Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Administration Guidance Will Let Insurers Pay For Chronic Care Treatment Before Patient Meets Deductible
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Moves To Shift Patients’ Chronic Illness Costs To Insurers
Millions of Americans in high-deductible health plans may find it easier to access insulin, inhalers and other treatments for chronic health problems under guidance released Wednesday by the Trump administration. Currently, people in high-deductible plans with pretax health-savings accounts have to pay down their deductible before their insurance covers treatment for chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. The change will allow insurers to begin providing coverage for those treatments, such as glucose or blood-pressure monitors, before the deductible is paid. (Armour, 7/17)
Modern Healthcare: Access To Chronic Disease Treatment Eased By Trump Administration
Under the guidance, chronically ill patients will be able to access coverage for certain services before they spend enough money out of pocket to meet the high deductible. Previously, those plans covered only low-cost preventive-care services prior to the deductible being met. The guidance, effective immediately, follows President Donald Trump's June 24 executive order that directed the U.S. Treasury Department to find ways to expand the use of health savings accounts paired with high-deductible health plans to pay for "medical care that helps maintain health status for individuals with chronic conditions." (Livingston, 7/17)
Meanwhile, on the heels of President Donald Trump's executive order on kidney care, CVS nudges into the market —
The Wall Street Journal: CVS Begins Clinical Trial For Home-Dialysis Device
CVS Health Corp. is making an ambitious move into kidney care, launching a clinical trial for a new home-dialysis device designed by the firm of Dean Kamen, the Segway inventor. The company is delving into unusual territory for a drugstore and health insurer. The plan will make it a medical-device firm and a provider of dialysis, the complex blood-cleansing procedure vital to patients suffering from kidney failure. CVS holds exclusive U.S. rights to the HemoCare device, which was created by Mr. Kamen’s firm, Deka Research & Development Corp. (Wilde Mathews, 7/17)
Bloomberg: CVS Pushing Into Kidney Dialysis With Segway Inventor's Help
The company plans to offer a device designed by a firm founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the two-wheeled Segway personal transporter. The goal is to make the complicated process of dialysis, which cleans toxins from a patient’s blood, easier and safer to do at home. If successful, CVS could threaten the two companies that dominate the market for outpatient dialysis clinics, which most users visit three times a week. (Langreth, 7/17)
