Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Bill Clinton Backpedals After Calling Health Law 'Craziest Thing In The World'
Former President Bill Clinton put his wife in a tough political spot by re-injecting Obamacare into a policy-free presidential race â with just 35 days until Election Day and the media intensely focused on Donald Trumpâs tax returns. (Cook and Ehley, 10/4)
Former President Bill Clinton ignited a mini-firestorm on Monday when he slammed the post-Obamacare U.S. health care system as "the craziest thing in the world." The comment seemed to be a devastating attack on President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement, which is strongly supported by his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. After a day of conservatives drawing attention to the lines, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tried to feed the furor with a tweet: "Wow, did you just hear Bill Clinton's statement on how bad ObamaCare is. Hillary not happy. As I have been saying, REPEAL AND REPLACE!" (Kapur and Tracer, 10/4)
Hillary Clinton sought to clean up after her husband who on Monday night referred to Obamacare, President Barack Obamaâs signature legislative achievement, as a âcrazy system.â âI think he made it clear what he was saying,â Clinton told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, when asked about her husband's remarks. âWith respect to the Affordable Care Act, Iâve been saying that we need to fix whatâs broken and keep what works.â (Griffiths, 10/4)
Bill Clinton tried to avoid muddling his message again as he campaigned for his wife in battleground Ohio a day after he described President Barack Obama's health care law and the resulting insurance markets as "the craziest thing in the world." This time, Bill Clinton only briefly mentioned health care in multiple appearances Tuesday in eastern Ohio, clearly stating his support for the law and arguing that more still must be done to expand access to insurance. (10/4)
Former President Bill Clinton on Tuesday evening firmly declared his support for the Affordable Care Act, after causing a dust-up by referring to some of the effects of President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement as âthe craziest thing in the world." âI want to say this one thing about the healthcare law, because thatâs another thing theyâve been trying to tangle in â I supported the Affordable Care Act. I support it today,â he said while campaigning for his wife in Steubenville, Ohio on Tuesday. (Saba, 10/4)
Donald Trump seized Tuesday on comments Bill Clinton made about the federal health-care law known as Obamacare, and he suggested the former president has âgone through hellâ with Hillary Clinton on âmany nights.â Trump said Bill Clinton âcame out and told the truthâ about the Affordable Care Act when he âabsolutely trashedâ it. (Sullivan, 10/4)
Republicans on Tuesday jumped on Bill Clintonâs reference to some of the gaps in the U.S. health system as an acknowledgment of shortcomings in the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The former president and husband of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was speaking in Flint, Mich., on Monday, when he noted that while the current system works fine for lower-income people, and while 25 million more people now have health coverage, other people are seeing their premiums doubled and coverage cut in half. (Armour, 10/4)
In other news, Democrats continue to blast Donald Trump for his comments on PTSDÂ â
Hillary Clinton sharply criticized Donald Trump for his comments on military veterans and post-tramautic stress, which have drawn criticism for his suggestion that "strong" veterans don't have to worry about the disorder." Donald Trump's comments are not just ignorant, they're harmful," she said, raising concerns that such remarks increase the stigma surrounding mental health. (Megerian, 10/4)
Democrats on Tuesday seized on comments Donald Trump made suggesting that military members and veterans with mental health issues are not âstrongâ and âcanât handle it,â remarks they said render him out of touch and unfit to be commander in chief. The Republican presidential nominee, speaking to a group of veterans in Virginia on Monday, said that some troops see things in combat that âa lot of folks in the roomâ have seen many times. âAnd youâre strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people canât handle it,â Trump said. (Zezima, 10/4)
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ripped Republicans on Tuesday, arguing they could have passed legislation to boost support for veterans but instead left Washington to campaign for Donald Trump. âRepublicans should be ashamed of themselves for knocking off work a week early to campaign for Donald Trump, who thinks veterans with PTSD are not âstrongâ and âcanât handle it,â instead of passing a critical bill to address the epidemic of suicide among Americaâs veterans," the outgoing Senate Democratic leader said in a statement. (Carney, 10/4)