Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Panel Sets Sights On Extending Health Care Provisions
Roll Call: Key House Committee Lays Groundwork For Health Extenders
The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is planning to mark up legislation that would extend a slate of expiring health care provisions, subcommittee Chairman Morgan Griffith said Wednesday. Griffith, R-Va., noted the bipartisan support for legislation as members look to prevent provisions from expiring as the end of the fiscal year approaches on Sept. 30. An aide said the panel is still finalizing the exact lineup. (DeGroot, Raman and Hellmann, 9/3)
Fierce Healthcare: Republicans Tout CBO Study On ACA Subsidies, Immigrant Sign-Ups
As the Trump administration takes aim at fraud, waste and abuse in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market, Republicans in Congress are touting new data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as evidence backing the effort. Legislators asked the CBO to dig further into the potential coverage impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive and far-reaching reconciliation package that includes significant overhauls in healthcare. The analysis (PDF) found that 2.3 million individuals received premium tax credits improperly by misstating their income. (Minemyer, 9/3)
Stat: 5 Concerns Raised During House Hearing On Health AI
The growing influence of artificial intelligence in health care was on display Wednesday as House lawmakers peppered invited witnesses with pointed questions about how technology might influence seemingly disparate topics like drug development, experimental Medicare models, and teen mental health. (Trang, 9/3)
More health care industry news —
Fierce Healthcare: HHS Looks To Crack Down On Healthcare Information Blocking
The Department of Health and Human Services’ investigation unit and health IT offices are stepping up enforcement of information blocking committed by providers, health IT developers and health information exchanges, the department announced Wednesday. The news comes as Trump’s HHS is trying to improve the flow of patient health information by securing voluntary commitments by 60 major healthcare and tech companies to advance interoperability. (Beavins, 9/3)
Modern Healthcare: WellSpan, Family First Health Race To Offset Medicaid Cuts
John Keating doesn’t think he’d be alive today if he’d gotten sick under President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” His reasons are the same ones keeping healthcare leaders in rural Adams County, Pennsylvania, up at night as they scramble to confront potentially catastrophic consequences from the tax law just over a year from now, when more than $1 trillion will begin disappearing from the healthcare system. (McAuliff, 9/3)
Modern Healthcare: Cigna To Sell Evernorth Care Clinics To HonorHealth
Cigna is selling 18 Evernorth Care Group clinics in the Phoenix area to HonorHealth. Upon closing, the Evernorth locations will become part of HonorHealth’s integrated system. The deal is expected to close in January, pending legal and regulatory approvals, according to a Tuesday news release. Evernorth Care Group, formerly Cigna Medical Group, is a subsidiary of The Cigna Group and provides primary care to nearly 80,000 patients. (Hudson, 9/3)
CBS News: California Woman Used AI To Successfully Appeal Health Insurance Claim Denial
A Bay Area woman received a nearly $2,000 insurance claim denial from her maternity stay two years prior. Stunned, she decided to fight it and said, at one point, the bill even came back with her toddler's name on it. That's when she turned to AI. (Nam, 9/3)
KFF Health News: Fighting A Health Insurance Denial? Here Are 7 Tips To Help
When Sally Nix found out that her health insurance company wouldn’t pay for an expensive, doctor-recommended treatment to ease her neurological pain, she prepared for battle. It took years, a chain of conflicting decisions, and a health insurer switch before she finally won approval. She started treatment in January and now channels time and energy into helping other patients fight denials. (Sausser, 9/4)
