Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: December 10, 2014
Kaiser Health News: Wellness At Work: Popular But Unproven
If you get health insurance at work, chances are you have some sort of wellness plan, too. But so far there’s no real evidence as to whether these plans work. One thing we do know is that wellness is particularly popular with employers right now as they seek ways to slow the rise of health spending. These initiatives can range from urging workers to use the stairs all the way to requiring comprehensive health screenings. The 2014 survey of employers by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 98 percent of large employers and 73 percent of smaller employers offer at least one wellness program. (Rovner, 12/10)
Kaiser Health News: Obamacare Co-Ops Cut Prices, Turn Up Heat On Rival Insurers
HealthyCT is one of at least a half dozen co-ops created through the Affordable Care Act that have lowered 2015 premiums in a bid to boost membership in their second year of operation. But those low premiums are upsetting so-called “legacy” insurance plans like Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliates that have traditionally dominated insurance markets. ... For 2015 at least, co-ops are offering the lowest-cost silver plans in all, or large parts of Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico and New Jersey, according to NASHCO. (Galewitz, 12/10)
The Wall Street Journal: Gruber Apologizes Before House Committee
Mr. Gruber testified with Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Republicans had criticized both for statements they say show a pattern of deception by the Obama administration in passing and implementing the 2010 law. Both Republicans and Democrats sharply criticized Mr. Gruber for his comments. The remarks reveal “a pattern of intentional misleading” of the public about the Affordable Care Act, said Rep. Darrel Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the committee. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, said Mr. Gruber’s statements “gave Republicans a public-relations gift in their relentless political campaign to tear down the ACA and eliminate health care for millions of Americans.” (Armour, 12/9)
The New York Times: Jonathan Gruber Of M.I.T. Regrets ‘Arrogance’ On Health Law
Jonathan Gruber, the health economist whose incendiary comments about “the stupidity of the American voter” have embarrassed the Obama administration, apologized on Tuesday for what he described as his “glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting comments.” “I am not a political adviser nor a politician,” said Dr. Gruber, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was a paid consultant to the Obama administration in 2009 to 2010. (Pear, 12/9)
Politico: Jonathan Gruber: I'm Not 'The Architect' Of Obamacare
Gruber also drew the ire of committee Republicans for not disclosing all his income from state and federal consulting contracts, and Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa threatened to subpoena information on how much Gruber was paid for all of his Affordable Care Act work. Gruber, who has been a sought-after speaker in recent years, advised Washington and a number of states. Gruber would only confirm he received close to $400,000 under a contract with HHS and referred the committee to his attorney to determine what other payments may be released. (Norman, 12/9)
The Washington Post: Jonathan Gruber: ‘I Am Embarrassed, And I Am Sorry’
“I'm a professor of economics at MIT. I'm not a politician nor a political advisor," Gruber said, stressing that his role with the administration was purely technical. "I did not draft Governor Romney’s health care plan, and I was not the ‘architect’ of President Obama’s health care plan.” The hearing featured several terse exchanges, which highlighted the lighting rod Gruber has become and the sharp partisan divisions surrounding the ACA. (DelReal, 12/9)
The Associated Press: Obama Health Adviser Apologizes For ‘Glib’ Remarks
Gruber told groups in 2012 and 2013 that voter stupidity and a “lack of transparency” were important to passing the hard-fought legislation. Appearing before the House Oversight committee Tuesday, Gruber expanded on earlier apologies, repeatedly saying “I was conjecturing in areas beyond my expertise.” Enduring one fierce lecture after another, Gruber said his earlier comments were uninformed, “glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting.” He said he was showing off before various groups, and “trying to be something, I’m not, which was a political expert.” (Babington, 12/9)
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Advisor Apologizes To Lawmakers For Controversial Comments
Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor who worked on the Affordable Care Act, apologized to members of Congress on Tuesday for a series of controversial comments he made about the law, which Republicans have seized on to attack the healthcare legislation. “I behaved badly, and I will have to live with that,” Gruber told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “But my own inexcusable arrogance is not a flaw in the Affordable Care Act. The ACA is a milestone accomplishment for our nation that already has provided millions of Americans with health insurance.” (Levey, 12/9)
USA Today: Gruber Sorry For 'Insulting' Comments On Obamacare
The committee also questioned Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for giving misleading enrollment numbers in previous testimony in September. Tavenner testified that 7.3 million people had signed up for health insurance on state and federal exchanges, but she acknowledged that the number included dental plans — therefore double-counting almost 400,000 subscribers. (Korte, 12/9)
Politico: Gruber Survives
Still, Tuesday’s House hearing never forced Gruber to admit what Republicans wanted to prove: that he was speaking from inside knowledge of the writing of the Affordable Care Act, and therefore had confirmed that Obamacare was a fraud all along. And as much as the Republicans grilled him, Gruber never budged from his story, whether they wanted to believe it or not: He ran numbers for Obamacare, didn’t really know the political strategies he talked about so freely, and did not, in fact, confirm the premise of a lawsuit over subsidies that could give the Supreme Court a new opportunity to unravel the health care law next year. (Nather, 12/9)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Why We Haven’t Seen The Last Of Jonathan Gruber
MIT economist Jonathan Gruber apologized before a congressional committee Tuesday for calling American voters stupid and a number of comments saying that the administration deceived the American public to pass Obamacare almost five years ago. Gruber's much-anticipated testimony tried to serve two main goals — apologize for the comments that opened up Obamacare to new scrutiny and do his best to distance himself from the drafting of the health-care law. (MIllman, 12/9)
The Washington Post: Deal Reached On $1.01 Trillion Spending Bill
At 1,603 pages, the bill includes at least $1.2 billion for agencies to deal with the influx of unaccompanied immigrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. There’s also money to fight the rise of the Islamic State and $5.4 billion to fight the threat of Ebola. ... The Department of Health and Human Services would receive $948 million to provide health and education services to the unaccompanied children — an $80 million increase. (O'Keefe, 12/9)
The New York Times: Congressional Leaders Reach Deal On Spending
The spending bill is geared toward combating threats from afar, with roughly $5.4 billion in emergency funds to fight Ebola in West Africa, nearly $74 billion for wars and other overseas operations, and more than half of the overall package going to military spending. ... The final deal amounted to what one Democratic aide called a “split decision” likely to leave both sides unhappy. For instance, the bill would nullify the District of Columbia’s referendum to legalize marijuana, but it would allow Washington to decriminalize the drug, meaning possession of small amounts would no longer be punished. ... Democrats fought off Republican efforts to scuttle Michelle Obama’s rules on nutritional content of school lunches, but Republicans secured flexibility on the use of whole grains. (Parker and Weisman, 12/9)
NPR: This Nursing Home Calms Troubling Behavior Without Risky Drugs
It's a sunny autumn afternoon and a good time to make apple crisp at Pathstone Living, a memory care facility and nursing home in Mankato, Minnesota. Activities staffer Jessica Abbott gathers half a dozen older women at a counter in the dining area, where the soundtrack is mostly music they could have fox-trotted to back in the day. ... That can help to relieve the agitation common in some people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia — agitation that in other nursing homes might be managed with antipsychotic drugs. (Jaffe, 12/10)
Los Angeles Times: Work Hour Limits For Doctors In Training Don't Improve Patient Safety
Two studies published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. examined the effects of new work rules that limit the number of hours interns and residents can spend caring for hospital patients. In both studies, researchers found little to no evidence that patients fared better or worse after the new rules went into effect in 2011. (Kaplan, 12/9)
The Associated Press: Hearing Set On Single-Payer Proposal For New York
Buffalo is the next stop in a series of statewide hearings on a proposal to establish a single-payer health care system in New York. Wednesday's hearing in Buffalo will be the third on Assemblyman Richard Gottfried's proposed New York Health Act. The proposal would replace private health insurance with a publicly funded system. (12/10)
The Associated Press: Kansas Governor Unveils Plan To Close Budget Gap
The plan, which applies only to the current budget year, avoids reducing aid to the state’s public schools, its Medicaid health care program for the needy, prison operations or state universities. (12/9)
