 Health Care |
Health Care |
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Senate faces uphill slog on ObamaCare subsidies |
Senate negotiators left Washington for the holidays without a resolution on the expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. But with lawmakers increasingly shifting into campaign mode as the calendar flips to the new year, a vote in January is no sure thing. |
With the Dec. 31 deadline set to come and go, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to keep hopes alive that a deal could come together next month. But they face numerous headwinds — chief among them being the fraught nature of health care rhetoric and the looming midterms, The Hill's Al Weaver reports.
A group of nearly two dozen members occupying various political lanes across each party convened early last week with an eye toward unveiling a possible deal next month, with some even indicating hopes that a framework agreement could come by the end of the holiday work period.
"There was a simple concept on the table when we walked in. It was within the range of reason, but then it got more complicated. … The complicators, conceptually, might be OK [or] might not," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said, labeling the meeting a "productive discussion."
Attendees said that they expect future meetings, but whether they continue to push the ball up the field — and keep talking during the two-week holiday break — remains an open question.
Both sides also have political considerations that could scuttle discussions at any time.
Meanwhile, out of pocket insurance costs for people with ObamaCare plans are set to double on average with the expiration of the enhanced subsidies. While lawmakers may get an earful from constituents back home, it's not clear if that will be enough to overcome the GOP's 15 year opposition to the health law.
The Senate voted on two competing health care proposals on Dec. 11. Both failed — though four Republicans crossed the aisle to vote in favor of a Democratic bill to extend the subsidies for three years — and senators on both sides of the aisle have spent the days since trying to pick up the pieces and find a deal.
"There's a lot of things that have to come together," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). "I'm not saying it's likely, and I'm not saying it's impossible." |
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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Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb expressed concern over the Trump administration's pending overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will release a new vaccine schedule next year that recommends fewer shots, NewsNation reported Friday. The move would bring the U.S., which recommends 72 childhood vaccines doses targeting 18 diseases, … |
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) predicted Sunday that an extension of subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will pass the House with backing from both sides of the aisle. "House Democrats are going to continue to fight to get this extension through the Congress on our side. It will pass with a bipartisan majority," Jeffries told host Jonathan Karl on ABC News's "This Week." The ACA credits, which … |
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Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he would leave it to the American people to decide whether they blame Republicans for the lapse in enhanced ObamaCare subsidies at the end of the year, but he defended GOP efforts to strike a deal on the issue in recent weeks. In an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," the conservative senator was asked if he shares Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) view that Republicans could pay … |
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Branch out with a different read: |
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Trump's base growing impatient on abortion pill action |
Anti-abortion voices are growing increasingly impatient for the Trump administration to complete a review of the abortion pill mifepristone, potentially altering its approval. But changing abortion access at the federal level could imperil an already vulnerable GOP in the upcoming midterms. While on the campaign trail, President Trump played his cards close to the vest when it came to abortion, repeatedly saying he believed … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Ohio governor signs bill to recriminalize some marijuana activity, vetoing provision to allow THC drinks for a year (Ohio Capital Journal)
- Some Illinois hospital systems won't participate in medical aid-in-dying, which is allowed under a new law (Chicago Tribune)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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