Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fight Over ACA Subsidies Will Decide Fate Of Stopgap Funding Bill In House
NPR: House To Vote On Funding Bill, But Health Care Fight Risks Shutdown
House Republicans are working to avert a government shutdown with a Friday vote on legislation that funds federal agencies through November 21 and boosts money for security for government officials. But few, if any, Democrats are expected to go along. Their fight to inject health care into the funding debate could mean Congress could fail to approve spending legislation before the September 30 deadline. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday he expected the bill to pass. (Grisales, Walsh and Sprunt, 9/19)
Bloomberg: Obamacare Subsidy Extension Would Cost $350 Billion: CBO
Congressional Democrats’ push to make subsidies for Obamacare health plans permanent would cost about $350 billion over a decade, budget analysts said Thursday, raising the stakes in a standoff that threatens to shut down the government in less than two weeks. (Cohrs Zhang and Tozzi, 9/18)
Related news on Medicaid, hospital costs, and insurance denials —
AP: Report Reveals Georgia Medicaid Program Has Spent More On Admin Than Care
A federal watchdog reported Thursday that Georgia’s program requiring able-bodied adults to document low-paying work to get Medicaid has spent much more on administrative costs than on providing health care. The U.S. Government Accountability Office report on Georgia Pathways comes after Republicans mandated similar work requirements throughout the U.S. as part of the “big, beautiful bill” signed into law by President Donald Trump. (Kramon, 9/18)
Modern Healthcare: Fewer Hospitals Posting Prices, Flouting Transparency Laws
Hospitals are posting fewer prices for services than in previous years despite a push for greater transparency that would benefit patients, new research has found. An interim semiannual report from Patient Rights Advocate, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, reviewed pricing files of the top 2,000 largest hospitals from March 1 to April 19. It found 43% of hospitals posted fewer prices for services than they did when the group researched the issue in November. (DeSilva, 9/18)
KFF Health News: Listen: The Surprising Power Of Pushback When Health Insurance Won’t Pay
Being denied insurance coverage can be both confusing and, at times, enraging. But mounting a skillful challenge can turn a “no” into “yes.” From confusing policy language to coding errors to shifting insurer rules, a new episode of NPR’s “Life Kit” podcast explores why denials happen and how to avoid common pitfalls. (Fortiér, 9/19)
In other updates from Capitol Hill —
Fierce Healthcare: Democrats Introduce Bill To Bar Payers From Owning Certain Clinics
A group of congressional Democrats have submitted a bill to prevent large payers from buying up clinics. The Patients Over Profits Act would bar large insurers and their subsidiaries from owning certain clinics participating in Medicare, in what a press release described as a move to “pad their own pockets and leave patients out in the cold.” The announcement specifically called out UnitedHealth’s Optum, which has bought up a string of clinics across the members' home states of Oregon, New York and Washington. (Gliadkovskaya, 9/18)
MedPage Today: New Blood Tests For Early Cancer Detection Get Some Love From House Members
House members seemed generally supportive Thursday of bills that would expand access to "breakthrough" medical devices, although Democrats complained that the focus on the topic was misguided at a time when the Trump administration and Congress are cutting funding for research on cancer and other diseases. "We continue to fiddle in this subcommittee while Rome burns," said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee, during a hearing on "Examining Policies to Enhance Seniors' Access to Breakthrough Medical Technologies." (Frieden, 9/18)
The New York Times: Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump To Wage Drug Trafficking War
Draft legislation is circulating at the White House and on Capitol Hill that would hand President Trump sweeping power to wage war against drug cartels he deems to be “terrorists,” as well as against any nation he says has harbored or aided them, according to people familiar with the matter. A wide range of legal specialists have said that U.S. military attacks this month on two boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea were illegal. But Mr. Trump has claimed that the Constitution gave him the power he needed to authorize it. (Savage and Jimison, 9/19)
