Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Military Families Seek Help From Food Pantries As Shutdown Drags On
Military.com: Food Pantry Visits From Military Families Climb Over 30% Since Government Shutdown Began
The government shutdown has surpassed one week and has put federal workers and military families in a financial bind, with food pantries in some portions of the country experiencing 30% upticks in traffic. “Starting last week at our normal food operations, we saw an increase in demand,” Dorene Ocamb, chief development and brand officer of ASYMCA, told Military.com. “As a result, we ran out of food a little more quickly than normal. We had about a 34% increase in Killeen, Texas, which was the first sort of food distribution after the shutdown happened. (Mordowanec, 10/9)
AP: US Troops Face A Missed Paycheck During Government Shutdown
Heather Campbell lost her job working for a food bank over the summer because of federal funding cuts. Her husband serves as an officer in the Air Force, but now he’s facing the prospect of missing his next paycheck because of the government shutdown. If lawmakers in Washington don't step in, Campbell’s husband won’t get paid on Wednesday. Because the couple lacks the savings to cover all their expenses, they expect to survive on credit cards to pay the mortgage and feed their three children, racking up debt as the political stalemate drags on. (Finley, 10/9)
The Hill: Shutdown Persists As Senators Leave Washington
Senators departed Washington without a deal to end the government shutdown, ensuring that it will last into next week with both sides still deadlocked. The upper chamber finished work for the week late on Thursday night when they passed the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included more than a dozen of amendment votes. (Weaver, 10/9)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Starting To Feel The Shutdown’s Bite
It’s not yet clear how the federal government shutdown will end, but Democrats are continuing to draw attention to the issue they are promoting — the coming expiration of additional subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans. Some Republicans are now going public with their worries about the huge cost increases many of their constituents face. (Rovner, 10/9)
More news on the federal shutdown —
The Hill: Chip Roy Calls For Overhaul Of All Federal Health Programs
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) blasted his fellow Republicans in Congress for “running afraid” from health care, reiterating his belief that major federal health programs must be reformed “top to bottom.” Roy, who is running to replace Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), spoke with the libertarian outlet Reason magazine to discuss his views and recent votes in Congress. (Choi, 10/9)
Fierce Healthcare: Hospital At Home Providers Navigate Complexities During Shutdown
When the government entered a partial shutdown Oct. 1, hospitals across the country faced a major task: discharging, relocating or shifting care programs for the thousands of patients in hospital at home programs. With Congress at a standoff over healthcare cuts and Affordable Care Act premium tax subsidies, the body failed to reauthorize the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS') pandemic-era Acute Hospital Care at Home program, along with Medicare telehealth services. (Beavins, 10/9)
Newsweek: Judge Denies Trump Admin Attempt To Pause Medicaid Case Amid Shutdown
A district court judge on Wednesday denied the Trump administration's request to halt a lawsuit over its proposed Medicaid cuts to Planned Parenthood during the current shutdown of the federal government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sought a motion for a stay in the proceedings because the Appropriations Act funding the Department of Justice and the majority of other executive agencies lapsed when the government shut down on September 30. (Giella, 10/9)
NBC News: Emergency Medicaid Spending Accounts For Less Than 1% Of Program's Expenses, Study Finds
Emergency Medicaid spending, an issue partly fueling the federal government's ongoing shutdown, accounts for less than 1% of the federal health insurance program's total expenses, according to a study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study analyzed data from Washington, D.C., and 38 states that reported their emergency Medicaid expenditures for fiscal year 2022. (Acevedo, 10/9)
Other news from Capitol Hill on mifepristone and AI —
The Hill: GOP Senators Urge RFK Jr. To Crack Down On Medication Abortion
Almost every Senate Republican on Thursday urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “reevaluate” whether a newly approved generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone should stay on the market. The letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary from 51 of 53 Republican senators adds to the pressure the Trump administration is facing from conservatives to restrict access to medication abortion. (Weixel, 10/9)
Stat: Top Democrat Demands Medicare Insurers Disclose Uses Of AI In Care
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is pressing the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurers to provide more detail about their use of artificial intelligence tools amid reports that these companies are rapidly increasing their reliance on the technology to help make decisions about patients’ care and coverage. (Ross, 10/9)
