Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Can't Attain Budget Goal Without Cuts To Medicaid, Medicare, Or CHIP
The Washington Post: GOP Must Cut Medicaid Or Medicare To Achieve Budget Goals, CBO Finds
The House GOP’s budget, which passed last week in a hairline vote, asks the committee responsible for federal health-care spending to find at least $880 billion in savings over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that reducing costs that much won’t be possible without cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. (3/5)
FactCheck.org: Fact Check: The War Of Words Over Medicaid Cuts
Democrats and Republicans are accusing one another of “lying” about what a House Republican budget resolution means for Medicaid, and both sides have made misleading or speculative comments. There’s little doubt the health care program would face cuts under the plan — and it would have to if Medicare cuts are off limits. Democrats have seized on the resolution’s call for the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion in spending over 10 years. The committee’s options for those reductions are almost entirely in spending for Medicaid, a federal-state program that provides health care for low-income people, and Medicare, the federal program that covers seniors. (Robertson, 3/5)
KFF Health News: To Patients, Parents, And Caregivers, Proposed Medicaid Cuts Are A Personal Affront
Cynthia Williams is furious with U.S. House Republicans willing to slash Medicaid, the government-run insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The 61-year-old Anaheim resident cares for her adult daughter, who is blind, and for her sister, a military veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, pays Williams to care for them, and she relies on that income, just as her sister and daughter depend on her. (Wolfson, 3/6)
More from Capitol Hill —
Fierce Healthcare: House Passes Chronic Disease Bill To Expand Coverage Under HDHPs
New legislation advanced by a voice vote March 4 would codify 14 pre-deductible healthcare services through high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). It codifies guidance from President Donald Trump’s first term increasing flexible coverage options for HDHPs. The bill would allow medical products and services like beta-blockers, blood pressure monitors, glucometers, inhalers and cholesterol drugs to be more easily covered by insurance by letting insurers pay for low-cost services before a deductible is reached. (Tong, 3/5)
More administration news —
Modern Healthcare: Trump's Price Transparency Executive Order Stirs Uncertainty
Health systems and insurers are bracing for tougher enforcement of price transparency regulations. President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to bolster oversight of price transparency requirements enacted in 2021. Regulators have given too much leeway to hospitals and insurers, limiting the potential price-easing benefits of the law as healthcare companies have been slow to meet the requirements, Trump said in the order. (Kacik and Early, 3/5)
Modern Healthcare: Trump Keeps Pressure On Insurers Through Medicare Advantage Cases
The Justice Department under President Donald Trump is defending the federal government’s position in several Medicare Advantage lawsuits challenging policies that originated during President Joe Biden's term. Given Trump's overall repudiation of the Biden years and Republicans' generally favorable disposition toward Medicare Advantage and preference for light regulation, Wall Street expected the new administration to take it easier on health insurance companies. So far, in court at least, that's not what's happening. (Early, 3/5)
ABC News: Trump Said Childhood Cancer Rates Have Increased 40% Since 1975. Here's What The Data Shows
During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump spoke about childhood cancer rates, saying it was a priority of his administration to tackle this issue. ... Although it's unclear where Trump got the 40% figure, data shows that childhood cancer rates have indeed been increasing over the past several decades. However, a pediatric oncologist told ABC News that there's important context missing in that statement, such as the effect of advances in early detection and possible environmental factors. (Kekatos and Kochat, 3/5)
MedPage Today: Who Is Trump's New Doctor?
President Trump's new physician is Sean Barbabella, DO, a Navy emergency physician who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has "extensive combat trauma experience," according to reports. Battlefield emergency response experience is apparently important to Trump, who faced two assassination attempts during his recent presidential election campaign. (Fiore, 3/5)
