First Edition: November 6, 2014
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Republican Gubernatorial Victories Make Medicaid Expansion Unlikely In 5 States
Tuesday’s re-election of Republican governors in closely contested races in Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Maine and Kansas dims the chances of Medicaid expansion in those states. Advocates hoping for Democratic victories in those states were disappointed by the outcomes, but Alaska, which also has a Republican incumbent, remains in play as an independent challenger holds a narrow lead going into a count of absentee ballots. (Galewitz, 11/5)
Kaiser Health News:
Voters Provide Mixed Messages On Health Ballot Measures
The Affordable Care Act wasn’t directly on the ballot in any state, but voters did decide a host of health-related issues in Tuesday’s elections. And there was no clear theme to what won and lost. For example, voters in two states – North Dakota and Colorado – rejected so-called “personhood” amendments that would have recognized rights for unborn fetuses. (Rovner, 11/5)
Kaiser Health News:
Soda Tax Succeeds In Berkeley, Fizzles In San Francisco
Voters in Berkeley, Calif., have passed the nation’s first soda tax with a resounding 75 percent of the vote. The measure aims to reduce the effects of sugar consumption on health, especially increased rates of obesity and diabetes. Across the bay in San Francisco, however, a similar proposal failed to get the two-thirds supermajority it needed. (Aliferis, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Health-Insurance Deadline Prompts Marketing Blitz To Drum Up Business
Health insurers are unleashing a blizzard of ads, letters, live events and other efforts to reach consumers, as the industry ramps up for the reopening of the health law’s marketplaces on Nov. 15. The companies’ outreach task is more complicated than it was last fall, when the exchanges made their debut. Now, insurers are trying to hold on to an estimated 7.3 million existing enrollees, as well as dig out millions of new customers who declined to sign up before. At the same time, they are pushing for a share of an increasingly crowded market, as more competitors have emerged in a number of states. (Wilde Mathews, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Small Firms Hit Bumps Test-Driving Health Site
Small-business owners test-driving the federal government’s new online health-insurance exchange report a mixed experience with the site ahead of its planned opening Nov. 15. The glitches range from business owners being unable to create accounts—a significant potential obstacle—to the lack of easy-to-spot instructions on the site. (Janofsky and Radnofsky, 11/5)
The Washington Post:
After Midterm Rout, Obama Says He Got Nation’s Message
Obama also made clear that he would resist any efforts by his opponents to undercut his landmark policies on health care and the environment. And McConnell acknowledged that Obama remains “a player” even as Republicans pursue their own initiatives. “The veto pen is a pretty powerful tool,” McConnell said. But he urged Obama to follow the leads of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, “who are good examples of accepting the government you have rather than fantasizing about the government you think you have.” (Nakamura and Eilperin, 11/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Obama Acknowledges Defeat But Recommits To Acting Without Congress
Obama also mentioned certain amendments to his signature healthcare law that he’d be willing to accept, possible peace offerings in the hours after Republicans swept key congressional races and set themselves up to take over both chambers of Congress early next year. He said he wouldn't consider major changes like a removal of the provision requiring every person to have health insurance. But he said he would be "open and receptive" to ideas for making "responsible changes." (Parsons, 11/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Obama, McConnell Speak Of Cooperation, But Conflict Is Apparent
On immigration, healthcare and global warming, the initial public statements from the two sides, while polite, indicated little flexibility and presaged intense new battles that could begin within weeks. ... McConnell also said the Republican Senate would move to undo at least parts of the 2010 healthcare law, although he also sought to quiet expectations of conservatives that the GOP could achieve total repeal. ... Republicans will, at minimum, try to repeal the law's new tax on certain medical devices, he said, and will try to strike down the requirement that individuals buy health insurance or pay a fine, which "people hate." Obama said he would veto any effort to repeal the insurance requirement, calling it "a line I can't cross" because it would "undermine the structure of the law." (Parsons and Lauter, 11/5)
The New York Times:
Newly Empowered, Mitch McConnell Promises An End To ‘Gridlock’
Fresh from his own re-election victory and his party’s powerful showing nationwide, Senator Mitch McConnell on Wednesday pledged to break the stalemate in Washington as newly empowered congressional Republicans moved quickly to demonstrate that they can get things done. ... They say they will focus on balancing the budget, restoring an orderly process for spending bills, revising if not repealing the health care law and enacting a major overhaul of the tax code — ambitious goals, given years of stalemate and discord. Before taking up the issue of immigration, Republicans are likely to see what unilateral action President Obama undertakes, and how the country reacts to it. (Hulse, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Parties Vow To Seek Common Ground After Election
In a nod to voter opposition to the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama said he is open to making “responsible” changes to his signature legislative achievement. He declined to specify what targeted changes he is willing to accept, saying he preferred to discuss ideas in private with Mr. McConnell and other lawmakers on Friday. Mr. McConnell, who is under pressure from Senate conservatives to fight for a full repeal of the health law, said he’d prefer that course, but acknowledged that such a move might be impossible while Mr. Obama is in office and able to veto any such effort. Mr. McConnell said lawmakers would move to repeal a tax on medical devices and make other targeted changes to the health law. (McCain Nelson and Lee, 11/5)
The Washington Post:
GOP Crafts Narrow Agenda For New Congress, Seeking Unity, Democratic Votes
Within hours of solidifying their control of Congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John A. Boehner were quietly laying plans for a series of quick votes in January aimed at erasing their obstructionist image ahead of the 2016 elections. ... Finally: Aim for the big score. Not repealing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, though the conservative campaign to undermine the law will proceed in the background. Instead, Republicans dangled the prospect of fast-track trade agreements and sweeping tax reform as potential areas of agreement during Obama’s waning days in office. (Montgomery and Costa, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Republican-Controlled Senate Considers Health Law Changes
The Republican Party’s drive to repeal the Affordable Care Act will continue to stall despite the Republican takeover of the Senate, prompting party leaders to instead concentrate on peeling back unpopular bits of the law. Republican lawmakers and strategists signaled Wednesday that a simple message of repealing President Barack Obama ’s 2010 health law won’t be enough to appeal to voters. Polls show a majority of Americans oppose the law, but still don’t want it repealed and prefer lawmakers fix it instead. (Radnofsky, Armour and Peterson, 11/5)
The New York Times:
Business Leaders Cautiously Expect G.O.P. Win To Open Some Doors
But despite plenty of public talk of more aggressive action — like a rollback of the Affordable Care Act or the Dodd-Frank rules passed after the financial crisis — lobbyists, experts on Wall Street and political veterans say the actual legislative agenda will be much more limited. ... While many of the more conservative Republicans elected on Tuesday made their opposition to the Affordable Care Act a touchstone of their campaigns, there is much less appetite on the part of business leaders for wholesale changes to the health care law. For one thing, many of the insurance exchanges are finally working well, and businesses have adapted to the new landscape. Even more important, added demand from the newly insured is likely to increase profits in sectors like hospitals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. (Schwartz and Krauss, 11/5)
The New York Times:
Republican Voters Want To Get Things Done, But Differ On Priorities
In interviews in a half-dozen states where a Republican senator replaced a Democrat, voters said they wanted a rollback of the Affordable Care Act, approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and fixes for immigration problems, among other concerns. But beyond any specific policy, Republican voters’ No. 1 wish was for cooperation between the warring tribes of Washington, where gridlock drove much of the voter backlash at the polls this year.(Gabriel, 11/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
What The GOP’s Takeover Of Senate Committees Means For Obama’s Agenda
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) is expected to take the gavel at the Senate Budget Committee. GOP control of the budget process in the Senate and House, which remains under Republican control, will give the party greater leverage in budget negotiations with President Barack Obama, particularly over the nation’s borrowing authority and government funding levels. Mr. Sessions, a conservative, could use the position to lead GOP efforts to use the budget process to target the Affordable Care Act and programs such as Social Security or Medicare. (Crittenden, 11/5)
The Associated Press:
Election Brings New GOP Power To State Capitols
State capitols across the country will be more Republican than at any point since the Roaring ‘20s when victorious legislators and governors take office next year. That could result in lower taxes and perhaps fewer dollars flowing to social safety net programs. ... Over the past several years, Republicans already have used those majorities to cut taxes, restrict abortions, expand gun rights and limit the powers of public employee unions. ... The Republican victory in Arkansas was the largest since Reconstruction, with GOP candidates sweeping the statewide offices and building upon its legislative majorities. Republicans will have to decide whether to continue a program enacted under Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe that expanded health coverage to more than 200,000 people by using Medicaid money to buy private insurance. (11/5)
The New York Times:
With Statehouse Victories, Republicans Are Poised To Enact Changes
With the states acting as laboratories for legislation that cannot advance in Washington, policy changes are likely on a variety of issues. “What they’re going to do now is move forward a Republican set of policies — lower taxes and a focus on job creation,” Mr. Storey said. “It will be much harder to see expansions of Medicaid. And there may be fewer restrictions for gun owners.” (Nagourney and Davey, 11/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Prop. 45's Resounding Defeat Is A Boon For Health Insurers
Aleady a financial bonanza for health insurers, Obamacare paid off for the industry again at the ballot box as Californians soundly rejected a bid to rein in health insurance rates. Even so, the companies still face heat over their ever-increasing health insurance premiums, and pressure will build on California's Obamacare exchange to hold the line on rates. (Terhune and Lifsher, 11/5)