Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Defending The House Vote: What The GOP Plan Gets Right; How It Could Be A Step Forward
Now that the Obamacare replacement bill has passed the House and is moving on to the more centrist Senate, the real debate begins. What is the true purpose of health insurance, and what is our government鈥檚 goal in ensuring we have it? (Marc K. Siegel, 5/5)
Hooray, Republicans have saved America鈥檚 health-care system. OK, we exaggerate, but there are inklings of a salvation. Let鈥檚 start with pre-existing conditions. In principle, this should be a transitional problem in a world where everyone has access to attractive, fairly priced health insurance. By giving new options to the states, the House bill would make subsidizing pre-existing conditions a general obligation of the taxpayer as it always should have been. (Holman W. Jenkins Jr., 5/6)
On Thursday, House Republicans passed a health care bill that fulfilled both of Obama's heartfelt "principles" of eight years ago. And yet while Democrats in 2009 would have built a statue outside the White House if Obama had fulfilled this promise, liberals spent most of this week accusing Republicans of wanting to see people die in the streets. (Christian Schneider, 5/5)