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...

The Hill: Why The Fate Of Medicare And Social Security Is A Midterm Issue The fate of Social Security and Medicare is back in the spotlight less than two weeks before the midterms. The White House and Democrats have made both entitlements central to their closing pitch to voters, sounding the alarm that a Republican majority in the House would look to cut programs that millions of Americans rely on in a bid to reduce spending. (Samuels, 10/31)

CNN: Opioid Settlement: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Reach A Tentative $12 Billion Deal Three major retailers – CVS, Walgreens and Walmart – have tentatively agreed to pay at least $12 billion to settle a number of lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. (Nottingham, 11/2)

AP: Low Costs Expected To Keep Obamacare Interest High Millions of Americans can begin selecting their 2023 health insurance plans on HealthCare.gov on Tuesday, as the Biden administration pushes to keep the number of uninsured Americans at a record low. Those searching for coverage will largely be shielded from an increase in costs because of the extension of the generous subsidies that began last year as part of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law and drove a big increase in enrollment. (Seitz, 10/31)

For a Deeper Dive...

NBC News: Amoxicillin Is In Short Supply, Federal Health Officials Say One of the most commonly used antibiotics in the country, amoxicillin, is in short supply, federal health officials say. The notice from the Food and Drug Administration about an oral solution of the drug comes as pharmacy owners report diminished inventory of the medication, which is prescribed to treat bacterial infections, including pneumonia and bronchitis. (Stelloh and Chow, 11/3)

Axios: An Overhaul For Medicare's Pay Transformation Program The Biden administration is trying to jump start a Medicare program that pays health providers based on patient outcomes rather than by how many services they perform. The alternative payment effort was created through the Affordable Care Act, but participation has plateaued since 2018 amid waning interest from providers. The Biden administration finalized an overhaul of the initiative, known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program, on Tuesday. (Goldman, 11/2)

Stat: Physicians Rally To Avert Medicare Payment Cuts The federal government is officially reducing Medicare payments to physicians next year by 4.5%, but doctors and their lobbyists are ready to blitz Congress over the next two months to convince lawmakers that those cuts should be averted — again. (Herman, 11/2)

Politico: The Health Policy Rand Paul And Elizabeth Warren Agree On In a bipartisan letter sent Wednesday, 46 senators — from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — asked leadership to address looming Medicare payment cuts to providers before the new year, when they would take effect. “It is essential in the coming weeks that we make sure providers have the resources they need to keep their doors open for seniors and families,” the senators wrote. The letter comes a day after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its final rule confirming the cuts, which are required by law. (Payne and Mahr, 11/3)

HealthcareDive: Healthcare lobbying rose 70% over past two decades The health sector’s spending on federal lobbying rose 70% from 2000 to 2020, driven mostly by pharmaceutical and health product manufacturers and providers, according to new research. U.S. healthcare lobbying expenditures totaled almost $714 million in 2020, compared to $358.2 million in 2000, the study published in JAMA Health Forum found. Lobbying activities are highly concentrated, with a small number of firms responsible for the majority of spending. That could mean some constituencies are underrepresented in federal policymaking, researchers said. (Pifer, 10/31)

The Hill: Manchin Calls For Deal On Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid In New Congress Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday called for a broad bipartisan deal to protect the solvency of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, popular programs that face serious funding issues over the next few decades. ... Manchin, who sank Biden’s ambitious $3 trillion Build Back Better agenda in December, has often talked about the financial challenges facing Social Security and Medicaid. (Bolton, 11/3)

Vox: The Nightmarish Supreme Court Case That Could Gut Medicaid, Explained On Tuesday, as millions of Americans cast their ballots in the 2022 midterms, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in what could be one of the most consequential health care cases in its history. The defendants in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski are asking the justices to fundamentally rework the Medicaid program, which provides health care to over 76 million low-income Americans. (Millhiser, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: Home Health Provider Medicare Pay To Rise The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has tossed a plan to reduce home health reimbursements by $810 million next year and will give providers a 0.7% pay increase that amounts to $125 million. CMS published on Monday the final rule setting Medicare fees for home health services next year. Home health industry groups strenuously objected to the proposed cuts and threatened to sue if CMS carried them out. (Kacik, 10/31)

KHN: Medicare Fines For High Hospital Readmissions Drop, But 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the covid-19 pandemic. (Rau, 11/1)

You Might Also Enjoy...

For the Visual Among Us...