Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Once Off Limits, Medicare Cuts Now In The Mix As Senate Works On Tax Bill
Politico: Medicare Is A Target As Senate GOP Faces Megabill Math Issues
Senate Republicans are eyeing possible Medicare provisions to help offset the cost of their megabill as they try to appease budget hawks who want more spending cuts embedded in the legislation. Making changes to Medicare, the federal health insurance program primarily serving seniors, would be a political long shot: It would face fierce backlash from some corners of the Senate GOP, not to mention across the Capitol, where Medicare proposals were previously floated but didn’t gain traction. (Carney, Lee Hill and King, 6/5)
The Wall Street Journal: Humana To Back Curbs To Medicare Advantage Billing Practices
Humana, the second-biggest Medicare insurer, has told congressional staffers that it will support moves that would curtail billing practices worth billions in extra payments to the industry, according to staffers and a document viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The stance by a leader in the Medicare Advantage business—in which insurers offer privately run Medicare plans—represents an important development in a growing debate over how the companies are paid in the $460 billion program. (Mathews and Weaver, 6/5)
Regarding Medicaid and the tax bill —
The Hill: Dr. Oz On Medicaid Cuts: People Should ‘Prove That You Matter’
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz defended President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” over criticism that millions of people could lose health coverage, saying those who would face new work requirements should “prove that you matter.” Oz made the comments during an interview Wednesday on Fox Business, arguing that when Medicaid was created in the 1960s lawmakers did not include work requirements because it “never dawned on anybody that able-bodied people who work would be on Medicaid.” (O’Connell-Domenech, 6/5)
Stat: Budget Bill Puts Doctors, And Their Lobbyists, In Middle Of Tug-Of-War
With millions of people at risk of losing health insurance under President Trump’s tax bill, lawmakers have begun lobbying the lobbyists: asking health care interests to keep quiet — or speak up — about potential cuts to Medicaid. Democrats and Republicans on key congressional committees and in leadership perches have been holding regular meetings in recent weeks with groups representing doctors, five people involved in or with knowledge of the talks told STAT. (Payne, 6/5)
And on Obamacare —
The New York Times: Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill
Millions of Obamacare enrollees would lose health coverage under the Republicans’ major policy bill, which would make coverage more expensive and harder to obtain. Most of the proposals in the bill, which passed the House last month, are technical changes — reductions to enrollment periods, adjustments to formulas, and additional paperwork requirements. But together, they would leave about four million people uninsured in the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday. (Kliff and Sanger-Katz, 6/5)
Fierce Healthcare: Low-Income Patients See Fewer Claim Denials Reversed: Study
Low-income patients are less likely to see their insurance claim denials reversed, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Toronto found. The new report in Health Affairs analyzed Affordable Care Act marketplace and employer-sponsored insurance claims to find disparities between income, race, education and other demographical features. Researchers concluded low-income patients bear a larger burden for claims denials than higher-income enrollees. (Tong, 6/5)
KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’ Podcast: Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Lands In Senate. Our 400th Episode!
The House’s gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade won’t make it an easy sell. (Rovner, 6/5)
