Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senators Return From Break To Try To Tackle Health Care Before August Recess
Congress is still trying to send President Donald Trump his first unqualified legislative triumph, nearly six months after Republicans grabbed full control of Washington. Now, lawmakers are returning from their July 4 recess with an added objective 鈥 averting some full-blown political disasters. (Fram, 7/10)
Senate Republicans appear miles away from their long-sought repeal of Obamacare, returning to Washington on Monday with just a few weeks to put the pieces back together before they could be forced to abandon their partisan attempts at a health care overhaul altogether. (Everett, 7/9)
The White House and Senate Republican leaders are planning a final, urgent blitz to pressure reluctant GOP senators to pass an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act before their month-long August recess. Aware that the next 14 days probably represent their last chance to salvage their flagging endeavor, President Trump, Vice President Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) intend to single out individual senators and escalate a broad defense of the evolving proposal, according to Republicans familiar with their plans. (Snell, Sullivan and Costa, 7/7)
The focus on possible steps to take if Senate Republicans can鈥檛 unite around a health bill is the strongest sign yet of the growing pessimism about the fate of the GOP legislation and the party鈥檚 seven-year pledge to topple the ACA. Some Republicans now say a vote to pass a bill could stretch beyond August, if there is a vote at all. (Armour, 7/9)
It鈥檚 鈥渁lmost impossible to try to solve when you鈥檙e trying to do it with 51 votes in the United States Senate, in which there is not significant consensus on what the final result ought to be,鈥 Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said during a Thursday town hall, one of the few Republican members to host public events during the recess. Moran is among a handful of GOP senators to come out in opposition to the existing proposal after McConnell pulled the expected vote on the legislation, a group that now includes Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota. (Williams, 7/10)
