Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obama Mounts 11th Hour Defense Of Law: 'Repeal First And Replace Later’ Is, Simply Put, Irresponsible'
Mr. Obama, in a live interview on the news website Vox, said Republicans repeatedly promised they could do better but have failed to put out a stronger plan. He said it would be hard for the GOP to craft a better, cheaper proposal that leaves everyone satisfied, but that he would publicly support it if they do. “You don’t want a situation where they make a promise they can’t keep,” Mr. Obama said. “I’ve worked on this a long time. If we have a better way to do this, we would have done it. It would have been in my interest to do it, because I knew I would be judged by how it worked.” (Armour, 1/6)
Trying to protect his signature Affordable Care Act from being hastily dismantled by the new GOP Congress, President Barack Obama took to the media to pressure Republicans to unveil a replacement proposal before they repeal major parts of the law. In an interview webcast by Vox.com and an op-ed in the New England Journal of Medicine, the president called Republicans’ fast-track plans to rescind much of the law but wait until later to craft a replacement “reckless.” (Rovner, 1/6)
Americans should insist their lawmakers have a replacement plan before Congress votes on whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama said in an interview Friday. ... Obama offered his own suggestions for improving health care in the United States. He called for higher subsidies to help people afford insurance, an option Republicans would be loath to advance. (McIntire, 1/6)
President Barack Obama said on Friday that criticism from the left wing of his own Democratic Party helped feed into the unpopularity of Obamacare, his signature healthcare reform law. (Rampton, 1/6)
Although his signature law is in jeopardy, President Barack Obama's work reshaping health care in America is certain to endure in the broad public support for many of its underlying principles. Notwithstanding growing pains in connection securing some of the promises of the Affordable Care Act, the belief that people with medical problems should be able to get health insurance is no longer challenged. The idea that government should help those who can't afford their premiums has gained acceptance. And the question is how much, and for what kind of coverage. (1/9)
