Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Looks For Way To Get Senate To Pass Obamacare Repeal
Senate Republicans are considering significant changes to their proposal to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood and will temporarily delay consideration of the measure to ensure it can pass the Senate. GOP leaders are even mulling removing the Planned Parenthood provision if it gets them closer to putting Obamacare repeal on the president鈥檚 desk. They need just a majority of votes to pass the legislation, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his team are being squeezed between moderates balking at the Planned Parenthood language and a trio of conservatives that say the Obamacare repeal language doesn鈥檛 go far enough. (Everett, 11/16)
Senate Republicans may abandon a plan to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood in hopes of maintaining the votes needed to force a veto fight with President Obama over repealing his signature health care law. GOP leaders are mulling what to do with a House passed reconciliation bill that would both defund the women鈥檚 health group and gut Obamacare by repealing both the employer mandate and a tax on high-end employer-sponsored health plans. The House passed the bill on a 240 to 189 vote in October. (Snell, 11/16)
Federal law-enforcement officials can resume a high-profile insider-trading investigation after a New York judge said Congress must cooperate with investigators looking into a possible leak of government health-care policy. In a decision announced Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission in much of the case and said a House committee and a former top aide must comply with many parts of a subpoena. (Mullins, 11/16)