Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rubio Touts His Anti-Obamacare Credentials In Field Of Republicans
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, seeking to win over conservative voters, told Reuters he was the only one running with a victory against President Barack Obama's signature health law. Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, has touted his effort to prevent what he called a potential taxpayer bailout of insurers as his rivalry heats up with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a chief critic of the 2010 Obamacare law. (12/9)
Marco Rubio is using a real-life example to talk about his commitment to the Department of Veterans Affairs 鈥 his big brother. The presidential candidate and Florida senator will appear in Iowa Thursday with his brother Mario, an army veteran. This is Mario Rubio's first time on the 2016 campaign trail. According to his prepared remarks, Sen. Rubio will offer ideas to reform a system that was exposed in scandal over long waits for those seeking health care and falsification of records to cover up delays. (Lucey, 12/10)
Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson wants to raise the Medicare eligibility age to 70 as part of a health care plan released Wednesday that would reshape the popular program for the nation's elderly in addition to overhauling Medicaid and repealing President Barack Obama's health care law. The retired neurosurgeon is set to outline his health care plan for the first time on Wednesday while campaigning in Michigan. (12/9)
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson unveiled a broad outline Wednesday to reform health care, detailing a restructuring of Medicare that would raise the eligibility age to 70. Carson's proposal rests on tax-protected 鈥渉ealth empowerment accounts鈥 鈥 a de facto expansion of health savings accounts, which in Carson's vision would be opened for each citizen upon birth and grow over time based on individual contributions. (DelReal, 12/9)
Ben Carson is trying again. After float颅ing a plan that would reportedly have scrapped Medicare and Medicaid, he took another shot Wednesday when he unveiled a new health care proposal. The neurosurgeon-turned-presidential-candidate鈥檚 latest iteration touts 鈥渕ore freedom and less government鈥 and aims to empower the doctor-patient relationship. It repeals Obamacare and makes changes to both Medicare and Medicaid, yet doesn鈥檛 abolish the programs. (Roubein, 12/9)