| Trump: GOP tax bill 'essentially' repeals ObamaCare President Trump on Wednesday claimed the Republican tax plan "essentially" repeals former President Obama's signature health-care law. "When the individual mandate is being repealed, that means ObamaCare is being repealed," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "We have essentially repealed ObamaCare and we will come up with something much better." The GOP tax overhaul gets rid of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which requires almost all Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Trump said he refrained from playing up that measure because he was worried about how the news media would report it, but added "now that it's approved, I can say that." Despite Trump's claim, the tax bill does not repeal ObamaCare entirely. People will still be able to purchase insurance through individual marketplaces, Medicaid expansion is preserved and consumer protections remain in place. Read more here. Senate GOP pushes off ObamaCare bills until January Senate Republicans are punting two ObamaCare bills into next year as lawmakers scramble to avoid a government shutdown. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) said they have asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to not bring the bills up this week. "Rather than considering a broad year-end funding agreement as we expected, it has become clear that Congress will only be able to pass another short-term extension to prevent a government shutdown and to continue a few essential programs. For this reason, we have asked Senator McConnell not to offer this week our legislation," they said in a joint statement. Collins and Alexander said the ObamaCare legislation could wait until the Senate considers a slate of must-pass bills, including a full-year funding deal, in January. "Instead, we will offer it after the first of the year when the Senate will consider the omnibus spending bill, the Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization, funding for Community Health Centers, and other legislation that was to have been enacted this week," they said. Their comments come after Senate Republicans said they were considering whether to drop their plan to attach the health-care bills to a continuing resolution (CR) needed to avert a government shutdown. Read more here. Collins lets McConnell slide on promise to shore up insurance markets in 2017 Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), in the face of staunch GOP opposition, is letting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slide away from his promise to pass legislation stabilizing health insurance premiums before year's end. Collins previously said she had an "ironclad" commitment to get it done before the new year, but with Congress set to recess in a few days, time is running out. The proposal to pass legislation subsidizing insurance companies to soften the blow of repealing ObamaCare's individual mandate ran into stiff opposition from House conservatives, who insisted on anti-abortion language. Collins acknowledged on Wednesday that McConnell and Vice President Pence won't be able to keep their promise to enact the insurance stabilization legislation in exchange for voting for tax reform this year. Read more here. WH: Trump wants Congress to pass bipartisan ObamaCare fixes in January President Trump supports the passage of bipartisan legislation designed to shore up ObamaCare, the White House said Wednesday. "Yes," a senior White House official said when asked if Trump wants the bills passed in January. The official expressed confidence that Republicans could overcome opposition in the House, where conservatives are objecting to the fixes. "We believe we will work with the House to get those passed," the official said. "We think that we'll be in a more comfortable place in January to get that passed." Read more here. Senate Republicans look to address concerns about abortion language in ObamaCare bills Senate Republicans are looking for ways to ensure that two ObamaCare funding bills they're trying to pass don't go toward insurance plans that cover abortions. "There were some questions that were raised in the pro-life community, and we want to make sure we get those addressed so that all conservatives feel comfortable voting for this transition out of ObamaCare, which is what this is all about," said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). Rounds mentioned that the issue could be resolved by an executive order signed by President Trump that would ban the funding from going toward plans that provide abortions. However, anti-abortion groups have been pushing for the ObamaCare bills to include language from the Hyde Amendment, a long-standing amendment reauthorized every year that bans Medicaid and other programs under the Health and Human Services Department from using federal funds for abortions. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told Republican members Tuesday the lower chamber would not be passing the ObamaCare bills without Hyde language. Read more here. Arizona seeks to impose Medicaid work requirements Arizona is seeking to impose work requirements on many of its Medicaid beneficiaries under a new waiver submitted to the Trump administration this week. The waiver would require able-bodied adults between the ages of 19 and 55 -- with certain exemptions -- to work, attend school or go to employment support and development programs for at least 20 hours a week. Those who fall under the requirements would have six months to meet them before losing coverage, though they could re-enroll after complying. The state is also proposing to impose a five-year lifetime limit on Medicaid for "able-bodied" people. Arizona submitted a similar waiver last year, but it was rejected by the Obama administration. However, state officials are likely to find success this year because the Trump administration has signaled they are much more open to the idea. Read more here. Health panel Dems demand answers from Azar on banned words Democrats on the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday released a letter asking Alex Azar, the Trump administration's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, how he would deal with a reported prohibition on the use of certain words at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Given your pending nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services, we seek your reaction to this reported new administration policy, as well as additional information about how you would plan to address these communications restrictions if confirmed," the Democrats wrote. The letter stems from reports in The Washington Post that senior CDC officials in charge of the budget told the agency's policy analysts of a list of words they shouldn't use in documents they are preparing for next year's budget. The banned terms included "fetus," "transgender" and "science-based." Read more here. | 
