Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

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...

Bloomberg: US Invests $50 Million To Help Prevent Cyberattacks On Private Hospitals The US government is seeking to play a more active role in protecting the private health-care sector from a deluge of cyberattacks that have disrupted patient care and left providers unpaid. US health officials will unveil Monday a new program to create tools that defend internet-connected hospital equipment from cyberattacks that could take them offline or leave them incapacitated. (Griffin, 5/20)

KFF Health News: Biden Leans Into Health Care, Asking Voters To Trust Him Over Trump Angling to tap into strong support for the sweeping health law he helped pass 14 years ago, one of President Joe Biden’s latest reelection strategies is to remind voters that former President Donald Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “Folks, he’s coming for your health care, and we’re not going to let it happen,” Biden says of Trump in a television and digital ad out this month, part of a $14 million investment in the handful of states expected to decide the presidency in November. (Galewitz, 5/21)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Physician Pay Reform Proposals Floated By Senate Finance Declining doctors' pay in Medicare is getting its most serious look in nearly a decade in the Senate, with a bipartisan push launched Friday by the Senate Finance Committee. Doctors have grown especially vocal in recent years about falling Medicare reimbursement. Groups including the American Medical Association have estimated doctors were effectively getting paid 26% less in 2023 than in 2001 because the physician fee schedule set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is not adjusted for inflation. (McAuliff, 5/20)

For a Deeper Dive...

Modern Healthcare: Hospital-At-Home Expands Even Without Congress, Regulation Health systems and technology companies are betting big on home-based hospital care, despite regulatory uncertainty about the program’s future. Hospitals are bullish on at-home acute care because it can save money and make more beds available in their facilities for sicker patients. Medicare also pays health systems the same rate as it would for an inpatient admission. (Eastabrook, 5/17)

KFF Health News: Watch: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding Abortion Ban States On KFF Health News’ “What the Health?,” chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner interviewed Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions. (Rovner, 5/21)

Crain's New York Business: Uber Expands Healthcare Reach With New Patient Transport Platform Uber has announced a new platform to help caregivers facilitate transportation for those they care for. The move also further expands the company’s footprint in the healthcare space. The new offering, unveiled on Wednesday at the company’s annual product event, allows caregivers to request and monitor rides and deliveries of prescriptions, groceries and over-the-counter items for those they care for. (Glodowski, 5/17)

Modern Healthcare: Here’s How Much Hospital Prices Are Rising - And Why Hospital prices are on the upswing, pressuring patients and slowing progress on efforts to trim overall inflation. In April, prices for medical care rose 2.7% year-over-year, the Labor Department reported last week. Prices specifically for hospital services, meanwhile, rose 7.7%. (DeSilva, 5/23)

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