OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Ex-CBO chief makes case for ObamaCare subsidies

The man who led the Congressional Budget Office when ObamaCare was being constructed said Tuesday it was the “common understanding” at the time that subsidies would be available in all states — a crucial question in a looming Supreme Court case.

Doug Elmendorf, who left his post in early 2015, said the staff “always worked under the view that subsidies would be available under the federal exchange.”

The challengers in King v. Burwell argue that subsidies were only made available to people who buy ObamaCare through state-run marketplaces – not the federal marketplace. But Elmendorf dismissed the idea that the Obama administration was trying to coerce states into setting up their own exchanges by restricting subsidies.

{mosads}”It was a common understanding on the Hill, again on both sides of the Hill, on both sides of the aisle, in late 2009 and early 2010, that subsidies would be available through the federal exchange as well as through state exchanges,” Elmendorf said in an interview at the Peterson Foundation fiscal summit. Read more here.

NEARLY 150K GOT OBAMACARE IN EXTRA SIGN-UP SESSION: The Obama administration used Twitter to announce the number of people who bought healthcare during its second-chance sign-up period this spring.

A total of 147,000 people in 36 states signed up for plans during the six-week long enrollment period. While a few other states have yet to report their figures, it’s unlikely to make a dent in the 11.7 million people who signed up for ObamaCare overall this year. Read more here.

BOEHNER ‘PROUD’ OF OBAMACARE LAWSUIT: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reminded fellow Republicans on Tuesday that they should take pride in the party’s lawsuit against ObamaCare executive action, which will be reach a federal court next week.

“I’m proud that the House is standing up for the Constitution and the rule of law,” Boehner told members, according to a source in the room.

The suit stems from the House’s vote in July to sue President Obama over his use of executive power. At the time, Democrats argued Republicans were laying the groundwork for impeachment, which Boehner called a “scam” drummed up by the president’s party. Read more here.

MCCONNELL TEAMS UP WITH MASS DEM TO COMBAT HEROIN: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is teaming with Democratic Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.) to call on the Department of Health and Human Services to take more action against the heroin crisis.  

Both senators are from states that have seen skyrocketing cases of overdoses from heroin or prescription painkillers. Nationwide, the number of deaths from prescription painkillers has quadrupled since 1999, killing more than 16,000 people in the U.S. in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more here.

Wednesday’s schedule

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a markup on the 21st Century Cures bill.

The House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on executive action used to delay ObamaCare mandates.

The Alliance for Health Reform holds a briefing on biosimilars in the U.S.

State by state

Oregon governor scrapped workable ObamaCare exchange for political benefit

In California, women can soon get birth control without seeing a doctor

Missouri officials: State shouldn’t owe feds for Medicaid rebates

What we’re reading

CBO’s new policy scoring could impact federal healthcare programs

Courts are keeping assisted suicide laws alive

What you might have missed from The Hill

Senators create new caucus on NIH funding

Bipartisan blowback from lawmakers over menu labeling requirements

DC ranked fittest city in the country

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