Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Clinton Takes Aim At High Out-Of-Pocket Medical Costs
The Wall Street Journal: Hillary Clinton Aims To Limit Consumers’ Health-Insurance Costs
Each idea is geared toward addressing gripes that have grown louder in recent years among people who have insurance. Among the biggest complaints are so-called high-deductible plans, which offer relatively low monthly premiums but require people to pay several thousand dollars before coverage kicks in. Such plans have become increasingly common options for people who buy through the health law or get coverage as part of their job. Insurance networks also have generated considerable consumer heartburn. (Radnofsky, 9/23)
The Washington Post: Clinton Proposes Expansion Of ACA For Doctor ‘Sick Visits’ And Tax Credit For Out-Of-Pocket Medical Costs
Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed Wednesday to guarantee Americans three doctor visits annually that would not count against a patient’s insurance plan “deductible,” the threshold amount patients must pay out of pocket before some insurance plans kick in. The Democratic presidential candidate is also proposing a tax credit to help offset other out-of-pocket medical costs for Americans squeezed by rising patient-borne costs for doctor visits, prescription drugs and other medical expenses. (Gearan, 9/23)
The Associated Press: Clinton Aims To Tackle Out-Of-Pocket Health Care Costs
And her plan aims to protect Americans from unexpected medical bills and help states prevent insurance companies from imposing excessive rate increases. (9/23)
CNN: Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan To Lower Americans' Medical Costs
A day after taking on price gouging by drug companies, Hillary Clinton unveiled a plan to help Americans' afford the rising cost of seeing the doctor. ... "When Americans get sick, high costs shouldn't prevent them from getting better," Clinton said. "With deductibles rising so much faster than incomes, we must act to reduce the out-of-pocket costs families face. My plan would take a number of steps to ease the burden of medical expenses and protect health care consumers." (Luhby, 9/23)
Reuters: Clinton Plan To Cut Health Costs Tax Credits, More Sick Visits
Clinton, who has promised to build on President Barack Obama's signature healthcare initiative, also pledged to try to strengthen efforts to block or modify what her campaign called "unreasonable" health insurance rate increases. (Becker, 9/23)
Bloomberg: Clinton Promises Health Insurance Merger Scrutiny In Policy Plan
Hillary Clinton said she would give close scrutiny to health-insurance industry mergers like those proposed this year by Anthem Inc. and Aetna Inc., part of the Democratic presidential candidate's latest policy plans. Clinton's campaign, which on Tuesday released a group of policies that would lower Americans' prescription drug spending, said Wednesday that she would give families tax credits worth as much as $5,000 to help pay for all out-of-pocket health-care costs, while individuals would get as much as $2,500. (Edney, 9/23)
The Huffington Post: How Clinton Wants To Turn Obamacare Into Hillarycare 2.0
By both backing President Barack Obama's most significant domestic policy achievement while also acknowledging its shortcomings and pledging to improve it, Clinton is, in a way, returning to her roots and reclaiming ownership of a signature issue. Health care reform helped define Clinton in the 1990s when she headed former President Bill Clinton's failed efforts to make over the system into what critics in the insurance industry and the Republican Congress derided as "Hillarycare." (Young, 9/23)
