Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: February 26, 2015
Kaiser Health News: Supreme Court Insurance Subsidies Decision Could Trigger Price Spikes
Making health insurance available and affordable to millions of people who buy their own coverage was a key goal for backers of the federal health law known as Obamacare. But if the Supreme Court strikes down the insurance subsidies of millions of Americans who rely on the federal insurance marketplace, it could leave many worse off than they were before the law took effect, say experts. (Appleby, 2/26)
Kaiser Health News: For Many Middle-Class Taxpayers On Obamacare, It’s Payback Time
Roberta and Curtis Campbell typically look forward to tax time. Most years, they receive a refund – a little extra cash to pay off credit card bills. But this year the California couple got a shock: According to their tax preparer, they owe the IRS more than $6,000. (Gorman, 2/26)
Kaiser Health News: Attention, Shoppers: Prices For 70 Health Care Procedures Now Online!
Buying health care in America is like shopping blindfolded at Macy’s and getting the bill months after you leave the store, economist Uwe Reinhardt likes to say. A tool that went online Wednesday is supposed to give patients a small peek at the products and prices before they open their wallets. Got a sore knee? Having a baby? Need a primary-care doctor? Shopping for an MRI scan? Guroo.com shows the average local cost for 70 common diagnoses and medical tests in most states. That’s the real cost — not “charges” that often get marked down — based on a giant database of what insurance companies actually pay. (Hancock, 2/25)
The Wall Street Journal: More Than 1 Million People Pick New Health Law Plans
About 1.2 million people who bought coverage on HealthCare.gov in 2014 dropped their health plan and picked a new one through the site for 2015, the Obama administration said Wednesday. The extent of people’s willingness to consider shifting to a different insurance carrier came as a surprise to federal officials, said Andy Slavitt, a former top executive at UnitedHealth Group who is now principal deputy administrator at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will become acting administrator on Monday. (Radnofsky, 2/25)
Reuters: U.S. Government Says 8.84 Million People Signed On For 2015 Obamacare Plans
Some 8.84 million people selected or were automatically enrolled as of Feb. 22 in an individual health insurance plan on the HealthCare.gov website created under the national healthcare reform law, the U.S. government health agency said on Wednesday. (2/25)
USA Today: More Shopped Than Auto-Enrolled On Healthcare.gov
More than 8.8 million consumers selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled through HealthCare.gov from Nov. 15, 2014, to Feb. 22, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Wedneday. HHS extended the deadline from Feb. 15 to Feb. 22 to accommodate people who couldn't get through to the federal call center or on the website by midnight on Feb. 15. (O'Donnell and Unger, 2/25)
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Defense Is Tailored For Key Supreme Court Justices
With President Obama's healthcare law once again facing possible unraveling at the hands of the Supreme Court, the administration and its allies have developed a novel argument tailor-made to appeal to conservative justices: states' rights. The high court is set to hear arguments March 4 to determine the legality of Affordable Care Act subsidies for approximately 7 million Americans who receive coverage from federally run health insurance marketplaces, also known as exchanges. (Savage, 2/26)
Los Angeles Times: The Conservative Ruling That Might Save Obamacare
The Pennhurst State School and Hospital outside Philadelphia was once one of America’s most notorious institutions. During much of the 20th century, it was where the state of Pennsylvania confined thousands of children and adults with mental and physical disabilities, some in horrific conditions. The long legal battle to close the facility made Pennhurst a landmark in the historic campaign to expand the rights of Americans with disabilities. (Levey, 2/25)
The Associated Press: Governor's Medicaid Expansion Plan May Have Hit Dead End
Gov. Gary Herbert's trimmed-down plan for expanding Medicaid appears to have hit a dead end at the state Capitol. Hours after the Republican governor's plan earned key approval in the state Senate, Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes said Wednesday afternoon that the GOP-dominated House will not consider the governor's plan because it has no support. (Price, 2/26)
The Associated Press: Nebraska Eyes Medicaid 'Redesign' Bill To Close Coverage Gap
Lawmakers who want to close Nebraska's health care coverage gap are taking a new approach after two previous attempts to expand Medicaid failed. Sen. Kathy Campbell presented her Medicaid "redesign" bill Wednesday to a legislative committee, saying it would help the state uncover more efficient ways to provide health coverage while giving Nebraska officials flexibility to design a state-specific plan. (Shulte, 2/26)
The Associated Press: Judge Orders Oracle To Keep Hosting Oregon's Medicaid System
An Oregon judge has ordered technology giant Oracle Corp. to continue hosting Oregon's Medicaid health insurance system for low-income Oregonians even after the company's contract expires this weekend. Marion County Circuit Judge Courtland Geyer ruled Wednesday that Oracle should host Medicaid for another year. He granted the preliminary injunction until February 2016. (Wozniacka, 2/26)
NPR: At VA Hospitals, Training And Technology Reduce Nurses' Injuries
Bernard Valencia's room in the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., illustrates how hospitals across the country could fight a nationwide epidemic. As soon as you enter the room, you can see one of the main strategies: A hook hangs from a metal track that runs across the ceiling. This isn't some bizarre way of fighting hospital-acquired infections or preventing the staff from getting needle sticks. The contraption is a ceiling hoist designed to lift and move patients with a motor instead of muscle. (Zwerdling, 2/25)
Politico: Mississippi Emerges As Leader In Telemedicine
Mississippi has a sickly reputation. The Magnolia State ranks at or near the bottom in most health rankings: worst infant mortality and most kids born with low birth weight; second-to-highest rate of obesity and cancer deaths; second from the last in diabetes outcomes. (Pittman, 2/26)
The New York Times: Vermont Tackles Heroin, With Progress In Baby Steps
In 2014, Gov. Peter Shumlin devoted his State of the State address to what he called a “full-blown heroin crisis” in Vermont. The State Legislature enacted many of his initiatives, including giving one-time grants to addiction clinics to help them reduce the size of their waiting lists. The Central Vermont Addiction Medicine clinic here used its share of the grant to extend the hours of its lone doctor. Counselors reached out to people on the waiting list, moving active needle-users like Mr. Kenney and pregnant women to the top. (Seelye, 2/25)
Los Angeles Times: Proposition 47: L.A. County Report Details Profound Effect On Justice System
Proposition 47 is having a profound effect on Los Angeles County’s criminal justice system, from the jails to mental health treatment to workloads for prosecutors and public defenders, according to a draft report by the county’s chief executive. (Sewell and Chang, 2/25)
The Associated Press: Justices: Dentists Unfair To Limit Teeth-Bleaching Providers
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state regulatory board made up mostly of dentists violated federal law against unfair competition when it tried to prevent lower-cost competitors in other fields from offering teeth-whitening services. By a 6-3 vote, the justices rejected arguments from the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners that it was acting in the best interests of consumers when it pressured nondentists to get out of the lucrative trade in teeth-whitening services. (2/25)
