Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Documents Show Christina Ritter Will Lead Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
Stat: Medicare Taps Acting Official To Head Drug Price Negotiations
Medicare has chosen a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation official to temporarily lead its implementation of Democrats’ drug pricing law, a document obtained by STAT shows. Christina Ritter is listed on a document dated June 2 as acting director of the Medicare division implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, which enabled Medicare to negotiate drug prices and penalize drugmakers for price hikes. (Cohrs, 6/6)
MarketWatch: Medicare Trustees Report For 2023 Contained No Bad News
The Medicare Trustees issue an annual report projecting the program’s finances under current law. In addition, the actuaries prepare an alternative scenario that limits the extent to which Medicare payments to hospitals and physicians fall below those made by private insurers. (Munnell, 6/6)
In related news about drug costs —
Axios: More States Embrace Drug Price Boards To Curb Health Costs
More states are pushing their own plans to lower drug costs, viewing it as an extension of efforts to set payment rates for utilities, transportation and other essential services. Colorado, among the states to create a state prescription drug affordability board, is rolling out a dashboard this week that will show which drugs are the likeliest to have price caps. (Reed, 6/6)
On the 'unwinding' of Medicaid —
Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Redeterminations Tech Solutions Aim To Ease Process
As states grapple with Medicaid redeterminations and high rates of disenrollments, states are teaming up with technology vendors to facilitate communications and outreach to affected enrollees. (Turner, 6/5)
McKnights Long-Term Care News: As Medicaid Disenrollments Surge, Concerns About Nursing Home Residents Persist
Although hundreds of thousands have been knocked off state Medicaid rolls this spring, worries about dropped coverage for Medicaid-dependent nursing home residents have so far not proven reality in large numbers. McKnight’s Long-Term Care News surveyed a dozen sector associations about the impact the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and a Medicaid continuous coverage requirement have had on facilities. Several were unable to provide detailed insight, noting that they had not heard from members that they were experiencing widespread disenrollment issues. (Towhey, 6/5)
