that included protections for pre-existing conditions, as Obamacare does.
The administration and Republicans have some time to deliberate, as the case is making its way through the courts. But the GOP has over the course of nine years been unable to coalesce behind an alternative. Republicans had been looking forward to finding bipartisan consensus on other issues, such as drug pricing and surprise medical bills. Privately, Republicans are far more frustrated with Trump than they are admitting, Drucker reports.
“We won’t know for months and … it could go well into next year,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters of the court proceedings. He vowed Republicans would “protect pre-existing conditions.” “We’re going to be involved in healthcare,” he continued. “Most of it’s going to be very, very bipartisan.”
In floor remarks Wednesday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tried to steer the debate back toward Democrats’ “Medicare for All” push, making no mention of Trump’s latest push to do away with Obamacare.
“Democrats are pushing a ‘Medicare for None’ scheme that would make it unlawful to provide the private health insurance policies that American families rely on and force everyone into a brand new government scheme designed here in D.C.,” McConnell said.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS: A federal judge blocked Arkansas and Kentucky from requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to work or train for work as a condition of staying enrolled in the program. The ruling was issued Wednesday by Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. The decision may be appealed and eventually make it to the Supreme Court.
Boasberg concluded that the Trump administration should have considered whether the rules “would be likely to cause recipients to lose coverage and whether it would cause others to gain coverage.” “He did neither,” Boasberg wrote of HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
Arkansas response is coming today: Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be responding to the ruling at 11 a.m. central time. Watch live.
SCHUMER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO BLOCK DOJ FROM SUPPORTING OBAMACARE LAWSUIT: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday introduced an amendment to an unrelated appropriations bill that would prohibit the Department of Justice from using funding to litigate against Obamacare. GOP leaders would have to allow the amendment to come up for a vote in order to have members vote on it and see where they stand on the lawsuit.
KEVIN McCARTHY SAID TRUMP’S PLAN TO TOSS OUT OBAMACARE MADE NO SENSE: REPORT: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Trump in a recent phone call that the administration’s decision Monday night to ask an appeals court to remove all of Obamacare makes no sense, according to sources reported by Axios.
A DOZEN OBAMACARE AND DRUG PRICING BILLS MOVE OUT OF HOUSE COMMITTEE: The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee on Wednesday advanced measures to shore up Obamacare and to increase generic drug competition.
Mysteriously missing from the mix: A bill to restore the cost-sharing reduction subsidies Trump ended, which help low-income people pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. The discrepancy was noticed by healthcare policy blogger Andrew Sprung.
MARCO RUBIO VOWS TO ‘PREACH THE GOSPEL’ TO GOP ON PAID FAMILY LEAVE: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., plans to push more Republicans to support paid parental leave, a policy that has traditionally been a Democratic priority. “We are hoping that we can continue to work to preach the gospel of paid family leave within our own party and sort of reframe the orthodoxy that has dominated this issue,” Rubio said at a press conference Wednesday as he rolled out a retooled version of his parental leave bill, the New Parents Act. The legislation lets new parents receive Social Security early to pay for up to three months of leave in exchange for delaying retirement.
More Republicans have joined Rubio in the mission already. The newest co-sponsor, who stood beside Rubio on Wednesday, was Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, were also present to introduce the House version of the bill.
How the bill has changed since last year: The latest version of the New Parents Act has been changed slightly to have the option not just to delay retirement by between three to six months per child, but also alternatively to receive less in Social Security for the first five years of retirement, or to pay back the amount at a later time. The previous version, the Economic Security for New Parents Act, included only the first option.
How it differs from the Ernst-Lee proposal: GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Joni Ernst of Iowa introduced a similar bill earlier this month. The Rubio bill lets parents choose to go back to work part-time and allows them to transfer the leave time with their partners. Wagner said the intention was to give parents flexibility to decide what was best for them and to be able to work with their employers on a schedule.
ORGANIZATION SUES TO OPEN ABORTION CLINIC IN PETE BUTTIGIEG’S SOUTH BEND: Whole Woman’s Health Alliance has filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday arguing the laws in Indiana governing abortion clinic licensing are vague and are burdensome on those seeking abortion access. In August 2017, WWHA applied for a license to open an abortion clinic in South Bend, where Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.They were denied the request for withholding information from the health department.
ONLY FOUR STATE EXCHANGES OFFERED PRIVATE PLANS TO COVER ADDICTION TREATMENT IN 2017: REPORT: All state exchanges but four featured private plans that neglected to adhere to the Affordable Care Act’s requirements to cover substance abuse disorder treatment in 2017. The ACA requires that plans on state exchanges cover affordable addiction treatment options in the same way they cover chronic illness including cancer and diabetes. Lead author of the study, Lindsey Vuolo calls these plans “discriminatory” in their lack of comprehensive coverage of all addiction treatments.
NEW JERSEY JURY FINDS JOHNSON & JOHNSON NOT LIABLE IN TALC CANCER TRIAL: A New Jersey jury on Wednesday cleared Johnson & Johnson of liability in a lawsuit brought by a man who said that asbestos in the company’s talcum powder products caused his mesothelioma. The jury returned its verdict in favor of the company after just half an hour of deliberations. The healthcare conglomerate to date has faced 12 trials by plaintiffs claiming asbestos in talc caused their mesothelioma, and has been cleared of liability in four trials, with another five resulting in hung juries and mistrials.
ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL FAILS IN MARYLAND: A bill that would have legalized medically-assited suicide failed to pass in Maryland Wednesday in a tie vote in the State Senate. Named the End of Life Options Act, the bill had already failed three times in recent years, but recently gained momentum in the General Assembly. It would have allowed patients with six or fewer months to live to be given prescription medication to take to end their lives. The vote was 23-23, as Sen. Obie Patterson, a Democrat, abstained from the vote.
NEW YORK COUNTY BANS UNVACCINATED KIDS FROM PUBLIC SPACES AMID MEASLES OUTBREAK: Rockland County, a suburban county north of New York City, declared a state of emergency, banning anyone under the age of 18 who is not vaccinated from public areas for 30 days or until they receive the MMR vaccination. There have been 153 confirmed cases of measles in Rockland County as of Tuesday.
LA COUNTY PASSES LIMITS ON PUBLIC VAPING: Existing smoking bans in Los Angeles County will now apply to e-cigarettes as well as marijuana. The measure passed Wednesday clarifies that vaping and cannabis use will be illegal in the same locations where smoking tobacco is prohibited.
The Rundown
HuffPost Progressives support shoring up ACA before tackling Medicare for all
The Wall Street Journal Centene to buy WellCare for around $15.3 billion
The Roanoke Times Drugmakers’ coupons to count toward deductibles
Kaiser Health News Health officials’ plug for next FDA chief: go big on e-cig regulation
Steamboat Pilot & Today LGBTQ people face lack of healthcare in Routt County
The Star-Ledger Legal weed in N.J. failed. But Murphy says he will soon expand medical marijuana to as many as 200K patients.
Calendar
THURSDAY | March 28
House and Senate in session.
March 26-29. St. Louis. National Association of County and City Health Officials preparedness summit. Details.
March 27-28. Washington Hilton. Health Datapalooza. Agenda.
10:30 a.m. 138 Dirksen. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to testify on President Trump’s budget request. Details.
Noon. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Heritage Foundation event on “The Medical Harms of Hormonal and Surgical Interventions for Gender Dysphoric Children.” Details.
TUESDAY | April 2
Time and location TBD. House Education and Labor Committee Health Subcommittee to hold hearing on surprise medical bills.
WEDNESDAY | April 3
9 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave NW. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., discusses paid family leave with the American Enterprise Institute. Details.
