Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Clock Hits Zero, Trump Wins Fight To Cancel $810M In Health-Related Funds; 100K Legal Immigrants Lose Medicaid
The Washington Post: Democrats Fail To Stop Trump From Canceling $810M In Funds Approved By Congress
Senate Democrats’ attempt to bar President Donald Trump from clawing back $810 million in funding approved by Congress was blocked by a Republican senator on Wednesday. Democratic Sens. Patty Murray (Washington) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon) sought to pass a bill that would have blocked the Trump administration from cutting congressionally approved funding for several programs, including those for immigrant services, climate change and civil rights for minority groups, among others. (Dillard, 9/30)
Bloomberg: Trump Budget Law Ends Medicaid Coverage For Refugees, Legal Immigrants
Refugees, asylum seekers and some other immigrants with legal status will lose Medicaid coverage Oct. 1, leaving few options for those left uninsured and squeezing payments to medical providers that care for them. Undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible for federal health programs. Under the Trump administration, the US is increasingly pulling benefits away from noncitizens in the country legally who have long qualified for help. (Silva, 9/30)
Obamacare refunds —
The Hill: White House Begins Mailing $500 ObamaCare 'Refund' Checks
The White House began mailing $500 refund checks Wednesday to just about 1 million Americans who the administration says were overcharged for their ObamaCare insurance. Treasury Department checks will begin going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states that use healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace where people sign up for ObamaCare health insurance, according to an administration official. (Weixel, 9/30)
On Medicare costs and coverage —
Stat: Trump’s Watered-Down Medicare Drug Pricing Rule Saves 96% Less Than Initial Proposal
The Trump administration published a final rule aimed at lowering Medicare prices for drugs administered in doctor offices. It applies to only four companies. (Wilkerson, 10/30)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Insurer Exits Pile Up For 2027
The Medicare Advantage company exits are piling up. At least 11 health insurance companies that sold individual Medicare Advantage plans this year are abandoning the program for 2027 amid cost and regulatory challenges, company and federal data reveal. That compares to seven carriers that quit Medicare Advantage in 2026. Almost all of the insurers that are leaving individual Medicare Advantage are owned by health systems. Some continue to participate in the higher-margin Special Needs Plan, or SNP, market. (Tepper and Broderick, 9/30)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Insurers Cut Plans, Exit More Counties In 2027
Large Medicare Advantage insurers continue to shrink their footprints, new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reveal. The number of individual Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage products for sale will decline 8% to 425 in 2027, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of CMS data released Monday. There will be 181 counties with no Medicare Advantage plans next year, up from 67 this year. The annual enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. (Tepper and Broderick, 9/29)
Stat: Investor Lawsuit Against UnitedHealth Moves Forward
An investor lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group will move forward after a federal judge on Wednesday declined the company’s motion to dismiss allegations that it juiced its earnings to the tune of $3.3 billion in 2024 to conceal weakness in its Medicare Advantage business. (Bannow, 9/30)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: No Surprises Act Lawsuits Grow Over IDR Arbitration Awards
The backlog of No Surprises Act billing disputes has relocated to the courts. Air ambulance operator PHI Health last month sued Elevance Health subsidiaries and employers in several federal district courts for failing to pay approximately $30 million in binding awards after losing in the No Surprises Act’s Independent Dispute Resolution process. Insurers such as Cigna Group, UnitedHealth Group and various Blue Cross and Blue Shield carriers are confronting similar complaints. (Tong, 9/30)
Fierce Healthcare: Elevance Health Rolls Out New Site-Of-Care Billing Policies
Elevance Health is rolling out new billing policies that aim to ensure services are paid for at the appropriate level and drive greater transparency into where patients receive care. The insurer said there is a trend that's growing more common in which services provided at an off-campus facility are still billed at higher, in-hospital rates. Under Elevance's new policies, providers will be required to identify the physical location where a service was offered, and billing information will be cross-checked with hospital addresses to confirm the correct data. (Minemyer, 9/29)
KFF Health News: Hospitals Have A Little-Known Tool To Prevent Medical Debt. Here’s How It Works
If you have medical debt, there’s a good chance you owe money to a hospital. One way patients can avoid medical debt is through hospital financial assistance, also known as charity care. Most of the nation’s hospitals offer free or discounted medical care to patients with very high medical debt or low incomes. Getting financial assistance, however, can be challenging. Many patients don’t know that hospitals offer financial help, surveys show, and complex application forms leave others stymied. (Evans, 10/1)
KFF Health News: Healthcare Is Scary. Channel Your Fears Into A Haiku
Something wicked this way comes, and it’s 5-7-5. Our annual Halloween haiku contest is back, and we’re once again summoning readers to turn the horrors of healthcare into three tiny lines of poetry. Surprise us with a verse about medical bills, insurance, hospitals, health policy, or whatever else keeps you up at night. Whether you’re inspired by a botched surgery, a ghastly charge, or insurance-induced existential dread, we want to read about it. Our newsroom’s panel of judges will choose their favorites, which we’ll share on our social channels. Winning haikus will be announced on Friday, Oct. 30. (10/1)
