Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Next Phase Of Recovery Plan To Feature Health Care, But Biden Quiet On Public Insurance
CNBC: Biden Considers Health Care Public Option In Economic Recovery Plan
While President Joe Biden tries to steer his mammoth new infrastructure plan through Congress, his administration is planning the next phase of its economic recovery efforts. As the White House prepares to unveil a second proposal focused on education, paid leave and health care, it has given few hints about whether it will include a core Biden campaign plank: a public insurance option. (Pramuk, 4/1)
The Washington Post: Homecare Investments For The Elderly Included In White House Infrastructure Plan
President Biden’s jobs plan proposes a massive investment in home care for the elderly and people with disabilities, as America’s caretaking system faces strain from the nation’s looming demographic challenges. The White House’s American Jobs Plan calls for spending about $400 billion over eight years on “home- or community-based care” for the elderly and people with disabilities. That amounts to roughly a fifth of the overall price tag of Biden’s plan, the first of two related economic proposals expected from the White House. (Stein, 4/2)
KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Planning For Round Two
Congress is out of session, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from planning their next round of health legislation. Together with President Joe Biden, they are looking at a broad array of possibilities, from allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices to adding more benefits to the program to creating a government-funded “public option” insurance plan that consumers could choose. Meanwhile, despite financial incentives for states to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the Wyoming legislature this week killed a nascent effort to expand the government health program, and Republicans in Missouri are trying to block implementation of an expansion approved by voters in 2020. (4/1)
And more Biden administration news —
Modern Healthcare: ACA Exchanges Unveil New Subsidies For Consumers
The federal Affordable Care Act exchanges on Thursday included new subsidies to help 15 million uninsured Americans purchase coverage. The Biden administration approved the subsidies in March, under the American Rescue Plan, estimating that expanded premium assistance would result in four out of five customers purchasing a plan on the marketplaces with premiums of $10 or less per month. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated the law increased the number of people eligible for a subsidy by 20%, to 21.8 million. (Tepper, 4/1)
NPR: Dr. Rachel Levine: Transgender Health Care Is An Equity Issue, Not A Political One
Dozens of states are considering Republican-led bills that advocates say are harmful to transgender people. The recent spate of bills are "really challenging to see," says Dr. Rachel Levine, the nation's newly confirmed assistant secretary for health. "I really think that the decisions about health care for LGBTQ youth are really between the family, the child, the young person, their doctor, maybe their therapist," said Levine, the first openly transgender official to serve in any Senate-confirmed position, in an NPR interview. (Sullivan and Shapiro, 4/1)
