Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate GOP Agenda On Health Law May Hinge On Supreme Court Decision
In his re-election pitch, the likely incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to repeal Obamacare, saying the law should be pulled out "root and branch." But now? The Kentucky Republican is singing quite a different tune. "We may have that vote," McConnell said of repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care law on Fox News Thursday. "But I don't think that there's six Democrats that are going to vote with 54 Republicans and pass it." Instead, McConnell suggested that an upcoming Supreme Court ruling may be the best way to undermine the law to the point of collapse. (Fischer, 12/4)
Republicans have a full menu of Obamacare repeal options when they take the majority in the Senate next month. Incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to hold a vote on the full repeal of the health law, as well as repeal of specific elements such as the medical device tax, individual mandate and the 30-hour work week. Each has varying degrees of support. (Haberkorn and Norman, 12/4)
Meanwhile, some Republican members of Congress ask the Supreme Court to weigh another aspect of the health law -
Twenty-five Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to take up another case against ObamaCare, this time challenging a controversial medical board that the party has labeled 鈥渁 death panel.鈥 Members led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) are urging the high court to reconsider a lawsuit against the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which is charged with cutting Medicare spending if it exceeds a certain level. (Ferris, 11/4)
A Medicare cost-cutting board established by the 2010 health law but yet to be appointed reemerged as a Republican target Thursday, with GOP lawmakers endorsing a legal challenge and pushing for its repeal. A group of 24 House Republicans and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., filed a friend of the court brief asking the Supreme Court to take up a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The panel was included in the health overhaul to make annual cost-cutting recommendations if Medicare spending exceeds a target growth rate. (Attias, 12/4)
Former Sen. Trent Lott, who once led the Republican caucus in the Senate, suggests that his former colleagues should amend the health law and not try to kill it -
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.), a leading Republican figure over the past two decades, said Thursday his party should pass a technical fix to avert a court challenge to ObamaCare. Lott told reporters at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor that making technical changes to the landmark healthcare reform should not become a subject of political warfare. (Bolton, 11/4)
