GOP in Talks With Insurers to Prepare For Repeal of Obamacare
Pastor Dewey Moede
Congressional Republicans are talking to health insurers about ways to prevent a collapse of the insurance market once they pass an ObamaCare repeal bill.
Industry officials and healthcare experts are warning that insurers might bail out of the system altogether once a repeal bill passes, particularly since many of them have been losing millions of dollars on ObamaCare plans.
Recognizing the problem, Republican congressional staffers are in talks with insurers about policies they could implement to help improve their financial situation in that interim period and prevent a breakdown in the market, according to three Republican lobbyists.
One Republican lobbyist said that in discussions about a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a replacement, insurers are “painting a picture of the market that isn’t very pretty and Republican staffers are getting the picture.”
“They want to pump money back in to the insurers without appearing like they’re giving them a handout or bailing them out,” the lobbyist added. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2gF8FVY
Walden wins Energy and Commerce chairmanship
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) will be the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a powerful force on healthcare policy, next year.
Walden defeated Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), the former committee chairman, in the race for the gavel. Current chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), is stepping down from the position due to term limits.
Support for Walden’s elevation to chairman surged after two successful terms as head of the House GOP’s campaign arm, a tenure that endeared him to both leadership and the House GOP Steering Committee members who elected him on Thursday. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2gdD1yf
Ryan defends Medicare plan amid Dem attacks
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday defended his plan for overhauling Medicare amid escalating attacks from Democrats.
Ryan dismissed the criticism, calling it “the latest wave of Democratic talking points to try and play ‘Mediscare’ politics, which is what they typically do every other Tuesday.”
The Speaker said he had not discussed plans for Medicare with President-elect Trump yet. Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), is a proponent of Ryan’s plan, though, and has even suggested using a fast-track process next year to enact it with a simple majority in the Senate.
Ryan on Thursday declined to discuss legislative plans next year for his idea, saying they are still being worked out.
He compared his ideas to Medicare Advantage, a current program where seniors can choose to get coverage through a private insurer. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2gdc9i5
More on the Price pick for HHS testing Trump’s vow not to cut Medicare in our story here: https://bit.ly/2gNqhiZ
Poll: Only 1 in 4 want ObamaCare repealed p>Only one-quarter of the public wants to repeal ObamaCare completely, according to a new poll.
The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 26 percent of the country wants to repeal the entire law. Meanwhile, 30 percent want to expand the law, 19 percent want to keep it as is and 17 percent want to scale it back.
The poll also finds an uptick in Republican respondents who want to scale back the law, rather than fully repealing it, since the elections. In October, the poll found 69 percent of Republicans wanted to fully repeal the law. Now, that number is 52 percent. Those calling to scale it back rose from 11 percent to 24 percent at the same time. Read more here. https://bit.ly/2gdD1yf
Senate to take up Cures on Monday
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday scheduled a cloture vote on the House-passed medical cures bill for Monday. The vote will take place at 5:30 p.m.
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Trump landing team announced
Healthcare experts from American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation will help round out Donald Trump’s healthcare landing team.
Trump’s transition officials on Thursday announced a trio of new healthcare experts working with the administration: Scott Gottlieb, resident fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, former HHS official Eric Hargan, and Nina Owcharenko Schaefer, health policy research director with the Heritage Foundation. Full list here: https://bit.ly/2gdI0PH
ON TAP TOMORROW
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will announce its annual national health spending report at 9 a.m. at the National Press Club.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady vowed the GOP would go ahead with major Medicare overhauls despite the thorny politics in order to “save” the program (Associated Press)
Vox does a Q and A on why ObamaCare “repeal and delay” wouldn’t work (Vox)
Medicaid rules in Indiana could spread under a Trump administration (New York Times)
IN THE STATES
With little warning, Maine governor overhauls public health (Governing Magazine)
Mobile, Ala., is the diabetes capital of America (Marketwatch)
