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Trump Tells Congress to Repeal and Replace Health Care Law ‘Very Quickly’: New York Times by Maggie Haberman & Robert Pear—President-elect Donald J. Trump demanded on Tuesday that Congress immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act and pass another health law quickly. His remarks put Republicans in the nearly impossible position of having only weeks to replace a health law that took nearly two years to pass. "We have to get to business," Mr. Trump told The New York Times in a telephone interview. “Obamacare has been a catastrophic event.” Mr. Trump appeared to be unclear both about the timing of already scheduled votes in Congress and about the difficulty of his demand—a repeal vote “probably some time next week” and a replacement "very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter."
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State GOP Wary as Republicans Push Repeal of Health Law: Associated Press by Bill Barrow and Thomas Beaumont—Congressional Republicans' drive to repeal the 2010 health care law has financial and political repercussions for GOP leaders in the states and gives Democrats potential openings as they struggle to reclaim power lost during President Barack Obama's tenure. Some Republican governors, in particular, are wary about what their Washington colleagues might do with Obama's signature law, exposing a fissure in a party that has consolidated control in the nation's capital and dozens of statehouses around the country in accompaniment with President-elect Donald Trump's victory in November. Changes to the law could quickly impact states' Medicaid budgets, the financial standing of public and private hospitals, and the estimated 20 million Americans who have gained health insurance under the law. Ripple effects would reach health care providers from pharmacies to physical therapists.
- GOP Governors Fight Their Own Party on Obamacare: Politico by Rachana Pradhan—Republican governors who reaped the benefits of Obamacare now find themselves in an untenable position—fighting GOP lawmakers in Washington to protect their states’ health coverage. This rift between state and federal GOP officials is the real battle on Obamacare at a time when Democrats have only marginal power in Congress. The voices of even a handful of Republican governors intent on protecting those at risk of losing coverage could help shape an Obamacare replacement and soften the impact on the millions who depend on the law.
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Senate Takes Major Step Toward Repealing Health Care Law: New York Times by Thomas Kaplan and Robert Pear—Senate Republicans took their first major step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, approving a budget blueprint that would allow them to gut the health care law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster. The vote was 51 to 48. During the roll call, Democrats staged a highly unusual protest on the Senate floor to express their dismay and anger at the prospect that millions of Americans could lose health insurance coverage.