First Edition: June 25, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The New York Times:
Measuring The Success Of Health Insurance Subsidies
The Supreme Court will decide within days whether federal health insurance subsidies for people in more than 30 states are allowed by law. A broader question is, To what extent are the subsidies responsible for the expansion of health care coverage to millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act? In short, Have the subsidies succeeded? By many measures, the answer is yes. More than seven million people are enrolled in the federal health insurance marketplaces, and a majority of them — 87 percent — receive subsidies in the form of tax credits to help pay their premiums, the government says. Without subsidies, many would be unable to buy insurance. The subsidies also appear to have drawn substantial numbers of younger, healthier Americans into the new insurance markets... (Pear and Sanger-Katz, 6/25)
The Washington Post:
Supreme Court Ruling Could Push Health Industry Agenda To Back Burner — Again
The health care industry was hoping this would be the year it could move beyond the Obamacare fight in Washington and on to new priorities, such as improving drug development and patient care. But the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in King v. Burwell threatens to derail those ambitions. (Ho, 6/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Supreme Court Guide: Six Big Decisions Remain
The Supreme Court is scheduled to issue decisions Thursday, with six major cases remaining on the docket, and is expected to release opinions again on Friday and perhaps next week. Still to be decided are the health-law subsidies and gay-marriage cases, along with closely watched rulings involving congressional redistricting and power plant emissions. Here’s a list of the remaining cases. ... King v. Burwell Issue: Whether the Affordable Care Act authorizes tax credits for insurance bought on healthcare.gov, as well as on state-operated insurance exchanges. The case turns on a single word in the 2,000-plus-page statute, in a clause authorizing the tax credits for policies purchased on an exchange established “by” the state. Only 13 states and the District of Columbia currently run their own exchanges. The court could potentially strike down subsidies in as many as 37 states that depend on HealthCare.gov. (6/24)
USA Today:
The Six Major Cases Awaiting Supreme Court Rulings
The future of President Obama's health care law is on the line for the second time in three years, and it's anyone's guess how the court will rule. Passed in 2010 and narrowly upheld by the court in a 5-4 ruling in 2012, the law has extended health insurance to 12 million Americans. But four words in its lengthy text — "established by the state" — now endanger federal subsidies relied upon by 6.4 million participants in 34 states that did not create their own exchanges or marketplaces. The justices must decide whether the law prohibits that financial aid. (Wolf, 6/25)
Politico:
Anti-Obamacare Senator Braces For Court Ruling
The justices will rule any day now in King v. Burwell, a case that could eliminate health insurance subsidies for 6.4 million Americans, including more than 166,000 Wisconsinites. And few Republicans have done more to prepare for the ensuing uproar than [Sen. Ron] Johnson, just as he heads into a closely contested reelection race that could determine the next Senate majority. Johnson is the lead author of legislation aimed at responding to the Supreme Court decision, a bill that has been embraced by 31 colleagues, including Senate Republican leaders. Yet, Democrats already are bashing his plan as nothing more than a political message that has no chance of becoming law — while conservatives believe it is too generous because it temporarily extends those subsidies for up to two years. (Raju and Haberkorn, 6/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Poll Finds Backing For Gay Marriage And A Split On Health Law
The American public strongly favors the prospect of the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide but remains split over the 2010 health law, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds just ahead of expected high-court rulings on both matters. ... The court is also expected soon to rule on whether low-income residents of states that didn’t set up insurance marketplaces under the 2010 health law are entitled to the same subsidized health insurance as those in states that created their own marketplaces. Support for the law has improved since the disastrous rollout of the new marketplaces in the fall of 2013. The latest poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults between June 14 and 18, found Americans almost evenly divided on the law. (O'Connor, 6/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Meet The Health-Law Holdouts: Americans Who Prefer To Go Uninsured
The Affordable Care Act has a perplexing problem: Many uninsured Americans prefer their old ways of getting health care. For millions, arranging treatment through cash, barter and charity is still better than paying for insurance. They include Lisa Khechoom of Glendale, Calif., who refuses to buy coverage. She says she pays a flat $35 for a doctor visit and often substitutes prescriptions with cheaper natural remedies for herself, her husband and their children. (Radnofsky, 6/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
5 Things About People Who Remain Uninsured Despite Obamacare
The landmark 2010 Affordable Care Act was passed on the premise that more than 50 million Americans didn’t have health insurance, and needed it. Five years in, it’s helped some, and passed over others–some of whom have chosen not to get insurance even thought the law makes it possible for them to do so... (Radnofsky, 6/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
States Offer A Mixed Picture On Health-Insurance Costs
Some states are grappling with higher insurance costs for consumers while others are seeing record-low requests for premium increases in 2016 because of the Affordable Care Act, state insurance commissioners told Congress Wednesday. The health law has led to challenges and uncertainty in Tennessee, which is one of three dozen states using the federal health insurance exchange, Julie Mix McPeak, commissioner of the state’s Department of Commerce and Insurance, testified at a House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee hearing. She said the ACA has resulted in less competition and higher costs. (Armour, 6/24)
The Associated Press:
GOP Almost Set For ‘16, With Only 3 Governors Left To Get In
With Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal formally launching his presidential bid on Wednesday, 13 high-profile Republicans have officially entered the campaign for the party’s 2016 nomination. Only three major prospects remain: Ohio’s Kasich, Wisconsin’s Walker and New Jersey’s Christie, each planning to announce his intentions in the coming weeks. ... All three appeal to the party’s more moderate voters. Kasich and Christie were among the few Republican governors to expand Medicaid eligibility as part of President Barack Obama’s health care law, they have prioritized treatment for drug addicts and the mentally ill, and both have shown a willingness to stand up to those in the farthest reaches of the party’s conservative base. (Beaumont and Peoples, 6/25)
The New York Times:
Bobby Jindal On The Issues
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. The first Indian-American governor in the United States, he came to the job in 2008 after three years in Congress. He had previously been president of the nine-member University of Louisiana System and has run the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals. Here are his positions on important issues. ... Mr. Jindal has urged the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. He instead favors “premium support,” a voucherlike program in which the government would give Medicare beneficiaries a fixed amount of money to buy coverage from competing private plans. (Mullany, 6/24)
The Washington Post:
In Launching Long-Shot Bid, Bobby Jindal Vows To Be A ‘Doer’ As President
When Jindal took the stage (to Garth Brooks’s “Callin’ Baton Rouge”), he said he would try to slash the size of the federal government, show strength to American enemies overseas, secure the U.S. border, and try to reform Medicare and Social Security. ... A native of Baton Rouge, he was born Piyush Jindal in 1971 but renamed himself “Bobby” after the youngest son on the “Brady Bunch” sitcom. He became a Rhodes Scholar, a McKinsey consultant and — still in his early 20s — the head of the massive Louisiana health department. (Fahrenthold, 6/24)
The New York Times:
John Kasich Appeals To Iowa As He Ponders White House Bid
Mr. Kasich, who said he was still weighing whether to enter the race, is barely registering in Iowa polls. His formidable hurdles in the state include a lack of time visiting it, and a list of center-right policies he has supported that conservative caucusgoers are likely to reject, from expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to voting for an assault weapons ban while in Congress. (Gabriel, 6/24)
The Washington Post:
Millions Of Dollars For Veterans Sat Unspent For Three Years — And Now It May Be Too Late
For three years, more than $43 million the Department of Veterans Affairs had set aside to inform veterans about their benefits sat in an account, not a penny spent, until an agency financial manager happened to notice. By then, it may have become too late for the cash-strapped agency to spend the money, a new report says. Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin’s audit comes as top VA officials prepare to tell House lawmakers Thursday that they’re facing a $2.6 billion budget shortfall that’s partly responsible for a new explosion in wait times for medical care. Senior leaders say they may have to start a hiring freeze or furlough employees unless funding is reallocated for the federal government’s second-largest department. (Rein, 6/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
DaVita HealthCare Subpoenaed Over Medicare Coding
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in connection with how the company codes diagnoses for Medicare Advantage patients. In a regulatory filling, the Denver-based company said the subpoena covers the period from Jan. 1, 2008, through the present and seeks documents from the company and its subsidiaries. DaVita specializes in kidney care and is one of the largest U.S. providers of dialysis services. (Beilfuss, 6/24)
USA Today:
Oscar Uses Tech To Make Consumers Less Grouchy About Healthcare
Oscar's website and app hammers that point home. Signing up is as easy as answering a few multiple choice questions. There are discounts for being active, which is tracked by a free wearable. Customers get two free primary care visits a year and free generic drugs. All plans are the same, except that a higher premium gets you a lower deductible. As for doctor responsiveness, [co-founder Joshua] Kushner – a Manhattan real estate scion whose brother, Jared, is married to Ivanka Trump – taps the Oscar app to request a call from his doctor, then minutes later grins as his physician's voice comes on the line. (della Cava, 6/24)
The New York Times:
Pursuit Of Cash Taints Promise Of Gene Tests
The story of Renaissance offers a view inside the intoxicating brew of hype and hope in the field of genetic testing. All over the country, labs and research firms are popping up, eager to study strands of DNA to better identify who is at risk for developing a disease, to guide existing treatments and to develop new ones. But the troubles at Renaissance speak volumes about how difficult it is for Medicare and private insurers to keep up with the proliferation of tests being offered. (Abelson and Creswell, 6/24)
The New York Times:
Health Panel Recommends Cautious Approach To Meningitis B Vaccine
A panel of health experts stopped short of recommending that all American adolescents and young adults be vaccinated against a dangerous strain of meningitis that has caused outbreaks at Princeton University and the University of California campus in Santa Barbara, opting instead to let doctors decide whether to give the vaccine. (Tavernise, 6/24)
The Associated Press:
Kansas Judge Weighs Nation's 1st Ban On Abortion Method
An abortion rights group will ask a Kansas judge Thursday to block the state's first-in-the-nation ban on what it says is the most common method for terminating second-trimester pregnancies, contending that the new law would force some women to either accept higher medical risks or forgo abortions. (6/25)
NPR:
Texas Abortion Curbs Go Into Effect Soon, Unless Supreme Court Acts
At the hands of the Texas Legislature, the last four years have been long for supporters of abortion rights. The next blow lands on July 1, when a new law will go into effect in Texas and drastically reduce access to abortion services — likely leaving just nine clinics that perform abortions open in the entire state. The controversial law, passed in 2013, requires clinics to meet tougher building standards and doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. (Goodwiyn, 6/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Anesthesiologist's Mocking Of Sedated Patient Proves To Be A $500,000 Mistake
Thinking he would be too groggy to recall a doctor's post-op instructions after a routine colonoscopy, a Virginia man turned on his cellphone to record them. When he replayed the conversation on his way home, however, he heard more than his gastroenterologist's instructions. The man had inadvertently recorded his anesthesiologist and doctor disclosing his private health information during the 2013 procedure, as well as openly mocking him and laughing at his fear of needles. (Schachar, 6/25)
NPR:
Virginia Case Raises Questions About Ethics Of Patient Care
NPR's Rachel Martin interviews Katie Watson, a professor of medical humanities at Northwestern University, about the doctors who made inappropriate jokes about a sedated patient. (6/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Jerry Brown Signs New $167.6-Billion State Budget
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new $167.6-billion budget Wednesday that expands child care, boosts funding for public schools and opens the state's public healthcare program to children in the country illegally, but leaves some key issues unresolved. (Megerian, 6/24)