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A growing rift among Senate Republicans over federal spending on Medicaid and the opioid epidemic is imperiling legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act that Senate leaders are trying to put to a vote by the end of next week. President Trump had urged Republican senators to write a more generous bill than a House version that he first heralded and then called “mean,” but Republican leaders on Tuesday appeared to be drafting legislation that would do even more to slow the growth of Medicaid toward the end of the coming decade. (Pear and Steinhauer, 6/20)

The Republican drive to roll back Barack Obama's health care law is on a collision course with a national opioid epidemic that's not letting up. Medicaid cuts resulting from the GOP legislation would hit hard in states deeply affected by the addiction crisis and struggling to turn the corner, according to state data and concerned lawmakers in both parties. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/21)

A pair of Senate Democrats in states hard hit by opioid addiction say the Republican effort to replace the Affordable Care Act would undermine efforts to battle the epidemic, arguing the prospect of extra opioid treatment funding wouldn’t sufficiently replace insurance coverage that would be lost if Medicaid’s expansion were reversed. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) released a report arguing Republican-proposed cuts to Medicaid funding would worsen the country’s growing opioid problem because many people use their Medicaid insurance to cover addiction treatment. He was joined at a news conference Tuesday by Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.). (Nunn, 6/20)

Two moderate Republican senators from states hit hard by the opioid addiction epidemic are pushing to add a reported $45 billion in 10-year funding for substance abuse services to the Senate bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. ... But Senate GOP leaders may have to seriously consider their request because both senators, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Rob Portman of Ohio, doubt whether they can support the bill. (Meyer, 6/20)

Addiction experts have warned that Republican proposals to dramatically cut Medicaid funding could worsen the nation’s growing opioid crisis. So a pair of GOP senators is pushing for a solution: a massive influx of money for treatment to help stave off those effects. But that makeshift effort may also fall flat, advocates in the recovery community say. Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, whose states have been devastated by the nation’s opioid epidemic, have suggested in recent interviews they hope to add into the Republican package to repeal and replace Obamacare as much as $4.5 billion each year for the next 10 years in new funding for addiction treatment. (Mershon, 6/21)