Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicaid Cuts Could Mean 1,000 More Deaths Each Year, Report Indicates
NBC News: Another Report Suggests Medicaid Cuts Could Lead To Thousands Of Deaths
The Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill could result in more than 1,000 additional deaths every year, according to a report published Wednesday in JAMA Health Forum. The cuts could also lead to nearly 100,000 more hospitalizations each year, the report found, and around 1.6 million people may delay seeking care. (Lovelace Jr., 7/16)
Stat: Medicare To Speed Up Clawback Of $7.8 Billion From Hospitals
The Trump administration plans to claw back $7.8 billion in Medicare payments to hospitals a decade sooner than originally proposed, potentially sparking another legal challenge from the hospital industry. (Herman, 7/17)
Stat: Medicare Moves To Allow More Outpatient Medical Procedures
The Trump administration is opening the floodgates for more surgeries to be done in outpatient facilities like ambulatory surgery centers, proposing a Medicare policy that could accelerate the shift away from hospital-based care. (Bannow, 7/17)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Adds Remote Patient Monitoring Billing Codes
Remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics companies would see potential reimbursement wins in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ proposed physician fee schedule. On Monday, CMS added six new billing codes for shorter-term remote patient monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring within its physician fee schedule proposal. It also proposed a new code for digital therapeutics and raised the possibility of adding more when the final schedule is released. (Turner, 7/16)
States respond to Medicaid cuts —
Modern Healthcare: PACE Expansions Present Opportunity To States Amid Medicaid Cuts
A federal-state program aimed at keeping older adults out of nursing homes could come out a winner under the new federal tax law. Nevada was the latest state to approve a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly last month before President Donald Trump signed the tax law. South Dakota is considering PACE as well. The program can save states money by caring for adults at home, rather than in nursing homes. However, PACE is a relatively small and not widely known initiative, which could make it a low priority for states weighing the best way to spend fewer Medicaid dollars. (Eastabrook, 7/16)
The Hill: Maine Family Planning Sues Trump Over Medicaid Funding Cut
Maine Family Planning filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration seeking to restore Medicaid funding that is set to be stripped under the president’s sweeping tax and spending package. A provision in the law bans health care providers that perform abortions and receive more than $800,000 in federal reimbursements from receiving Medicaid funding for one year. Republicans included the provision in the legislation to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood even though the organization is not named in the language of the law. (O’Connell-Domenech, 7/16)
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Health Insurers Propose Huge Price Increases For 2026
Colorado health insurers have proposed huge price increases for next year for people who purchase coverage on their own — a consequence, state officials say, of the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax and spending measure. (Ingold, 7/17)
Also —
Axios: Millions Of Americans Now Face A Devastating One-Two Punch On Health Care
Millions of low-income Americans already face the prospect of losing their health insurance, and now they're looking at another worry: lower credit scores. Poor credit scores not only make it harder to borrow money, but also to accomplish such basic things as land a job or rent an apartment. (Peck, 7/17)
