Overnight Health Care — Presented by the American Conservative Union — GOP blindsided by Trump on ObamaCare | McCarthy urged Trump to hold off on new attack | Dems aim to block DOJ funds for lawsuit | Judge blocks Medicaid work requirements in two states
Welcome to Wednesday’s Overnight Health Care.
A federal judge struck down Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky.
Meanwhile, Congress is still dealing with the fallout from the Justice Department’s surprise shift on the ObamaCare lawsuit. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) even urged the president not to blow up the law, but President Trump is doubling down and dragging Republicans into a new fight over ObamaCare.
We’ll start there with the fallout over Trump’s call for the courts to strike down ObamaCare…
McCarthy urged Trump to hold off on latest ObamaCare assault
Congressional Republicans were not exactly thrilled with President Trump’s call on Monday for the courts to strike down all of ObamaCare.
An example: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) recently told President Trump he didn’t agree with the administration’s effort to have the Affordable Care Act deemed invalid in federal court, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
McCarthy discussed with fellow GOP leaders how he voiced his disapproval to the president, the source said.
And yet, Trump thinks he has a winning issue…
Trump doubles down on ObamaCare decision
When asked about the Department of Justice’s decision to call for all of ObamaCare to be struck down in an ongoing court case, Trump called the Affordable Care Act a “disaster,” saying insurance premiums are “too high” and the law is “far too expensive for the people, not only for the country.”
Trump also pledged the Republican Party would have a “far better” health care proposal than ObamaCare if the law is eventually thrown out by the Supreme Court.
“If the Supreme Court rules that ObamaCare is out, we’ll have a plan that is far better than ObamaCare,” the president said at the White House.
Key quote: “I understand health care now, especially very well. A lot of people don’t understand it, we are going to be, the Republicans, the party of great health care,” Trump said.
The reality: There is no plan. Congress spent the better part of two years trying to repeal the law, with different replacement ideas, and failed. The law is more popular than ever, and Democrats took control of the House in the midterm elections running on health care. Republicans in Congress clearly don’t really have an appetite to re-litigate their past failures.
Read more on Trump’s remarks here.
Where does this leave congressional Republicans…
GOP senators blindsided by Trump
Republican lawmakers were caught completely off guard by President Trump’s renewed push to repeal and replace ObamaCare and privately complain it’s a dumb political strategy heading into the 2020 election, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), whose panel has jurisdiction over health care, said he received no heads up from Trump or the White House that the president would call Tuesday for the GOP to become “the party of health care.”
“I don’t think there was any heads up on anything that he was going to say,” said Grassley, who added that he didn’t even know Trump was meeting with the GOP conference on Tuesday until Monday night.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of another key panel that handles health care, said he didn’t know about Trump’s new health care push until the president tweeted about it at 11:58 a.m. Tuesday, shortly before he walked into a Republican conference lunch to announce it in person.
More here on what Trump’s move means for Republicans.
Meanwhile, Dems go on offense…
Senate Dems aim to block DOJ funds supporting ObamaCare lawsuit
Senate Democrats are moving to try to block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using federal funds to support a lawsuit targeting ObamaCare.
Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that Democrats are offering an amendment to an unrelated disaster relief bill that would prevent the DOJ from spending money on the case, which is being litigated in an appeals court.
“The Department of Justice’s decision is a moral and institutional outrage, outrage. Not only would it harm Americans, it would undermine the rule of law,” Schumer said from the Senate floor.
The politics: Democrats are much more comfortable talking about the lawsuit than Republicans are, after GOP attacks on the law and its pre-existing condition protections helped Democrats win back the House last year.
And in the day’s other big story…
Judge blocks Trump Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas, Kentucky
A federal judge has blocked Medicaid work requirements approved by the Trump administration in Arkansas and Kentucky after more than 18,000 people have already lost coverage.
The decision by Judge James Boasberg is the latest blow to efforts by the administration to reshape the Medicaid program. It was the second time Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has struck down Kentucky’s attempts.
Boasberg ruled Wednesday afternoon in two separate cases that the Trump administration didn’t consider whether the work requirements met the objective of Medicaid: to provide coverage to the poor.
Just like in the first Kentucky ruling, Boasberg said HHS Secretary Alex Azar did not consider the massive coverage losses that could occur if the requirements were approved.
“The Secretary did no more than acknowledge — in a conclusory manner, no less — that commenters forecast a loss in Medicaid coverage,” Boasberg wrote in his Arkansas opinion.
The significance: Work requirements have been the central element of the administration’s Medicaid policy. This is the second time Kentucky’s were struck down in federal court. The first time, HHS re-opened the comment period, and then re-approved essentially the same requirements. It remains to be seen how HHS will deal with the latest blow.
Arkansas is more complicated. The state began phasing-in work requirements last August. Since then, more than 18,000 people have lost Medicaid coverage. Despite arguments from the administration that nullifying the requirements would be highly disruptive, Boasberg vacated the approval.
In other news…
Walgreens to sell cannabis-based products in some stores
Walgreens will begin selling cannabis-based products in nearly 1,500 stores in select states, the company told The Hill Wednesday.
Walgreens said it will sell cannabidiol (CBD) products such as topical creams, patches and sprays in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.
The decision comes after competitor CVS Health announced last week that it will sell certain CBD products in 800 stores as part of a distribution deal with a marijuana company.
The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp-based CBD and allowed it to be shipped interstate with certain restrictions; the ingredient has been appearing in beauty and wellness products ever since.
What we’re reading
Progressives support shoring up ACA before tackling Medicare for all (HuffPost)
Centene to buy WellCare for $15 billion, create Medicaid powerhouse (Associated Press)
Hospital finances improve after Medicaid expansion, but at whose expense? (Kaiser Health News)
Their baby died during his nap. Then medical bureaucrats deepened the parents’ anguish (Stat)
State by state
Medicaid work requirement may lead to $3 million average loss for Indiana hospitals, study says (Indianapolis Star)
How 12 court cases could challenge abortion access under Roe vs. Wade (Politico)
From The Hill’s opinion page:
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