 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Senate on the cusp of ending shutdown |
The Senate is on the verge of ending the longest government shutdown in history, but without giving Democrats an extension of ObamaCare's premium subsidies. |
A handful of moderate Senate Democrats, as well as independent Angus King of Maine, negotiated a funding deal with their GOP colleagues that would ensure back pay to the furloughed federal workers and give the thousands of workers fired during the shutdown their jobs back, including 950 employees in the Department of Health and Human Services. But it did not include the main priority Democrats had demanded since the start of the shutdown: an extension of the Affordable Care Act's enhanced subsidies. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) promised a vote in December. "Congress now has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act's expiring tax cuts for health insurance," Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said in a statement. The stunning development Sunday night infuriated liberals in and out of Congress, who had cheered Democrats throughout and urged them to keep up the fight for the sake of preventing health care costs from skyrocketing at the beginning of next year. Democrats can argue they will put Republicans on record as voting against a subsidy extension. Any blame for the looming rise in health care costs should fall solely on Republicans who oppose virtually all elements of ObamaCare. Many Republicans said they wanted the subsidies to expire and gave no indication they would ever support an extension. Even President Trump said he didn't think the subsidies should be extended, and instead that money should be sent directly to consumers. The continuing resolution does contain some health extenders. It would allocate funding for community health centers through the end of January and temporarily extend coverage for Medicare services provided through telehealth. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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| How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Canada is no longer measles-free because of ongoing outbreaks, international health experts said Monday, as childhood vaccination rates fall and the highly contagious virus spreads across North and South America. The loss of the country's measles elimination status comes more than a year after the highly contagious virus started spreading. Canada has logged 5,138 measles cases this year and two deaths. Both were babies who … |
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized Senate Democrats for striking a deal to begin the process of reopening the government, warning of the consequences of not extending health care subsidies. "Tonight was a very bad night," Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a post Sunday night on the social platform X, attaching a video in which he castigated eight Senate Democrats for voting yes on the continuing … |
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Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) said his party will "get killed" in the 2026 midterms if it does not address rising health care costs. "We need to deal with [health care] now because, number one, it's the right thing to do, just morally," Van Drew said Friday on Fox Business's "Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street." "Number two, we're going to get killed [in 2026]." As the record-breaking government shutdown continues, … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Jeffries opposes Senate moves to end shutdown |
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday vowed to oppose a new Senate deal in the works to end the nearly six-week government shutdown. In a statement, the Democratic leader dug his heels in on his party's position that any legislation to reopen the government must include an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year, raising premiums for millions … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- County officials vow to defy state pressure on behavior health (The Lund Report)
- A look at North Dakota's plan to improve rural healthcare (KFYR)
- New Wisconsin procedure offers treatment for movement disorder patients (Wisconsin Public Radio)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Shutdown has highlighted Washington's retreat from big ideas on health care (KFF Health News)
- Why a dementia village in the Netherlands is fueling hope in D.C. (The Washington Post)
- CRISPR gene-editing works to reduce high cholesterol in a new study (NPR)
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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