Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

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

The Top Three...

AP: Trump Signs Government Funding Bill, Ending Record Shutdown President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks. The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands. (Freking, Cappelletti and Brown, 11/13)

The Hill: Democrats Introduce Discharge Petition To Force Vote On Extension Of ObamaCare Subsidies House Democratic leaders introduced a discharge petition Wednesday designed to force consideration of legislation to extend expiring ObamaCare subsidies for another three years. Behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the Democrats are hoping to entice a handful of moderate Republicans to endorse the petition, which will require 218 signatures to force a floor vote on the legislation over the objections of Republican leaders. (Lillis, 11/12)

Modern Healthcare: Stopgap Funding Bill Averts Medicare Cuts Triggered By Tax Law Medicare providers won’t endure about $500 billion in cuts because of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” after all. On Wednesday, the Republican-led Congress broke through a six-week standoff with Democrats to approve legislation that ends the government shutdown and finances federal operations through Jan. 30. The bill includes provisions to waive budget rules that would have required the White House to offset the tax law’s $3.4 trillion in deficit spending over 10 years, including by cutting around half a trillion dollars from Medicare. (McAuliff, 11/13)

For a Deeper Dive...

AP: Democrats Skeptical Of Health Care Talks Now That Shutdown Is Over Now that the government shutdown is over, House and Senate Republicans say they will negotiate with Democrats on whether to extend COVID-era tax credits that help tens of millions of Americans afford their health care premiums. But finding bipartisan agreement could be difficult, if not impossible, before the subsidies expire at the end of the year. The shutdown ended this week after a small group of Democrats made a deal with Republican senators who promised a vote by mid-December on extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. But there is no guaranteed outcome, and many Republicans have made clear they want the credits to expire. (Jalonick, 11/14)

Politico: The White House Knows It Needs To Act On Health Care Affordability. Here’s What’s On The Table President Donald Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and senior health officials have been meeting privately for preliminary conversations on how to address the expiration of health insurance tax credits, according to a White House official and another person familiar with the talks. Conversations about a White House alternative to Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will expire at year’s end, are in the “early ideation phase,” said a third person familiar with the talks. (Haslett, Messerly and Ward, 11/13)

The New York Times: As Shutdown Nears End, Trump Still Confronts Soaring Health Costs The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is coming to an end, but the central issue that caused it — the staggering cost of health care — isn’t going away anytime soon. It will continue to bedevil President Trump, especially as the midterm elections draw closer. The burden is now on Mr. Trump and Republicans to bring down costs or risk peril in the those elections, after a splinter group of Democrats agreed to end the shutdown by dropping their party’s demand to extend certain health insurance subsidies. Despite repeated promises to offer an alternative to Obamacare, Mr. Trump has nothing much to show on the issue, beyond a vague plan to send money directly to policyholders. (Sanger-Katz and McCreesh, 11/11)

NBC News: ACA Subsidies: What The Government Shutdown's End Means For Health Insurance Premiums The government shutdown has ended, but Senate Democrats didn’t get a key provision they were fighting for: extending the Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. ... Open enrollment for 2026 coverage is well underway, and people who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act have seen how much their costs will rise without the subsidies — many could see their monthly premiums double or even triple. Some may delay signing up, hoping lawmakers intervene before year’s end, while others could forgo coverage altogether. (Lovelace Jr. and Kapur, 11/13)

Stat: Trump Plan To Replace ACA Subsidies With Cash Met With Skepticism Republicans are proposing a substitute to the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that Democrats want to extend, taking their cue from President Trump’s demands. But even some opponents to the Democrats’ plan are wary of what Republicans are working on. (Wilkerson, 11/13)

NBC News: Republicans Demand Tougher Abortion Restrictions To Extend Obamacare Funds Senate Republicans say they’re open to extending a pot of Affordable Care Act funds that will expire at the end of the year — but only if Democrats acquiesce to stricter abortion restrictions on insurance plans. ... Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there will be a negotiation about an extension after the government reopens. He said one condition will be stricter rules pertaining to the Hyde amendment, which bars federal funding from being used for abortion. (Kapur, 11/11)

KFF Health News: Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas On Health Care In the run-up to the 2020 election, all 20 Democratic presidential candidates promised voters they’d pursue bold changes to health care, such as a government-run insurance plan or expanding Medicare to cover every American. Fast-forward to the congressional stalemate that has closed the federal government for more than a month. Democrats, entrenched on one side of the legislative battle, staked their political future on merely preserving parts of the Affordable Care Act — a far cry from the systemic health policy changes that party members once described as crucial for tackling the high price of care. (Armour, 11/10)

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The Washington Post: Is Health Insurance A Matter Of Life And Death? Scientists May Have An Answer. The surprisingly tricky question stumped researchers for decades. But they think they finally have an answer. (Frankel, 11/10)

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