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TENNESSEE INCHES CLOSER TO ‘BLOCK GRANTING’ MEDICAID: Tennessee wants to be the first state to restructure the open-ended Medicaid arrangement it has with the federal government, proposing a draft Tuesday that is similar to a “block grant.” Rather than get a matching share of whatever it spends on healthcare each year, Tennessse would get a lump sum from the federal government and spend the money as it sees fit.
The idea, however, isn’t a typical block grant. The state wants to keep some of the funding open-ended, such as the money going toward prescription drugs and going toward uncompensated care for hospitals. It also wants to give the federal government back half of what it doesn’t spend.
Under the plan Tennessee has proposed, the state would get fixed annual payments from the federal government, which would be adjusted every year for inflation. The state could get more money if more people enroll in Medicaid, but would not get less money if the program shrank.
The state has a while to go before it submits a plan as it first has to gather comments from the public. The state will have to send the application to the Trump administration, and it’s not clear yet whether it can be approved. Even then, it’s likely to face legal challenges.
But the effort in Tennessee has broader implications. Converting Medicaid to a block grand is a long-held goal of conservatives, and President Trump included the idea in his budget proposal. Should Tennessee move ahead, other states may follow.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
ABORTION RATES FALL TO NEW LOW: Fewer unintended pregnancies helped drive the abortion rate to a new low in 2017, according to a report published Wednesday by the Guttmatcher Institute. The rate of abortions dropped to 13.3 abortions per 1,000 women in 2017, which translates to 862,320 abortions performed that year. The number is 7% lower than it was in 2014, and the lowest since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL CLAIMS DETAINED MIGRANTS GET BETTER MEDICAL CARE THAN IN HOME COUNTRIES: Migrants in custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center receive better healthcare than they would otherwise get in their native countries, according to Nathalie Asher, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations director at the Seattle field office. Despite Asher’s claim, eight people in ICE custody since October 2018 have died.
“They’re coming from areas of the world where frankly they’ve never had a medical exam in their lives,” said Asher, who has headed the privately-operated center for six weeks. “The first time that they will have ever seen a doctor or certainly had a head-to-toe medical evaluation is in our custody.”
Adults brought in to the center, who are either apprehended at the southern border and flown in or apprehended in the Pacific Northwest, are screened upon arrival for infectious diseases, and later have the option to have further medical, mental, and dental exams. Patients can also be sent for outside in-patient psychological help if necessary and have access to eye exams and prescription glasses.
While deaths in detention are lower this fiscal year than some of the previous years, advocacy groups say any death in detention is avoidable. A class-action suit was filed last month alleging mistreatment and sub-par conditions in other ICE facilities.The suicide of a Russian man at the Washington state facility last November prompted Democratic Representatives Adam Smith and Pramila Jayapal, as well as Democratic Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, to investigate the events surrounding the death.
NUTRITION GROUPS SET HEALTHY BEVERAGE GUIDELINES FOR KIDS UNDER FIVE: Sugar-free drinks, namely milk and water, are best for young kids under five, according to experts at nutrition and medical organizations, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidelines are that infants up to six months need only breast milk or infant formula, kids from six months to a year old can start drinking small amounts of water in addition to formula, and once a child reaches one year, parents should give her whole milk and water and even juice as long as it doesn’t have any added sugar. “From the time children are born through those first few years, beverages are a significant source of calories and nutrients and can have a big impact on health long into the future,” said Dr. Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “These recommendations from our country’s leading medical and nutrition organizations will help families raise healthy children.”
DRUG ABUSE-RELATED HEART INFECTIONS HAVE SPIKED: STUDY: Between 2002 and 2016, the number of hospitalizations due to heart valve infections due to drug abuse jumped from about 8% to 16%, according to Cleveland Clinic cardiologists. Endocarditis comes from bacteria that enters your body, which can be through dirty needles or contaminated drug paraphernalia, and flows through the bloodstream, enters the heart, and sticks to the insides of heart valves.
E-CIGARETTE USERS SAY THE REAL CULPRIT BEHIND LUNG DISEASES IS THC VAPING: Many e-cigarette users are outraged at Trump for proposing to ban flavored vaping liquids and say that black-market THC vaping cartridges are responsible for the 380 cases of vaping-related lung diseases. Rebecca Deighan, a Trump supporter and co-owner of a Salt Lake City tobacco shop said that the government is unfairly targeting a product that has helped countless people, including her husband, quit smoking cigarettes. Nicotine vapers say the devices they use are now scapegoats for the toxic THC cartridges people buy without knowing what ingredients, which are often toxic, go into them.
NEW YORK BANS FLAVORED VAPE PRODUCTS: New York’s state health department approved an emergency ban on selling flavored vaping products as seven people have died and hundreds more are sick due to vaping-related lung diseases. The ban will go into effect immediately. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said Tuesday: “New York is not waiting for the federal government to act, and by banning flavored e-cigarettes we are safeguarding the public health and helping prevent countless young people from forming costly, unhealthy and potentially deadly life-long habits.”
D.C. lawmakers may follow suit: D.C. Council Members proposed measures Tuesday to ban sales of flavored vaping products and require a prescription to buy other vaping products. Council Member Vincent Gray introduced a bill to ban the sale of any vaping products at stores that are not medical marijuana dispensaries or pharmacies.
INDIA BANS VAPING: India’s cabinet banned the sale, production, and importation of e-cigarettes, calling vaping a public health risk. The health ministry’s emergency order said possessing an e-cigarette is punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of 50,000 rupees, or about $700.
The Rundown
Modern Healthcare Judge tosses CMS’ site-neutral pay policy
The Associated Press Sackler money complicates donation policies for museums
The Hill EXCLUSIVE: Swing-state voters oppose ‘surprise’ medical bill legislation, Trump pollster warns
CNN The risk of a global pandemic is growing — and the world isn’t ready, experts say
Iowa Public Radio As Iowa begins mental health training in schools, some ask if it’s enough
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Sept. 18
10 a.m. 2358-C Rayburn. House Appropriations Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.” Details.
THURSDAY | Sept. 19
10:30 a.m. Rayburn 2322. Energy and Commerce Committee’s Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on “Protecting Consumers from Pharmaceutical Market Gaming Tactics.” Details.
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on “Protecting Unaccompanied Children: The Ongoing Impact of the Trump Administration’s Cruel Policies.” Details.
SUNDAY | Sept. 22
Sept. 22-26. AHIP National Conference on Medicare, Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles. Agenda.
TUESDAY | Sept. 24
Sept. 24-26. Atlantic Festival. Agenda.
9:15 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Avenue NW. American Enterprise Institute event on “A new vision for health reform.” Details.
