Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: January 26, 2015
Kaiser Health News: Vice President Joe Biden Calls For Renewed Focus On Patient Safety
Hospitals need to focus more on reducing preventable errors and infections and the government must create more economic incentives to improve patient safety, Vice President Joe Biden said at a conference in Irvine, Calif. over the weekend. "Up until now, our health care system – in my humble opinion – hasn’t sufficiently linked quality … with safety," he said. "Not enough time has been focused on keeping bad things from happening." (Gorman, 1/26)
Kaiser Health News: Cleveland Hospitals Grapple With Readmission Fines
At the Cleveland Clinic’s sprawling main campus, patient Morgan Clay is being discharged. Clay arrived a couple of weeks ago suffering from complications related to acute heart failure. He’s ready to go home. But before Clay can leave, pharmacist Katie Greenlee stops by the room. 'What questions can I answer for you about the medicines?' Greenlee asks as she presents a folder of information about more than a dozen prescriptions Clay takes. "I don’t have too many questions," Clay says. "I’ve been on most of that stuff for a long time." (Tribble, 1/26)
The Washington Post: Review Confirms Administration Did Not Properly Vet HealthCare.gov Contractors
The federal agency responsible for developing HealthCare.gov did not properly vet the contractors it hired to build the Web site and failed in many other aspects of planning it, according to a government review. In a report Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general said that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “did not perform thorough reviews of contractor past performance when awarding two key contracts,” among other issues. (Hicks, 1/23)
The New York Times: Obama To Request Research Funding For Treatments Tailored To Patients’ DNA
President Obama will seek hundreds of millions of dollars for a new initiative to develop medical treatments tailored to genetic and other characteristics of individual patients, administration officials say. The proposal, mentioned briefly in his State of the Union address, will be described in greater detail in his budget in the coming weeks. The effort is likely to receive support from members of both parties, lawmakers said. (Pear, 1/24)
The Associated Press: What Issues Roil Washington? Obama's Veto Threats Are Clues
In addition to delivering eight formal veto notices on specific bills under consideration, the president has sounded broader warnings that he’ll block legislative efforts that jeopardize his health care law, roll back rules governing Wall Street, reverse his immigration actions or impose new sanctions on Iran. There’s a little bit of everything in Obama’s veto threats: the culture wars (abortion), energy policy (Keystone XL oil pipeline), social matters (Obamacare), foreign policy (Iran), economic angst (financial regulation), even wonky details of governance. (1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Health Insurers May Face Tougher Rules On Obamacare Doctor Lists
In response to complaints about Obamacare doctor networks, a California lawmaker and three consumer groups are seeking legislation that would require health plans to improve provider directories. State Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said Friday he introduced legislation that would force health plans to update their provider lists weekly and make them more widely available online to insurance shoppers. (Terhune, 1/23)
The Wall Street Journal: State Regulator To Shut Down Insurer CoOportunity Health
Iowa’s insurance regulator plans to shut down insurer CoOportunity Health, marking the first failure of one of the nonprofit cooperatives created under the Affordable Care Act. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart, who had taken over operations of the insurer last month as it showed signs of faltering, said in a statement that he will ask for a court order of liquidation next week, and it would likely take effect on Feb. 28. The insurer doesn’t expect “additional cash inflow” until the second half of this year, and the amount owed on medical claims exceeds CoOportunity’s cash on hand, the regulator said. (Wilde Mathews, 1/23)
The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Does Obamacare Provide Federal Subsidies For Elective Abortions?
There often is overheated rhetoric in the abortion debate that cannot be fact-checked. (The Fact Checker previously examined Democrats’ claims following the Hobby Lobby ruling.) The bill’s opponents, who support abortion rights, say the system works, and the measure would unnecessarily restrict women’s private insurance choices. Lawmakers who oppose abortion rights don’t buy it; they say the system is just an accounting gimmick. The goal of this fact check is not to re-litigate the debate, but to examine evidence to support the above statement, which was repeated throughout the debate. (Lee, 1/26)
Los Angeles Times: What Do Health Experts See In Our Near Future?
What's in store for your health in the next five years? Doctors, authors, researchers and more weigh in. A sharp-eyed 20/20 look at healthcare changes by 2020. We asked some experts what they see ahead for our health — perhaps in the next year and then in five years. (1/23)
The New York Times: W.H.O. Members Endorse Resolution To Improve Response To Health Emergencies
As the battle to snuff out the Ebola epidemic in West Africa continues, amid hopeful signs of ebbing, fears of an even more deadly and widespread infectious disease’s emerging in the future are motivating efforts to reform global health institutions that faltered in the current outbreak. Chief among them is the World Health Organization, which has suffered withering criticism for an initially slow, disorganized and ineffective response to Ebola. (Fink, 1/25)
The Associated Press: WHO Mulls Reforms To Repair Reputation After Bungling Ebola
The World Health Organization is debating how to reform itself after botching the response to the Ebola outbreak, a sluggish performance that experts say cost thousands of lives. On Sunday, WHO's executive board planned to discuss proposals that could radically transform the United Nations health agency in response to sharp criticism over its handling of the West Africa epidemic. (Cheng, 1/25)
The New York Times: To Collect Debts, Nursing Homes Are Seizing Control Over Patients
Few people are aware that a nursing home can take such a step. Guardianship cases are difficult to gain access to and poorly tracked by New York State courts; cases are often closed from public view for confidentiality. But the Palermo case is no aberration. Interviews with veterans of the system and a review of guardianship court data conducted by researchers at Hunter College at the request of The New York Times show the practice has become routine, underscoring the growing power nursing homes wield over residents and families amid changes in the financing of long-term care. In a random, anonymized sample of 700 guardianship cases filed in Manhattan over a decade, Hunter College researchers found more than 12 percent were brought by nursing homes. Some of these may have been prompted by family feuds, suspected embezzlement or just the absence of relatives to help secure Medicaid coverage. But lawyers and others versed in the guardianship process agree that nursing homes primarily use such petitions as a means of bill collection — a purpose never intended by the Legislature when it enacted the guardianship statute in 1993. (Bernstein, 1/25)
The Associated Perss: Maryland Lawmakers To Be Briefed On Budget
State analysts are scheduled to go over the governor’s plan with lawmakers on committees that will be working on the budget this legislative session. Hogan, a Republican, submitted a balanced budget plan last week that addresses a shortfall of roughly $750 million. The budget includes cuts, such as reductions in rates paid to Medicaid healthcare providers and cost-of-living adjustments for state employees. (1/26)
The Washington Post: Md. Gov. Hogan’s First Budget Reins In Rise In Education Spending, Imposes Agency Cuts
Hogan also wants to cancel a 2 percent pay raise for state employees, reduce state agency spending by 2 percent and roll back the rate Maryland pays doctors who participate in Medicaid, the state health insurance program for the poor. (Wagner and Hernandez, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Medi-Cal Applicants Entitled To Benefits Despite Delays, Judge Rules
California may no longer leave applicants in limbo as they wait to find out whether they qualify for the state’s healthcare program for the poor, a superior court judge has ruled. In a sharply worded decision issued in Alameda County on Tuesday, Judge Evelio M. Grillo wrote that the California Department of Health Care Services must provide Medi-Cal applicants with temporary benefits if it takes longer than 45 days — the time allowed by state law — to determine their eligibility. (Brown, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Parents Who Oppose Measles Vaccine Hold Firm To Their Beliefs
Measles can be especially severe in babies, toddlers and pregnant women, as well as other adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Especially vulnerable are infants younger than 12 months, before they get their first dose of the vaccine known as MMR — for measles, mumps and rubella. But a growing anti-vaccination movement in the United States has been fueled by parents' fears that vaccines are not safe for every child. Like Monahan, some worry that the measles vaccine causes autism — a theory that has been thoroughly discredited by numerous scientific studies. In the face of the state's worst measles outbreak in 15 years, many of those aligned with the anti-vaccine movement remain unbowed. (Foxhall, 1/25)
Los Angeles Times: California Measles Outbreak Expands To 78 Cases; More Likely
The measles outbreak centered in California continues to expand, with officials now confirming 78 cases of the illness in seven states and Mexico. The California Department of Public Health said there are now 68 cases in the state – 48 that have been directly linked to being at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure last month. Some people also visited one or both of the parks while infectious in January. (Xia and Lin, 1/23)
