Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House To Vote On Gender-Affirming Care For Kids, Including Penalties
Axios: House Sets Votes On Gender Care Penalties
The House of Representatives will vote this week on two bills to restrict transgender youths' access to gender-affirming care, including legislation led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that would criminalize providing certain procedures or medications. (Goldman, 12/17)
The latest on ACA subsidies —
Modern Healthcare: House Speaker Mike Johnson Shuts Down ACA Subsidies Vote
A last minute push by swing-district Republicans to secure a vote to extend enhanced tax credits for federal marketplace health insurance came up short Tuesday. More than a dozen Republicans had been lobbying for an amendment to a House GOP health plan expected to get a vote Wednesday, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters it will not happen. (McAuliff and Early, 12/16)
Politico: Fitzpatrick Declines To Turn Off ACA Discharge Petition As Amendment Talks Drag On
Vulnerable Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick told Speaker Mike Johnson on the House floor Tuesday he would not withdraw his discharge petition that would force a floor vote on extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies — amid Johnson’s attempt to find a potential agreement to allow a vote on an amendment instead that would be similar in substance. (Hill and Guggenheim, 12/16)
Related news about health care costs and coverage —
Modern Healthcare: US Health Spending Projected To Reach $5.6T In 2025
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary projects healthcare spending in 2025 will hit $5.6 trillion. Six months after the independent CMS division’s initial forecast, industry watchers also predict increases. “It’s hard to generalize, but I think many payers and risk-bearing entities are continuing to see elevated cost growth this year and going into next year with quite a bit of volatility,” said Dr. Jeet Guram, associate partner at McKinsey. (Broderick, 12/16)
Axios: Why Health Insurance Premiums Will Be More Expensive
There's a good chance your health insurance premiums are going up next year, regardless of where you get coverage. The spike in what millions of Affordable Care Act plan enrollees pay will be acute, but workplace insurance is getting more expensive, too — and all at a time when affordability is prominently on Americans' minds. (Owens, 12/17)
Axios: Workplace Insurance Is A Good Deal For Employers
Employer-sponsored insurance may be getting costlier, but it still delivers a positive return for firms that cover their workers, according to a new Avalere Health analysis commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and provided first to Axios. (Owens, 12/17)
The Washington Post: Unemployment Rate Rises, Signaling Weakness In The Economy
The economy is flashing new warning signs, as the U.S. labor market shed jobs over October and November, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6 percent, the highest level since 2021. (Gurley, 12/16)
Also —
Verite News New Orleans: ‘The Baby Was Completely Gray’: Immigrants Choose Between Health Care And Risk Of Deportation
As immigrants in southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi braced for this month’s U.S. Homeland Security operation, Cristiane Rosales-Fajardo received a panicked phone call from a friend. The friend’s Guatemalan tenant, who didn’t know she was pregnant, had just delivered a premature baby in the New Orleans house. The parents lacked legal residency, and the mother refused to go to a hospital for fear of being detained by federal immigration officers. (Parker, 12/16)
