First Edition: November 13, 2014
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Millions Of Medicaid Kids Missing Regular Checkups
Millions of low-income children are failing to get the free preventive exams and screenings guaranteed by Medicaid and the Obama administration is not doing enough to fix the problem, according to a federal watchdog report. The report, released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG), says the administration has boosted rates of participation but needs to do more to ensure that children get the regular wellness exams, dental checkups and vision and hearing tests. The report notes that 63 percent of children on Medicaid received at least one medical screening in 2013, up from 56 percent in 2006, but still far below the department’s 80 percent goal. (Galewitz, 11/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Surprises Lurk For People Re-Enrolling On Healthcare.gov
In a twist, an influx of lower-priced health plans on HealthCare.gov could lead many Americans to pay more for coverage next year thanks to smaller insurance tax credits. A handful of insurers in 14 states are offering aggressively low premiums on the federal insurance enrollment site, which reopens Saturday, in a bid to undercut big rivals who snapped up customers last year. (Radnofsky, 11/13)
USA Today:
Feds, States Add Help For Health Care Open Enrollment
The federal and state health insurance exchanges open for business Saturday amid guarded optimism that the seemingly successful window-shopping period on HealthCare.gov earlier this week suggests things will go better than last year's torturous roll-out. The federal HealthCare.gov site will have 1,000 more people at its call center. More insurance assistants, known as navigators, have been added in many states. (O'Donnell and Unger, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York State Website Gets A Reboot
New York state has revamped its long-outdated website, ny.gov, with an emphasis on making it more user-friendly. The new site features bright blue and gold boxes in place of the old dark navy background and long, confusing menu lists have been eliminated. (Wilson, 11/12)
The Associated Press:
New York Health Exchange Premiums To Rise
Deductibles and co-payments will be flat but premiums will rise about 4.5 percent for individuals and families during the second year of New York's health exchange, according to state officials. Meanwhile, a nonprofit group's survey showed general satisfaction among those who got insurance the first year, though nearly one-fourth reported some difficulty getting accepted by doctors as a new patient. (11/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Appeals Court Cancels Arguments On Health Law Subsidies
A federal appeals court on Wednesday canceled December arguments over health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, following the Supreme Court’s Nov. 7 decision to review the issue itself. The Supreme Court last week accepted an appeal in a separate lawsuit from Virginia, King v. Burwell, that challenged the subsidies and made it likely the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would halt work on the case it was reviewing. Arguments in the Virginia case will be held in early 2015 with a decision before July. The D.C. Circuit said it would pick up review of its case, Halbig v. Burwell, after the Supreme Court rules in the Virginia case. (Bravin, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP-Led Senate Budget Committee Could Sidestep Key Decisions
Sen. Jeff Sessions, expected to be the next chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said he likely would defer key decisions on spending and taxes to other panels next year. Instead, the Alabama Republican said his goal will be to unify the GOP majority around specific spending and tax targets and then allow other congressional committees to design policies to meet those targets. ... That would be a significant break from the past few years, when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) proposed sweeping changes to a number of programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, as a way to meet budget targets. (Paletta, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Who Will Run CBO Next?
The term of current CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, put in office by congressional Democrats, expires in early January. Though he has won plaudits from Republican lawmakers, they could decide they want an economist with conservative credentials to run the budget shop. CBO’s role can’t be overstated. It analyzes and scores congressional proposals, including tax, spending and health-care plans, and it is supposed to offer an unbiased view on both the costs and benefits of particular policies. If Republicans want to rewrite the tax code, or rework Medicaid, CBO’s rulings on the matter could be paramount. (Paletta, 11/12)
The Washington Post:
Parties Head Back To Capitol To Begin Carving Up Spoils, Remains From Midterms
The most significant fights inside each caucus might be the battles for top committee posts. Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), ending an eight-year run as the leading Republican on the Budget Committee, is the strong favorite to win the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee, given his considerable clout after his 2012 stint as vice-presidential nominee, but first he must secure the votes over Rep. Kevin Brady (Tex.), who has more seniority on the panel. (Kane, 11/12)
The Washington Post:
GOP’s Anti-Obamacare Push Gains New Momentum In Wake Of Gruber Video
The Republican Party’s ardent campaign against President Obama’s health-care law gained new momentum Wednesday as lawmakers reacted angrily to assertions by an architect of the policy that it was crafted in a deliberately deceptive way in order to pass Congress. On both sides of the Capitol, leading conservatives said they may call economist Jonathan Gruber to testify about his remarks, which were made last year and surfaced this week in a video on social media. (Costa and DelReal, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
UnitedHealth Creates Office Of CEO
UnitedHealth Group Inc. announced an executive shuffle that elevates two key leaders, positioning them for a race to succeed current Chief Executive Stephen J. Hemsley . The parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer said that, effective immediately, it would form a new Office of the Chief Executive, which, in addition to Mr. Hemsley, will include David S. Wichmann as president and Larry C. Renfro as vice chairman, as well as executives focusing on legal matters and human resources. (Wilde Mathews, 11/12)
USA Today:
New Doctors Site Rates For Experience, Quality
The first comprehensive physician rating and comparison database launches Monday in time for open enrollment on federal and state health exchanges, as well as for many employer-provided plans. The new version of the website Healthgrades.com uses about 500 million claims from federal and private sources and patient reviews to rate and rank doctors based on their experience, complication rates at the hospitals where they practice and patient satisfaction. (O'Donnell, 11/12)
The Associated Press:
Less Angst Over Health Care At Small Businesses
Small business owners are less angst-ridden about health care than you might think. Health care costs are in second place among owners' major concerns in a survey released Thursday by Bank of America. Seventy-two percent cited health care costs as a big concern, down from 74 percent in a similar survey in the spring. The No. 1 concern was the effectiveness of government leaders, cited by 74 percent versus 75 percent in the spring. (Rosenberg, 11/13)
USA Today:
Rural Hospitals In Critical Condition
Since the beginning of 2010, 43 rural hospitals — with a total of more than 1,500 beds — have closed, according to data from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. The pace of closures has quickened: from 3 in 2010 to 13 in 2013, and 12 already this year. Georgia alone has lost five rural hospitals since 2012, and at least six more are teetering on the brink of collapse. Each of the state's closed hospitals served about 10,000 people — a lot for remaining area hospitals to absorb.
The Affordable Care Act was designed to improve access to health care for all Americans and will give them another chance at getting health insurance during open enrollment starting this Saturday. But critics say the ACA is also accelerating the demise of rural outposts that cater to many of society's most vulnerable. These hospitals treat some of the sickest and poorest patients — those least aware of how to stay healthy. Hospital officials contend that the law's penalties for having to re-admit patients soon after they're released are impossible to avoid and create a crushing burden (O'Donnell and Unger, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot:
Pharma Trade Group Head Causes A Stir With A Remark About Patents
File this under ‘Nothing like getting off to a good start.’ Last week, Stefan Oschmann, the chief executive officer at Merck KGgA, was elected president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, a trade group for drug makers that is based in Europe. ... on the same day that his appointment was announced, Oschmann appeared at a health care conference last week in New York, where he said something that upset patient advocacy groups. What was that? “There is zero evidence that intellectual property is a hindrance to access to medicines,” Oschmann remarked, according to a Tweet by the Eli Lilly LLY +0.06% Twitter account. (Silverman, 11/12)
Politico:
Ebola Money Fight An Early Lame-Duck Test
The White House is seeking $6.18 billion to cope with the crisis — an early post-election test of whether the two political parties can work together on a health issue that has known no ideology. And Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee amounted to a full court press to quickly attach the emergency funds to a year-end spending bill to keep the government funded through September 2015. (Rogers, 11/12)
Politico:
DoD To Deploy Fewer Troops In Ebola Fight
The Pentagon is sending about 1,000 fewer troops to fight Ebola in West Africa than it previously planned, officials said Wednesday. The military is now on track to deploy about only 3,000 troops, down from the previous estimate of 4,000 or more, said Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), who was among the U.S. officials who briefed reporters at the Pentagon via satellite. (Ewing, 11/12)
Los Angeles Times:
In Push To Keep Mentally Ill Out Of Jail, County To Expand Crisis Centers
At the urging of Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey and others lobbying to keep mentally ill people from being locked up in county jails, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Wednesday to fund several programs for people undergoing psychiatric crises. The supervisors voted to use $40.9 million in state funding for opening three new 24-hour psychiatric urgent care centers, where police can bring people undergoing mental health crises instead of taking them to overcrowded emergency rooms or jail. (Sewell, 11/12)