Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Wants To Get Health Care Out Of The Way So He Can Move Onto Other Issues
On the precipice of the meatiest legislative fight of his young presidency, Donald Trump is increasingly talking about health care like the vegetables of his agenda — the thing he must begrudgingly finish in order to get to what he really wants: tax cuts, trade deals and infrastructure. (Goldmacher, 3/20)
Trump rallied supporters Monday night in Louisville, Kentucky, alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after meetings and phone calls in Washington aimed at steadying the troubled legislation designed to erase President Barack Obama's signature health care law. He planned to court House Republicans on Tuesday. (Thomas and Bykowicz, 3/20)
"We want a very big tax cut, but cannot do that until we keep our promise to repeal and replace the disaster known as 'Obamacare,'" he told the crowd of thousands in Louisville. "This is our long-awaited chance to finally get rid of 'Obamacare.'" (Bykowicz and Thomas, 3/21)
In a speech peppered with shout-outs to Kentucky's congressional delegation — "Hey, Mitch," Trump asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at one point, "we gonna be OK? ... That health care's looking good?" — the president warned the crowd that if the health bill did not pass, "the alternative is what you have [and] what you have is nothing." Trump also attempted conciliation toward Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., one of the bill's most outspoken opponents, saying, "I look forward to working with him so we can get this bill passed — in some form." (Chamberlain, 3/20)
A defiant President Donald Trump rallied support for the House's Obamacare repeal and replacement bill, predicting that the bill will "go back and forth" in Congress but that the end result will be "great." (Jackson, 3/20)
So far, Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, have both taken a light touch promoting the House bill, suggesting the White House is more interested in maintaining some political distance in case it fails than in pushing it over the finish line. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the legislation would lead to 24 million Americans dropping or losing their health insurance over 10 years, at a savings of $337 billion for the government. (Pettypiece, 3/20)
