Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: April 20, 2015
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Repeal Falls Off Republicans' To-Do List As Law Takes Hold
After five years and more than 50 votes in Congress, the Republican campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act is essentially over. GOP congressional leaders, unable to roll back the law while President Obama remains in office and unwilling to again threaten a government shutdown to pressure him, are focused on other issues, including trade and tax reform. (Levey, 4/18)
The Wall Street Journal: GOP Is Split Over Bid To Repeal Health Law
Republicans in control of Congress have a special tool they can use to push legislation to President Barack Obama’s desk with a simple Senate majority. But they are divided on whether to use it on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Such legislation would almost certainly be vetoed by Mr. Obama, so some Republicans believe using the legislative maneuver, known as reconciliation, would waste a good opportunity to achieve other budget goals. (Peterson, 4/19)
The Associated Press: Bipartisanship Breaks Out On Capitol Hill -- At Least For Now
Suddenly, bipartisanship has broken out on Capitol Hill. On Iran, Medicare, education and trade, Republicans and Democrats have come together to make deals, and that’s something rarely seen lately. “It’s great,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said after the Senate followed the House’s lead this past week in overwhelmingly passing a bill overhauling the Medicare payment system for doctors. “There’s just a huge pent-up demand to actually get something done, on both sides.” (Werner, 4/20)
The Associated Press: Talks To Begin On Capitol Hill Budget Measure
Cuts to Medicare and the health care law and almost $40 billion in unrequested money for overseas war-fighting operations top the agenda as congressional negotiators meet to begin ironing out a Republican budget blueprint for next year and beyond. Separate House- and Senate-passed budget plans have plenty in common. Both chambers want to use the fast-track budget process to send a measure repealing the health care law to President Barack Obama. And both call for padding war spending — it's exempt from budget limits — on new weapons and training of American forces. (4/20)
The Wall Street Journal: Congress Is Tiptoeing Away From Spending Curbs
Exhibit two: Lawmakers last week overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan deal to set new formulas to calculate the way physicians and other providers are paid when they treat patients on Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly and disabled. The change ends more than a decade of legislative patches for a system that had repeatedly threatened to cut doctors’ payments. The votes faced little opposition even though the deal adds $140 billion to the deficit over 10 years. Just eight of 100 senators voted no, along with 37 of 435 House members. The measure does include a provision to shift some costs onto higher-income Medicare beneficiaries, which Republican leaders say made the deal an initial step toward a broader overhaul of entitlement programs. (Timiraos, 4/19)
The New York Times: New Law To Strip Social Security Numbers From Medicare Cards
Concerned about the rising prevalence and sophistication of identity theft, most private health insurance companies have abandoned the use of Social Security numbers to identify individuals. The federal government even forbids private insurers to use the numbers on insurance cards when they provide medical or drug benefits under contract with Medicare. (Pear, 4/20)
Los Angeles Times: 2016 Election Pits Desire For Change Against A Demographic Shift
Obama came into office with hopes of leading the country toward a new acceptance of activist government. Some Democrats hoped, for example, that successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act would cause Americans to warm toward the expanded government role in guaranteeing health coverage it represents. Obamacare by now has helped more than 20 million Americans get insured, the biggest increase in coverage in half a century. Contrary to dire warnings from the law's opponents, healthcare costs have not shot upward — the rate of healthcare inflation is the lowest in years — the job market has improved and the cost to the federal government is below forecasts. (Lauter, 4/19)
The New York Times: Jeb Bush Proposes Requiring Medicare End-Of-Life Directives
Jeb Bush, defending his efforts to keep alive Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman, when he was governor of Florida, suggested on Friday that patients on Medicare should be required to sign advance directives dictating their care if they become incapacitated. A similar proposal by President Obama — that doctors should be paid to advise patients on end-of-life decisions — became a political firestorm in 2009, when Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate, claimed that the legislation would give bureaucrats the power to decide if some frail or disabled people were deserving of medical care. The assertion was shown to be false. (Haberman, 4/17)
The Washington Post: Jeb Bush: Maybe Medicare Recipients Should Be Required To Sign Advance Directives
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush on Friday once again defended his decision to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman whose death capped an intense national debate about ethics and politics, but also suggested that Medicare recipients should be required to outline end-of-life care plans before accepting the benefits. (O'Keefe, 4/17)
The Wall Street Journal: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: A Presidential Candidate-In-Waiting
Heading into the weekend, the governor appeared to escape gaffe-free, and his controversial proposal to conduct means testing for seniors receiving Social Security and Medicare drew national attention as the emerging field of GOP contenders jostled for the limelight. Still, Mr. Christie will have to have many good weeks to develop momentum in the crowded 2016 field, political analysts said. (Haddon, 4/17)
Los Angeles Times: A Veil Of Secrecy Shields Hospitals Where Outbreaks Occur
The cardiac surgeon had unknowingly spread a staph infection from the rash on his hand to the hearts of at least five patients by the time Los Angeles County health investigators learned of the outbreak. The doctor had operated on more than 60 others in recent months, and county officials feared those patients could be struck with the same dangerous infection. (Petersen, 4/18)
The Washington Post: Even Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Harbors Bacteria Resistant To Antibiotics, Study Finds
Hand wipes. Hand sanitizer. Penicillin and Cipro. The tools the modern world has to fight diseases are many — but as diseases learn to fight back, they’re getting deadlier. And people in the know are scared. “Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. … For this reason, antibiotic resistance is among CDC’s top concerns.” (Moyer, 4/20)
The New York Times: Service Members Are Left In Dark On Health Errors
Lt. Col. Chad Gallagher was T. J. Moore’s squadron leader when the 19-year-old recruit arrived for basic training last spring at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was watching at the quarter-mile track nine days later when Mr. Moore, on an easy mile-and-a-half test run, collapsed at the finish line and was rushed to a hospital. (LaFraniere, 4/19)
Los Angeles Times: Shopping Tools Help Patients Find Cash Prices For Medical Procedures
MediBid, which has been in business since 2010, has returned up to 17 bids from doctors nationwide for knee replacement surgeries and often six or seven for common procedures, such as colonoscopies, says founder and Chief Executive Ralph Weber. Dr. Peter LePort, a general surgeon practicing in Fountain Valley, participates with MediBid. He says he's seen a rise in the number of patients with high-deductible health plans looking for cheaper alternatives. Paying cash instead of using insurance often helps them get lower prices. (Zamosky, 4/19)
The Associated Press: Long-Term Care Issue Hits Close To Home For Sen. Warner
Five years after U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s mother died of Alzheimer’s, he is still haunted by what he might have done differently for her — if only he had known her wishes. When the disease first took hold of Marjorie Warner in about 2000, her son was already a wealthy, self-made businessman, on his way to being elected Virginia’s governor the following year. He prided himself on being a take-charge executive who could solve tough problems. (Bartel, 4/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Mental-Health Treatment For Defendants Dogged By Delays
In most states, mentally ill people deemed incompetent to stand trial, like Ms. Roberts’s son, are transferred to a state hospital, where they are given limited treatment that may include medication and therapy. The goal is to bring their mental state to a point where they can be taught about the legal system and their rights, so they eventually can be tried—a process known as restoration. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is unconstitutional to try a person who fails to grasp the consequences of the proceedings against him and is unable to participate in his own defense. (Palazzolo, 4/19)
The Wall Street Journal: NY Comptroller Approves Medicaid Contract For Xerox
New York's comptroller has approved the state award of a $565 million contract to Xerox to redesign and operate the information management system for its Medicaid program. The comptroller's office says its review found insufficient grounds in the protests by Computer Sciences Corp. and Hewlett-Packard to overturn the award. (4/17)
