Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
This Time Around It Isn't Going To Be The Trump Show
President Donald Trump is starting to whip votes for the Senate health bill, but he could find his influence there is more limited than in the House of Representatives, where he cajoled, cursed and wooed members to vote for his top campaign promise. Aides to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were set to brief White House staffers Wednesday evening on the details of the bill they鈥檝e been writing in secret, before it is expected to be made public Thursday. The president is expected to endorse their plan to repeal Obamacare. But even with Trump鈥檚 help, the bill faces a perilous path in the Senate. (Dawsey, Everett, Palmeri and Johnson, 6/21)
As Senate Republicans prepare to unveil their version of an Obamacare聽alternative, President Trump expressed his hope for a final plan 鈥渨ith heart.鈥 鈥淚 can鈥檛 guarantee anything, but I hope we鈥檙e going to surprise you with a really good plan,鈥 Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday night. (Memoli, 6/21)
The White House launched an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace web page on Wednesday that criticizes the healthcare system, though it does not include any details about a GOP healthcare plan. The page was posted one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised his GOP colleagues that they would have a draft legislation by Thursday, followed by a Senate floor vote next week. Republicans are looking to聽speed up the process聽of repealing and replacing ObamaCare as a closed-door group of Republican senators works to make changes to the House-passed GOP's American Health Care Act before voting in the upper chamber. (Beavers, 6/21)