| | | | Health care battle begins as House GOP unveils bill | | The House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is out, and just hours later, GOP leaders are already feeling the squeeze within their own party from both conservatives and moderates. Even Donald Trump's White House isn't fully embracing the bill, labeling it an "important step" toward a new health care law without endorsing its provisions.
The bill would repeal Obamacare's individual mandate while maintaining coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26, CNN's Lauren Fox and Deirdre Walsh report.
The legislation -- in two separate bills -- would also restructure the Medicaid program so that states receive a set amount of money from the federal government every year and offer individuals refundable tax credits to purchase health insurance, all of which experts have warned could result in millions of people losing access to insurance they received under the Affordable Care Act. It would also largely keep Obamacare's protections of those with pre-existing conditions, but allows insurers to charge higher premiums to those who let their coverage lapse.
A major fault line: House and Senate conservatives have argued that refundable tax credits are little more than a new entitlement program, and some Republicans from Medicaid-expansion states have said they would not support plans that could kick millions of people off the Medicaid rolls. Bowing to pressure from the right, House leaders have instituted an income cap on the tax credit to prevent wealthier Americans from claiming it.
The criticism from the right: Here's what Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said: "My guess is this bill looks a lot like the last one and we didn't like the last one." He was referring to a leaked earlier version that included the tax credits.
This won't help rally the troops around the bill's controversial provisions: White House press secretary Sean Spicer put out a statement that, notably, did not endorse the bill, despite chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon's involvement in crafting it. Instead, he praised it as an "important step." Spicer said: "Today marks an important step toward restoring health care choices and affordability back to the American people. President Trump looks forward to working with both Chambers of Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare."
The buzzwords Republicans will be using: "Access" and "flexibility" -- as Democrats charge that they'd leave fewer Americans with coverage than President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act did.
Already, a red flag from four Senate Republicans: Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they have concerns that a version of the bill the House GOP was considering "does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states."
Never to worry? Here's Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a crucial player in the process, to CNN's Tom LoBianco: "I would not look at these problems as though they cannot be resolved. They can, and it's going to take some leadership, but watch what (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell does here."
But what about the four senators' Medicaid concerns? More Hatch: "It's a little early to say right now, but that's going to be a big issue. So nobody wants to deny those who need help. ... I certainly don't want to." | | Trump asks Planned Parenthood to end abortions | | Fretting the political consequences of defunding Planned Parenthood (as the new GOP health care bill would), President Donald Trump is floating a deal: Stop providing abortions, and the administration will maintain funding for other women's health services. "There is an opportunity for organizations to continue the important work they do in support of women's health, while not providing abortion services," Trump said in a statement. The New York Times' Maggie Haberman had the scoop on the political wrangling over the $500 million Planned Parenthood receives annually from the federal government for non-abortion services .
If you read one paragraph from Haberman's report: "[T]he outreach to allies of Planned Parenthood is a glimpse of the internal struggle inside a White House torn between trying to satisfy the conservative base that elected President Trump and responding to the views of his older daughter, Ivanka Trump, who urged her father to tread carefully on the Planned Parenthood issue during the Republican primary contest."
Planned Parenthood's answer: No. President Cecile Richards said that abortion opponents have pushed the same idea for decades, and "Planned Parenthood has always stood strong against these attacks on our patients and their ability to access the full range of reproductive health care. We are glad that the White House understands that taking away the preventive care Planned Parenthood provides is deeply unpopular and would be a disaster for women's health care." | | "There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder, for less." | | | FBI's Comey was 'incredulous' over Trump tweets | | | From CNN's Pamela Brown and Shimon Prokupecz: FBI Director James Comey was "incredulous" over the weekend after President Donald Trump's allegation via Twitter that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of his phones during the campaign, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. The source said Comey was concerned that the allegation would make the FBI look bad, and that concern was part of what prompted the FBI director to have his staff reach out to staff at the Department of Justice asking them to knock down the allegation. The source said Comey felt "institutionally he has to push back on this" because of the magnitude of the allegations, which Comey knows not to be true. | | Iraq, Green Card holders exempted in new travel ban | | President Donald Trump signed a new executive order that bans immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, dropping Iraq from January's previous order, and reinstates a temporary blanket ban on all refugees, per CNN's Ariane de Vogue, Jeremy Diamond and Kevin Liptak.
What's changed: The new order removes language in the original order that indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and called for prioritizing the admission of refugees who are religious minorities in their home countries. It also explicitly exempts citizens of the six banned countries who are legal US permanent residents or have valid visas to enter the United States -- including those whose visas were revoked during the original implementation of the ban, senior administration officials said. | | | What does President Donald Trump see on his Twitter timeline? He only follows 43 accounts, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan points out -- including seven family members and nine family businesses, as well as close advisers and supporters and right-leaning media personalities. | | 3 things you might have missed today | | Supreme Court sends transgender case back to lower court: The decision vacates a lower court's ruling in the case of Gavin Grimm, a Virginia student who is seeking to use school bathrooms that align with his gender identity. It means the case will go back to a court of appeals and likely removes the possibility that the Supreme Court will hear it this term. More from CNN's Ariane de Vogue, Steve Vladeck and Theodore Schleifer.
Trump hires Rudy Giuliani's son: Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was hired to work in the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs, Politico's Annie Karni reports.
Alabama lawmakers set to meet to discuss impeachment of governor: Lawmakers are meeting Tuesday to explore options for impeaching Gov. Robert Bentley, according to a scheduling posted on the state legislature's website. Audio recordings from 2014 purportedly revealed Bentley engaging in sexually explicit conversations with one of his former aides, leading to lawmakers exploring impeachment last year. More from CNN's Euan McKirdy and Joshua Berlinger. | | | About two-thirds of Americans say a special prosecutor should investigate contacts between Russians and Trump campaign associates, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. ... More than 300 staff members at Alexandria City Public Schools have requested leave for "A Day Without a Woman" this Wednesday, prompting school closure for the day. ... | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people are talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
Post a Comment