Ryan maps out GOP timeline for ObamaCare

PHILADELPHIA -- Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday mapped out the GOP's 200-day legislative strategy, saying Republicans will repeal and replace portions of ObamaCare by the spring and tackle tax reform before the August recess.

During a private meeting of House and Senate Republicans at their annual policy retreat, Ryan said House committees will mark up a reconciliation package in the next couple of weeks that will both repeal President Obama's healthcare law and replace portions of it, according to several lawmakers in the room.

Then, Ryan will bring the final reconciliation package to the House floor by late February or early March.

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"It will be a repeal with some replacement in it for what we're able to do given the reconciliation process," Interim House Budget Chairwoman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) told reporters here at the GOP retreat. "Our goal is to make this a patient-centered healthcare system where we give people options."

Read more here from The Hill's Scott Wong and Alexander Bolton at the GOP retreat in Philly: http://bit.ly/2jg71uh

Senators move to nix Trump's ban on funding NGOs that provide abortions

Democratic senators are moving to permanently repeal the so-called Mexico City policy after President Trump reinstated the ban on U.S. funding for international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provide abortions.

Forty-three senators -- led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) -- introduced legislation to prohibit the Trump administration from using "certain restrictive eligibility requirements" to keep nongovernmental organizations from getting funding.

"President Trump's executive order to reinstate the Global Gag Rule is extremely short sighted and shows his willingness to ignore decades of research in favor of ideological politics," Shaheen said, using a term critics use for the rule.

The legislation would block the administration from banning foreign NGOs, who use non-U.S. dollars for abortion-related services or lobbying, from receiving taxpayer funding.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2jyiu9s

Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE unveils ObamaCare replacement

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) unveiled an ObamaCare replacement bill Wednesday as part of his effort to urge the GOP to speed up work on an alternative to the healthcare law.

Paul has been pushing his colleagues to have a replacement plan ready to pass simultaneously with repeal of ObamaCare, a demand that has recently been gaining support inside the party. His office noted that President Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAt indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Peterson faces fight of his career in deep-red Minnesota district MORE (R-Wis.) have also reacted favorably to that idea.

"There is no excuse for waiting to craft an alternative until after we repeal Obamacare, and the Obamacare Replacement Act charts a new path forward that will insure the most people possible at the lowest price," Paul said in a statement.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2jfRr1P

FDA critic on Trump's shortlist to head agency

Former biotech executive Joseph Gulfo has been offering the Trump administration advice on how it could reshape the Food and Drug Administration.

It seems the administration likes what he has to say.

Gulfo, who sparred with the FDA over the approval of a medical device product from 2010 to 2013, is now on the list of candidates the new administration is vetting to lead the FDA.

As recently as Tuesday, Gulfo penned an article critiquing the FDA's drug approvals over the last year. He also has been vocal about what Trump should do to get the agency "back to the basics."

His plan would require the FDA to roll back its definition of safety and effectiveness, which Gulfo says has expanded over the years. It would also require a leader who is not afraid to take the heat, Gulfo told The Hill Extra.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2jSFYqN

Conservative group launches $2.6M campaign targeting ObamaCare

The conservative American Action Network is set to launch a two-week, $2.6 million advertising campaign urging Congress to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The campaign will target 41 congressional districts throughout the country with digital, print, cable TV and direct mail advertisements focusing on the "failures" of ObamaCare and the GOP Congress's plans to do away with it.

The ads will air in Republican congressional districts across 23 states, including California, Colorado, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The campaign expands on a previously announced $1.5 million TV and digital advertising campaign by the group.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2ktXkxs

What we're reading

How Medicaid block grants would work (Kaiser Health News)

A new study shows IUD insertions really did spike after Trump's election (Vox)

The Dutch government wants to set up an international abortion fund in response to Trump's aid ban (Business Insider)

State by state

'Not turning back': California governor vows to protect state from ObamaCare repeal (californiahealthline.org)

Iowa bill to defund Planned Parenthood advances (The Des Moines Register)

Insurers wary about Cuomo's new contraception mandates (New York Business Journal)