Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

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

The Top Three...

The Washington Post: CDC In Turmoil After Agency Backpedals On Rejecting Vaccines-Autism Link Career scientists at the agency responsible for information about vaccine safety and autism had no prior knowledge about the changes to the website and were not consulted, according to five agency officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. ... CDC communications staff who were first asked to post the revisions to the website were reluctant to do so without sign-off from scientific leadership, so a higher-level communications official did so, according to an agency employee and a former federal health official with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. (Sun, 11/20)

Politico: Looming Affordability Crisis Set To Hit Americans With Health Insurance Through Work Rising Obamacare premiums are a political problem for Republicans. Rising premiums for workers who get health insurance from their employers could be an even bigger one. Republicans in Congress are focused on finding a way to counteract an expected 26 percent rise in premiums for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act, without extending government subsidies that make insurance more affordable. (Hooper, 11/20)

Modern Healthcare: Senate Finance Committee Focuses On HSAs Over ACA Subsidies With time running short, a key congressional panel convened Wednesday to weigh options to mitigate the consequences when enhanced health insurance exchange subsidies expire. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee followed President Donald Trump’s lead and touted plans that would deposit funds into health savings accounts rather than provide subsidies for insurance premiums, as Democrats demanded. (McAuliff, 11/19)

For a Deeper Dive...

Stat: Medicare Premiums To Jump 10% In 2026 Most Medicare enrollees will face premiums that are 10% higher next year, creating budget anxiety for millions of seniors. Older adults and people with disabilities will pay almost $203 per month in 2026 for their Medicare Part B premium, the Trump administration said late Friday. That’s about 10% higher than the $185 per month that Medicare beneficiaries pay this year. (Herman, 11/14)

Politico: House GOP Leaders Pitch Members On Addressing ‘Unaffordable Care Act’ House Republican leaders delivered a presentation to members Tuesday morning slamming the enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act that are due to expire at the end of the year. It comes as members of both parties and chambers are rushing to develop, and pass, legislation to lower health care costs by Dec. 31, when the Obamacare subsidies will expire and premiums are set to go through the roof. (Lee Hill and Guggenheim, 11/18)

The Hill: President Trump Advocates For Direct Health Care Payments, Slams Insurance Companies President Trump on Tuesday said amid rising health care premiums he would only consider approving legislation that provides a pathway for direct health care payments. “THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, WITH NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE MADE $TRILLIONS, AND RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH,” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. (Fields, 11/18)

Politico: RFK Jr. Is In A Power Struggle A top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is locked in a power struggle with his boss and the White House over vaccine policy and personnel, according to two senior administration officials. For now, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary, still has his job, but the dispute — which centers on how the agency will examine vaccine side effects — is unresolved, the officials said. Both were granted anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. (Röhn, 11/19)

Politico: Rick Scott Releases Obamacare Subsidy Alternative Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has issued his alternative to enhanced Obamacare subsidies. His “More Affordable Care Act,” released Thursday, enables Obamacare customers to use a “Trump Health Freedom Account” that resembles a health savings account. (King, 11/20)

The Hill: GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy Criticizes CDC's New Vaccine-Autism Language Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Thursday said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removing language from its website refuting the theory that vaccines are linked to autism was “deeply troubling.” Late on Wednesday, the CDC walked back its long-held position that vaccines do not cause autism. A CDC web page that previously stated “there is no link” between receiving vaccines and developing autism now says that statement “is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” (Choi, 11/20)

Axios: Nearly Half Of Americans Worry They Can't Afford Health Care: Survey Almost half U.S. adults are worried they won't be able to afford needed health care in the coming year, according to a West Health-Gallup survey — the highest level recorded since the organizations began tracking the measure in 2021. (Bettelheim, 11/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: 'A Health Cost Freight Train Is Hurtling Into View': 5 Takeaways From The Senate Finance Committee Hearing The Senate Finance Committee led a high-stakes hearing Nov. 19 on the affordability crisis unfolding across the U.S. healthcare system. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle warned that Americans are facing staggering premium hikes, shrinking coverage options and escalating out-of-pocket costs as Congress remains divided on how to respond. (Condon, 11/19)

The Washington Post: Cheap Health Insurance Plans Touted By Trump Lack Comprehensive Coverage Robert Hays, an industrial electronics salesman in Arkansas, thought he’d purchased conventional medical insurance. So did Essie Nath, 67, a retired cafeteria worker in Wyoming. So did Martin Liz, 47, a Key West chef. Each enrolled in the kind of private health insurance that Trump administration officials have promoted as an alternative to plans sold under Obamacare. (Whoriskey, 11/15)

You Might Also Enjoy...

JAMA: CDC’s Failure to Recommend COVID-19 Vaccination-”Shared Clinical Decision-Making” Is and Abdication of Responsibility. TR Frieden, W Schaffner, JM Sharfstein

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