- Senate Republicans Head Back to Work with No Health Care Deal The Washington Post by David Weigel—Senate Republicans returned to Washington from a holiday recess with new and deepening disagreements about their health-care bill, with key Republicans differing Sunday not merely on how to amend the bill, but also on whether a bill could pass at all. "I would probably put that as 50-50," Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said in a "Fox News Sunday" interview.
- Senate Republicans Say They're Weeks Away From Healthcare Vote The Hill by Peter Sullivan—Republican senators are downplaying the chances of a quick vote next week on their Obamacare replacement bill amid divisions in the party over what the legislation should look like. "We're still several weeks away from a vote, I think," Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said at an event Wednesday. Likewise, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a radio interview on Wednesday that a vote could happen "in the next several weeks." Senate Republicans had originally planned to vote on the bill last week, before the July Fourth recess, but leaders delayed action when it became clear the measure would fail to clear a procedural hurdle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said after announcing the delay last week the vote on the bill would occur in a "couple weeks."
- Senator McConnell: If GOP Health Bill Dies, Bipartisan Fix Will Be Needed USA Today by Eliza Collins—If Senate Republicans can't get the 50 votes required to get an Obamacare repeal and replacement over the finish line, they may have to work with Democrats to repair the existing marketplace, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday. "If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur," McConnell said in Glasgow, Ky. Thursday according to the Associated Press. McConnell made the comment after he was asked about bipartisan cooperation. "No action is not an alternative," McConnell said. "We've got the insurance markets imploding all over the country, including in this state." Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., jumped on the Republican leader's comments, saying McConnell "opened the door to bipartisan solutions."
- GOP Promises Lower Health Premiums But Ignores All That's Driving Them Politico by Joanne Kenen—Even if the party fulfills its vow to repeal Obamacare and reins in premiums, the nation's mounting costs are almost sure to pop out in other places. Republicans promise to bring down the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans by repealing Obamacare. But in the race to make insurance premiums cheaper, they ignore a more ominous number—the $3.2 trillion-plus the U.S. spends annually on health care overall. Republicans are betting it's smart politics to zoom in on the pocketbook issues affecting individual consumers and families. But by ignoring the mounting expenses of prescription drugs, doctor visits, and hospital stays, they allow the health care system to continue on its dangerous upward trajectory. That means that even if they fulfill their seven-year vow to repeal Obamacare and rein in premiums for some people, the nation's increasing health care costs are almost sure to pop out in other places—including fresh efforts by insurers and employers to push more expenses onto consumers through bigger out-of-pocket costs and narrower benefits.
- If Republicans Reach a Health Care Deal, It Must Survive This Obscure Senate Rule Vox by Dylan Scott—Let's talk about the Byrd Rule. The fate of the Republican drive to repeal and replace Obamacare—and of the millions of Americans who could be left uninsured if it succeeds—could come down to a complex and obscure Senate rule. That rule will determine what provisions Republicans can include in the bill, how much of Obamacare they can repeal, and perhaps whether the most conservative GOP senators will vote for it. It could be the roadblock to a policy that conservatives see as their biggest demand before they support a bill they have serious reservations about. But the first domino to fall in such a scenario would be a conservative win on insurance regulations.