Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: The Next Health Agenda, OxyContin And Shrinking Hospitals
Vox: After Obamacare: The Next Democratic Health Agenda
The architects of the Affordable Care Act got millions of Americans to sign up for coverage. Now they're quietly crafting the next Democratic health-care agenda: lowering costs. A half-dozen key Democratic policy influencers, from the head of Hillary Clinton's 2008 policy team to former Obama administration officials, are starting to plan for a post-Obamacare Washington. In recent interviews, they describe twin goals — improving quality of care while making it cheaper — that will require building a coalition quite different from the one that supported health reform in 2010. (Sarah Kliff, 2/23)
Pacific Standard: Poison Pill
After more than seven years of battling the evasive legal tactics of Purdue Pharma, 2015 may be the year that Kentucky and its attorney general, Jack Conway, are able to move forward with a civil lawsuit alleging that the drugmaker misled doctors and patients about their blockbuster pain pill OxyContin, leading to a vicious addiction epidemic across large swaths of the state. A pernicious distinction of the first decade of the 21st century was the rise in painkiller abuse, which ultimately led to a catastrophic increase in addicts, fatal overdoses, and blighted communities. But the story of the painkiller epidemic can really be reduced to the story of one powerful, highly addictive drug and its small but ruthlessly enterprising manufacturer. (Mike Mariani, 2/23)
The Atlantic: Legally Married, But Their Boss Disagrees
Fifteen states have no law requiring insurance coverage for same-sex partners, and in those states, businesses can choose not to offer same-sex spousal health coverage. Massachusetts is not one of those states, however: According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in the 37 states with legal gay marriage, “employees’ same-sex spouses should have the same eligibility as opposite-sex spouses for dependent health coverage.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that states that recognize same-sex marriage must also treat gay spouses the same as straight spouses when it comes to federal benefits and taxes. (Olga Khazan, 2/20)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Closing, Shrinking As Outpatient Care Grows
As hospitals increasingly lose patients to medical care delivered in clinics and home settings, hospital operators are escalating their efforts to shrink capacity. Hospitals are operating with fewer beds or closing outright, in some cases to make way for new ambulatory-care centers. In Lakewood, Ohio, where chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are just as prevalent as in the rest of the country, the city is about to close its only hospital, whose 200 beds are typically half empty. (Melanie Evans, 2/21)
