Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

The Top Three...

With so much going on, it can be hard to know what to read.  If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

KHN: Abortion Issue Helps Limit Democrats’ Losses In Midterms Republicans are likely to take control of one or both houses of Congress when all the votes are counted, but Democrats on Wednesday were celebrating after their party defied expectations of substantial losses in the midterm election. The backlash over the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn 49 years of abortion rights was apparently a big reason. Inflation and the economy proved the most important voting issue, cited as the motivation of 51% of voters in exit polls conducted by the Associated Press and analyzed by KFF pollsters. But abortion was the single-most important issue for a quarter of all voters, and for a third of women under age 50. Exit polls by NBC News placed the importance of abortion even higher, with 32% of voters saying inflation was their top voting issue and abortion ranking second at 27%. (Rovner, 11/9)

Forbes: Medicaid Expansion Wins In Red State South Dakota Voters in Republican-leaning South Dakota Tuesday approved a ballot measure to extend Medicaid benefits to more than 40,000 low-income adults. The vote by a wide margin of South Dakotans to expand Medicaid health insurance for low-income Americans under the Affordable Care Act is a political blow to Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who opposed the ballot initiative. It’s also a setback for Republicans generally given their past unsuccessful efforts with Donald Trump to try to repeal the health law, also known as Obamacare. The Medicaid expansion measure known in South Dakota as “Constitutional Amendment D” had 56% support compared to 44% opposed with 90% of precincts reporting by early Wednesday morning, state election data showed. (Japsen, 11/9)

HealthCare Dive: Half of hospitals spend just 1.4% of expenses on charity care, KFF finds  Half of hospitals spend just 1.4% or less of their operating expenses on charity care, though the level of charity care varies significantly facility by facility, according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Researchers reviewed hospital cost report data from 2020 and found that some hospitals provided little to no charity care. At 8% of hospitals, it made up 0.1% or less of operating expenses. Others provided more, with 9% of hospitals spending at least 7% of their overall operating expenses on charity care.  (Pifer, 11/4)

For a Deeper Dive...

The Hill: Voters Support Abortion Rights In All Five States With Ballot Measures Voters in California, Vermont and Michigan on Tuesday approved ballot measures enshrining abortion rights into their state constitutions, while those in traditional red states Montana and Kentucky rejected measures that would have restricted access to reproductive care. The votes signal strength to effort to support abortion rights after the Supreme Court in June ruled to overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to the procedure. (Dress, 11/9)

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Weighs Barring Lawsuits Against Public Nursing Homes The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Health and Hospital Corp of Marion County, an Indiana municipal corporation, of a lower court's ruling that let the family of Gorgi Talevski, a nursing home resident diagnosed with dementia, pursue a lawsuit claiming his rights were violated while at the facility. (Raymond and Chung, 11/8)

USA Today: Here's Why Private Medicare Plans Are Set To Pass Traditional Medicare Enrollment Older Americans who sign up for private plans are enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, such as vision, dental, hearing and gym memberships. Private plans also cap out-of-pocket expenses at $8,300 for 2023 coverage while traditional Medicare does not unless a person purchases supplemental coverage. (Alltucker, 11/8)

Healthcare Dive: Half Of Nurses Consider Leaving The Profession, Survey Finds Half of nurses have considered leaving the nursing profession, according to recent polls by staffing agency ConnectRN. Staffing shortages were the top reason nurses cited for planning to leave their jobs, followed by needing better work-life balance, the survey out Tuesday said. Nurses also said they planned to leave their roles because their mental health is at risk and they feel a lack of appreciation. (Mensik, 11/8)

Becker's Hospital Review: Kaiser Permanente Reports $1.5B Q3 Loss Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries reported a net loss of $1.5 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to a Nov. 4 financial report. The company posted total operating revenues of $24.3 billion and total operating expenses of $24.3 billion for the quarter. Total operating revenues of $23.2 billion and total operating expenses of $23.1 billion for the same period in 2021. (Tucker, 11/4)

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