First Edition: December 1, 2017
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Congress Isn’t Really Done With Health Care — Just Look At What’s In The Tax Bills
Having failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Congress is now working on a tax overhaul. But it turns out the tax bills in the House and Senate also aim to reshape health care. Here are five big ways the tax bill could affect health policy. (12/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Desperate For Coverage: Are Short-Term Plans Better Than None At All?
When one of Cindy Holtzman’s clients told the Woodstock, Ga., broker he was considering dropping his Affordable Care Act plan because next year’s cost approached $23,000 for his family of four, she suggested a new option: a back-to-back set of four, 90-day short-term plans, which would effectively give them a modicum of medical coverage for 2018. An Obama administration rule limited short-term coverage to three months at a time because it was meant as a stopgap between more substantial policies. But several insurers, including big players Golden Rule and National General, now are sidestepping that rule by packaging three or four consecutive 90-day plans, with a one-time medical review upfront. (Appleby, 12/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Texans With HIV Cope With Homes And Medicines Ruined By Hurricane Harvey
Many Houstonians with HIV faced similar problems. [Hurricane Harvey] closed pharmacies and clinics for a week — or longer. Floodwaters ruined drugs. People who fled to other states couldn’t get their prescriptions filled for HIV medicine. As the days ticked on, many worried the amount of HIV in their blood would increase and become resistant to treatment. (Varney, 12/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Whistleblower: Medicaid Managed-Care Firm Improperly Denied Care To Thousands
In early October, an executive at one of the nation’s largest physician-practice management firms handed her bosses the equivalent of a live grenade — a 20-page report that blew up the company and shook the world of managed care for poor patients across California. For years, she wrote, SynerMed, a behind-the-scenes administrator of medical groups and managed-care contracts, had improperly denied care to thousands of patients — most of them on Medicaid — and falsified documents to hide it. (Terhune, 12/1)
The New York Times:
Without Obamacare Mandate, ‘You Open The Floodgates’ For Skimpy Health Plans
The drive by Senate Republicans to repeal the requirement that most Americans have health insurance is not only likely to discourage people from signing up for coverage during the current enrollment period, but also could result in higher premiums. If repeal is approved, people could opt out of buying policies because they would no longer face a tax penalty and millions could go uninsured. With the Affordable Care Act already weakened by the Trump administration, big drops in enrollment would deal yet another body blow to the law and wreak more havoc in the individual insurance market. (Abelson, 11/30)
Politico:
Will GOP Finally Take Down Obamacare With A Tax Bill?
After spending nearly a year on a failed effort to repeal Obamacare, Republicans on Capitol Hill are on the verge of repealing the law’s individual mandate as a footnote to their rewrite of the American tax system. At least two of the three Senate Republicans who blocked the repeal effort over the summer have no problem undoing the requirement that nearly all Americans carry insurance — a provision Democrats say is vital to keeping the Affordable Care Act afloat. (Haberkorn, 11/30)
The Hill:
McConnell Promises Collins Tax Bill Won't Lead To Medicare Cut
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is promising the GOP tax bill, which is projected to add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, will not result in cuts to Medicare next year. McConnell offered the vow to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote, during a Wednesday meeting in his office. (Bolton, 11/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
House GOP To Propose Short-Term Spending Bill
Since the short-term bill through Dec. 22 will be a must-pass piece of legislation, lawmakers are certain to try to cram other measures onto it. Most prominently, Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said this week that her support for the Senate GOP tax-overhaul bill—which repeals the Affordable Care Act requirement that most people have health insurance or pay a penalty—will depend on whether Congress also passes a bipartisan health-care bill aimed at offsetting any resulting increases in premiums. Ms. Collins said that bipartisan bill, from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.), would likely be folded into the short-term spending bill. (Peterson, 11/30)
The Hill:
House Conservatives Won't Back Spending Bill With ObamaCare Payments
House conservatives said they won't support a short-term spending bill to fund the government if it contains provisions to "bail out" insurance companies. A deal between moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would likely attach two bipartisan measures to stabilize ObamaCare's insurance markets to the spending bill in exchange for her vote on tax reform. (Hellmann, 11/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Charlottesville Residents Unite To Protest Likely Surge In Health-Insurance Premiums
The college town of Charlottesville, Va., is fast becoming the exemplar for millions of people without federal subsidies whose health-insurance premiums will rise sharply next year. Its county, Albemarle, will have the highest costs in the nation in 2018 for people on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. Hundreds of residents who buy their own insurance, but earn too much for federal help, have banded together in the past two weeks, trying to pressure Congress for some kind of relief. (Armour, 11/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
CVS Health Closes In On Deal To Buy Aetna
CVS Health Corp. is moving closer to a deal to buy Aetna Inc. for more than $66 billion in cash and stock. The deal, which could be announced by Monday, would create a health-care behemoth selling everything from drugs to insurance. The companies are in advanced stages of negotiating a deal, according to people familiar with the matter. It would likely be valued at between $200 and $205 per Aetna share and consist mainly of cash, some of the people said. (Mattioli and Wilde Mathews, 11/30)
Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. Health Regulator Verma Eyes New Methods For Drug Pricing
The U.S. government is considering setting new payment methods aimed at curbing costs for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of breakthrough medical treatments with very high prices, particularly novel gene-based therapies for cancer and other diseases, a top health official said on Thursday. (Humer, 11/30)
Los Angeles Times:
National Science Panel Calls For Aggressive Steps To Control Drug Prices
The U.S. must take urgent steps to rein in the out-of-control cost of prescription drugs, including aggressive government intervention to negotiate lower prices for American patients, a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended Thursday in a sweeping new report on pharmaceutical pricing. (Levey, 11/30)
The New York Times:
To Cut Drug Prices, Academy Of Sciences Tells The Government To Negotiate With Manufacturers
The National Academy of Sciences called Thursday for sweeping changes in the pricing, sale and promotion of prescription drugs to make lifesaving treatments more affordable without discouraging the development of new medicines. The federal government should negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, the academy said, an idea pushed by Democrats for years, embraced by President Trump during the 2016 campaign, but opposed by congressional Republicans. The government, it said, should also deny tax deductions for drug advertising aimed at consumers and set annual limits on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. (Pear, 11/30)
NPR:
Report: Here's What The Feds Can Do To Cut Drug Prices
Drug prices are too high, and we had better do something about it. That is the nutshell conclusion of a 201-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. "High and increasing costs of prescription drugs coupled with the broader trends in overall medical expenditures, which now equals 18 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, are unsustainable to society as a whole," says Norman Augustine, the former CEO of defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the chair of the committee that conducted the study released Thursday. (Kodjak, 11/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA To Allow Quicker Approval Of Some Promising Cancer Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration plans to allow quick approval of some cancer drugs if they show early and “outsized” survival benefits for patients even in small studies, the FDA’s commissioner said Thursday. Scott Gottlieb told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health that the agency expects to see this situation more, given the advent of drugs that precisely target the genetic underpinnings of diseases. (Burton, 11/30)
The Associated Press:
Health Nominee Azar Is No Stranger To Management Controversy
Alex Azar, who’s in line to replace a Trump Cabinet secretary who was forced out in controversy, is no stranger to sticky management problems. In Washington, he’s been nominated to replace Tom Price, who resigned in September over questions about his use of private jets. Back in Indiana, Azar was an influential member of a public airport board, tasked with oversight of human resources matters, when he defended the conduct of the airport CEO who was under fire for spending public money on travel, golf fees, steak dinners and Super Bowl tickets. (Slodysko, 12/1)
The Associated Press:
Trump Donates Third-Quarter Salary To Health Department
President Donald Trump has donated his third-quarter salary to the Department of Health and Human Services to help fight the opioid epidemic. Acting Health Secretary Eric Hargan on Thursday accepted a check from the president in the amount of $100,000. Trump previously donated salary in the amounts of $78,333 and $100,000 to the National Park Service and the Education Department, respectively. (Superville, 12/1)
The Hill:
House Dems Introduce Bill To Provide $45B For Opioid Epidemic
Four House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday to provide $45 billion over 10 years to fight the opioid epidemic. In late October, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency — a move that didn’t free up millions of dollars to fight the increasing rate of opioid overdose deaths. (Roubein, 11/30)
The Associated Press:
US Approves Monthly Injection For Opioid Addiction
U.S. health officials on Thursday approved the first injectable form of the leading medication to treat patients recovering from addiction to heroin, prescription painkillers and other opioids. The Food and Drug Administration approved once-a-month Sublocade for adults with opioid use disorder who are already stabilized on addiction medication. (Perrone, 11/30)
The Washington Post:
A Navy Admiral Lost His Son To Opioid Addiction. Now He’s Marshaling Support To End The Epidemic.
Retired Navy Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld once had the ability to project military power anywhere on Earth. But when it came to finding help to pull his son Jonathan back from the depths of drug addiction, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was at a loss. ... The Winnefelds and military health-care experts stressed that Tricare’s limitations mirror the civilian health-care system, where care for drug addiction and mental health issues has not kept pace with the widening opioid epidemic. (Horton, 12/1)
The Associated Press:
More US Kids In Foster Care; Parental Drug Abuse A Factor
The number of children in the U.S. foster care system has increased for the fourth year in a row, with substance abuse by parents a major factor, according to new federal data released on Thursday. The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services counted 437,500 children in foster care as of Sept. 30, 2016, up from about 427,400 a year earlier. (Crary, 12/1)
The Associated Press:
Health Care Fallout: Fate Of 8M Low-Income Children In Limbo
TC Bell knows what life is like without health insurance after growing up with a mother who cobbled together care from a public health clinic, emergency room visits and off-the-books visits to a doctor they knew. That memory makes Bell, of Denver, grateful for the coverage his two daughters have now under the Children's Health Insurance Program — and concerned about its uncertain future in Congress. "There's an incredible security that I have with CHIP," said Bell, 30, who has gone back to community college to reboot his life after working a series of low-paying jobs. (Karnowski, 11/30)
NPR:
How The Loss Of U.S. Psychiatric Hospitals Led To A Mental Health Crisis
A severe shortage of inpatient care for people with mental illness is amounting to a public health crisis, as the number of individuals struggling with a range of psychiatric problems continues to rise. The revelation that the gunman in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting escaped from a psychiatric hospital in 2012 is renewing concerns about the state of mental health care in this country. A study published in the journal Psychiatric Services estimates 3.4 percent of Americans — more than 8 million people — suffer from serious psychological problems. (Raphelson, 11/30)
Reuters:
Lawsuit Seeks To Block Illinois Abortion Coverage Expansion
Abortion opponents in Illinois filed a lawsuit on Thursday to block a recently approved law expanding state-funded coverage of abortions for low-income Medicaid recipients and state workers. (Kenning, 11/30)