Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Wake Of Loss, Some See Window Of Opportunity For Bipartisan Path Forward
The sudden death of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act has created an opening for voices from both parties to press for fixes to the acknowledged problems in President Barack Obama’s signature health law, as lawmakers and some senior White House officials appealed for bipartisanship. But the White House, still smarting from a disastrous defeat on Friday, appeared uncertain on the path forward. President Trump predicted that “Obamacare will explode” and offered no plan to stop it, but his was not the only voice from the White House. (Pear and Shear, 3/26)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) on Sunday said healthcare reform must be both bipartisan and sustainable. “In order to reform healthcare in this country, we’re going to have to do it in a durable, sustainable way and in a bipartisan manner,” Dent told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Dent refused to support the American Health Care Act, which was ultimately pulled before a vote last week. (Shelbourne, 3/26)
U.S. Senator John McCain said Republicans in Congress may need to reach out to Democrats in an attempt to reform health care after the House of Representatives’ efforts to undo Obamacare failed. “Doing nothing is not the answer after the setback,” McCain said at a German Marshall Fund forum in Brussels on Saturday. “It might be a good idea now for at least an attempted outreach to the Democrats to see if there are areas where we can come to an agreement.” (Strauss, 3/25)
Ohio Gov. John Kasich continues to call on "reasonable" Republicans and Democrats to unite and craft a bipartisan fix for Obamacare that preserves expanded Medicaid coverage for the drug-addicted and mentally ill. He's rather blunt about it: "Let's grow up, and let's serve Americans." (Ludlow, 3/26)
Meanwhile, some lawmakers are looking at other health care issues —
Republican health care policy has focused for seven years around repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Now members appear split on whether to continue toward that goal, or move on to other issues. ... Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, told reporters he didn’t know how to move on from calling to overhaul Obamacare. Instead, for the rest of the year he plans to focus on reauthorizing Food and Drug Administration user fees and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as oversight of two bipartisan health bills that passed during the last Congress. But other Republicans weren’t so sure that the failure of the bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act, was the end of the road for GOP-led health reform. (McIntire, 3/26)
