OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: New hope for GOP ObamaCare challenge?

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has given Republicans new ammunition in the fight over ObamaCare by endorsing the idea that Congress is certain to act if the court deals a blow to the law.

The conservative justice contended Wednesday that lawmakers would move quickly if the court, in the case of King v. Burwell, strikes down subsidies that are helping millions of people purchase insurance through the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov.

{mosads}Congressional Republicans had been making that very same argument in the run-up to the case, and say Scalia’s remarks should help draw attention to the multiple ObamaCare fixes that they have prepared.

“With all of the fear mongering by the administration that things are going to be disastrous if the Supreme Court rules one way, Justice Scalia said, ‘No, Congress will act,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who is working on a Republican ObamaCare plan. “So I was encouraged by that, because we are committed to doing that.”

Democrats say Scalia’s faith in the Republican Congress is misplaced.

“He just is saying what the Republicans were saying in their op-ed, but there’s no there, there. It’s a signal,” said Rep. Sander Levin (Mich.), the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. Read more here.

DETAILS EMERGE ON NEW GOP SUBSIDY PLAN: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Thursday unveiled the party’s first bill to directly address the looming Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare that could eliminate subsidies for 8 million people.  

The bill would provide 18 months of healthcare subsidies if the Supreme Court rules against ObamaCare this spring using a Reagan-era law that allows out-of-work Americans to temporarily keep their healthcare.

The freshman senator, who was elected with strong Tea Party backing, said in an interview that his plan provides a “transitional bridge” to helping people who would be affected by the decision. The bill, called “The Winding Down ObamaCare Act,” would not strike down all of ObamaCare because Sasse said the party – and the political environment – are not ready for repeal.

“Republicans need to be proposing and uniting around and presenting to the country a choice before the 2016 election. That’s not going to happen in the summer of ’15,” he said. “The national conversation of replacement needs to happen, but we need a Republican nominee to carry the mantle.”

The bill would cover 65 percent of insurance plan costs for six months, with some assistance continuing for 18 months. It does not specify exactly how it would be funded. Read more here.

SENATOR CITES POPE AGAINST KING V. BURWELL: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Thursday cited Pope Francis in defending ObamaCare against a lawsuit heard by the Supreme Court.

Kaine, a Catholic, pointed to the pope’s message from the beginning of the season of Lent, when he called for “islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference.”

“The Affordable Care Act reaches into lives that have often been drowned in a sea of indifference and offers those lives some mercy,” Kaine said on a conference call with faith leaders defending the healthcare law.

Other faith leaders on the call also made the case for the law.

“We are advocating and praying that the Supreme Court will see that this is about life and death, and choose life,” said Sister Simone Campbell, a leader of the Nuns on the Bus movement, which advocates for causes such as economic fairness and immigration reform. Read more here. 

BILL WOULD COVER BIRTH CONTROL UNDER MEDICAID: A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced a bill that would provide free birth control to women enrolled in Medicaid, while also expanding access to preventative services nationwide.

Medicaid, a government-run program for low-income individuals and families, covers about nearly 70 million people nationally.

Birth control is already offered for free under ObamaCare, which requires all private health insurance plans to cover contraception.

The bill has three sponsors, all of whom are Democratic women in the Senate, and faces a tough challenge in the GOP-controlled Congress.

“I do know there are those who are going to say no right off the bat. That will not stop me.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who authored the bill, told reporters Thursday. Read more here:

State by state

Los Angeles sees health benefits as smog haze clears

Panel rejects Utah governor’s Medicaid expansion, advances Dem option

Slow start for ambitious New York Medicaid initiative

Arkansas House approves new abortion pill restrictions

What we’re reading

Analyzing Justice Kennedy and King v. Burwell

The dilemmas of King v. Burwell

Will Kennedy save ObamaCare?

What you might have missed from The Hill

Bill prevents discrimination against religious organizations

Unplanned pregnancies cost taxpayers $21B each year

Dem bill calls for study of school start times

‘Superbug’ reported at second LA hospital

Please send tips and comments to Sarah Ferris, sferris@digital-stage.thehill.com, and Peter Sullivan, psullivan@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow on Twitter: @thehill, @sarahnferris, @PeterSullivan4