Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Most Americans Think Health Care System Is A Failure
AP: Americans Give Health Care System Failing Mark: AP-NORC Poll
When Emmanuel Obeng-Dankwa is worried about making rent on his New York City apartment, he sometimes holds off on filling his blood pressure medication. “If there’s no money, I prefer to skip the medication to being homeless,” said Obeng-Dankwa, a 58-year-old security guard. He is among a majority of adults in the U.S. who say that health care is not handled well in the country, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll reveals that public satisfaction with the U.S. health care system is remarkably low, with fewer than half of Americans saying it is generally handled well. (Seitz, 9/12)
In Medicare news —
Stat: Experts Urge Medicare To Overhaul Secretive Panel That Helps Determine Doctors’ Pay
A heavyweight group of former Medicare officials and payment experts are calling on the federal government to overhaul how Medicare pays physicians, which they say has morphed into a system that is “mind-numbingly complex and nontransparent.” (Herman, 9/12)
KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: The New Cap On Medicare Drug Costs
On a Sunday afternoon in August, health services researcher Stacie Dusetzina was sitting alone in her office at Vanderbilt University, watching C-SPAN and crying. The U.S. Senate was voting on the Inflation Reduction Act, which among other things is designed to ensure that people on Medicare pay less for expensive drugs. (Weissmann, 9/12)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross Antitrust Deal Appealed By Home Depot, Others
Three employers have appealed a $2.67 billion antitrust settlement with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, potentially altering the terms of the landmark federal agreement and extending the timeline of the 10-year case. (Tepper, 9/9)
The Boston Globe: Eleanor Slater Hospital Fixed Many Issues, But One Key Problem Remains
Last year several top doctors left, raising concerns about the over-institutionalization of patients. Eleanor Slater Hospital is licensed as a long-term acute care hospital. Its patients have a range of conditions and needs, from intellectual and developmental disabilities, long-term injuries from car crashes, ALS, or mental illnesses. Some have spent decades there. Top officials, now gone, argued the hospital wasn’t actually providing acute-level care but instead warehousing people with social, not medical, problems. The department disputed that was the case. (Amaral, 9/9)
Modern Healthcare: Water Shortages Threatening Patient Safety
“What’s happening in Jackson and what’s happening around the state are also lessons that can be learned for the rest of the country,” said Scott Kashman, market president and CEO St. Dominic Hospital. “We’re starting to have a broader discussion around the water and infrastructure issues. It's been a long time, and it’s a problem that’s going to need to be solved by some generation-–and it should be ours.” (Hartnett and Kacik, 9/9)
KHN: Journalists Delve Into Inflation Policy, Hospital Closures, And Needle Exchanges
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act with Newsy’s “The Why” on Sept. 2. ... KHN senior editor Andy Miller discussed the upcoming closure of a trauma hospital in metro Atlanta with WUGA’s “The Health Report” on Sept. 6. ... KHN correspondent Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez discussed rural needle exchanges with The Nevada Independent’s “IndyMatters” on Sept. 6. (9/10)
