Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Signs Drug Pricing, ACA Premiums Measures Into Law
The Hill: Biden To Sign Health And Climate Bill On Tuesday
President Biden will sign into law the sweeping climate, health care and tax legislation that has been Democrats’ priority for more than a year during a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday. The signing will represent a major milestone for Biden and his domestic economic agenda. The prospects of his climate proposal appeared hopeless a month ago but were dramatically revived in an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) at the end of July. (Chalfant, 8/15)
AP: Biden To Sign Massive Climate, Health Care Legislation
Biden is set to sign the bill during a small ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House, sandwiched between his return from a six-day beachside vacation in South Carolina and his departure for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He plans to hold a larger “celebration” for the legislation on Sept. 6 once lawmakers return to Washington. (Miller, 8/16)
More details on what's in the bill —
Fierce Healthcare: Here Are 4 Key Health Policy Items In The Inflation Reduction Act
The bill expands who can qualify under the Low-Income Subsidy Program that helps meet Part D cost-sharing burdens like deductibles. Currently, a beneficiary qualifies for the program if they earn up to 135% of the federal poverty level and get partial benefits for 135% to 150% of the level. The law would expand full benefits to those who earn between 135% and 150%, according to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (King, 8/15)
Forbes: Five Truths About How The Inflation Reduction Act Will Help Small Business And Working Families
The Inflation Reduction Act expands Medicare benefits by capping out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 and allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for 100 drugs that it selects. It also sets provisions that save the average Affordable Care Act enrollee $800 a year in the marketplace. Dr. Aaron S. Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said he believed the measure would spur innovation, by “encouraging investment in important new products rather than encouraging pharmaceutical companies to try to keep pushing the same product and delaying generic entry as long as possible.” (Buttle, 8/15)
SHRM.org: Inflation Reduction Act's Health Care Provisions Could Affect Employers
With the expansion of enhanced premium tax credit subsidies until 2025, it becomes more likely that the higher subsidies will eventually be made permanent, health care policy experts say. One consequence could be to make ACA marketplace plans a more appealing health care option for employers, who could opt to forgo group health plans and meet the ACA's coverage requirements by funding individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs), which allow employees to purchase their own coverage on ACA exchanges. (Miller, 8/16)
Also —
Yahoo Finance: The Inflation Reduction Act Will Not 'Fix American Health Care': GoodRx CEO
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which now sitting on President Joe Biden’s desk, will soon mark a milestone in the battle to lower drug pricing in the U.S., though it is still nowhere near widespread cost control for the entire population. GoodRx (GDRX) co-CEO Doug Hirsch, whose company aims to find the best prices for generics as well as for some brand drugs, says that’s why his company is under no immediate threat from the IRA. (Khemlani, 8/15)
