Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Concerns About Bush's Obamacare Replacement; Bring Health Issues To The Debate
Huffington Post: Jeb's Obamacare Repeal-And-Replace Plan Is More Repeal Than Replace
Jeb Bush on Tuesday will introduce a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But “replace” may not be quite the right word. The Bush plan calls for a familiar mix of conservative ideas on health care, according to campaign documents obtained by The Huffington Post. ... The Bush plan would weaken those standards on insurance: People buying coverage would have more freedom to buy less-generous policies that cover only catastrophic costs. And the tax credits that Bush would provide, by design, guarantee access only to these catastrophic policies. (Jonathan Cohn, 10/12)
Forbes: Missing From Election Debates: Healthcare
Tonight, the first Democratic debate of the election season will kick off. With two GOP debates in the rearview mirror, the first of the debates on the left should offer an opportunity to see how the candidates will distinguish themselves. In particular, one issue that’s been largely absent (at least from the GOP debates beyond “repeal and replace”) is health care. In this coming debate, and in the later GOP debates, the moderators ought to seek out the candidates’ positions on a slew of health care issues. (Yevgeniy Feyman and Alex Verkhivker, 10/13)
The New York Times: How To Keep People In Health Plans
There was a sharp drop earlier this year in the number of people enrolled in health insurance plans purchased through federal and state marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act. That poses a big challenge for insurers, health care providers and enrollment counselors when a new open enrollment period starts on Nov. 1. (10/13)
The Wall Street Journal: The ‘Cadillac Tax’ Makes Everyone Sick
In apparent recognition of the distinct unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act’s Cadillac tax—an excise tax on high-value, employer-provided health benefits—more than 100 economists have signed a letter defending it. As the Washington Post headline about the letter read: “101 Economists Just Signed a Love Letter to the Obamacare Provision Everyone Else Hates.” ... The reason the tax has so many opponents is its impact on American workers. It is going to force employers, who understandably do not want to pay the steep 40% levy, to reduce the benefits they offer in order to bring the costs of their plans below the ACA’s value threshold. (Tevi Troy, 10/12)
Forbes: New Data Shows Large Insurer Losses On Obamacare Plans
Risk corridor data released on October 1 by the administration shows that insurers lost a lot of money on Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans in 2014. The ACA established a three-year risk corridor program to transfer funds from insurers with lower-than-expected medical claims on ACA plans, i.e., profitable insurers, to insurers with higher-than-expected claims, i.e., insurers with losses. Despite administration claims that incoming payments from profitable insurers would cover losses from unprofitable ones, the risk corridor program shortfall exceeded $2.5 billion in 2014. Insurers with lower-than-anticipated claims owed about $360 million, and insurers with higher-than-anticipated claims requested about $2.9 billion from the program. Using available data, mostly from the administration, I estimate that insurance companies likely lost at least 12% on ACA plans in 2014. (Brian Blase, 10/12)
Victoria (Texas) Advocate: Texas Needs To Expand Medicaid For The Poor
With the church-held belief that integral to the right for life is the right to basic health care, I joined with my brother Catholic Bishops in Texas to call upon Gov. Greg Abbott, Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to end a political standoff and reconsider the state's refusal to expand Medicaid coverage for an estimated 1.3 million uninsured Texans. We made this appeal guided by our belief that achieving affordable and accessible health care coverage for all stems from God's precepts about the fundamental right to life and dignity. (Bishop Brendan Cahill, 10/12)
The Wall Street Journal: Rubio’s Family Leave Gambit
Democrats are making a federal mandate for paid family leave part of the 2016 campaign, part of their drive to use government benefits to help voters forget seven years of stagnant incomes. The right Republican response would be to say it’s great if businesses can afford to offer leave, as thousands do. But when government mandates it, the result is often less employment and lower pay for everyone. The better solution is faster economic growth and more job openings. Instead, [Republican Sen. Marco] Rubio has countered by proposing a tax credit that offsets 25% of the cost for employers that provide at least four weeks of paid family leave. ... Sorry to say, the Floridian has fallen into a familiar trap of me-too politics. (10/12)
Los Angeles Times: A Secret Epidemic: Traumatic Brain Injury Among Domestic Violence Victims
In recent years, medical science has uncovered the high risk and devastating effects of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, among U.S. combat soldiers and athletes, especially football and hockey players. What if a vastly greater population were also suffering these effects: women and children living with the consequences of domestic violence? (Maria E. Garay-Serratos, 10/12)
