Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

The Top Three...

Modern Healthcare: US Health Spending Projected To Hit $9T By 2034: CMS National health expenditures will rise to nearly $9 trillion and comprise 20.6% of gross domestic product by 2034, according to a federal report released Wednesday. Spending is projected to have increased 7.3% to $5.7 trillion in 2025, which would mark the third consecutive year when the rate surpassed 7%, according to a study the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Centers Office of the Actuary published in the journal Health Affairs. The share of GDP committed to healthcare rose slightly to 18.4% last year, the actuaries project. The agency is slated to issue a final report on 2025 spending later this year. (Early, 6/24)

Reuters: Trump Seeks More Than $1.4 Billion In Ebola Funding From Congress The White House is seeking more than $1.4 billion in new funds from Congress to address the widening Ebola ‌virus outbreak, including $800 million for humanitarian crisis response, according to a Trump administration official. The move is part of a larger supplemental funding request made by the White House on Wednesday in a letter to Congress. It includes $800 million for a quarantine center in Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus, supplies, treatment, contact tracing, a regional logistics network ​and infection-control practices, the official said. (Hunnicutt and Steenhuysen, 6/24)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Health Affordability Is Shaping The Midterms Majorities of Americans say they're more likely to vote for candidates in November who support ideas to lower their health costs, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. Their support for ideas across the political spectrum — from renewing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expanding direct sales of prescription drugs — shows the power of voters' demands for relief. (Bettelheim and Talev, 6/22)

For a Deeper Dive...

Fox News: House Republican Breaks With Trump, Says Ending Haitian TPS Risks US Healthcare 'Crisis' Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday decision in Mullin v. Doe. ... Lawler pointed to the large number of Haitians on TPS working in the U.S. healthcare system. "Of the 350,000+ lawful Haitian TPS holders, roughly 1/3rd work in our healthcare system. Immediately shutting off TPS will create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes, and in the I/DD [intellectual and developmental disabilities] community," he said in a post on X. (McGreevy, 6/25)

Politico: Trump Nominates New Top Deputy To RFK Jr. President Donald Trump said Thursday he was nominating Chris Klomp to be Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s second-in-command at the Department of Health and Human Services. If the Senate confirms him, the 45-year-old tech entrepreneur would become deputy secretary overseeing the vast department’s operations. “Everywhere Chris goes, he earns TRUST. He is a person of principle, and is deeply committed to serving the AMERICAN People — and fixing our broken Healthcare System,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. (Paun, 6/25)

The Hill: Judge Overturns Trump Administration's SNAP Soda Ban A federal judge has blocked bans on the usage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for soda enacted by the Trump administration. “Congress defined what ‘food’ is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted. It did not authorize the agency to cut types of food out of SNAP entirely,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in a Monday filing, referencing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (Suter, 6/22)

KFF Health News: Democrats To Propose Bill Capping Out-Of-Pocket Medicare Costs For Enrollees Sen. Ron Wyden and 14 Democratic co-sponsors plan to introduce legislation Thursday to cap consumers’ potential out-of-pocket costs in traditional Medicare, resurfacing a long-running debate over why the program doesn’t limit beneficiary spending. Even the bill’s backers say securing passage this year is a long shot. But the effort is one more opportunity for Democrats to highlight voters’ frustration about healthcare costs leading into the November election. Polls show Americans are very concerned about affordability, with a recent Gallup survey finding fewer than half of Americans say they can consistently afford healthcare. (Appleby, 6/25)

The New York Times: Support Builds On The Right For Prosecuting Women Who Get Abortions  In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the antiabortion movement has been largely unified around a core idea: Women who get the procedure should be spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But a growing number of conservative leaders are starting to argue that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies could be to arrest them. (Kitchener, 6/24)

For the Visual Among Us...

A few years ago I started a weekly e-mail for friends and colleagues who want to keep up on major federal health policy developments but did not have time to plod through all the minutiae--they were busy doing important things like running organizations and taking care of patients! Much to my surprise, it became pretty popular. I have now converted to a weekly newsletter format so you can manage your own subscription preferences and forward to others that might be interested.

These summaries represent my judgement on health policy issues that may not on the front pages, but are relevant to clinicians, administrators, and educators. I monitor many news sources and clipping services to identify content for this newsletter and I try hard to be as factual, balanced, and non-partisan as possible. While the articles are written by others (with credit attributed), the choice of what to include is entirely mine. If you are interested in receiving a daily summary of health policy news, you might consider signing up for the KHN Morning Briefing. If you enjoy podcasts, I suggest What the Health? and Tradeoffs.

-Gregg S. Margolis, PhD