Senate Deal on Planned Parenthood is in Sight

Republicans appear willing to back down on language in a Zika funding bill – which is part of the government spending bill – that would have prevented money from going to Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico.

Aides say the senators have been “making progress” to resolve the months-old sticking point, involving those $80 million worth of funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.

“There’s confidence in the direction that the talks are moving and there’s confidence that that particular section will be resolved in a way that can be agreed to,” one aide said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had initially expected to wrap up a deal on a continuing resolution this week. But both chambers recessed Thursday without an agreement, while scheduling a vote for Monday.

But as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) holds the line for an entirely “clean” bill, some Republicans say they would refuse to move a package if the Planned Parenthood language is eliminated.

“I don’t think we’re likely to move if we don’t get some satisfaction from the pro-life groups,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Thursday. “I don’t think that very many Republicans are going to be supporting something where money can end up at Planned Parenthood.”

Senate Democrats and liberal groups are unveiling a new push to add a public option on ObamaCare on Thursday.

The effort is led by senators including Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), on track to be the next Democratic leader, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who galvanized liberals in his presidential campaign with a push to go even further and set up a “Medicare for all” system. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is spearheading the effort.

Liberal groups like the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, MoveOn.Org and Democracy for America are launching a petition at WeWantAPublicOption.com, in conjunction with a Senate resolution.

“We need more competition in the insurance markets, not less, and a public option would help reduce costs and provide consumers with more affordable options when it comes to their health insurance,” Schumer said in a statement. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2d3EgCj

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton is pushing to get his signature healthcare bill moving again.

The Michigan Republican is working on a new version of his 21st Century Cures Act. The revamp could be introduced as soon as next week, though lobbyists and aides say that there is still much work to be done, and it would be tough for the legislation to move before the November elections.

With the window for passing legislation this year rapidly closing, Upton is making a push to jump-start the efforts by passing a new bill through the House. The Senate could theoretically then take up that bill in the lame-duck session after the elections. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2crANi7

It’s kind of unclear. From Bloomberg: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said that as president he would use Medicaid to cover poor people who can’t afford private health insurance, and make birth control available without a prescription.

The comments appeared to differ both with what some Republicans have proposed in the past, and — in the case of Medicaid — aspects of Trump’s own policy proposals on his website. Republicans generally opposed the expansion of Medicaid to higher income levels under ObamaCare, for example.

“We have to help them through the Medicaid system,” Trump told Mehmet Oz, the host of a popular daytime television show and a cardiothoracic surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center. “People have said that’s not the right thing to say. But there is a fairly large percentage who can’t afford it.”

A Trump spokesman said that Trump had not proposed an expansion of Medicaid. Read more here. https://bloom.bg/2cYL9py

A leading conservative group is launching a campaign blitz against what it calls a health insurer “bailout,” as ObamaCare allies seek new ways to protect the law this fall.

Freedom Partners announced Thursday it will release digital videos and hold meetings on Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to block any attempts by the Obama administration or insurers to boost payments under the law.

“Lawmakers should resist pressure to bail out Obamacare and the big insurance companies that supported its passage when they thought it would be a good deal for themselves,” the group’s senior policy adviser, Nathan Nascimento, wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Conservatives say President Obama and ObamaCare insurers are quietly trying to cement the legacy of his healthcare law by extending the life of a pair of funding programs for insurance companies. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2cJ8Pgb

Trump says women shouldn’t need prescription for birth control https://bit.ly/2cYcHeT

Boehner joins board of tobacco giant Reynolds American https://bit.ly/2d35Tvw

The struggles of the ObamaCare marketplaces are leading experts to question whether the historic drop in the nation’s uninsured rate could stall or even reverse. (New York Times)

The federal government lacks money – and a plan – for a national Zika prevention campaign. (Bloomberg News)

Insurers are pushing the Obama administration on a loophole that’s allowing some people to dodge the individual mandate penalty without paying for insurance for a full year. (U.S. News & World Report)

Clinton’s longtime physician has stayed out of the public spotlight despite an intense focus on her health. (STAT News)

California officials are proposing a plan to the federal government to allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through ObamaCare (New York Times)

Pennsylvania doctors are skeptical of a state proposal to limit opioid prescribing (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)