Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Health Care Spending Forecasted To Top $7.2 Trillion By 2031
Axios: Medicare Surge To Drive Health Care Spending Past $7 Trillion
A surge of Medicare spending on hospitals and other services later this decade will push U.S. health care expenditures to outpace inflation and top $7.2 trillion by 2031, federal actuaries said on Wednesday. (Bettelheim, 6/15)
Modern Healthcare: CMS: National Health Expenditures To Surpass $7T A Year
National health expenditures will surpass $7 trillion and consume nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy in 2031, according to projections the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Office of the Actuary published Wednesday. Healthcare spending will rise by an average of 5.4% a year from 2022 through 2031, when it will reach $7.17 trillion, or 19.6% of gross domestic product. "Health spending over the course of the next 10 years is expected to grow more rapidly, on average, than the overall economy," CMS actuaries wrote in the journal Health Affairs. (Turner, 6/14)
In updates from the CDC —
Roll Call: CDC Alerts States Of Cuts To STI Workforce, Blames Debt Deal
The CDC told states on Tuesday that it was reducing funding for workers who fight sexually transmitted infections by $400 million, according to an email obtained by CQ Roll Call. The spending cuts are caused by the recently passed debt ceiling deal. (Cohen, 6/14)
Stat: How Mandy Cohen Would Bring Political Chops To CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be about to undergo a paradigm shift with the anticipated appointment of former North Carolina health secretary Mandy Cohen as the agency’s next director. (Branswell, 6/15)
On antibiotic resistance —
Reuters: U.S. Farm Agency To Better Verify Antibiotic Use Claims On Meat
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will take steps to better verify antibiotic-free labels on meat and poultry products after receiving petitions challenging its existing process for not being rigorous enough, the agency announced Wednesday. Consumer, food safety and environmental groups have long warned that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock farming can contribute to human antibiotic resistance. The World Health Organization in 2017 recommended that the food industry curtail antibiotic use to fight resistance. (Douglas, 6/14)
On the drug pricing debate on Capitol Hill —
Modern Healthcare: Senate PBM Bill Would Unlink Fees, Rebates From Drug Prices
Pharmacy benefit managers would not be allowed to incorporate fees, pharmaceutical company rebates and other costs into prescription drug prices for Medicare Part D plans under bipartisan Senate legislation introduced Wednesday. (Nzanga, 6/14)
Modern Healthcare: Pharmacy Benefit Manager Legislation Explained
Pharmacy benefit managers are in the federal government's crosshairs. Here's how they got there and what could happen next. (Nzanga, 6/14)
