Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Conservatives Dig In On Complete Repeal, GOP Leaders Warily Eye Growing Intra-Party Divide
House Republicans are facing a major split on ObamaCare repeal that threatens to stall the effort. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus late Monday vowed to oppose any ObamaCare repeal bill that doesn鈥檛 go as far as what Congress passed in 2015.聽But the bill being pushed by the Freedom Caucus would repeal 颅颅ObamaCare鈥檚 expansion of Medicaid, an option that centrist Republicans are wary of supporting, particularly in the Senate. (Sullivan, 2/14)
Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman promised constituents that there would be no repeal of Obamacare without a replacement while others in his party are pressing for Congress to do the opposite. Coffman made the pledge while announcing a 鈥渓istening tour鈥 on the Affordable Care Act in his district. Coffman said he will hold meetings with members of the medical community, patients and constituents in order to discuss the issues and concerns. (Prater, 2/14)
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) spent Tuesday on a door-to-door tour of the Capitol in hopes of salvaging his plan to repeal and largely replace the Affordable Care Act by spring. The day-long blitz comes as Republicans in Congress have made virtually no visible progress in recent weeks on overhauling the health-care system, according to interviews with several senior GOP aides. (Snell and DeBonis, 2/14)
Conservatives have demanded a quick vote on erasing much of President Barack Obama's health care law, with some threatening to oppose less sweeping legislation. But House Republican leaders said they were working deliberatively as the party continued its struggle to find a replacement that could pass Congress. "This affects every person and every family in America," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Tuesday. "That's why we're taking a step-by-step approach." (Fram, 2/14)
One by one, Republican lawmakers stepped to the microphone and talked about the topic that was not consuming Washington on Tuesday morning: overhauling the health-care system. One committee chairman declared that Republican lawmakers were 鈥渨orking on solutions鈥 to replace and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Another chairman was more cautious, explaining that Republicans were 鈥渢aking our time鈥 to 鈥済et it right.鈥 House Speaker Paul D. Ryan spoke on each side of the issue, saying both that the health-care system is 鈥渃ollapsing鈥 and needs a 鈥渞escue,鈥 and promising a 鈥渟tep-by-step approach鈥 leading to a 鈥渟table transition.鈥 (Kane, 2/14)
The confirmation of Tom Price, the orthopedic surgeon-turned-Georgia congressman, as secretary of Health and Human Services represents the latest victory in the ascendancy of a little-known but powerful group of conservative physicians in Congress he belongs to 鈥 the GOP Doctors Caucus. During the Obama administration, the caucus regularly sought to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and it鈥檚 now expected to play a major role determining the Trump administration鈥檚 plans for replacement. (Galewitz, 2/15)