Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

Please allow me to extend my wishes to all for a happier, healthier, and more peaceful 2024! If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

The Top Three...

The Hill: Inflation Threatens Health Care Access As Medicare Gap Widens
Inflation is threatening health care access across the country as the gap widens between the cost of medical services and the coverage rates paid out by Medicare, Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) warned last month. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle joined The Hill’s “Medicare Drug Price Negotiation: How to Ensure Access and Equity” event, sponsored by the Alliance for Aging Research, to discuss the effects of the first 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act. (Irwin, 1/3)

Reuters: Exclusive: Drugmakers Set To Raise US Prices On At Least 500 Drugs In January Drugmakers including Pfizer, Sanofi and Takeda Pharmaceutical plan to raise prices in the United States on more than 500 drugs in early January, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Excluding different doses and formulations, more than 140 brands of drugs will have their prices raised next month, the data showed. The expected price hikes come as the pharmaceutical industry gears up for the Biden Administration to publish significantly discounted prices for 10 high-cost drugs in September, and continues to contend with higher inflation and manufacturing costs. (Erman and Wingrove, 12/29)

The New York Times: New State Laws Will Affect Americans Starting Jan. 1, 2024 A spate of new state laws, including on guns, minimum wage and gender transition care, went into effect as the calendar flipped to 2024. Perhaps the most significant change bans programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion at publicly funded colleges and universities in Texas. In other states, Americans will follow new rules on guns and marijuana, as well as have additional health care and workplace protections. About three dozen states enacted new laws on voting in 2023, but most of the practical effects won’t be felt until primary and general elections in 2024. (Hassan, 1/1)

For a Deeper Dive...

The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive: Cigna Nears Deal To Offload Medicare Business Cigna is in advanced talks to sell its Medicare business in an about-face for the health-insurance giant, which had been expanding its footprint in the fast-growing sector. Cigna, which has been running an auction for the business, known as Medicare Advantage, is now in exclusive talks to sell it to Health Care Service Corp. for between $3 billion and $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. (Cooper, Mathews and Thomas, 1/3)

KFF Health News: Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped In Medicare Advantage Plans In 2016, Richard Timmins went to a free informational seminar to learn more about Medicare coverage. “I listened to the insurance agent and, basically, he really promoted Medicare Advantage,” Timmins said. The agent described less expensive and broader coverage offered by the plans, which are funded largely by the government but administered by private insurance companies. For Timmins, who is now 76, it made economic sense then to sign up. And his decision was great, for a while. Then, three years ago, he noticed a lesion on his right earlobe. (Tribble, 1/5)

Modern Healthcare: How Private Equity Could Be Affecting Patient Safety In Hospitals Hospitals purchased by private equity firms have higher rates of adverse patient safety events than other facilities, according to a recent study, and its authors said the findings could be indicative of how the acquisitions affect hospital operations. The study published in JAMA found hospital-acquired conditions like surgical infections and pressure ulcers increased by 25% among Medicare patients at private equity-owned facilities compared with a control group of hospitals. (Devereaux, 1/4)

Modern Healthcare: PBMs, Medicare Pay, Telehealth Lead Congress’s 2024 To-Do List Presidential election years tend to be poor times to attempt major healthcare legislation, but Congress' failure to cope with its 2023 responsibilities has raised the prospects that significant bills could pass in 2024. Lawmakers left town before Christmas having failed to complete much-delayed fiscal 2024 appropriations legislation—the prior fiscal year ended Sept. 30—and leaving in place temporary spending bills that last until Jan. 19 and Feb. 3, depending on the part of government. (McAuliff, 1/3)

Modern Healthcare: Why Medicare Advantage Plans Are ‘Crippling’ Rural Hospitals Delayed Medicare Advantage reimbursement is among the top concerns of rural hospital operators, one of several factors expected to be a drag on rural hospital finances in 2024. Rural hospitals, which tend to run on thinner operating margins than metro-area hospitals, have been hurt by reimbursement cuts, staffing constraints, inflation, the aging population and interest rate hikes. (Kacik, 12/28)

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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? and Tradeoffs.

-Gregg S. Margolis, PhD