Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

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

The Top Three...

Politico: Judge Declines To Block Strict Work Rule For Sick Patients On Medicaid A federal judge has declined to stop the Trump administration from requiring that chronically ill Medicaid patients prove that they are physically unable to work in order to keep their insurance. While the underlying case against the policy can continue, the ruling leaves the work requirement for low-income people on the program in place as states rush to meet a Jan. 1 implementation deadline. (Ollstein, 7/30)

The New York Times: Trump Will End Subsidies For Medicare Drug Premiums The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it intended to end a Biden-era program that for the past two years has helped tamp down the cost of monthly premiums for drug coverage for people on Medicare. The decision means that millions of Americans 65 and older could face higher Medicare drug premiums next year, when the cost of living is already a major concern. That could be politically damaging for Republicans in the midterm elections. (Robbins and Abelson, 7/28)

KFF Health News: Trump Has Quietly Throttled An Agency Devoted To The Safety Of American Healthcare The Trump administration has effectively shut down most of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s activities, closing the spigot on federal funding estimated to have saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars over the past 27 years by improving medical practice. In a July 15 letter, the small Department of Health and Human Services agency known as AHRQ told researchers it was halting at least 104 grants, many aimed at improving patient safety. (Allen, 7/29)

For a Deeper Dive...

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth, Centene Eye Medicaid Rebound Amid Work Rules Risks Medicaid managed care organizations say profits are looking up after several challenging years. UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, Centene and Molina Healthcare have reported second-quarter earnings and reassured investors that their Medicaid margins will rise in 2027 after sinking this year. Insurers cited cost-cutting strategies targeting services such as autism therapy and state funding increases as reasons for optimism. (Tepper, 7/30)

Stat: Senate Panel Backs CDC Director, Pandemic Preparedness Nominees The Senate health committee approved two nominees for key health roles Thursday, including the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a pandemic preparedness leader, after Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) once again set aside his reservations to support Trump administration leadership picks. (Cirruzzo, 7/30)

The New York Times: After Obamacare Cuts, Hospitals Are Treating More Uninsured Patients More and more uninsured patients are showing up in hospital emergency rooms and clinics, having lost their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Executives running some of the biggest hospital systems, including large for-profit chains spanning many states, expressed concern over the unexpectedly sharp rise in uninsured patients and the costs associated with treating them. (Abelson, 7/30)

CalMatters: A Doctor Evaluated California’s Largest ICE Detention Center U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is failing to provide adequate healthcare at a new detention center in California City, according to a report from an independent monitor at the facility, where detainees complained of missing medications and months-long delays to cancer treatment. The findings appear in a report by Dr. Muthusamy Anandkumar, a court-appointed monitor of the California City Immigration Processing Center, which is about 75 miles east of Bakersfield and run by the private prison company CoreCivic. The federal government purchased the facility earlier this month but CoreCivic continues to operate it. (Duara, 7/29)

MedPage Today: Trump Administration Weighs Overhaul Of Doctor Payments In Medicare The Trump administration is looking into alternatives to the current fee-for-service-based payment system for physicians who treat Medicare patients. The request for information issued on July 14 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) noted that the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding system, on which the Medicare reimbursement program is based, is owned by the American Medical Association (AMA). (Frieden, 7/28)

Politico: Trump And Democratic States Clash In Court Over Who’s Too Sick To Work Democratic attorneys general and the Justice Department are facing off for the first time in court Tuesday over the fine line between being sick and being “medically frail,” a distinction that could cost Medicaid recipients their health benefits. At stake is a key part of a new Trump administration rule imposing work requirements on Medicaid, the state-federal health insurer for low-income people, starting in January. How a Boston judge comes down will determine who in Medicaid’s expansion population — typically low-income people without young children — must work, volunteer or go to school for 80 hours a month to keep their benefits. (Ollstein and King, 7/28)

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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