Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Insurers Turn To Congress With Hands Out Even As They Reassure Investors Outbreak Might Be A Boon
ProPublica: Health Insurers To Investors: We’re Good. Health Insurers To Lawmakers: Please Help.
Executives at Cigna, the health insurance giant, have signaled to investors that the coronavirus pandemic isn’t hurting the company’s business and might actually be a boon. But that hasn’t stopped the trade group that represents Cigna and other health insurers in Washington from asking lawmakers for aid. Last month, as the coronavirus outbreak sent the stock market into freefall, executives conferred with equity analysts at major investment banks — a key way for companies to communicate with investors. (Arnsdorf, 4/28)
Reuters: U.S. Health Insurers Benefit As Elective Care Cuts Offset Coronavirus Costs
UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, last week posted first-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations and kept its profit forecast in place for 2020, despite an economy battered by massive layoffs and business shutdowns to slow the spread of the virus. When Anthem Inc, Humana Inc and Cigna Corp report their first-quarter results this week, Wall Street analysts expect a similar trend. CVS Health, a pharmacy company that owns health insurer Aetna, reports in May. (Maddipatla and Humer, 4/28)
Modern Healthcare: Centene Expects Higher Revenue, Unchanged Earnings From COVID-19
Medicaid managed care insurer Centene Corp. escaped the first quarter of 2020 without much impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its bottom line. While that could change over the course of the year, Centene executives suggested the insurer could ultimately benefit from the nation's increasing unemployment rates and lower use of healthcare services. During a call with investment analysts on Tuesday, Centene CEO Michael Neidorff said that while he expects the company's results "to be choppy from quarter to quarter," he believes it will still reach the full-year earnings expectations that it set in early March. The company also expects to bring in higher revenue in 2020 than previously projected. (Livingston, 4/28)
Politico: The Unlikely Alliance Trying To Rescue Workplace Health Insurance
Big businesses and powerful Democrats are aligning around a proposal to bail out employer health plans in the wake of staggering losses to the insurance industry, as some worry that a surge in uninsured Americans could give new life to a stalled push for “Medicare for All.” The business and labor interests, who have strong economic motives to keep the current system of employer-based care, are rallying behind a Democratic effort to subsidize temporary extensions of newly unemployed Americans’ workplace health plans in Congress’ next coronavirus rescue package. (Luthi, 4/28)
ProPublica: One Thing The Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped: Aggressive Medical-Debt Collection
Darcel Richardson knows she’s fortunate in one sense: She still has her job as a vocational counselor in Baltimore. But despite that, she won’t be able to make her rent payment this month because she’s not getting her full salary for a while. More than $400 per biweekly paycheck — about a quarter of her after-tax income — has been siphoned off by Johns Hopkins University for unpaid medical bills at one of its hospitals. Richardson, 60, got word of the garnishment from her employer just as the coronavirus pandemic was arriving in full force last month. (MacGillis, 4/28)
And in other news on health costs —
The Associated Press: Medicare Applications Raise Anxiety For Seniors In Pandemic
At greater risk from COVID-19, some seniors now face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage. Advocates for older people say the main problem involves certain applications for Medicare’s “Part B” coverage for outpatient care. It stems from the closure of local Social Security offices in the coronavirus pandemic. Part B is particularly important these days because it covers lab tests, like ones for the coronavirus. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Should Toss Proposed MFAR Rule, Experts Say
CMS' proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule is impairing the ability of states and safety-net providers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic effectively, according to some experts. States are footing the bill for many costs associated with treating COVID-19, while unemployment and Medicaid enrollment skyrocket and tax revenues drop off a cliff. That is putting tremendous strain on state and Medicaid budgets, both of which could negatively affect providers that increasingly rely on Medicaid to pay for the costs of care. (Brady, 4/28)
