Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Cuts Loom If Relief Bill Passes And Waiver Isn't Approved
CNBC: Covid Relief Bill May Trigger Cuts To Medicare, Student Loan Programs
A Covid relief bill backed by Democrats could trigger billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and other federal programs, like ones that support unemployed workers and student-loan borrowers, if it’s ultimately passed. The funding cuts would take effect in 2022 and last for several years. (Iacurci, 2/27)
Bloomberg: Biden’s Virus Relief Plan Threatens To Trigger Medicare Cuts
The Congressional Budget Office said in a letter Thursday to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that Medicare would face a $36 billion cut, and as much as $90 billion in other programs would be slashed. The spending cliff is entirely of the Democrats’ making. Under the 2010 Pay-As-You-Go law passed by Democrats and signed by then-President Barack Obama, spending increases and tax cuts that add to the deficit — like Biden’s plan — trigger automatic cuts the following calendar year. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to declare the new outlays an emergency and avoid the cuts, which means Democrats would need 10 Republicans. (Dennis, 2/26)
Politico: Biden Urges Senate To Take 'Quick Action' On Coronavirus Relief Package
President Joe Biden on Saturday called for the Senate to quickly pass his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which the House approved early Saturday morning. “I hope it will receive quick action,” Biden said. “We have no time to waste. If we act now, decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus, we can finally get our economy moving again and the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long. We need to relieve that suffering.” (Leonard, 2/27)
The Washington Post: Democrats Abandon $15 Minimum Wage Hike Backup Plan
Senior Democrats are abandoning a backup plan to increase the minimum wage through a corporate tax penalty, after encountering numerous practical and political challenges in drafting their proposal over the weekend, according to two people familiar with the internal deliberations. On Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian said that the $15-an-hour minimum wage included in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan was inadmissible under the rules Democrats are using to pass the bill through the Senate. (Stein, 2/28)
Roll Call: Medicare Fixes, Amtrak Boost In Draft Senate Aid Package
Senate Democrats were honing a substitute amendment to the House-passed $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package that chamber plans to take up this week, with one early version circulating that would add money for Amtrak, cybersecurity and Medicare payments for ambulance services and certain hospitals, among other changes. (Krawzak, 2/28)
In related news about covid's economic toll —
AP: Fraud Overwhelms Pandemic-Related Unemployment Programs
With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs. The fraud is fleecing taxpayers, delaying legitimate payments and turning thousands of Americans into unwitting identity theft victims. Many states have failed to adequately safeguard their systems, and a review by The Associated Press finds that some will not even publicly acknowledge the extent of the problem. (Mulvihill and Welsh-Huggins, 3/1)
CNBC: Covid Symptom ‘Long Haulers’ Can See Lasting Financial Impact
It’s been 10 months since Laura Crovo has felt entirely normal. Since testing positive for Covid last April, the 41-year-old Marylander has yet to shake off all of her symptoms. And on top of battling them — mostly a racing heart (tachycardia), occasional fatigue and a lingering cough — she and her husband, parents of two children, are still paying off the thousands of dollars in debt that they racked up last year due to her persisting illness. (O'Brien, 2/28)
Axios: Scammers Seize On COVID Confusion
The pandemic has created a prime opportunity for scammers to target people who are already confused about the chaotic rollouts of things like stimulus payments, loans, contact tracing and vaccines. Data shows that older people who aren't digitally literate are the most vulnerable. (Fischer and McGill, 2/28)
