Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Control Looms Large Over Health Agenda, With Georgia Races Going To Runoffs
Both of Georgia鈥檚 Senate races will go to a runoff election to be held on January 5, 2021. With a small number of votes still to be counted in Georgia, particularly in the Democratic-leaning Atlanta suburbs, Republican Sen. David Perdue did not hit the 50 percent threshold he needed to avoid a runoff race with Democrat Jon Ossoff. As of 7 pm ET on November 5, Perdue was sitting at 49.89 percent, compared to 47.80 percent for Ossoff, according to Decision Desk. That鈥檚 runoff No. 2 for Georgia voters. Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock were already headed to a runoff in the special election for a Senate seat vacated in 2019 by retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson. (Nilsen, 11/5)
The 2020 elections won't end this year. After Republicans significantly outperformed expectations in several key Senate races this month, control of the upper chamber has come down to Georgia's two seats 鈥 both of which are heading to runoff races in early January.聽While Georgia's presidential race remains too close to call as ballots continue to be counted, the state is set to determine control of the upper chamber, a stunning development that gives Democrats a difficult but realistic pathway to having a unified government in Washington, DC. (Dorman and Relman, 11/5)
Republicans have won every statewide runoff vote in Georgia history, a string that started in 1992 when Paul Coverdell narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler. But Democrats aim to snap the streak next year, fueled by a surge of new voters. (Bluestein, 11/5)
In other news from Capitol Hill 鈥
The likelihood of a Biden presidency and a closely divided Senate means that nothing big is likely to happen in health care for at least the next two years. The big picture: For all the time Democrats spent debating Medicare for All, competing public insurance options and sweeping federal controls over drug prices, the near-term future for health policy will likely be about gridlock and incrementalism. (Owens, 11/6)
Floridians flock to the federal health-insurance exchange in higher numbers than any other state, but Obamacare-supporting political candidates, including incumbents and hopefuls, got beat in key state and federal races Tuesday. ... Health care didn鈥檛 translate at the polls the way that Florida Democrats wanted, said longtime Florida political analyst Susan MacManus, because it never was able to be distinguished from the COVID-19 pandemic. 鈥淔or a lot of people, COVID incorporated the idea of health care,鈥 she told The News Service of Florida. (Sexton, 11/5)
House Democratic leaders will dramatically expand Covid testing for lawmakers as the coronavirus pandemic enters its possibly deadliest phase this fall. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the testing expansion on a private Democratic leadership call Thursday. (Bresnahan and Caygle, 11/5)