“Senate Democrats face an uphill challenge in getting a December deal reviving expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies,” Semafor reports.

“There are no official negotiations going on yet — just informal talks with Republicans — and Democrats are deliberating between engaging with the GOP or forcing Republicans to vote down a subsidy extension and letting them deal with the political fallout.”

“Health officials on Monday linked for the first time the measles outbreak that began in Texas with another in Utah and Arizona, a finding that could end America’s status as a nation that has eliminated measles,” the New York Times reports.

“Calley Means, a confidant to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is taking a permanent post in the Trump administration, where he is expected to serve as a bridge between the Make America Healthy Again movement and President Trump’s broader MAGA coalition,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

A senior White House official said the Trump administration intends to put forward a health bill and left open the possibility of using the fast-track legislative process of reconciliation for passage of health or tariff legislation, Politico reports.

President Trump said he will not support legislation to extend expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies even as senators are preparing to tee up a vote on the issue, complicating his party’s efforts to address health care costs, Bloomberg reports.

Trump said on Truth Social the only health-care plan he would “SUPPORT OR APPROVE” would be “SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE” instead of to insurance companies.

President Trump claimed he is talking with Democrats about a direct health care payment plan amid negotiations to tackle rising health insurance premiums, The Hill reports.

He did not name anyone specifically.

“Democrats emerged from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with a hard-won promise from Republicans: The Senate will vote next month on legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats desperately want to preserve before they expire at the end of the year,” the Washington Post reports.

“But Democrats will need Republican votes to pass a bill — and a deep divide between the two parties over abortion is already threatening to scuttle any deal.”

“President Donald Trump has again promised a “far better and far less expensive” alternative to the Affordable Care Act, and Republicans are rushing — again — to deliver one,” the Washington Post reports.

“For weeks throughout the longest government shutdown in history, Trump avoided negotiating with Democrats on the health care concerns fueling their standoff. Now lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are speeding toward a self-imposed deadline of mid-December to hold dueling health care votes.”

“Republicans on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee are circulating a bill that would mimic President Donald Trump’s proposal to redirect health insurance subsidies directly to individuals,” Politico reports.

“The legislation, previously introduced by Florida Republican Reps. Kat Cammack and Greg Steube, would give enrollees in the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges the ability to elect to receive a portion of financial assistance from insurers directly in their tax-advantaged health savings accounts. Those HSA contributions would be in lieu of assistance that insurers would usually apply on the back end to the out-of-pocket health costs for low-income individuals.”

NBC News: “Now, the party is about to plunge back into the tricky policy debate that once cost them seats in the House.” 

“This time around, though, Republicans are mostly stopping short of calling for a full-scale repeal of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, even as they slam the policy as a failure. Instead, the mantra among Republicans is ‘fix Obamacare.'”

“But the clock is ticking. Open enrollment for health insurance has already begun and enhanced Obamacare subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, more than doubling insurance premiums for millions of Americans in red and blue states alike, with some seeing increases of thousands of dollars per month.”

“House committee chairs will begin having listening sessions next week with groups of Republican members on health care policy and the fate of expiring Obamacare subsidies,” Politico reports.

“Republicans are putting their own spin on subsidizing Americans’ health care: Route money away from insurers and put cash directly in consumers’ hands to give them more choice over their coverage,” Politico reports.

“Economists and policy experts suspect President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers are presenting this alternative to extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies because they want to undermine or even replace Obamacare — something the party has repeatedly failed to do in the past.”

“President Donald Trump didn’t get involved in negotiations to end the government shutdown. But he plans to get his hands dirty as his party confronts expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies,” Politico reports.

“With affordability top of mind for voters going into the midterms, too much is at stake for Trump to stay away again as the GOP grapples with whether to extend the ACA subsidies, allow premiums to spike or craft new health policy.”

“But I said, it’s going to be a disaster. And I was exactly right.”

— President Trump, talking on Fox News about the Affordable Care Act, which two-thirds of Americans view favorably.

President Trump revealed his long-promised health care plan in a Fox News interview: “Call it Trumpcare. Call it whatever you want! Anything but Obamacare!”