Democrats will look to portray Judge Barrett as an ideologue who would throw out the Affordable Care Act and Roe v. Wade. Republicans will seek to keep the hearings moving speedily.
The possible addition of Judge Amy Coney Barrett could create “the Trump court,” pushing it rightward. Cases on the Affordable Care Act and religious objections to gay rights could offer early clues.
The health law had slipped in voter priorities, but the Supreme Court vacancy and November arguments in a case challenging its constitutionality have given the Affordable Care Act new urgency.
The Affordable Care Act touches the lives of most Americans, and its abolition could have a significant effect on many millions more people than those who get their health coverage through it.
On Tuesday night, President Trump told a town-hall-style meeting he had a health plan to replace the Affordable Care Act that’s “all ready,” a pitch he has delivered for four years.
The order expands on a presidential promise by trying to reduce the prices Medicare pays for prescription drugs, but experts said it was unclear whether the White House could carry out the directive.
A yearlong investigation into Seema Verma, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, showed the cozy relations that fuel the nation’s capital at taxpayer expense.
The administration now says failure to report Covid-19 data to the Department of Health and Human Services could cost hospitals Medicare and Medicaid funding.
An inspector general’s audit said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service used communications contractors for work that should have been performed by public servants.
If successful, the move would permanently end the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans.