September
19, 2019
Tennessee
announced this week that it hopes to become the first state to take the Trump
administration up on its offer to transform funding for its Medicaid program
into a block grant. Tennessee, expected to formally file its plan this fall, is
betting it can find ways to lower the costs of caring for its low-income
patients without cutting benefits or enrollment. But it remains unclear if
Tennessee’s plan could be allowed under Medicaid law.
Meanwhile,
open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act starts in less than six weeks. By
all indications, consumers in most parts of the country will have more choices
and smaller premium increases than in previous years, even without the legal
requirement for most people to have coverage or pay a tax penalty.
And
Congress is still struggling to find compromises on legislation to address
rising prescription drug prices and surprise medical bills.
This
week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of
Bloomberg News, Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Kimberly
Leonard of the Washington Examiner.
Also
this week, Rovner interviews Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Marty Makary, who has a
new book, “The Price We Pay,” exploring why health care in the U.S. costs so
much.
Among
the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
·
The Trump administration and some conservative Republican
lawmakers have long sought to move Medicaid to a block-grant system, in which
states would get a defined federal payment and thus have more control over how
to spend the money to provide health care to low-income residents. But the big
unknown is the risk states take with such a system, especially if some economic
factor suddenly makes more people eligible for Medicaid.
·
The improved conditions for consumers buying health insurance on
the marketplaces in November come despite the GOP’s elimination of the tax
penalty for not having insurance. So were Presidents Barack Obama and Donald
Trump wrong in arguing that the ACA couldn’t stand without the mandate?
·
Earlier this summer, one thing seemed certain: Congress would
pass some sort of legislation to protect consumers against surprise medical
bills, which they get after being treated by a doctor or hospital outside their
insurance network. Democrats, Republicans and the White House wanted it. But an
advertising blitz by private equity firms that own physician practices seems to
be fraying that resolve.
·
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to curb drug prices —
announced Thursday — is likely to face a tough time getting through a Republican
Senate. But it could prove a potent argument for the Democrats in the 2020
elections.
·
The Democratic presidential candidates’ fight over where the
party is headed on health policy is confusing voters and may make them a bit
cynical about the chances of fixing current problems. That could have dire
consequences for the party, since much of the Democrats’ success in the 2018
midterm elections was attributed to their message about health care.
Plus,
for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories
of the week they think you should read too:
Julie
Rovner: Bloomberg News’ “Carcinogens Have Infiltrated the Generic Drug Supply in
the U.S.” by Anna Edney, Susan Berfield and Evelyn Yu, and “Carcinogen Scare Sets off Global
Race to Contain Tainted Zantac,” by Edney
Anna
Edney: The Washington Post’s “The Vaping Industry Has Close Ties
to Trump. His Ban Still Caught Them Off Guard,” by Laurie McGinley,
Neena Satija, Josh Dawsey and Yasmeen Abutaleb
Jennifer
Haberkorn: The Los Angeles Times’ “Americans’ Struggles With Medical
Bills Are a Foreign Concept in Other Countries,” by Noam Levey
Kimberly
Leonard: The (Toronto) Globe and Mail’s “Toronto-Based Hospital Network
Commits Land to Building Affordable Housing,” by Kelly Grant
To hear
all our podcasts, click here.
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