Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: What's The Cost Of 'Medicare For All'? It Just Depends; Stop The Stress Of Surprise Medical Billing
Bloomberg: Medicare For All’s Peril And Promise In One Crazy Chart
The Congressional Budget Office — a nonpartisan group that analyzes the cost of legislation for Congress — released a much-anticipated report Wednesday that analyzes the potential design and implementation of a single-payer health-care system along the lines of “Medicare for All.” Many on both sides of the health-care debate were hoping the report would include numbers with which to assail or support the plan; instead, they were disappointed. The report doesn’t estimate the cost of any specific proposal or come to a conclusion about the rather foundational issue of whether a single-payer system would save the U.S. money. That’s because the only correct answer to that question is, it depends. (Max Nisen, 5/1)
The Wall Street Journal: ‘Medicare For All’ Isn’t Medicare
More than 100 House Democrats have endorsed Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All Act of 2019. Fourteen Democratic senators have co-sponsored a similar bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders. The title is deeply misleading. It implies that the current Medicare system would be extended to all Americans. In fact, Medicare for All differs from Medicare in fundamental ways—with much broader coverage, no cost sharing, and fewer choices of health-care plans. While America needs a debate about health care, it should be based on an accurate description of the alternatives. (Robert C. Pozen, 5/1)
The Hill: Surprise Health Billing Illustrates How Illogical The American Health System Is
This month, Congress and the Trump administration are considering what to do about the problem of surprise health-care bills. They would be wise to use Connecticut as an example, where one of the most comprehensive sets of reforms was instituted two years ago.Surprise bills, or “balanced bills," are the difference between what the out-of-network physician charges and what the insurance company will pay. (Kathleen Silard, 5/1)
Stat: Revealing The Real Prices Insurers Pay Can Save Health Care
A bold proposal to publish tightly held secrets about health care prices could unleash the power of markets to lower health care costs. The Department of Health and Human Services has released a request for information on a proposal to create public access to real price information in health care under the regulatory framework of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Unlike the mandate earlier this year from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that requires hospitals to publish their so-called chargemaster prices, the HHS proposal would shed light on the secret negotiated prices insurance companies pay. (Marty Makary and Ge Bai, 5/2)
Kansas City Star: He Said, She Said On Kansas Medicaid Expansion Talks
The most recent of our umpteen editorials in favor of Medicaid expansion accused Kansas Republicans of “delaying as long as possible, playing games and pulling stunts.” Republican Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning declined an interview request before the piece ran, but after its publication decided to tell us his version of events.In an interview Monday, he accused Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly of threatening him, expressing “viciousness towards me personally,” and saying she’d compromised all she intended to on this issue. (4/30)
