Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'We鈥檒l Be Judged In The Election': GOP Frets Over Repeal Plans
Congressional Republicans, meeting behind closed doors this week in Philadelphia, expressed grave concerns about dismantling the Affordable Care Act on the urgent timetable demanded by President Trump, fretting that, among other things, they could wreck insurance markets and be saddled with a politically disastrous 鈥淭rumpcare.鈥 An audio recording of a session at their annual retreat, obtained by The New York Times, shows Republicans in disarray, far from agreement on health policy, and still searching for something to replace former President Barack Obama鈥檚 health care law. (Pear and Kaplan, 1/27)
The recording reveals a GOP that appears to be filled with doubts about how to make good on a long-standing promise to get rid of Obamacare without explicit guidance from President Trump or his administration. The thorny issues with which lawmakers grapple on the tape 鈥 including who may end up either losing coverage or paying more under a revamped system 鈥 highlight the financial and political challenges that flow from upending the current law. (DeBonis, 1/27)
Republican lawmakers are fearful about the potential political fallout if their eventual replacement of President Barack Obama鈥檚 health law doesn鈥檛 deliver, and they didn鈥檛 hold back at their recent policy conference. 鈥淲e鈥檇 better be sure that we鈥檙e prepared to live with the market we鈥檝e created,鈥 Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was quoted as saying in Saturday鈥檚 Washington Post, one of the media organizations that obtained an audio recording of a private session at last week鈥檚 GOP strategy retreat in Philadelphia. (1/28)
Among the more dire concerns of Republicans is how the party will repeal the law without taking health insurance coverage away from about 20 million Americans covered under the law. 鈥淲e鈥檙e telling those people that we鈥檙e not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we are in fact going to pull the rug out from under them,鈥 said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), according to the Post. (Greenwood, 1/27)
The audio was leaked to several news outlets and first reported by The Washington Post. It reveals lawmakers airing concerns about the practical difficulties and political risks of repealing and replacing President Barack Obama's health care law, among other things. (Werner, 1/28)
