SALEM, Ore. - SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A $670 million health care tax package has officially passed the Oregon Legislature and now heads to Gov. Kate Brown.

Lawmakers in the Oregon Senate gave final approval on Wednesday in a 20-10 bipartisan vote.

The package raises tax revenue from hospitals and insurers over the next two years so that 350,000 low-income Medicaid recipients won't lose health care and a newly-built psychiatric hospital with hundreds of patients and workers won't be shut down.

House Bill 2391 is also one of the most important pieces of legislation lawmakers need to finish writing the 2017-19 budget that begins July 1 and must be balanced no later than July 10.

More specifically, it closes the upcoming $1.4 billion shortfall by about one-third.

---

News release from Oregon House Republican Office:

Representatives Hayden, Buehler, Kennemer decry healthcare package that passed with no support from House Republican medical practitioners

Salem, Ore. A two-bill package architected by Democratic Ways and Means leaders that will increase healthcare taxes on an estimated 275,000 Oregon health insurance ratepayers passed on the Senate floor today. No House Republican healthcare practitioners were afforded consideration in crafting the measures. Collectively, the three Republican House Healthcare Committee members professional experience covers the spectrum across oral, physical and mental health. All were supportive of an alternative package that editorial boards across Oregon urged lawmakers and Governor Brown to consider.

Its disappointing to see such a complex measure with such a vast impact rushed through the legislative process while another plan that would have spared working-class Oregonians a tax increase was never given any consideration, said Representative Cedric Hayden (R-Cottage Grove). As a dentist and a legislator, Ive worked to ensure low-income Oregonians have the access they need to care. This bill could have the net effect of people losing their coverage when they cant afford their premium increases.

House Bill 2391 creates two new healthcare taxes. The first is a .7% tax on hospitals which will generate $120 million. These dollars will be incurred by patients who are likely to see increased costs of hospital healthcare in order to pay for the tax. The second tax, a 1.5% insurance premium increase that is estimated to generate $145 million will be borne by school districts, local governments, small businesses, 217K insurance buyers in the marketplace, and 11,681 college students.

The second bill in their package takes money from an expiring reinsurance program and redirects it to insurance companies. House Bill 3398 was originally a bill to allocate money to a Hunger Task Force before it was gut and stuffed with a kickback to insurance companies.

As a retired psychologist, I believe one of the most important and neglected aspects of our care delivery system is mental health. Oregon has high rates of mental health problems and suicide, making dedicated mental health investments critical, stated Representative Bill Kennemer (R-Oregon City). Kennemer noted that the alternative package had a funding mechanism that would have dedicated nearly $7 million dollars to mental health and addiction treatment in Oregon.

Just as recently as this morning, the Eugene Register-Guard Editorial Board opined that a better way to fund Medicaid would have been to have a bipartisan package that both parties could solidly support.

Unfortunately, the hunger for new taxes and Democrats' resistance to accountability prevailed once again in Salem. It was a missed opportunity for more thoughtful, creative and bipartisan lawmaking that would have protected health care for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians while making government work better and smarter in the process, said Representative Knute Buehler (R-Bend).

House Bills 2391 and 3398 are now headed to Governor Browns desk for her signature. The bills are on an expedited path for becoming enrolled into law in order to guarantee insurance companies a $50 million windfall from the expiring reinsurance program. Both bills allow that program to continue if signed into law by June 30, 2017.

Link:

Oregon lawmakers send health care tax to governor - KTVZ

The emerging Senate bill, like the one approved narrowly by the House in early May, would end Medicaid as an open-ended entitlement program and replace it with capped payments to states, Republicans said. But starting in 2025, payments to the states would grow more slowly than those envisioned in the House bill.

Republican senators from states that have been hit hard by the opioid drug crisis have tried to cushion the Medicaid blow with a separate funding stream of $45 billion over 10 years for substance abuse treatment and prevention costs, now covered by the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

But that, too, is running into opposition from conservatives. They have been tussling over the issue with moderate Republican senators like Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine.

Without some opioid funding, Mr. Portman cannot vote for the bill, he said, adding, Any replacement is going to have to do something to address this opioid crisis that is gripping our country.

How senators have different priorities on health care.

Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate and can afford to lose only two of their members if they hope to pass the bill, which is opposed by all Democrats and the two independents.

Two Democratic senators from states plagued by opioid addiction, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, said the Republican proposal for federal grants would not come close to mitigating the harm caused by the bills Medicaid cuts, pushed just as overdose deaths are soaring. From 2005 to 2014, according to the latest data available, opioid-related hospital visits increased nearly 65 percent, to 1.27 million emergency room visits or inpatient stays a year.

While the proposed money for drug abuse treatment is relatively modest compared with spending for other items like Medicaid and premium tax credits, without it, hundreds of thousands of addicts would go without treatment, advocates say. The issue holds outsize political importance for senators like Mr. Portman, who has made advocacy for treatment legislation a calling card with voters at home.

The opioid issue has been a particular concern of mine and has been for years, said Mr. Portman, who has been leading the efforts with Senator Capito. The reality is we have the worst drug crisis that our countrys ever faced, and its being driven by opioids.

Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, who serves on a group shaping the final bill, said: We need to address the opioid crisis in America. I want us to find a bipartisan solution with adequate funding.

But Republican leaders would not commit to Mr. Portmans proposal.

The Medicaid and opioid issues are far from the only ones dividing Republican senators, who have been kept largely in the dark about a bill they are supposed to finally see on Thursday. Republican leaders are determined to keep their seven-year promise to unravel President Barack Obamas signature health care law, but the near unanimity they need on a replacement is proving elusive.

The House bill would allow per-capita Medicaid payments to states to grow along with the prices of medical goods and services, starting in 2020, with an extra allowance for older Americans and people with disabilities. Senator Toomey and several other conservatives have been pushing for a slower growth rate, to reflect increases in the overall Consumer Price Index, starting in 2025. Medical prices have historically grown faster than the overall index.

I think thats a problem, Senator Capito of West Virginia told the website Axios, reflecting the misgivings of a state that relies heavily on the program. I think that sort of defeats the purpose of keeping people on, and at a level at which the program can be sustained.

Several Republican senators, including Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the chairman of the Finance Committee, have indicated they would like to exempt disabled children from the caps.

Senator Collinss concerns cover almost the entire landscape of Republican problems: the loss of care for Medicaid recipients, the worries of states with especially high health care costs, and money for opioid treatment (8 percent of all births in her state, Maine, were to addicted mothers last year, she said). Then there are her complaints about the process.

First, we havent seen the bill, Ms. Collins said. Second, it has yet to receive a score from the Congressional Budget Office. And third is the process we are using.

That process an arcane budget procedure that Republicans denounced when Democrats used it to pass just a small part of the Affordable Care Act could make some provisions vulnerable to Democratic challenges to the bill. Not knowing which provisions will stay and which could be removed on the Senate floor makes evaluating the substance of the bill that much harder.

Republican aides speculated that the restrictions on the growth of Medicaid, among other issues, could be altered later by Senate Republican leaders, in a bid to pick up support from the moderates.

A bill this large with so much in flux days before it is to receive a vote on the floor is largely without precedent in the Senate.

Senior Republican senators said six weeks ago that they would start afresh in writing a bill to undo Mr. Obamas health care law, but the legislation they are developing is similar in many respects to the bill passed by the House.

The Senate bill would eliminate penalties for people who do not have insurance and larger employers who do not offer it to employees eviscerating the individual and employer mandates that were hallmarks of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill, like the House measure, would provide billions of dollars to states to help stabilize insurance markets, which Republicans say are tottering in many states.

The Senate bill would also allow states to opt out of many federal insurance standards. Republican leaders said they wanted to protect people with pre-existing conditions, but it was not immediately clear how they would do so.

Democrats stepped up their protests over the secrecy of the bill-writing process on Tuesday, and some Republicans chimed in. Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, was a member of a health care working group formed by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, but even he was vexed by the process.

It has become increasingly apparent in the last few days that even though we thought we were going to be in charge of writing a bill within this working group, its not being written by us, Mr. Lee said in a video on Facebook. Its apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican leadership in the Senate. So if youre frustrated by the lack of transparency in this process, I share your frustration.

Thomas Kaplan contributed reporting.

Get politics and Washington news updates via Facebook, Twitter and in the Morning Briefing newsletter.

A version of this article appears in print on June 21, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Opioid Worries Divide G.O.P. On Health Bill.

Read the original post:

GOP Rift Over Medicaid and Opioids Imperils Senate Health Bill - New York Times

Photo Photos of Charleena Lyles, who was killed by the police in Seattle on Sunday. Credit Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times, via Associated Press

On Sunday morning, two Seattle police officers shot and killed Charleena Lyles in her apartment. She was pregnant, and three of her four children were home. She had called the police to report a burglary. According to the officers account, shortly after they arrived, Ms. Lyles, who the police knew was mentally ill, pulled a knife. Both officers shot her. Societal failure to care for mental health, which leaves the police as mental illness first responders, may well have been one deadly ingredient in this tragic encounter.

According to her family and police records, Ms. Lyles wrestled with significant mental health issues. An audiotape reveals officers discussing her police and mental health history immediately before the shooting. Seattle Police Department officers had been called to her residence more than 20 times before this Sunday, with mental illness often figuring in those encounters. The department had placed an officer caution on her address for this reason, meaning officers should be on alert for dangerous behavior from her. Despite repeated previous mental health referrals and the involvement of Child Protective Services, she was alone with her children on Sunday, in distress and with nowhere to turn but 911.

Ms. Lyless situation is not unique. People with untreated mental illnesses are disproportionately likely to attract police attention. The combination of mental illness, racial segregation and poverty is particularly likely to result in police contact, often leading to arrest. In fact, a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics study revealed that 24 percent of state prisoners report a history of mental illness, with other sources reporting rates in some larger facilities as high as 70 percent. But it was not always the case that mental illness would result in the cycle of catch and release that evidently plagued Ms. Lyles.

What changed over the past half-century is that the United States has seen a stunning decline in resources devoted to public mental health during the same time the nation adopted mass incarceration. A 2009 International Association of Chiefs of Police review reported that the available hospital beds for persons suffering from mental illness dropped by 95 percent from 1955 to 2005, to 17 beds per 100,000 persons from 340. From 1985 to 2005, the nations incarceration rate tripled.

The shift away from hospital treatment of mental illness was not matched by an offsetting commitment to fund the health care people needed to live on the outside. Medicaid reimbursement rates are so low that it is difficult to find providers who will accept it. As a result, many people with mental illness are functionally uninsured for their most urgent health care needs. That is, state support for mental health retreated at the same time state investment in incarceration exploded and both with disastrous results for vulnerable communities.

The consequence of the disinvestment in public mental health has also not affected all vulnerable communities equally. African-American people are at least as likely as white people to experience mental health distress but are half as likely to receive mental health treatment. This helps to explain why its easy to recall other high-profile cases of police use of deadly force involving black victims with documented histories of mental illness.

Link:

Charleena Lyles Needed Health Care. Instead, She Was Killed. - New York Times

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds met with supporters and introduced North Iowans to acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, at right, at an airplane hangar at the North Iowa Airport in Mason City on Friday, May 26, 2017.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)Buy Photo

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she plans to discuss federal tax reform and Iowa's ailing health insurance exchange with President Donald Trump when he visits Cedar Rapids Wednesday.

Trump is scheduled to speak at a campaign-style rally at the U.S. Cellular Center and visitKirkwood Community Collegewith Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Reynolds said she will be participating in the visit to Kirkwood Community College. She said she also expects former Gov. Terry Branstad, who was recently confirmed as U.S. ambassador to China, to attend.

MORE:Iowa college leaders tell Trump not to cut back on federal financial aid

"I look forward to seeing the ambassador before he heads to China," she said.

But Reynolds said the visit is more than just a social call. She intends to discuss health care and tax policy with the president.

"Of course Im going to continue to talk about encouraging the White House to work with us on our stopgap measurefor insurance coverage so that we have an option for 72,000 Iowans to ensure that they have some type of coverage beginning on July 1 of 2018," she told reporters at her weekly press conference.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen has proposed tweaking Obamacare rules to encourage more young and healthy people to buy coverage on the Affordable Care Act's individual health insurance markets. The proposal is an effort to prop up the exchange,which has seen all three of the state's major carriers threaten to exit the marketplace amid growing costs and uncertainty at the federal level.

Monday was the deadline for insurance carriers to file proposed rates for individual health insurance policies in Iowa for 2018. Medica, a relatively small,Minnesota-based carrier, was the only carrier to file, though they told regulators they would need to increase premiums by an average of 43.5 percent.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shieldsaid last week it would re-enter the market if the federal government approved Ommen's proposal.

Reynolds said she also plansto "do my best to encourage (Trump) to push forward and get tax reform done in this year."

Reynolds last week citedanticipated changes at the federal levelas a possible reason that tax revenue came in lower than expected this year. She said Iowans may be making financial decisions based on their belief that federal tax reform will be implemented yet this year, creating some weakness in state revenue generated from income taxes.

MORE:Reynolds defends Iowa's financial position following delayed tax refunds

Iowa revenue continues to come in lower than projected. During the last legislative session lawmakerscut $118 million from programs and services while dipping into the cash reserves for another $131 million. Even after those cuts and reserve fund transfers, the state's latest projections indicate revenue for 2017 may still come in short by up to $100 million.

Reynolds has the authority to cover that shortfall with up to $50 million from the state's reserve funds. But if the shortfall were to exceed $50 million it would force a special session of the Legislature, which convened for the year in April.

Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/2sQGdKj

Go here to see the original:

Reynolds want to talk tax reform, health care with Trump during Cedar Rapids visit - DesMoinesRegister.com

An increasing number of people are opposed to the Republican healthcare bill, according to a new poll.

A Politico/Morning Consult poll finds just 35 percent of voters approve of the healthcare bill the House passed earlier this year, compared to 49 percent of voters who disapprove of the legislation.

In the new poll, 30 percent of Republicans disapprove of the GOP healthcare bill.

A majority, 65 percent, also says Republicans should "compromise with Democrats to reach bipartisan reforms" regarding the healthcare bill. Just 18 percent think the GOP should "work only with other Republicans in Congress to achieve reforms."

The poll was conducted from June 15 to 19 among 2,051 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percent.

Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell(R-Ky.) on Tuesday said Republicans would see a "discussion draft" of healthcare reform legislation on Thursday.

McConnell said reporters will get a chance to see the bill as well, addressing complaints from Democrats that GOP leaders have kept the bill secret.

Republicans may vote on the measure as soon as next week.

Read more here:

Poll finds growing opposition to GOP healthcare bill - The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., seen speaking to reporters on Tuesday, is set to release a draft of the Senate's version of the Republican health care bill on Thursday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., seen speaking to reporters on Tuesday, is set to release a draft of the Senate's version of the Republican health care bill on Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Republicans will release a discussion draft of their version of the health care bill on Thursday, with a vote likely next week.

Private health care talks have been underway in the Senate for weeks. McConnell tapped a 13-member working group last month to hash out senators' differences over the House-passed American Health Care Act. McConnell's office has since taken the lead drafting the Senate version of the party's long-promised legislation to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Republicans have been coy or simply out of the loop on the specifics in the Senate plan, but here is what we know about what might be in the bill and where it could be headed:

It Sounds A Lot Like The House Bill

After the House passed AHCA in early May, leading senators asserted that the Senate would go their own way. "We're writing a Senate bill and not passing the House bill," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said then. "We'll take whatever good ideas we find there that meet our goals."

In the end, those goals appear to be aligned.

The structure of the Senate bill, as described by GOP senators and aides, appears fundamentally the same as the House-passed plan.

The Senate bill is also expected to repeal the individual mandate and all or most of the ACA's taxes, phase out the Medicaid expansion as well as change how the Medicaid program is funded, establish a system of tax credits to help people buy insurance if they choose, and make it easier for states to opt-out of the ACA's mandates for preexisting conditions and minimum insurance coverage mandates.

There will be changes. For instance, the Senate version is expected to include more generous tax credits to make sure older, poorer Americans don't get hit with higher costs. Republicans are also battling over how best to remake the Medicaid program, with key vote senators like Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia sounding skittish about Medicaid reductions.

Other Republicans are excited by the bill. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has been one of the most vocal advocates for Obamacare repeal. "People didn't want to have to buy this product. This is a sinking ship, people are ready to jump off," he said Tuesday. Republicans like Barrasso see the bill as a win for the GOP and for the promises they made on the campaign trail.

"We eliminate the individual mandate. You'll see more people as free citizens making a decision to not have Obamacare insurance, but certainly have more freedom," Barrasso said.

The Process Stinks

"Can you say it was done openly? With transparency and accountability? Without backroom deals and struck behind closed doors? Hidden from the people? Hell no you can't! Have you read the bill? Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager's amendment? Hell no you haven't!"

That's not Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2017, that was former Minority Leader John Boehner in 2010 before House Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans vilified Democrats seven years ago for negotiating the final details of Obamacare behind closed doors. Today Senate Republicans' response could be: We learned it from watching you.

The Senate has not held any public hearings on their health care bill (the House did), senators involved in the talks have been tight-lipped on the substance, and the public will only have a few days to see it before it gets a vote.

McConnell brushed off questions about transparency. "They'll have plenty of time," he told reporters Tuesday. "We've been discussing all the elements of this endlessly for seven years. Everybody pretty well understands it. Everybody will have adequate time to take a look at it."

That argument rings hollow with some of his fellow Republicans. "We used to complain like hell when the Democrats ran the Affordable Care Act. Now, we're doing the same thing," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CNN.

"If you're frustrated in the lack of transparency in this process, I share your frustration," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a Facebook video for his constituents. Lee is a part of the 13-member working group, but he said he hasn't seen the draft bill. "I just haven't been able to see it yet and as far as I know the overwhelming majority of my colleagues haven't been able to see it either."

Failure Is An Option

McConnell has been quietly leading Republicans' to a vote next week but that doesn't mean it's going to pass.

"We're going to make every effort to pass a bill that dramatically changes the current health care law," McConnell said when asked if he has the votes.

"I think the leader has made it pretty clear we're going to vote, one way or another, and hopefully we'll have 50 votes when that time comes," Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune said when asked if he believed McConnell would bring a bill to the floor that didn't have the votes to pass.

While no Republican senator has yet come out opposed the bill, McConnell has only a two-vote margin of error with many senators voicing problems with the legislation.

"If our bill comes in with greater subsidies than Obamacare, it makes it hard for conservatives to support a bill that actually has greater subsidies than Obamacare," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters in regards to the tax credits in the GOP plan. "That for me is a nonstarter."

Conservatives like Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee have Utah have been skeptical about the bill's ability to ultimately lower premium costs for Americans. Both are seen as potential 'no' votes on the bill.

More moderate senators like Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are also seen as potential 'no' votes on the other end of the spectrum.

Defeat of the House-passed bill wouldn't necessarily end the health care debate in Congress, but it would redefine it.

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson hinted at what that would look like at a constituent event last Friday. "I'm not sure if we're going to come up with 50 votes with a Republican solution. Let's stabilize the markets and then, long-term, work with the Democrats colleagues to actually fix the healthcare system," Johnson said.

The White House Doesn't Love It Yet

The White House has maintained a light tough when it comes to shaping the policies in the health care bill, but President Trump reportedly told a group of senators last week that the bill passed in the House was "mean" and he wanted the final bill to do more to help needier Americans.

On Tuesday, White House Spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the president "wants a bill that has heart in it" but did not offer any specific policies Trump wants in the bill. Spicer also said he didn't know if the president had seen a draft of the Senate bill.

If the Senate approves a bill next week, it still has more hurdles to go. The House either needs to pass the Senate bill as-is and send it to Trump's desk, or the House and Senate have to go into a third round of negotiations in which both chambers would have to vote again on a final, compromise bill.

Either way, the health care debate is likely to continue into July if the Senate can pass a bill next week.

Democrats Debate How Far To Take Their Fight

Senate Democrats can't filibuster the bill because it's protected under special budget rules and only requires a majority vote. They're all going to oppose it, but they can't ultimately stop it from eventually getting an up-or-down vote.

Democrats have started a series of protests this week that could intensify as the Senate approaches that vote. They held the floor Monday evening for a series of speeches in opposition to the bill. On Tuesday, they invoked a rule to block any committee hearings from taking place that afternoon to draw attention to their opposition to the health care bill.

Outside Democratic activists associated with Indivisible are calling for Democrats to use every procedural tactic available to slow down debate. Since amendments are unlimited on a bill like this, one activist has even called on Democrats to introduce 40,000 amendments to keep the Senate on the bill through the 2018 midterms.

It's unclear how Democrats will respond next week, but Schumer said Republicans should expect a fight. "If Republicans won't relent and debate their health care bill in the open for the American people to see, then they shouldn't expect business as usual in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.

NPR congressional reporters Scott Detrow and Geoff Bennett contributed to this report.

The rest is here:

Here's What We Know About The Senate GOP Health Care Bill - NPR

While Obamacare was under consideration, McConnell had strong words for the Democratic majority's tactics, criticizing them for going 'the partisan route.' Now, he seems to be using them. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

In a dark, dark wood-paneled room Down a dark, dark hall Down a dark, dark staircase In a dark, dark building Down another equally long hall Past a row of statues And three ominous guards And two American flags And a man whispering hush And a series of paintings of the Founding Fathers in various attitudes of saintliness and undress Through several thick doors Inaccessible to journalists and far from the keen eyes of the Senate Behind a pile of papers And another pile of papers In a dark, dark box There is The Senate version of the health-care bill. Which of course everyone knows about and which has been discussed perfectly openly.

Do not fear the Senate version of the health-care bill, my child. It is perfectly secure, behind those locked doors and the press secretaries holding silent fingers to their lips. We discussed this concept several years ago, and so no further discussion is needed. Besides, if someone saw it who was not already pure in heart (which includes many in the GOP caucus but excepts McConnell staffers) it might fill them with an unspeakable dread and cause chaos to rein throughout the land, and town halls might be full of yelling and discord instead of joy and mirth.

Therefore, it must be kept there under lock and key, lest it escape and bring disharmony among the people. They would not be able to breakfast in comfort because fear would grip them as they gazed down into their cereal bowls. It might alarm them. They would come and make loud complaints. They would not wish immediately for their senators to vote for it, and it might be allowed to devour entire weeks of the discourse. That is why Sen. Mitch McConnell has undertaken to guard it by day and by night, so that the people may not be startled, and that it will be seen only for a short time, so that our eyes may bear it. He is only protecting us from the things this bill will do. Those few who have laid eyes on it have been stricken silent with amazement, and their faces have appeared on the television across the land crying in anguish (although not so often as you might expect). It is good that this thing has been contained and is being kept safe behind closed doors where it can be revised safely. For if it were allowed to escape early it would be quite startling indeed and who knows what changes might have to occur.

So it remains in that dark room Down those dark stairs Surrounded by men in dark suits (and sometimes seersucker) For who knows what may happen if it is seen? It may even turn people to stone. It may harm you once it gets out, if it sees you. But in the meantime it is safely locked away Down a dark, dark staircase In a dark, dark wood-paneled room In a deep, deep swamp And no debate is needed.

Read more from the original source:

Goodnight, Health Care - Washington Post (blog)

By Nolan D. McCaskill

06/20/2017 02:16 PM EDT

Updated 06/20/2017 02:28 PM EDT

President Donald Trump clearly wants a health care bill with heart, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday.

Days after telling Republican senators that the Houses American Health Care Act was mean, the president reportedly told tech leaders on Monday that the Senates version needs more heart, an ambiguous comment Spicer was asked to clarify on Tuesday.

Story Continued Below

I mean, the president clearly wants a bill that has heart in it, Spicer said. He believes that health care is something that is near and dear to so many families and individuals. He made it clear from the beginning that that was one of his priorities, and as the Senate works its way through this bill, as the House did, any ideas are welcome to strengthen it, to make it more affordable, more accessible and deliver the care that it needs.

Spicer described health care as an issue Trump is passionate about. He understands the role that health care plays in so many peoples lives and their families, and he wants to make sure that we do everything we can to provide the best option for them as Obamacare continues to fail, he said.

Asked specifically what part of the Senates bill Trump takes issue with, Spicer pointed to the ongoing discussion Trump has had with senators.

Im not gonna get into the private discussions that have occurred, he said. But I will just say that the more that we can do to produce a bill as it works its way through the process, that achieves the presidents goals, I think thats something that we can all agree on.

The text of the Senate bill could be made public for the first time on Thursday, giving senators roughly a week to review the text before a floor vote. Democrats have hammered their GOP colleagues for what theyve said is a secretive process that keeps Americans and even some Republican lawmakers in the dark.

Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Spicer couldnt say Tuesday whether Trump has seen the legislation. I dont know that, he told reporters. I know that there was some chatter today. I know the president has been on the phone extensively with the leader and with key senators. So I dont know if hes seen the legislation or not, but I know that theyve been working extremely hard and the president has been giving his input and his ideas, feedback to them, and hes very excited about where this thing is headed.

Spicer also couldnt confirm whether any White House staffers have seen the bill. I dont even know where we are in terms of a final plan, he conceded. But I know that they are up there working hand in glove with them.

Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

Continued here:

Spicer: Trump wants a health care bill 'that has heart' - Politico

By John R. Kasich and John W. Hickenlooper By John R. Kasich and John W. Hickenlooper June 20 at 2:26 PM

John R. Kasich, a Republican, is governor of Ohio. John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is governor of Colorado.

(Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

The fate of Americas health-care system, the focus of our nations most important and most heavily politicized public-policy debate is in the hands of the Senate, where senators get their turn to find a balanced and sustainable approach to health-care reform.

It is clear that the bill passed by the House in May will not meet the challenges of our health-care system. This bill calls into question coverage for the vulnerable, fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out and puts the health and well-being of millions of hard-working people in our states at risk, while shifting significant costs to the states. Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic.

All Americans will come out on the losing end if we simply replace one divisive plan with another, having failed to find a bipartisan solution to bringing lasting reform that can be sustained across administrations. It will be worse yet if senators like House members before them decide these questions behind closed doors, avoiding the open discussion and transparency needed to make the American people full participants in this vital debate.

We certainly agree that reforms need to be made to our nations health-care system. But as governors from opposite sides of the political aisle, we feel that true and lasting reforms are best approached by finding common ground in a bipartisan fashion.

Along with other governors Democrats and Republicans we agree that the best place to start is to restore stability to our nations health insurance system.

We and other like-minded governors have been working together to create a blueprint that can result in an improved health insurance system that is available and affordable for every American. We recognize that this is not an easy task. That is why our first step has been to develop a set of guiding principles that will positively impact the coverage and care of millions of Americans, including many dealing with mental illnesses, chronic health problems and drug addiction. These principles:

Improve affordability: Insurance reforms that increase access to quality, affordable health insurance coverage must be coupled with reforms that address rising health-care costs. Insurance reforms should be made in a manner that is consistent with sound and sustainable cost-control practices.

Restore stability to insurance markets: Americans without access to employer-sponsored coverage or government plans need to be able to choose from a healthy, stable and competitive market of insurers.

Provide state flexibility and encourage innovation: As laboratories of democracy, states can develop innovative approaches with the potential to strengthen health insurance for all Americans. Within broad standards, states should have appropriate flexibility to implement reforms in a manner that is responsive to local and regional market conditions.

Improve the regulatory environment: As the principal regulators of insurance, states are in the best position to promote competition within state insurance markets. Federal efforts should limit duplicative and burdensome regulations and provide relief to small-business owners and individuals.

The Affordable Care Act expanded coverage, but it needs improvement. Uncertainty in our current health insurance market has helped make it unstable. As passed by the House, the American Health Care Act threatens to create greater uncertainty. Historically, one-party solutions are not sustainable. The bipartisan principles we propose provide a more stable starting point to bring Republicans and Democrats together on lasting reforms.

Ensuring that quality health insurance is available and affordable for every American is a bipartisan responsibility. The states are uniquely positioned to meet this responsibility and to make our health insurance sector vibrant, stable and fair.

As governors, we and our colleagues who have signed on to this effort stand ready to work with our congressional delegations to develop a proposal that is fiscally sound and provides affordable coverage for our most vulnerable citizens. Our states and all Americans deserve nothing less.

See the rest here:

John Kasich and John Hickenlooper: Another one-party health-care plan will be doomed to failure - Washington Post

The White House said Tuesday that President Trump wants to make sure the health care bill being drafted in Congress has heart and improves the health care system for all Americans.

The president clearly wants a bill that has heart, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at the daily press briefing.

Mr. Trump reportedly said at a closed-door meeting Monday with tech industry leaders that he wanted the Senate to come up with a bill that had more heart than the bill the House passed in May, which was criticized for cutbacks in the Medicaid program for the poor.

Mr. Spicer did not say where the president believed the House bill lacked heart.

Senate Republicans are working on a separate health care bill. The details remain under wraps.

The president welcomes any ideas to strengthen it, to make it more affordable, more accessible and deliver the care it needs, Mr. Spicer said.

[Mr. Trump] believes that health care is something that is near and dear to so many families and individuals, he said. He made it clear from the beginning that that was one of his priorities. He wants to make sure we do everything we can to provide the best option for them as Obamacare continues to fail.

Read the original:

Trump wants health care bill with 'heart' - Washington Times

By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna and Anthony Salvanto

As Republican leaders push forward to repeal and replace Obamacare, most Americans would prefer a public discussion take place in the Senate, feeling they don't have a good understanding of what the plans would do. From what they do know, or anticipate, by two to one, more believe the plans will hurt them rather than help them. And the bill passed recently by the House gets majority disapproval.

Almost three quarters -- including most Republicans --feel that Senate Republicans should discuss their health care plans publicly as they work on the bill. Republicans are, however, twice as likely as both Democrats and independents to endorse a private approach.

Perhaps this is because most Republicans, Democrats, and independents agree they haven't heard enough to feel they have a good understanding of the Republicans' plans yet.

Still looking for information, many start off as skeptical. Most Democrats and nearly a third of independents think the GOP health care plans will hurt them personally. More than half of Republicans anticipate no effect on them personally.

Women and lower-income Americans are particularly likely to say they will be hurt personally by the plans.

Few feel positively toward the bill recently passed by the House of Representatives. Overall, 32 percent approve of the bill, while 59 percent disapprove. Views are divided by partisanship.

Meanwhile, most Americans would prefer that Congress improve the Affordable Care Act, not repeal it, including half of Republicans who don't want it repealed entirely. Overall, seven in ten say the law should either be kept in place or that it has some good things but needs changes to make it work better. Fewer than three in ten say Congress should repeal and replace it entirely.

This poll was conducted by telephone June 15-18, 2017 among a random sample of 1,117 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.

The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.

Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.

The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

See the article here:

Few feel they have good understanding of GOP health care plan - CBS News

As the healthcare bill makes its way through whatever the Senate is doing with it, one provision is absolutely non-negotiable: The bill needs to defund the nation's largest abortion giant, Planned Parenthood. They committed 328,548 abortions last year, which is equal to one of every three abortions in the country.

Just because the Hyde Amendment states that taxpayer monies cannot be used to directly fund abortion, it does not prohibit tax dollars from paying for the costs to keep the abortion facilities up and running, the salaries of staff, or the medical equipment used for abortions.

What other government contractor takes hundreds of thousands of innocent lives per year and still receives taxpayer dollars?

The list of reasons why Planned Parenthood needs to be immediately defunded is long and egregious.

We know that Planned Parenthood illegally profited from selling the body parts of babies they aborted. Planned Parenthood and their affiliates have even been referred for criminal prosecution by the House of Representatives' Select Panel on Infant Lives as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The abortion giant has defrauded taxpayers out of millions of dollars: In 2009, the Alliance Defending Freedom released an audit that showed affiliates in at least four states were responsible for more than $95 million in waste, abuse, and potential fraud over the course of several years. Planned Parenthood of California was accused of overcharging the state and federal governments by $180 million for birth-control pills. And in 2013, Planned Parenthood was ordered to pay more than a million dollars in restitution because they defrauded taxpayers in Texas.

Planned Parenthood has suffered no reduction in government funding even after they were caught numerous times aiding and abetting sex trafficking of minor girls and covering up statutory rape at many of its affiliates.

Planned Parenthood in Cincinnati, Ohio, was sued after covering up sexual abuse of a minor by her father. In another case in the same state, they failed to report the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old by her soccer coach.

Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains was sued after committing an abortion on a teen girl without parental consent, failing to report child sex abuse, and then returning her to her abuser her step-father.

In California, swim coach Andrew King was allowed to sexually abuse dozens of young girls after Planned Parenthood failed to report child sex abuse when he took a 14-year-old he impregnated there for an abortion.

As if covering up child abuse wasn't horrible enough, women have died because of Planned Parenthood's carelessness, the most recent being Cree Erwin-Sheppard in 2016, who perished after a botched abortion in Michigan.

The abortion giant could care less about the well-being of their patients.

A Kentucky Planned Parenthood broke the law when they started doing unlicensed abortions at their new facility. The Columbia, S.C. Planned Parenthood was cited for 21 health and safety violations and ordered to pay $7,500. They broke HIPAA privacy laws in California when they gave patient information to a vendor, and Planned Parenthood in Delaware was shut down after numerous health violations, including not cleaning their instruments.

Planned Parenthood also knew about the atrocities that Kermit Gosnell was committing at his late-term abortion facility and chose to do nothing.

And here's the kicker to this entire list of atrocities: Planned Parenthood gets more government money every year but serves fewer people. By their own annual reports, between 2006 and 2016, the number of clients served by Planned Parenthood dropped 22.5 percent. Their revenue rose by 33 percent since 2007. Under Cecile Richards' leadership, cancer screenings and prevention services have dropped by 66 percent.

Yet they continue to receive government funding because they spend millions of dollars in Washington and are a force to be reckoned with. Just this past election cycle, Planned Parenthood had a ground operation larger than Hillary Clinton's paid staff and pledged to spend $30 million to elect her. They also gave 99 percent of their donations to Democrats.

But their time is up. Anti-abortion elected officials need to deliver on their promises during the campaign to defund Planned Parenthood. The nonprofit is a corrupt, deceitful, and harmful organization that should not be funded by taxpayers in any way at all.

Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is president of Students for Life of America.

If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read ourguidelines on submissions here.

Original post:

Defunding Planned Parenthood needs to take priority in the Senate healthcare bill - Washington Examiner

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill.

The Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has led to a standoff in the Senate.

Senate Democrats on Monday night began using parliamentary maneuvers to slow Senate business as part of a coordinated protest against the GOP push to pass an Obamacare replacement bill. A small group of Republican senators has been working in private for weeks, shielding from public view the bill and the negotiations surrounding it.

In a show of frustration with what they deem the GOP's "shameful" and "secret" legislative process, Democrats on Monday also held the Senate floor with a series of back-to-back speeches.

"If Republicans are not going to allow debate on their bill on the floor or in committee, Democrats will make opportunities to debate," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking Monday on the Senate floor. "And these are merely the first steps we're prepared to take in order to shine a light on the shameful Trumpcare bill and reveal to the public the GOP's backroom deal-making."

Liberal activists cheered on social media as Schumer forced McConnell to object to a motion to hold public hearings on the health care bill, and then pressed the Republican leader to commit to 10 hours of open debate.

Senate Democrats, in taking action Monday, are inserting themselves into a process that has excluded them by design. Democratic lawmakers are also responding to growing pressure from progressive activists who have been calling for more aggressive opposition. Members of the Democratic base have expressed concern that Republicans are moving forward with their health care bill while attention has been focused elsewhere namely on the Russia investigations.

Some Republicans are also out of the loop

It's not just Democrats who have been left out of the health care deliberations. Many Republican senators have seen little more than an outline and a Power Point summary of the Senate health care legislation that is being drafted.

"It's not unusual, especially for a big bill like this. It's okay that the drafting is happening behind closed doors," Tommy Binion, a congressional liaison at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told NPR's Morning Edition.

While GOP senators aren't objecting to the process as vehemently as Democrats, a number of Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., say the health care legislation should eventually be subject to open debate.

"If it's an effort to rush it from a small group of people straight to the floor on an up or down vote, it'll be a problem," Rubio said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

McConnell: "Nobody is hiding the ball here"

The Republican health care bill could be voted on as early as next week ahead of the July 4th recess without any committee hearings or public input. For his part, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is defending the closed health care talks.

"Nobody is hiding the ball here," McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters last week. "There have been gazillions of hearings on this subject when [Democrats] were in the majority, when we were in the majority. We understand the issue very well and we are now coming up with a solution."

Republicans contend the secret Senate negotiations give them time and space free from scrutiny to hash out the significant and serious differences among themselves over contentious issues, such as phasing out Medicaid expansion and determining the plan's coverage requirements.

Democrats say the closed talks are a tacit acknowledgment by Republicans that their efforts are unpopular.

"There's only one reason why Republicans are doing this: They're ashamed of their bill," said Schumer on Monday. "The Republicans are writing their health care bill under the cover of darkness because they're ashamed of it, plain and simple."

While the Senate is crafting its own legislation, the House-passed American Health Care Act is viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans 55 percent compared with 31 percent who viewed it favorably, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released in May.

What's more, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the House health care bill would result in 23 million fewer people with insurance in a decade, and it would leave many sicker and older Americans with much higher costs.

Republicans eager to move on from health care

Still, Senate Republicans badly want to take up other priorities such as overhauling the country's tax code.

"We've been debating Obamacare's failures and what to do about them for so many years now," McConnell said Monday on the Senate floor. "Members are very, very familiar with this issue. Thankfully, at the end of this process, the Senate will finally have a chance to turn the page on this failed law."

Any legislation the Senate passes would head back to the House for consideration before President Trump can sign it into law.

Read the original:

Democrats Tie Up The Senate To Protest GOP Health Care Push - NPR

This contrasts with current examples of such financing arrangements. Where physicians earn a preset salary for example, in Kaiser Permanente plans or in the British National Health Service patients frequently complain about rationed or delayed care. When physicians are paid on a fee-for-service basis, for every service or procedure they provide as they are under the insurance company model then care is oversupplied. In these systems, costs escalate quickly.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the American Medical Association saw early health care models union welfare funds, prepaid physician groups as a threat. A.M.A. members sat on state licensing boards, so they could revoke the licenses of physicians who joined these alternative plans. A.M.A. officials likewise saw to it that recalcitrant physicians had their hospital admitting privileges rescinded.

The A.M.A. was also busy working to prevent government intervention in the medical field. Persistent federal efforts to reform health care began during the 1930s. After World War II, President Harry Truman proposed a universal health care system, and archival evidence suggests that policy makers hoped to build the program around prepaid physician groups.

A.M.A. officials decided that the best way to keep the government out of their industry was to design a private sector model: the insurance company model.

In this system, insurance companies would pay physicians using fee-for-service compensation. Insurers would pay for services even though they lacked the ability to control their supply. Moreover, the A.M.A. forbade insurers from supervising physician work and from financing multispecialty practices, which they feared might develop into medical corporations.

With the insurance company model, the A.M.A. could fight off Trumans plan for universal care and, over the next decade, oppose more moderate reforms offered during the Eisenhower years.

Through each legislative battle, physicians and their new allies, insurers, argued that federal health care funding was unnecessary because they were expanding insurance coverage. Indeed, because of the perceived threat of reform, insurers weathered rapidly rising medical costs and unfavorable financial conditions to expand coverage from about a quarter of the population in 1945 to about 80 percent in 1965.

But private interests failed to cover a sufficient number of the elderly. Consequently, Congress stepped in to create Medicare in 1965. The private health care sector had far more capacity to manage a large, complex program than did the government, so Medicare was designed around the insurance company model. Insurers, moreover, were tasked with helping administer the program, acting as intermediaries between the government and service providers.

With Medicare, the demand for health services increased and medical costs became a national crisis. To constrain rising prices, insurers gradually introduced cost containment procedures and incrementally claimed supervisory authority over doctors. Soon they were reviewing their medical work, standardizing treatment blueprints tied to reimbursements and shaping the practice of medicine.

Its easy to see the challenge of real reform: To actually bring down costs, legislators must roll back regulations to allow market innovation outside the insurance company model.

In some places, doctors are already trying their hand at practices similar to prepaid physician groups, as in concierge medicine experiments like the Atlas MD plan, a physician cooperative in Wichita, Kan. These plans must be able to skirt state insurance regulations and other laws, such as those prohibiting physicians from owning their own diagnostic facilities.

Both Democrats and Republicans could learn from this lost history of health care innovation.

Christy Ford Chapin is an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University and the author of Ensuring Americas Health: The Public Creation of the Corporate Health Care System.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

A version of this op-ed appears in print on June 19, 2017, on Page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: How Health Care Went Wrong.

Go here to see the original:

How Did Health Care Get to Be Such a Mess? - New York Times

Republican candidate Karen Handel talks to supporters in Marietta, Georgia. CREDIT: KiraLerner

MARIETTA, GEORGIAWith one day until the much anticipated special election in Georgias sixth district, the Republican Party is secretly working on its landmark health care bill that will reshape the future of health insurance in the United States. But Republican candidate Karen Handel would prefer not to talk about it.

In an interview with Breitbart News on Monday, Handel claimed that voters in the Atlanta suburbs do not care about health insurance.

It hasnt been that much of an issue on the ground, she said. For voters in the sixth district, the biggest issue is that Jon Ossoff is from outside the district.

A recent Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found that more than 80 percent of likely voters in Georgias sixth district said health care is an extremely important or very important issue, and just one in four said they approve of the plan Republicans rammed through the House last month.

Handel has said she would have voted for that plan, but she and other GOP leaders are not eager to discuss their support. At a campaign stop in Johns Creek, Georgia Monday morning, Handel avoided talking to reporters altogether. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was campaigning for the former Georgia secretary of state, quickly rushed away from the event and into his car when ThinkProgress tried to ask him about the massively unpopular Affordable Health Care Act.

McCarthy said he would discuss the bill at Handels next event, but he did not attend.

When Handel finally addressed health care at a lunchtime campaign stop in Marietta, Georgia, she said she is confident the Senate GOP will provide the American people with transparency before they push for a vote on their Obamacare replacement.

What I know is that the Senate will have transparency as they go forward, she told ThinkProgress.

Senate Republicans have said they will try to hold a vote on the bill before the July 4 recess, leaving little time to read the bill, much less for meaningful discussion or debate.

The CBO issued a report last month on the Houses version of the bill, finding that it would leave roughly 23 million people without health insurance. In the weeks since, popular opinion about the legislation has plummeted, making it the most unpopular major law in recent decades.

Senate Republicans have been attempting to hide from both the press and the public to avoid discussing their proposal. One Senate Republican aide said last week that the decision to release their version of the bill at the last minute is an intentional move to avoid scrutiny.

On Monday, Handel seemed to adopt the same strategy. Speaking to reporters briefly about the issue, she acknowledged that the House bill is not perfect, but still said she would have supported it if she were in Congress.

Ive been very clear from the start that the House bill was not perfect, but in order for us to move forward, we needed to have a bill on the table to begin to work with, she told ThinkProgress.

She continued by citing the common Republican talking point that Obamacare is failing and that the GOP needs to do whatever it takes to push through their own bill.

I know people talk about, what if the exchanges collapse, she said. Well folks, Obamacare is collapsing. I know because my husband and I get our insurance off of the exchanges and our premiums have gone from about $350 a month to $1200 a month. So the status quo was unacceptable.

Handel also talked specifically about reductions to Medicaidthe House version of the AHCA would cut $834 billion from Medicaid over the next decade.

What I support is moving Medicaid to block grants so that the states can drive that process, she said. I have much greater faith in the governor and the state legislature to craft a Medicaid system that is going to be the best fit for the people of Georgia, rather than someone in Washington dictating it.

A number of Democrats in the sixth district told ThinkProgress this week that its unacceptable that the Senate GOP is working in secret to draft such an important bill. But Handel supporters said Monday they are not concerned.

Jamshaid Bhatti, a 28-year-old Marietta resident, said he trusts Republicans and Trump to come up with a solution to decrease health care costs. He said he thinks working in secrecy will help the GOP accomplish its goals.

Thats a pretty good move because we want them to be surprised, he said about Senate Democrats. I do trust my representation.

And Carrie Almond, the president of the National Federation of Republican Women who came to the sixth district from Alexandria, Virginia to support Handel, said GOP leaders know what theyre doing.

I dont really think its a secret process when you have a task force that you put together, she said. They need time to put things together and Im sure when theyre ready, theyll let us all know what theyve put together.

Theyve spent a lot of time working on it in the past and I think theyre going to reveal it at the right time, she added. There will be appropriate due diligence.

Read the original here:

Karen Handel doesn't want to talk about health care - ThinkProgress

Sacramento Bee

How worried are you about losing health care? Sacramento Bee Californians have a message for Republican-controlled Washington as the U.S. Senate continues work to overhaul the health care system: We like what we've got. A new statewide poll found that Golden State supporters of the Affordable Care Act, also ... New study says House GOP healthcare bill would lead to the loss of almost 1 million jobs in 10 yearsBusiness Insider Our senators must think before voting on health careSavannah Morning News Where Health-Care Legislation StandsWall Street Journal (subscription) Vox -Southern Poverty Law Center all 78 news articles »

See the rest here:

How worried are you about losing health care? - Sacramento Bee

Michael Catalini, Associated Press 2:04 p.m. ET June 19, 2017

Congressman Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) fields questions from angry voters for nearly five hours during a town hall meeting Wednesday, May 10, 2017 in Willingboro. MacArthur played a major role in reviving the new GOP healthcare bill. Produced by Joe Lamberti

Congressman Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) addresses constituents and concerned citizens of New Jersey in a town hall meeting Wednesday, May 10, 2017 in Willingboro.(Photo: Joe Lamberti/Courier-Post)Buy Photo

TRENTON

A former Obama administration national security aide is challenging the New Jersey Republican congressman who helped revive President Donald Trumps health care overhaul.

Andy Kim, 34, of Marlton, told The Associated Press on Monday that he is launching a 2018 bid for New Jerseys 3rd District House seat against incumbent Rep. Tom MacArthur.

Kim said he is running because of MacArthurs push for an amendment that would allow states to get federal waivers from the requirement that insurers charge healthy and sick customers the same premiums. The change would be for people who let their coverage lapse, but MacArthur says those people would be covered by high-risk pools.

More: MacArthur quits post in GOP group over health care bill

More: MacArthur hauls in big cash at Trump fundraiser

Im running because Im concerned about the direction of our country, Kim said. That legislation is something that is going to endanger tens of thousands in the Jersey 3rd and millions of people in the country.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the House bill would leave 23 million fewer people with insurance by 2026.

The House passed the measure aimed at replacing the Affordable Health Care Act in May, and Trump celebrated with an event at the White House. The Senate is working on a related measure.

Kims entrance into the race comes after Trump hosted a fundraiser for MacArthur at his Bedminster golf club that raised about $800,000, according to MacArthurs campaign.

It also comes as Democrats across the country are eager to challenge Trumps agenda and deliver him a political blow by picking up seats in contested districts.

MacArthur campaign spokesman Chris Russell defended the congressmans efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act and said hes determined to confront and solve serious problems.

He also jabbed at Kims health care credentials.

As for Andy Kim running on the health care issue, if he is as much of an expert on health care as he was when advising President Obama on ISIS in Iraq, voters in Burlington and Ocean Counties would be wise to keep him on the JV Team, Russell said.

Kim served from 2013 until 2015 as the Iraq director for the Obama administrations National Security Council and before that he was the Iraq director at the Pentagon within the defense secretarys office. He also previously served generals David Petraeus and John Allen in Afghanistan.

He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2004 with a degree in political science and obtained a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University as part of the Rhodes Scholar program.

Southern New Jerseys 3rd District hugs the Delaware River and the Philadelphia suburbs to the west, but also spans the conservative-leaning Pine Barrens and Ocean County to the east. Trump won the district in 2016, but Democrat Barack Obama carried it twice.

Republican Jon Runyan, a former Philadelphia Eagles player, represented the district for two terms before retiring in 2015. Runyan defeated one-term Democrat John Adler in 2010.

Read or Share this story: http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2017/06/19/tom-macarthur-trump-healthcare-reform-challenger-reelection/409186001/

See the original post here:

MacArthur's health-care role fires up challenger - Cherry Hill Courier Post

WASHINGTON Democrats and activists opposed to GOP health care legislation have unleashed a full-scale effort to stop the plan but are finding it difficult to get anyone to pay attention.

Despite the stakes, critics say Republican efforts to hide the legislative process and a relentless tide of major news elsewhere have made it harder to draw attention to the issue.

"If you're a voter sitting at home looking at your newspapers front page, its possible to have no idea the 'Trumpcare' train is barreling down the tracks at you," Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn, told NBC News in an interview.

If all goes according to the GOP plan, Republicans in Congress will send sweeping healthcare legislation that could affect coverage, cost and treatment for tens of millions of Americans to President Donald Trumps desk before August. The House has already passed a bill and the Senate hopes to hold a vote on its own version as early as this month.

It's the home stretch for arguably the most important legislation in Congress since the Affordable Care Act.

"This is not a drill, this is a red alert," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a floor speech this week. "In a very short time, maybe only two weeks, the Republican majority may try to jam through a health care bill that no one in America has seen."

MoveOn and a variety of other grassroots groups are warning members that a bill is imminent and sounding the alarm with events, petitions and phone calls to senators. Democrats have been giving floor speeches, holding town halls, and tweeting all week about the expected legislation. But some are expressing frustration that their message is getting lost in the noise.

"Think of every Trump tweet as an attempt to get the media to not cover the destruction of the Affordable Care Act," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told reporters at a press conference highlighting the House bills impact on opioid treatment on Thursday. "That's whats going on."

For weeks, news coverage has been dominated by the ongoing scandal surrounding the White Houses firing of FBI director James Comey, including Comeys own testimony last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday, and Trumps regular commentary on Twitter.

"When people ask me a question about Russia, I say, 'I'm happy to talk to you about it, but youre going to have to listen to me talk about the health care challenge ahead,'" Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted during Tuesdays hearing with the attorney general that followers should "focus 10% of your attention/outrage on Sessions testimony, 90% on the secret health care bill."

He told NBC News later that day that he expected it to be the last week that youll hear Democrats focusing on anything other than health care."

On Wednesday, Congress was diverted by a horrifying attack on their own members at a baseball practice in Virginia that critically wounded House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) The shooting halted many legislative activities and prompted a brief moment of bipartisan reflection from lawmakers, but the healthcare bill is moving on regardless.

"It looks like were still on track to have a vote before we leave [for July 4 recess]," Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Democrats believe their case is strong if they can get it out.

The House bill would insure 23 million fewer people over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, while dramatically increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs for older and low-income Americans. It would reduce Medicaid spending by over $800 billion and use the savings to help finance large tax cuts for wealthy Americans and medical industries, a shift that could squeeze benefits for low-income families, seniors in nursing homes, and children with disabilities. Even President Trump reportedly called the bill mean in a meeting with senators this week.

But thats the House bill. The Senate bill is a moving target.

Even as Senate Republicans move toward a vote, almost nobody knows whats in the bill. In a major break from normal procedure, Republicans are working out the details with a small working group, away from the normal spotlight of bipartisan committee hearings. Even some Republican senators have complained that they and the public have been left in the dark.

"If you get a copy of it, will you send me a copy?" Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told NBC News on Thursday.

The closed-door process means there are few developments that generate news stories, like public hearings with industry leaders and affected constituents, or new policy proposals for experts to evaluate. Instead, the opaque process itself is the main story.

"Theres a real danger here that this kind of legislating is going to become the new normal," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters on Thursday, saying that Republicans were using the ambiguity around the bill to deflect scrutiny of its likely impact.

The House used similar methods to pass its health bill last month, releasing a final version within 24 hours of a vote and several weeks before the Congressional Budget Office could estimate its effects and cost.

Democrats and allied groups, fearing a repeat, have tried to draw attention to the secretive process, hoping they can pressure GOP leaders into being more forthcoming and build a backlash against the closed-door methods.

"The first message were asking [activists] to say to their senators is 'Show me the bill,'" Leslie Dach, campaign director of the Protect Our Care coalition, told NBC News. "It's just unconscionable that the Senate would vote on a bill that's going to affect peoples lives this way and one-sixth of the economy and purposefully refuse to let anyone see it."

Democrats say theyre confident they'll be able to draw more attention to the bill in the coming days.

"I think this issue is going to resume to front page status," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told NBC News.

He added that the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller gave them more room to discuss health care, since members were confident his investigation would be independent and thorough. As part of that effort, Kaine introduced a bill this week to help stabilize Obamacare exchanges, which are struggling in some states due to a combination of existing problems and mixed signals from the White House and Congress on payments owed to companies to cover costs for low-income customers.

Some grassroots activists have urged Democrats to take a more aggressive approach to disrupt normal Senate business in response to the GOPs stealthy tactics. One online petition on CREDO Action calls on Democrats to use "every legislative tool at your disposal to block and resist Trumpcare."

Independent polling has consistently found the House bill is deeply unpopular, suggesting some of their message is breaking through despite the slew of news competing for Americans' attention. A Quinnipiac survey this month found respondents disapproved of the House bill by a massive 62-17 margin.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W Va.) told NBC News that the issue was by far the dominant concern expressed by his constituents in phone calls and town halls even as the medias eye wandered elsewhere.

"I dont have to draw attention it, he said. "They come out in droves, theyre so hungry to talk about it."

Read this article:

Health Care: Democrats Can't Hit What They Can't See - NBC News

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that as the House GOP-passed health care bill is debated behind closed doors in the Senate, Democrats should do "everything they can" to oppose the legislation in "any way" they can.

"Throwing 23 million people off of health insurance is beyond belief. Now, in the Senate what you have is you have I believe it is 10 Republicans working behind closed doors to address 1/6th of the American economy," Sanders said.

"The average Republican doesn't even know what's in that legislation," he said. "My understanding is that it will be brought forth just immediately before we have to vote on it. This is completely unacceptable."

Sanders called the current bill the "worst piece of legislation" against working class people that he can remember in his political life in the Congress, and that the reason Republicans don't want to bring debate out into the public is because it was a "disastrous bill."

Play Video

Vermont senator speaks with Face the Nation about the shooting at a congressional baseball practice this week, the Senate's ongoing health care n...

Meanwhile, Sanders said that while Americans are in a "very contentious and difficult political moment in our country's history," he has "very grave concerns about the Trump agenda."

Sanders told CBS News' John Dickerson that while he feels that the "vast majority of the American people have strong disagreements" with Republicans approach to health care, "you don't have to be violent about it."

"Let's disagree openly and honestly. But violence is not acceptable," he added.

Sanders comments come just days after he decried the actions of gunman James T. Hodgkinson as "despicable." Hodgkinson opened fire on a group of Republican congressmen practicing in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.

Sanders took to the Senate floor, addressing the fact that Hodgkinson was a former volunteer for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, saying he was "sickened" by the attack.

Play Video

"Let's disagree openly and honestly," Vermont senator says, "but violence is not acceptable."

"Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through non violent action and anything else runs counter to our most deeply held American values," Sanders said.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, remains in hospital care but has shown signs of improvement over the weekend after suffering a gunshot wound to the hip.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center said Scalise underwent another surgery Saturday to treat the gunshot wound. Doctors said Friday the bullet entered at his hip and traveled across his pelvis, causing severe damage to internal organs. He suffered massive blood loss and was at "imminent risk of death" upon arriving at the hospital Wednesday.

"Freedom of speech, the right to dissent, the right to protest, that is what America is about. And politically every leader in this country and every American has got to stand up against any form of violence. That is unacceptable," said Sanders on Sunday. "And I certainly hope and pray that Representative Scalise has a fully recovery from the tragedy that took place this week."

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read the original:

Sen. Bernie Sanders sounds alarm on GOP health care bill ...

Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSenate Dems to hold late-night protest over ObamaCare repeal Senators wrestle with transparency in healthcare debate Law enforcement not in touch with Sanders on Scalise shooters work for campaign MORE (I-Vt.) on Sunday implied that he supports a blockade in the upper chamber as Republicans work to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

During an appearance on CNNs State of the Union, host Jake Tapper asked Sanders if he could confirm that Senate Democrats were planning a blockade over the GOP healthcare proposal.

Jake, I think that the Democrats in the Congress should do everything possible, A, to defeat that legislation, which is, again, to my mind, unspeakable, Sanders replied.

Tapper pressed Sanders, telling the senator he would take the answer as confirmation unless he disagreed.

I am in favor of the American people and members of Congress doing everything that we can to defeat that horrific piece of legislation that will hurt tens and tens of millions of people in our country, Sanders replied.

Senate Republicans are currently working on legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare after the House last month passed its own version of a healthcare bill.

Read more:

Sanders implies support for Senate blockade over healthcare - The Hill