Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lessons From 'Health Care Hell': Lawmaker Who Battled It Out In 2010 Offers Insights On Current Debate
Bart Stupak didn鈥檛 seek out the role he played in the fight over ObamaCare more than seven years ago, but he has no regrets over how it all played out. Stupak, a Democrat who opposes abortion and represented Michigan鈥檚 1st Congressional District for 18 years, became a thorn in his party鈥檚 side over demands in the debate on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against funding for abortion. Now, he鈥檚 telling his side of the drama during former President Obama鈥檚 first term that resulted in the passage of the massive healthcare overhaul, just as Republicans struggle in their multi-year push to repeal it. (Chalfant, 7/25)
Meanwhile, another former lawmaker sounds the alarm over the Republicans' efforts聽鈥
Former Minnesota Republican Sen. David Durenberger took aim Monday at current GOP senators for attempting to ram through a motion to proceed on their controversial bill to dismantle the 2010 health care law. In a USA Today op-ed, Durenberger laid out the normal procedures for deliberating on a bill with ramifications for millions of Americans of this magnitude: 鈥淵ou ask questions. You hold hearings. You understand what it would mean to your constituents. You listen to those who know the system. And when it doesn鈥檛 add up, you vote against it.鈥 (Connolly, 7/24)