Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Cherry Picks Stats When Citing 60-Percent Obamacare Premium Hikes
The Washington Post's Fact Checker: Trump’s Claim That Obama Is Trying To ‘Delay’ Obamacare Enrollment Until After The Election
This is one of Trump’s go-to lines about premium increases under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. He warns of premium increases of 40, 50, 60 percent — and alleges that the Obama administration is trying to delay open enrollment, scheduled for Nov. 1, until after the election because the drastic rate hikes will be “election-defying.” Are his claims accurate? (Lee, 9/26)
Modern Healthcare: The Next Administration Is Already Charting Its Healthcare Course
Neither camp has publicly floated names of the people likely to lead HHS and its component agencies, which include the CMS, the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. ... But Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have reportedly tapped policy experts with some healthcare experience for their transition teams. (Muchmore, 9/24)
California Healthline: Tobacco Tax Ballot Measure Would Fund Health Care For California’s Poor
At first blush, the tobacco tax measure on California’s November ballot looks pretty straightforward. Proposition 56 would raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by $2 and tax e-cigarettes for the first time. Proponents say the higher price would prevent kids from smoking and lower health care spending because people won’t suffer as much from tobacco-related illness.What’s not spelled out is how exactly money raised through the measure would be spent. (Bartolone, 9/23)
Kaiser Health News: Election Buzz: A Look At Brain Science As 5 States Vote On Legalizing Pot
Five states — California, Arizona, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts — are voting this fall on whether marijuana should be legal for recreational use. That has sparked questions about what we know — and don’t know — about marijuana’s effect on the brain. Research is scarce. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. That classification puts up barriers to conducting research on it. (Bebinger, 9/26)
Tampa Bay Times: Anti-Pot Group Spends $1.3M As Medical Marijuana Boosters Keep Fundraising
State campaign finance records released Friday show that United for Care, the group behind the constitutional amendment, called Amendment 2, raised $20,000 last week, most of it from donations $1,000 or less.No on 2, the campaign opposing the measure, raised just $1, but they've started using major donations to produce and buy ads. Records show that Drug Free Florida, the political committee opposing medical marijuana, spent more than $1.3 million that same week, most of it going to Jamestown Associates, an ad buying firm. (Auslen, 9/23)
