Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Both Sides Tailor Talking Points To Sway Justices
Leading House Republicans stopped short of endorsing a short-term extension of the health law鈥檚 tax credits if the Supreme Court voids them in much of the country. The three committee chairmen tasked with organizing the House GOP response to a decision this June said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that they want to retain a number of the law鈥檚 provisions if the court sides with plaintiffs in a case that will be heard Wednesday and could gut the law as it stands. (Radnofsky, 3/3)
Congressional Republicans sent a message Monday that they hope the Supreme Court and voters will hear: They have ideas to keep the country鈥檚 health care system from crumbling if the justices obliterate a bedrock feature of President Barack Obama鈥檚 heath care law. The plans 鈥 one set from three GOP House chairmen, another from three top Republican senators 鈥 were far from legislative proposals, lacked detail and left many unanswered questions. They were released in the run-up to Wednesday鈥檚 oral arguments before the Supreme Court in a case in which Republicans and conservatives are challenging federal subsidies that help millions of Americans afford health coverage under Obama鈥檚 2010 law. (3/2)
The effort is intended to make it easier for the court to strike down the subsidies, since Republicans believe the court is more likely to rule in their favor if it believes a plan is in place to limit the fallout. It鈥檚 the same reason Republicans have seized on statements from the White House and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell that officials have 鈥渘o plans鈥 in case of a plaintiff victory. 鈥淲hat Burwell does not have 鈥 any plan 鈥 Republicans do have,鈥 Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told The Hill on Monday. Senate Republicans have recently tried to unite their party around a fallback plan in which people could receive temporary government help to keep their subsidies. (Ferris, 3/3)
If the Supreme Court rules against the Obama administration in the latest legal challenge to Obamacare, a group of Republicans say they have a plan to prevent millions from losing their subsidized health care coverage. (Ehley, 3/2)
President Obama said his administration is not preparing a backup plan in case the Supreme Court rules against ObamaCare because he believes there is no 鈥減lausible legal basis鈥 for such a ruling. In his first public remarks on the high-stakes case, Obama stuck with his health secretary鈥檚 previous remarks that the administration is not concerned about how to protect the subsidies at the heart of his healthcare law. (Ferris, 3/2)