Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Lawmakers Aim To Rein In Health Insurance Giants
The New York Times: Lawmakers Target The Power Of Health Insurance Giants
After years of rampant expansion into nearly every corner of the health care system, the biggest insurance conglomerates are confronting new efforts to break up their businesses. Arguing that the companies have become too dominant, Arkansas and Tennessee passed laws that aim to prevent the companies from managing prescription benefits and running retail and mail-order pharmacies. Lawmakers in other states and in Washington have proposed similar restrictions. (Abelson and Robbins, 7/8)
Healthcare coverage and access —
NBC News: As Montana’s Medicaid Work Requirements Roll Out, Cancer Patients Fear They’ll Lose Coverage
Last month, Sarina Eckman got a letter from the state of Montana that made clear she could lose her Medicaid coverage — but left her confused and with questions about what she needed to do to keep it. (Lovelace Jr., 7/8)
Modern Healthcare: Gene Therapy Costs Force Employers To Rethink Health Benefits
Advanced medical therapies are set to inflate already soaring health benefit costs, leaving employers and insurers to determine how to best pay for them. Cell and gene therapies treat complex conditions such as blood cancers, retinal diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Employers face individual claims that are infrequent but can cost millions of dollars each. Healthcare conglomerates Cigna and UnitedHealth Group, third-party vendors, and standalone stop-loss and reinsurance companies all pitch products to shield employers buffeted by rising health spending. (Tong, 7/8)
Bloomberg: Mental Health Leave Is Rising As More US Workers Take FMLA Time Off
Kendall McGill needed to take time off work for her mental health. The 32-year-old project manager in Baltimore didn’t get along with her direct manager and says she’d recently been assigned the workload of two people. Before every one-on-one meeting with her manager, McGill sat in front of a window and took deep breaths to calm her anxiety. “I just started to feel dreadful,” she says. “I was in therapy already and talking about the issue on and off with my therapist. And I was like, ‘I’m not going back to work.’” (Rogers, 7/8)
CIDRAP: COVID-Related Healthcare Costs Drop Sharply 3 Months After Acute Infection, Study Suggests
A new analysis of more than 930,000 Medicare beneficiaries suggests that COVID infection is associated with a sharp spike in healthcare use and costs during the acute illness phase, but those differences diminish substantially over time, with only modest increases in healthcare use and spending in the first three months after infection. (Bergeson, 7/8)
In related news —
Politico: Why A Bitter Health Care Fight Is At The Center Of A High-Stakes House Battle
One of the most-watched House races in the country is setting the stage for how Democrats and Republicans will battle over federal health care cuts on the campaign trail. Swing seat GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, facing a tough reelection campaign against a moderate Democratic opponent, is being bombarded by attacks over his vote for President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy package, which cut Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion over a decade.The pressure is only expected to intensify. (Cordero and Reisman, 7/8)
The Hill: Faith Groups Urge White House To Release HIV/AIDS Funds
Five faith-based organizations are calling on the White House to release funding for HIV/AIDS prevention abroad that Congress already appropriated. In a letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, the groups urged full funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Gavi. “These funds are urgently needed now. Without them, children will die of preventable diseases, HIV+ mothers will infect their babies during childbirth, tuberculosis will spread: these are the ‘least of these’ to whom our Lord calls us to respond,” the groups wrote. (Weixel, 7/8)
