Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

For the week of Feb 17-24, 2023

Author

Gregg S. Margolis, PhD
February 24, 2023

Health policy impacts everyone, but it can be hard to know what is important.  If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

The Top Three...

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Costs Top Americans' Health Concerns Americans say they're worried about opioids and gun violence, but what they really want the government to tackle is rising drug costs and health bills, according to the new Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. Pocketbook health issues still resonate the most with voters, who are increasingly convinced businesses and politicians don't have their backs. (Bettelheim, 2/23)

KHN:  Senators Say Health Worker Shortages Ripe for Bipartisan Compromise  Senators are eying the growing shortage of health care workers in the United States as one of the few problems where there is room for bipartisan solutions, even in a deeply divided Congress gearing up for a presidential election cycle.  (McAuliff, 2/17)

Healthcare Dive:  Amazon closes $3.9B buy of One Medical  Amazon completed its $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care chain One Medical on Wednesday, significantly increasing its healthcare offerings with the addition of physical medical clinics.  The deal closed without a challenge from regulators, after the Federal Trade Commission missed its window to sue, according to multiple reports. However, antitrust enforcers will continue their investigation into the merger. (Pifer, 2/22)

For a Deeper Dive...

KHN: One Texas Judge Will Decide Fate Of Abortion Pill Used By Millions Of American Women Federal judges in Texas have delivered time and again for abortion opponents. They upheld a state law that allows for $10,000 bounties to be placed on anyone who helps a woman get an abortion; ruled that someone opposed to abortion based on religious beliefs can block a federal program from providing birth control to teens; and determined that emergency room doctors must equally weigh the life of a pregnant woman and her embryo or fetus. (Varney, 2/24)

Modern Healthcare: Amazon Evolved Its Healthcare Strategy. Here's How It Happened Amazon has not been shy about its intentions to disrupt healthcare. The tech giant’s $3.9 billion acquisition of primary care company One Medical, which closed Wednesday, is the latest in a series of moves from a company determined to stake its claim in healthcare. (Turner and Hudson, 2/23)

Politico: A Disappointing Report Card For Primary Care The first report card on the state of the nation’s primary health care is out today, and it’s nothing to brag about. The report comes in response to a 2021 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which called for a scorecard to be developed to monitor — and improve — America’s primary care. (Mahr and Payne, 2/22)

KHN: Looming Cuts To Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security In Rural America On a cold morning in early February, Tammy King prepared and loaded boxes and bags of vegetables, fruits, milk, frozen meat, and snacks into cars lined up outside the Friends in Service Helping food pantry, known in rural northeastern Nevada as FISH. (Orozco Rodriguez, 2/23)

Healthcare Dive.  Teladoc reports historic net loss of $13.7B in 2022  The loss was mainly due to an impairment charge from the shrinking value of an earlier acquisition, but analysts said that the earnings provide a reset for Teladoc's financial expectations heading into 2023. (Pifer, 2/23)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Growth Slowed For 2023 Medicare Advantage growth slowed for the 2023 plan year, according to a report the Chartis Group published Tuesday. Enrollment increased 5.5% for this year, down from a record 9% the prior year, driven by California and a handful of other states where the number of people signed up for private Medicare plans actually fell, said Nick Herro, a principal at the Chartis Group and co-author of the study. (Tepper, 2/21)

USA Today: Idaho Bill Could Criminalize Anyone Administering MRNA COVID Vaccines Two Republican Idaho lawmakers last week introduced a new bill that would criminalize the administration of mRNA vaccines across the state. ... Under the bill, all mRNA technology would be banned in the state.If passed, the Idaho state code would be amended so that those administering mRNA vaccines to any person or mammal within the state would face misdemeanor charges. (Nguyen, 2/21)

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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?

-Gregg S. Margolis, PhD