Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Says Insurers Will 'Like What They Hear' On Health Care In His First Address To Congress
President Donald Trump said his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday will offer 鈥渟omething special鈥 on his health-care overhaul efforts, as his administration gets increasingly involved with Republican plans to repeal and replace Obamacare. ... Trump and聽congressional Republicans are pushing ahead with their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law also known as Obamacare. Their stated goals have sometimes been at odds -- with Trump promising better, less-expensive care for all, all while not touching entitlement programs like Medicare, and Republicans in Congress admitting that their plan is likely to cover fewer of the 20 million people who gained coverage under the ACA. (Tracer, Edney and Jacobs, 2/27)
President Trump is preparing a budget that would fulfill some of his top campaign promises by boosting military spending while cutting domestic programs. But his reluctance to embrace cuts to entitlement programs could lead to sharp tensions with Republicans in Congress who have long argued that Medicare and Social Security must be overhauled to ensure the government鈥檚 fiscal health. (Phillip and Snell, 2/27)
House Republicans, confronted with President Donald Trump鈥檚 opposition to curbing spending on Medicare and Social Security, said Monday they were optimistic Mr. Trump would change his mind once he looks more closely at the longer-term numbers. White House officials said Monday that Mr. Trump will seek to increase military spending by 10% above budget caps set into law for next year, offset by cuts to nondefense spending, in his first budget proposal next month. (Peterson, 2/27)
Democrats chose a former red-state governor known for embracing the Affordable Care Act to offer rebuttal Tuesday night to President Donald Trump鈥檚 first address to Congress. Former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who left office in December 2015, is barely known outside his home state and doesn鈥檛 represent the populist bent in today鈥檚 Democratic politics. But he does come with a r茅sum茅 entry important to the party鈥檚 current identity: He made Obamacare popular. (Epstein, 2/27)
An activist who will deliver a Democratic response in Spanish to President Donald Trump's first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday plans to address his administration's crackdown on undocumented immigrants and the need for affordable health care. (Cano, 2/27)
Donald Trump won't be the only one trying to score political points when he delivers his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Just as presidents usually invite guests in the audience to highlight their speech's policy initiatives, members of Congress from Ohio and across the nation will bring their own guests, each meant to convey a message. For Democrats Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Joyce Beatty of the Columbus area, that message is: "Don't mess with the Affordable Care Act." (Eaton, 2/27)
