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Last-ditch effort on Obamacare funding fails, sponsors regroup. On the eve of Obamacare’s eighth anniversary, Sen. Patty Murray, a top Democrat from Washington, blocked Republicans from adding an amendment to the spending bill that would fund billions of dollars in Obamacare insurer payments because of language restricting federal money for abortions. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the leaders of the healthcare bill, asked for unanimous consent to add the provision to the spending bill, but Murray objected. She said a consensus had been reached between Republicans and Democrats on efforts to stabilize the law months ago. “Senate Republicans opted instead to surprise Democrats with a new, last-minute proposal that included poison pills that Republicans knew Democrats would never agree to,” she said. She lamented the inclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a spending rider added to appropriations bills since 1976 that bans federal funding from covering abortions. Collins has said that the omnibus was the last, best chance to get the bill through Congress. But now that the spending package passed without it, proponents of the bill are regrouping. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., a lead sponsor in the House, had said that if the Senate failed to add the bill, supporters could try again. “I am sure after the Senate either acts or doesn’t act then Sen. Collins and Alexander and I can get together with [sponsor Rep. Ryan] Costello and see a path forward and talk to the leadership about it,” Walden said. “These people [are] stuck on the exchanges.” But Walden added that legislation needs to happen soon, since insurers need to start determining rates for 2019. “The clock is running because a lot of them have to begin filing in April or May,” he said. Doing the bill as a standalone seems dicey since many House Republicans don’t like the stabilization package. And there is still the issue of Hyde language as both Democrats and Republicans are dug in over their positions.

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Senate passes $1.3 trillion spending bill to avoid Saturday shutdown, Trump threatens veto. The Senate voted early Friday morning to pass a $1.3 trillion measure that would fund the government for the next six months, clearing the bill for President Trump’s signature ahead of a Friday midnight deadline and avoiding a partial government shutdown. But Trump on Friday threatened to veto the package because it doesn’t deal with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or “Dreamers,” or fully fund the border wall. The Senate’s 65-32 vote came after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., lifted his threat to delay the bill. Paul complained he did not have time to read the 2,232-page legislation, which he said would raise the deficit to $1 trillion this year. The legislation included many last-minute policy riders negotiated between the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate, such as $4 billion for states to battle the opioid epidemic. With the vote, the Senate will break Friday for a two-week recess. “Overall, we Democrats are very happy with what we were able to accomplish on a number of priorities to the middle class and America, including infrastructure, education, opioids, mental health, and child care,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Ron Johnson’s bid to add ‘right to try’ to omnibus fails. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., tried to pass a House version of his bill to let terminally ill patients access experimental products. Johnson tried to pass it late Thursday via unanimous consent, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., objected, according to a report in Politico. A bill can be passed via unanimous consent only if no senator objects. The House passed the bill Wednesday, taking up a version that the Senate passed last year. The bill would let terminally ill patients get access to a drug that has passed the first of three clinical trials that the Food and Drug Administration requires a drug to go through to get approval. Democrats have objected to the bill, colloquially called “right to try,” because of concerns about patients being exposed to unsafe products. Johnson said he is disappointed the Senate “would not pass the House version of right to try, but now the path is clear,” according to a statement.

Drug companies have more power than NRA in Washington: Poll. A large majority of people say pharmaceutical companies have more influence in Washington than the National Rifle Association, according to a new poll. The poll from Kaiser Family Foundation also found that most people don’t believe Washington is doing enough to bring down drug prices. The survey found 72 percent of the public view pharmaceutical companies as having too much influence in Washington, more than the NRA (52 percent), health insurers (66 percent), and Wall Street (69 percent). “One of the reasons why drug companies rank so high on this list is that both Democrats (65 percent) and Republicans (74 percent) see them as having too much influence in Washington,” Kaiser said. “In contrast, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say the NRA has too much influence (73 percent compared to 21 percent).”

CMS chief addresses questions on Obamacare, Medicaid in wide-ranging interview with reporters. Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, stressed the need for Medicare to be sustainable over the long-term and that she would be looking at areas to better address patients’ expectations in an hour-long interview with nine reporters Thursday. Other highlights:

*The Trump administration is considering more exemptions for Obamacare penalty. Verma confirmed that more exemptions to the penalty were being considered for people who are uninsured in 2018 but was unable to comment on what they might be or when they would be made public. “We are thinking about that,” she said. “I can’t comment on the timeline but that is something that we are giving a lot of consideration to.” Though the fine for going uninsured was repealed as part of the Republican-backed tax law, it will not go into effect until 2019. Under Obamacare, a person who is uninsured must pay 2.5 percent of their income or $695, whichever is higher.

*Verma will help counties that face no Obamacare insurers. Verma said she would work with states that have counties where no insurer will sell Obamacare coverage. “We kind of have a motto at CMS: putting people first, putting patients first,” she said. Last year, 45 counties faced the prospect of having no insurer sell plans, but by the time open enrollment began all counties were covered. Verma revealed that she called states last year to see how she could help.

* She won’t say if Trump administration will limit insurers on ‘silver loading.’ “I’m not going to comment on the agency’s deliberations,” she said when asked by the Washington Examiner about rumors that had circulated about whether the Trump administration would block insurers from “silver loading” their coverage. When pressed about whether any conversations had occurred, Verma said, “I’m just going to leave it at that.” Silver loading heaps premium increases onto midlevel silver plans rather than across all offerings, allowing subsidized customers to buy less expensive, or even no-cost, coverage. Insurers in most states began using this practice as a way to make up for Trump’s cutoff of cost-sharing reduction payments, which help insurers reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income customers.

* ‘We have to follow the law’ on Medicaid expansion. Verma said the Trump administration was obligated to follow the law in handling applications from states to expand their Medicaid programs under Obamacare. “If a state files a state plan amendment, by law there is a certain period of time that we have to respond to that, and those are set in law,” she said. Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, issued a statement March 1 that appeared to oppose Medicaid expansion in Virginia, raising questions about whether the White House would reject state or delay requests for expansion. “That is a state-level decision,” Verma said. “Ultimately from the agency perspective we have to follow the law.”

Amid opioid epidemic, Senate passes bill to support grandparents raising children. The Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act would create a federal task force charged with supporting grandparents who are raising their grandchildren as a result of their parents’ addictions to opioids. The task force would help grandparents have easier access to the resources available to assist them. Grandparents in this situation number 2.6 million across the U.S., and experts say the opioid epidemic is increasing their numbers. “With so many parents struggling with addiction, grandparents are increasingly coming to the rescue and assuming this role,” Collins said. “It is essential that we do all that we can to help these families.” The bill by Collins and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., now heads to the House.

RUNDOWN

Axios Pfizer loses another bidder for its over-the-counter business

Wall Street Journal Trump policy change is a win for drug makers

Bloomberg Centene hasn’t fixed Obamacare plan shortage, Washington state says

Politico HHS official who approved Tom Price’s flights resigns

Cook Political Report Deja vu all over again. Healthcare takes center stage in 2018 campaigns