September 26, 2019
How
will the impeachment effort on Capitol Hill affect work on other legislation,
particularly bills to restrain the cost of prescription drugs and surprise
medical bills? And will Congress and President Donald Trump be able to agree on
the spending bills needed to keep the federal government open for business?
Meanwhile,
the annual survey of employer health insurance from the Kaiser Family
Foundation found the cost of insurance continues to climb for both employers
and workers, with the average premium for a family plan now topping $20,000.
Workers are now expected to pay more than $6,000 of that amount, and average
deductibles are more than $1,600. (KHN is an editorially independent program of
the foundation.)
This
week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of
Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Rebecca Adams of
CQ Roll Call.
Among
the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
·
The congressional investigation of Trump is likely to set up a
major roadblock for big legislative initiatives, including efforts such as
curbing drug prices or ending surprise medical bills that plague consumers.
It’s possible that small measures could be forthcoming at the end of the year,
but much will depend on the impeachment inquiry.
·
Congress is also at an impasse on a bill to fund federal
agencies. The federal budget expires Monday. A continuing resolution to keep
the government operating will expire in November, setting up a budget fight
just before Thanksgiving.
·
The White House is signaling that Trump soon may unveil his plan
for revamping parts of the nation’s health care. It might include efforts to
bolster Medicare Advantage plans and perhaps some limited measures on the
importation of prescription drugs. But it does not appear that the
administration has a plan on handling health care if a federal appeals court
accepts its argument to throw out the Affordable Care Act.
·
The annual Kaiser Family Foundation survey of employer health
insurance highlights how coverage is becoming unaffordable for many
modest-income families.
·
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ new plan to eliminate consumers’ medical
debt may be more complicated to implement than the Democratic presidential
candidate suggests.
·
The Democratic presidential candidates have spent much time
talking about their interest in getting all residents insured. But they have
few proposals on how to bring down the cost of care.
Plus, for extra credit, the panelists
recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you
should read too:
Julie
Rovner: NPR’s “Air Ambulances Woo Rural Consumers
With Memberships That May Leave Them Hanging,” by Sarah Jane Tribble
Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker’s “Paging Dr. Robot,” by
D.T. Max
Paige Winfield Cunningham: KHN’s “It’s Not Just Insulin: Diabetes
Patients Struggle To Get Crucial Supplies,” by Bram Sable-Smith
Rebecca Adams: KHN’s “Want To Reduce Suicides? Follow The
Data ― To Medical Offices, Motels And Even Animal Shelters,” by
Maureen O’Hagan
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all our podcasts, click here.
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subscribe to What the Health? on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,
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