Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Look At Where Lawmakers Stand: It Will Take Three Senators To Put Final Nail In Repeal Coffin
Three 鈥渘o鈥 votes would kill the bill, but in an encouraging sign for repeal proponents, no one is stepping forward yet to deliver that final nail. Instead, wavering senators remain on the sidelines. Conservative Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is warming to the legislation, which would turn federal health care funding into block grants for states and eliminate Obamacare鈥檚 coverage mandate, while Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is undecided. (Everett and Haberkorn, 9/18)
Mr. Graham said Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence had called him to say the administration is 鈥100%鈥 on board with the bill. A White House statement earlier last week said only that the president 鈥渟incerely hoped鈥 Messrs. Graham and Cassidy had found a solution on health care. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) also appeared to support the proposal Friday. 鈥淚 appreciate Senators Graham and Cassidy continuing to work on a plan to pass the Senate. I鈥檒l take federalism over Obamacare any day,鈥 he said in a tweet. (Armour and Hackman, 9/18)
President Trump is calling governors to try to get their support for a last-ditch ObamaCare repeal effort taking place in the Senate, says Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).聽"He鈥檚 on the phone as I speak getting governors who are a little nervous about this, saying we鈥檙e not going to let you fail, we鈥檙e going to give you the flexibility over time and we鈥檙e going to empower you unlike anything you鈥檝e ever seen," Graham told Breitbart News over the weekend. (Hellmann, 9/18)
Prospects for the new repeal legislation 鈥 sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) 鈥 remain uncertain, but the proposal won an important endorsement Monday from a key Republican governor, Arizona鈥檚 Doug Ducey. That raised the possibility that the state鈥檚 senior senator, John McCain, who cast the crucial vote in July to kill the last repeal push, could back the new bill. McCain has said he would be influenced by Ducey鈥檚 position, but has also called for a less partisan, less rushed approach to healthcare legislation. (Levey, 9/18)
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has endorsed a new Senate Republican bill that would repeal and replace ObamaCare. Ducey, a Republican, called the legislation offered by GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (La.) "the best path forward" to gut the health-care law. (Roubein, 9/18)
Sen. John McCain said on Monday that he's not yet on board with his party's latest Obamacare repeal bill, airing some of the same objections that he cited when killing the last GOP push to axe the health law. "I am not supportive of the bill yet," McCain told reporters, adding that he and fellow Republicans would "talk more about it" as the clock ticks closer to the Sept. 30 deadline for the GOP to repeal Obamacare with a simple majority vote in the Senate. (Schor, 9/18)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he鈥檚 worried the latest attempt to repeal ObamaCare might pass, and the unintended consequences could be severe. 鈥淭here's a big groundswell of people pushing for this,鈥 Paul told Reporters on Monday. 鈥淭wo weeks ago, I鈥檇 have said zero [chance it鈥檒l pass], but now I鈥檓 worried.鈥 Paul has called the bill from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) 鈥淥bamacare lite鈥 and said he will not support it. (Weixel, 9/18)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is voicing concern about the latest GOP ObamaCare repeal effort, which could potentially be moving forward without a full Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis.聽"That's problematic. ... That's part of the problem with short circuiting the process," Collins, one of three Republicans who voted against the Senate鈥檚 last repeal push, told reporters Monday when asked about CBO's estimate that it wouldn't know the impact on insurance coverage of a bill from GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (La.) for weeks. (Carney, 9/18)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who could be the deciding vote on a new ObamaCare repeal bill, says she is still studying the measure and its effects on Alaska. "I need to figure out how all the numbers work with regards to Alaska," she told a small group of reporters聽Monday. (Sullivan, 9/18)
Gov. Chris Sununu聽disavowed a last-ditch federal bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act Monday, praising provisions that would introduce block-grant funds to states but distancing himself from vast Medicaid cuts included in the legislation. The bill, proposed by Republican Sens. Lindsay Graham and Bill Cassidy, would dramatically overhaul the U.S. health care system, replacing Affordable Care Act tax subsidies with a state-by-state grant system聽and making deep reductions to Medicaid and Medicare. (Dewitt, 9/18)
Some Senate Republicans are prodding their colleagues to roll back the 2010 health care law this month after abandoning the effort earlier this summer, but the caucus is still short of the votes needed to advance a bill. The latest replacement plan 鈥 rolled out last week by GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham,聽Bill Cassidy,聽Dean Heller聽and Ron Johnson聽鈥攆aces major challenges. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Monday said it would aim to offer a preliminary analysis of the draft Graham-Cassidy health care proposal by early next week. (McIntire, 9/18)
A new ad is targeting Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for his support of a last-ditch ObamaCare repeal bill in the Senate.聽The digital ad from pro-ObamaCare group Save My Care shows the "consequences of passing ... health care repeal for people with pre-existing conditions." (Hellmann, 9/18)