Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Democrats Urge House Republicans To Follow In Senate's Bipartisan Footsteps
Democrats are calling on House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) to hold bipartisan hearings on stabilizing ObamaCare markets. The committee's Democrats in a letter to Brady dated last Friday request that the panel hold hearings, and cite聽the Senate Health Committee鈥檚 hearings this month as an example. (Sullivan, 9/11)
It's unclear whether Republicans and Democrats on the Senate's Health Committee will be able to reach a deal by the end of the week on a bill to shore up ObamaCare's insurance markets.聽But Democrats are worried Republicans are digging in with conservative ideas, ruining changes at negotiation, a senior Democratic aide told The Hill. (Hellmann, 9/11)
As a key Senate panel continues to seek a bipartisan fix for the Affordable Care Act, the Connecticut Insurance Department on Monday weighed in with its suggestions, including allowing people to buy a new, cheaper, 鈥渃opper-level鈥 plan with fewer benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs. In a letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade asked Congress to continue a moratorium on the ACA鈥檚 health insurance tax, a levy that will go into effect next year based on the premium dollars an insurer earns. (Radelat, 9/11)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday that he opposes a new Republican ObamaCare replacement effort, saying it does not go far enough to repeal the law. Paul told reporters that the bill from GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) would 鈥減robably鈥 be worse than doing nothing at all on the health law. (Sullivan, 9/11)
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday said the GOP鈥檚 last-ditch plan to repeal Obamacare is a 鈥渂ad idea鈥 that he doesn鈥檛 see going anywhere. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) are scrambling to get the 50 GOP votes needed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill before the end of the month, when the Republicans' fast-track option to pass legislation with a simple majority expires in the Senate. (Haberkorn, 9/11)