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Here's what we know right now about the health-care plan Senate Republicans are working on: They want to pass it next week. That's just about it, and all we can say for sure. While there have been some leaks and rumors about what might be in it, that's all they are. There haven't been any hearings or legislative text for anyone to analyze. It's been a backroom process that, whether there's any cigar smoke or not, has been more secretive, according to the Senate's historian emeritus, than any other in the past 100 years. (Matt O'Brien, 6/21)

"There's not a chance,” Mitch McConnell said in 2014. "After castigating [former Senate Majority Leader] Reid for crowding out the rest of us and shielding his actions from public view, I assure you we're not going to turn around and do the same thing.” Hypocrite. McConnell is now writing a Senate Trumpcare bill in secret. (Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, 6/21)

For every childhood birthday I can remember, my paternal grandparents gave me a $25 U.S. Savings Bond. To relieve the monotony of this annual exercise in disappointment, I accepted the proffered envelope each year with a flamboyant show of sarcastic speculation. (Brian Dickerson, 6/21)

Remember when Obamacare was written “hastily,” “behind closed doors” in “secret” negotiations, so that Democrats could “jam” an unpopular health-care bill through Congress? Remember when this showed that they “didn’t care what was in it” and that they had betrayed the “trust” of the American people? Remember when “the issue of health reform” was “too important to not take the time to get it right”? (6/21)

Senate Republicans have reached a trying time indeed in their repeal-and-pretend — excuse me, repeal-and-replace — effort on the Affordable Care Act. It’s that delicate period when lawmakers must say absurd things with a straight face. (Scot Lehigh, 6/21)

Republicans who wrote a health care bill behind closed doors call it a repeal of Obamacare. But the legislation could fundamentally transform another federal health program that provides coverage to far more Americans than the insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. It’s called Medicaid. The GOP plan that the House narrowly passed in May would cap how much the U.S. pays for Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor. That’s never happened before. And it's a big deal—more than one-fifth of Americans depend on Medicaid for health care. (John Tozzi, 6/22)

Senate Republicans are divided on how they want to address the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of Medicaid. Not surprisingly, Senators from states that expanded coverage under the ACA are pressing to continue that funding as long as possible. Senators from non-expansion states are more willing to roll back federal support without a lengthy transition. Resolving this disagreement is central to finding a way forward to passing a full repeal and replacement of the ACA in the Senate. (James C. Capretta, 6/22)

The Senate’s version of the House-passed American Health Care Act will almost certainly include a fundamental change in the way the federal government contributes to Medicaid. Over time, that new structure would result in deep cuts in the federal contribution to Medicaid and ultimately reduce long-term care benefits for frail older adults as well as younger people with disabilities. These changes may give states important new flexibility in how they provide these supports and services. But they may also mean that states will slow or even reverse their shift toward delivering assistance in community settings and revert to providing care in nursing homes. (Howard Gleckman, 6/21)

Iowans, regardless of background or political affiliation, want children to receive the medical care they need to reach their full potential. That is a value shared by nearly all Americans. Just a few years ago former Gov. Terry Branstad led a bipartisan effort to expand Medicaid and fill one of the last gaps in our children’s health coverage. Today almost every Iowa child has access to basic health insurance. That is a true Iowa family value. The same commitment Americans make to covering seniors through Medicare should apply to healthcare coverage for children. Just as we honor and care for our parents and grandparents who built and protected this country, we should equally honor and care for our families whose children will build and protect our country’s future. (Stephen Stephenson, 6/21)

As congressional Republicans continue to work on a bill intended to replace the Affordable Care Act, we can expect a lot of rhetoric and commentary about Obamacare’s imminent demise, fueled by news reports about insurers withdrawing from state ACA exchanges. And I’ll wager that much of that conversation will center on the premise that insurers are pulling out because they’ve been unable to enroll enough young, affluent Americans — the so-called “healthy wealthies”— to offset the costs of covering older, sicker populations. The problem is, that’s not true. (Mark Nathan, 6/22)

The California Senate recently voted to pass a bill that would establish a single-payer healthcare system for the entire state. The proposal, called the Healthy California Act, will now be taken up by the state Assembly. The plan enjoys widespread support — a recent poll commissioned by the California Nurses Assn. found that 70% of all Californians are in favor of a single-payer plan — and with good reason. Under Healthy California, all residents would be entitled to decent healthcare without having to pay premiums, deductibles or copays. (Robert Pollin, 6/21)

Governor Charlie Baker and state business leaders seem to have reached a compromise on the thorny question of how to deal with companies that shunt employees onto MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. There will be fines, though not as steep as Baker originally proposed, and only for a limited time. (Evan Horowitz, 6/22)