Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Progressive Democrat Seeks Changes To Pelosi's Plan To Curb Drug Costs
The Hill: House Progressive Circulates Letter Seeking Changes To Pelosi Drug Pricing Bill
A progressive leader among House Democrats on lowering drug prices is circulating a letter calling for “necessary improvements” to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) signature legislation on the topic. The letter from Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), obtained by The Hill, outlines changes that he says need to be made to the legislation Pelosi unveiled earlier this month, which is one of House Democrats’ top legislative priorities. (Sullivan, 9/30)
Stat: Pelosi Drug Pricing Plan Could Wipe Out Key Funds For Low-Income Hospitals
A 60-word provision tucked into Nancy Pelosi’s signature drug pricing plan could wreak havoc on hospitals that serve the poor. The provision deals with a federal drug discount program known as 340B that lets some hospitals and clinics buy medicines at a deep discount. When they’re reimbursed for the drugs at a higher price by Medicare or other insurers, they pocket the difference to help cover charity care, counseling services, and other costs. (Florko, 9/30)
And, as lawmakers wrestle with drug pricing and other health policy issues, the Affordable Care Act still hangs in the background -
The Washington Post: With The Affordable Care Act’s Future In Doubt, Evidence Grows That It Has Saved Lives
Poor people in Michigan with asthma and diabetes were admitted to the hospital less often after they joined Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. More than 25,000 Ohio smokers got help through the state’s Medicaid expansion that led them to quit. And around the country, patients with advanced kidney disease who went on dialysis were more likely to be alive a year later if they lived in a Medicaid-expansion state. Such findings are part of an emerging mosaic of evidence that, nearly a decade after it became one of the most polarizing health-care laws in U.S. history, the ACA is making some Americans healthier — and less likely to die. (Goldstein, 9/30)
