- The FDA’s announcement on e-cigarettes appears to be a turning point on officials’ views of how to handle the issue. It was spurred by reports of dramatic growth in teen vaping. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recently reported that teen use has increased by 75 percent in the past year.
- The e-cigarette industry is largely unregulated. Many brands offer a variety of sweet flavors, even though makers of traditional cigarettes are prohibited from doing that.
- Arkansas’ move to cut adults from the Medicaid expansion program the state rolled out under the ACA is likely to be challenged in court.
- The Trump administration has been a strong supporter of work requirements in the Medicaid program and Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, tweeted Wednesday night after the Arkansas announcement that she was excited about the work Arkansas has done to connect beneficiaries to jobs and education.
- The Census Bureau’s report Wednesday is the first time since the implementation of ACA coverage expansions that the national uninsured rate did not fall.
- The Republican-led House is expected to vote soon on a package of bills that will remove or postpone more taxes in the ACA, including the penalty for employers who do not offer coverage for workers and a tax on tanning salons. It is doubtful, however, that the measure will get through the Senate this year.
