- Poll: Just 21 Percent Approve of House's Obamacare Repeal Bill Politico by Louis Nelson—Less than a quarter of American voters surveyed in a new poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University approve of the legislation passed last week by the House of Representatives to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Fifty-six percent of those polled said they disapprove of the legislation, dubbed the American Health Care Act, while just 21 percent said they support it.
- 13 Men, and No Women, Are Writing New G.O.P. Health Bill in Senate New York Times by Robert Pear—The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has a reputation as a shrewd tactician and a wily strategist—far more than his younger counterpart in the House, Speaker Paul D. Ryan. So the Senate majority leader's decision to create a 13-man working group on health care, including staunch conservatives and ardent foes of the Affordable Care Act—but no women—has been widely seen on Capitol Hill as a move to placate the right as Congress decides the fate of President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.
- Four Deal-Breakers That Could Blow Up a Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill Politico by Adam Cancryn—Here are the four potential deal-breakers that could sink the GOP's Obamacare repeal bid by siphoning support from the political center: Deep cuts to Medicaid; fewer protections for people with pre-existing conditions; defunding Planned Parenthood; and the "age tax."
- CBO Score of Obamacare Repeal Bill Expected Week Of May 22 Politico by Jennifer Haberkorn—The Senate parliamentarian can't review the legislation and the GOP cannot really start writing its bill in the upper chamber until the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring is complete. That's because the Senate version has to save at least as much money as the House bill—otherwise the measure would violate the budget resolution and the GOP repeal effort would come to a swift end.
- Senate GOP Defends Writing Its Healthcare Bill in Private The Hill by Peter Sullivan—Senate Republicans are defending their decision to write their own Obamacare replacement bill behind closed doors, bypassing the usual committee process. They say it is unlikely that the bill will go through hearings and markups in committee, though they stress that a working group of lawmakers, as well as the entire Republican caucus, will have heavy input on the bill. It is highly unusual for a measure overhauling the healthcare system—which represents roughly 20 percent of the U.S. economy—to be negotiated in private.
- GOP Senators Likely to Pass ACA Repeal Bill Because Failure Is Not an Option Modern Healthcare by Harris Meyer—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell faces a seemingly herculean task in getting at least 50 Republican senators with sharply diverse views to reach consensus on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Despite these hurdles, it wouldn't be smart to bet against McConnell and his colleagues. There are growing signs they could pull it off. That's because they and President Donald Trump need to pass an ACA repeal bill—their central promise to voters for the past seven years——to move forward with tax reform and better position themselves to keep control of Congress in the 2018 elections.