Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Plan Will 'Rip Healthcare Away From Millions Of Americans,' Democrats Say
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday slammed the GOP鈥檚 replacement plans for Obamacare, saying Democrats will work to defeat the bills.聽鈥淭his bill is a giveaway to the wealthy and insurance companies at the expense of American families, and Senate Democrats will work hard to see that it is defeated,鈥 Schumer said in a statement.聽Republicans rolled out two measures聽on Monday to repeal and replace the healthcare legislation, a signature campaign promise of President Trump. (Shelbourne, 3/6)
Democrats quickly condemned the bill. 鈥淭onight, Republicans revealed a Make America Sick Again bill that hands billionaires a massive new tax break while shifting huge costs and burdens onto working families across American,鈥 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted. 鈥淩epublican will force tens of millions of families to pay more for worse coverage 鈥 and push millions of Americans off of health coverage entirely.鈥 (Carey and Galewitz, 3/6)
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking Democrats on the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committee issued a joint statement saying the bill would "rip healthcare away from millions of Americans, ration care for working families and put insurance companies back in charge." (Kodjak and Neel, 3/6)
Long-awaited legislation announced Monday night to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act immediately raised cries of dismay among Democratic legislators and consumer health advocates in California. House Republicans in Washington, D.C., called it a necessary fix. The bill, part of President Donald Trump鈥檚 campaign promise to dump Obamacare, sparked fears from some that millions of Americans will lose health coverage. (Pugh, Daugherty, Buck and Caiola, 3/6)