Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Children's Hospitals Sound Alarm Over Megabill's Medicaid Cuts
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Cuts Force Children's Hospitals To Make Tough Choices
Children’s hospitals say the trickle-down effects of reduced Medicaid funding due to the recently passed healthcare cuts will hit one of the most vulnerable populations the program was built to protect. Medicaid changes in the law President Donald Trump signed Friday weren’t aimed directly at children enrolled in the program. However, leaders at children’s hospitals say new limitations on state-directed payments and provider taxes will put a dent in revenue and could force them to cut services. (Hudson, 7/9)
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Cuts In Tax Law Force Providers To Prepare For The Worst
The big bill is now the big law, and the healthcare industry is scrambling to work out how to cope with more than $1 trillion in cuts and a tangle of new red tape. In the immediate aftermath of President Donald Trump enacting his “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Friday, providers and healthcare system experts said there are three main areas of focus for the health sector: learning the new law, planning to deal with its worst impacts and doing everything possible to get Congress to mitigate the damage. (McAuliff, 7/9)
Modern Healthcare: Centene, Molina, Elevance Face Unexpected ACA Market Pressures
Over the past four years, the health insurance exchange market seemed immune from the higher expenses and systemic changes that bedeviled other government-sponsored health programs. Until now. Signs of trouble in the marketplace business have been bubbling up for months. ... The growing gap between premium revenue and medical expenses amid a foreboding political and regulatory climate is making managed-care investors wary of insurers with large exposure to the exchanges, Langston said. (Tepper, 7/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Health Insurers Are Becoming Chronically Uninvestable
Health insurance has never been a flashy, high-growth business. But for many years it offered something nearly as good: steady, dependable returns, fueled by the expansion of government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Obamacare exchanges. Lately, though, Wall Street has a problem with America’s health insurers: They keep missing their numbers. What began as trouble in Medicare Advantage has now spread across nearly all government-backed plans, signaling deeper issues in the model itself. (Wainer, 7/10)
KFF Health News: Doulas, Once A Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered By Medicaid — Even In GOP States
As a postpartum doula, Dawn Oliver does her best work in the middle of the night. During a typical shift, she shows up at her clients’ home at 10 p.m. She answers questions they may have about basic infant care and keeps an eye out for signs of postpartum depression. ... Doulas are trained to offer critical support for families — before delivery, during childbirth, and in those daunting early days when parents are desperate for sleep and infants still wake up around the clock. (Sausser and Houghton, 7/10)
