Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obama to Republicans: Wish You Luck Coming Up With A Better Health Plan
President Barack Obama said Monday that President-elect Donald Trump is "pragmatic" — and Republicans' plan to repeal and replace Obamacare will test that approach. "Obviously, this has been the holy grail for Republicans: We gotta kill Obamacare," the president said at a post-election press conference. "But now that Republicans are in charge, they gotta take a look" at how the law is saving the government money and benefiting millions of people — both the 20 million covered directly by the law and millions more who receive insurance through employers and are getting extra protections under the health law, whether they recognize it or not. (Diamond, 11/14)
President Obama said he thinks Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare will get harder now that they have the responsibility of governing. At a press conference Monday, Obama noted that while repealing his signature law has long been a “holy grail” for Republicans, the GOP will have to contend with the real-world consequences such action would have for the 20 million people who gained health coverage under the law. In addition to winning the White House, the GOP also maintained its House and Senate majorities. (Sullivan, 11/14)
President Obama on Monday touted the gains made under the Affordable Care Act and laid out the challenges he thinks face Republicans when they work to repeal the law under President-elect Trump. “My view is that if they can come up with something better that actually works and a year or two after they’ve replaced the Affordable Care Act with their own plan that 25 million people have health insurance and it’s cheaper and better and running smoothly, I’ll be the first one to say that’s great, congratulations,” Obama said. (McIntire, 11/14)
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., says the compromises that were made while getting the health law through hurt Democrats in 2016 —
Compromises made during passage of the Affordable Care Act and the 2009 economic stimulus package left Democrats with insufficient bragging points for the 2016 presidential contest, Senator Elizabeth Warren told a group of liberal political contributors during a closed-door meeting Monday, according to two people in attendance. (McGrane, 11/14)
