Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Justice Department Files To Have Florida's CHIP Lawsuit Dismissed
News Service of Florida: Biden Administration Seeks Dismissal Of A Florida Challenge Over CHIP Rules
The Biden administration on Tuesday urged a judge to dismiss a lawsuit in which Florida has challenged federal guidelines for a program that provides subsidized health insurance to tens of thousands of children. The filing in federal court in Tampa by U.S. Department of Justice attorneys was the latest move in a months-long battle over guidelines issued last year for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which operates in Florida as KidCare. (Saunders, 5/16)
Modern Healthcare: What Biden’s Tariffs On Chinese Medical Supplies Mean For Industry
The Biden administration's decision to raise Chinese tariffs on a wide range of goods could boost domestic manufacturing and lessen worries about the safety of products healthcare providers use daily — or it could raise prices. The U.S. has imported $14.9 billion in medical equipment in 2024, compared with $14 billion at this time last year, according to the Census Bureau. (DeSilva, 5/16)
Stateline: Missed Care, Fewer Patients: Rural Families And Clinics Feel Medicaid Cuts
Rural children and families are having to skip vital health treatments and even ending up in the emergency room, while already struggling rural clinics are losing more patients, as states cull their Medicaid rolls. The exodus began in April 2023, when pandemic-era rules that prohibited kicking people off Medicaid coverage expired and states again began checking whether families met income restrictions. Nationally, nearly 70% of people who lost coverage did so for “procedural” reasons such as incomplete paperwork. (Hassanein, 5/17)
Modern Healthcare: Telehealth Extension, Remote Monitoring Passes House Subcommittee
A House subcommittee took the next steps Thursday to extend telehealth flexibilities and expanded remote patient monitoring rules due to expire at the end of the year. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health voted overwhelmingly to send to the full committee the Telehealth Enhancement for Mental Health Act of 2024, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024 and the Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act of 2024. (McAuliff, 5/16)
Crain's Chicago Business: Mental Health Disparity May Cost Trillions: Analysis
The staggering cost of mental health inequity in the United States, the counterpart to the more widely acknowledged economic burden of chronic illness, threatens to rise to a cumulative $14 trillion by 2040 if left unaddressed, according to a new analysis by Deloitte and the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College. The U.S. currently spends about $477.5 billion annually in avoidable and unnecessary expenses related to mental health inequities, according to the report. (Asplund, 5/16)
In other administration news —
Politico: Farm Groups Brace For EPA Formaldehyde Review
EPA and agricultural groups are clashing over the agency’s position that formaldehyde — a chemical with many industrial uses — poses an “unreasonable” risk to human health. In a preliminary risk evaluation, EPA said formaldehyde puts workers and others exposed to it at risk of noncancerous and possibly cancerous respiratory ailments.Formaldehyde in agriculture is added to animal feed to kill bacteria that might infect livestock. Pork producers use it to prevent viral diseases, and it helps reduce the risk of salmonella contamination in food. (Heller, 5/16)
AP: Watchdog: EPA's Lead Pipe Fix Sent About $3 Billion To States Based On Unverified Data
The Environmental Protection Agency distributed about $3 billion to states last year to replace harmful lead pipes based on unverified data, according to an agency inspector general’s memo, likely meaning some states got too much money and others got too little. Investigators found two states had submitted inaccurate data, the memo dated Wednesday said. It didn’t name the states. (Phillis, 5/17)
The New York Times: FDA Approves Amgen Drug For Persistently Deadly Form Of Lung Cancer
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an innovative new treatment for patients with a form of lung cancer. It is to be used only by patients who have exhausted all other options to treat small cell lung cancer, and have a life expectancy of four to five months. The drug tarlatamab, or Imdelltra, made by the company Amgen, tripled patients’ life expectancy, giving them a median survival of 14 months after they took the drug. Forty percent of those who got the drug responded. (Kolata, 5/16)
Also —
KFF Health News: Watch: John Oliver Dishes On KFF Health News' Opioid Settlements Series
Opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are paying tens of billions of dollars in restitution to settle lawsuits related to their role in the nation’s overdose epidemic. A recent broadcast of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” examined how that money is being spent by state and local governments across the United States. The segment featured reporting from the KFF Health News series “Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash.” (5/17)
Stat: Military Medical Care Influenced By Rank And Race, New Study Finds
Higher ranking military officers receive more resources and better care than low ranking military officers, according to an analysis of 1.5 million military ER visits published Thursday in the journal Science. (McFarling, 5/16)
