Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Friction In Republican Party Over Health Care Sparks Into Flames At Town Halls
After nearly two hours of fielding mostly health-care questions from hundreds of rowdy constituents at a full auditorium here this week, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman threw up his arms in frustration.聽鈥淭hose of you on the extreme left will never be satisfied,鈥 he told the group of about 500 people assembled at a town hall here at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The crowd erupted in boos. (Andrews and Peterson, 4/14)
Inside a government building here, far-right Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) scolded his party鈥檚 leaders for rolling out an 鈥渋ll-advised鈥 health-care bill and blamed House Speaker Paul D. Ryan for the ensuing debacle.聽The next evening on a college campus nestled in the Rocky Mountains, moderate Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) held the House Freedom Caucus 鈥 to which Yoho belongs 鈥 culpable for the legislation鈥檚 defeat. (Sullivan and Snell, 4/15)
Republican congressman Greg Walden found a hostile audience when he hosted a town hall in his Oregon home town last week.聽Roughly 800 people turned out to confront the 10-term congressman on issues like health care, immigration, the environment and Syria. Walden is a magnet for questions about health care because he is a lead author of the stalled House Republican health care bill. (Fram, 4/17)
The Fact Checker has been receiving lots of fact-check suggestions from readers who attended district town halls, in response to our new initiative to fact-check what members of Congress tell constituents during the April recess.聽Not surprisingly, some of the most heated exchanges at many of the town halls involved health care and the failed GOP replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. (Lee, 4/17)
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's rejuvenated health care push is throwing a wrench in congressional plans聽鈥
President Donald Trump鈥檚 revived enthusiasm for tackling health-care legislation before tax policy has highlighted the complicated interplay between Republicans鈥 health-care overhaul and their planned tax bill.聽Mr. Trump signaled last week that one of the reasons he has reprioritized health care is that he was relying on savings from the health bill to bolster the tax plan. (Rubin, 4/16)
President Trump is warning he may try to withhold $7 billion in health care subsidy payments until Democrats agree to negotiate an Obamacare replacement bill. Local observers, though, say that could be disastrous to people who depend on that aid. (Zdechlik, 4/17)
