Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Industry Applauds Some Aspects Of Bill, But Sees Major Pitfalls As Well
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Companies Find Some Gifts, Big Risks In Plan To Replace Obamacare
For health-care companies, the new House Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act carries significant risks, as it would likely mean a decline in insured patients and continued worries about an unstable market. Insurers, hospitals and medical-device manufacturers are still parsing the details of the draft legislation, which could change considerably as it moves through the House and Senate, and they are applauding moves like the elimination of some taxes. But the proposal’s pullbacks on Medicaid and federal insurance subsidies could significantly reduce the number of people with health coverage over time, analysts and industry officials said, a serious problem for health-care providers and insurers. (Wilde Mathews and Evans, 3/7)
Bloomberg: How Republicans’ Obamacare-Repeal Plan Would Affect The Health Sector
There’s plenty for the health-care industry to like in the latest Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would lower taxes and eliminate rules. There’s also plenty not to like because the plan would funnel less money into helping people pay for insurance and hospital visits. The GOP bill, which still has a long way before it may become law, would replace Obamacare with a more limited program of insurance subsidies. That would probably result in less comprehensive insurance, increasing the risk that people will be unable to pay hospitals and doctors when they show up for care. At the same time, the proposal would eliminate billions of dollars of taxes on the industry. (Tracer, Greifeld and Cortez, 3/7)
Modern Healthcare: Insurers Want Trump To Rethink Shortening Open Enrollment
Insurance companies are calling on the Trump administration to rethink a proposal to shorten the open-enrollment period over their fears that it will result in only the sickest individuals signing up for coverage. Several insurers and providers including Kaiser Permanente weighed in on a Trump administration proposed rule aiming to stabilize the individual marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, voicing concerns about several provisions of the wide-ranging rule. The CMS received more than 2,500 comments on the proposed rule before the deadline passed on Tuesday. (Dickson, 3/7)
The CT Mirror: Insurers Quietly Assessing GOP Health Plan’s Benefits And Pitfalls
The nation’s health insurers are weighing the GOP’s newly released bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, which contains things they wanted – and some things they may not like, but for now are keeping their opinions to themselves. While many big insurers, including Aetna, United Healthcare and Anthem, said they lost money on plans they sold in certain ACA exchanges, they had several years to come to terms with the Affordable Care Act’s weaknesses and pushed for reform of the health law, not its repeal. (Radelat, 3/7)
The Hill: AARP Rips GOP's 'Harmful' Healthcare Legislation
AARP is going on the warpath against the Republican proposal to repeal and replace ObamaCare. The lobbying group for seniors accused House Republican leaders of crafting legislation that increases insurance premiums for consumers, while giving a “sweetheart deal” to “big drug companies and special interests.”...Republicans unveiled the long-awaited healthcare reform proposal, called the American Health Care Act, on Monday. The AARP blasted several aspects of the legislation, including provisions that would scale back the Medicaid expansion and cut back the amount of federal funding per enrollee. (Wilson, 3/7)
The Hill: Union President Blasts GOP Healthcare Plan After Meeting With Trump
Union president Richard Trumka slammed the Trump-backed GOP healthcare proposal, just hours after meeting with the president at the White House on Tuesday. The AFL–CIO president said he talked about a variety of topics with President Donald Trump, but he did not mention healthcare as one of them, according to a CNN report. (Beavers, 3/7)
CQ Roll Call: Pharma Shielded From Major Impact In GOP Health Care Bill
The pharmaceutical industry has faced consistent warnings from President Donald Trump that lowering prescription drug prices would be a high priority. But among all the health industry players affected by the Republican legislation released Monday, drug manufacturers seem to have the least to worry about. Trump continued his threats in a tweet Tuesday. “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry. Pricing for the American people will come way down!” (Siddons, 3/8)
And a look at how the news affected Wall Street —
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Overhaul Gets A Shrug From Wall Street
Health-insurance shares barely budged Tuesday morning, despite that negative change in policy. The muted share reaction is well founded. For starters, the final bill is bound to change; any law will have to pass the Senate, where the Republicans hold just a two-seat majority. Republican governors in states with expanded Medicaid coverage have bristled at the prospect of rolling back Medicaid. Those forces will likely cause some provisions of the bill to soften. (Grant, 3/7)
The Associated Press: Losses For Drugmakers, Hospitals Pull Stocks Lower
U.S. stocks declined for the third time in four days on Tuesday as health care companies took center stage. Drugmakers fell after President Donald Trump said he wants to bring drug prices down. Insurers rose and hospital companies dropped after Republicans in Congress introduced a bill intended to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act. (Jay, 3/7)
