Sarah Mahmood  //  5/7/17  //  Topic Update

The Upton Amendment, critical to passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), works at cross-purposes with other parts of the law, explains Nick Bagley at Take Care.

The House Republicans’ process and promises for passage of the AHCA matter, argues Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

The AHCA includes a penalty for not being insured, which wouldn't pass constitutional muster as a tax under the Court’s first Obamacare decision, explains Leah Litman at Take Care.

To comply with the responsibilities of office, a President must have a basic understanding of the legislation he is signing, and Trump has failed this requirement with respect to AHCA, argues Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

Healthcare reform is complicated, but Trump owes the American people honesty about the alarming implications of his plan for people with pre-existing conditions, explains Rachel Sach on Take Care.

• President Trump seems unaware of the health care changes (NYT) and promises (Politico) he isn't on track to keep.

President Trump misrepresents the American Health Care Act (AHCA), particularly its provisions for pre-existing conditions and age discrimination, explains Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

• Many House Republicans oppose the third iteration of the AHCA, including Fred Upton, former House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman (WSJ, NYT).

• Americans with pre-existing conditions are worried about the recent iteration of the AHCA that allows states to opt-out of consumer protections (NYT).

• Matthew Nussbaum, at Politico, covers the White House’s mixed messaging over health care reform.

• Josh Blackman argues that Americans’ support of coverage for pre-existing conditions resembles President Obama’s lie that people can keep the plans they like.

The House of Representatives passed the AHCA, a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (WSJ, Politico).

• Robert Pear at The New York Times provides a primer on the main portions of the AHCA.

• Timothy Jost provides an in-depth analysis comparing the original AHCA with the AHCA bill that passed today.

• The New York Times’ Editorial Board argues House Republicans showed a “breathtaking hypocrisy” by passing the AHCA without a single hearing or by voting prior to the Congressional Budget Office scoring the bill.

• Gerald Seib, at the Wall Street Journal, assesses the positives and negatives from passing the AHCA for the White House and Congress.

• The AHCA will now move to the Senate, with procedural hurdles and skeptical Republicans awaiting it, reports Matt Flegenheimer at The New York Times.

• A few notable Republican Senators expressed skepticism about the AHCA (The Hill).

• At New York Magazine, Ed Kilgore analyzes the portions of the AHCA that do not allow for state flexibility, including price discrimination based on age and insufficient tax subsidies.

• John Cassidy, at The New Yorker, calls the AHCA “one of the most regressive pieces of legislation in living memory.”

• The Center for American Progress found that the AHCA will leave hundreds of thousands of Americans with pre-existing conditions without health insurance (CNN).

• Josh Blackman documents other instances of legislation being passed without proper deliberation.

• Some Congressional Democrats believe the AHCA could be a gift for their party in the 2018 elections (Politico).

California’s efforts to provide health insurance prior to the ACA demonstrates the pitfalls of AHCA, which would give greater responsibility to states for health coverage, reports Noam Levey at the LA Times.

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