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REPUBLICANS FIND THEIR FOOTING RUNNING AGAINST MEDICARE FOR ALL: Republicans for several election cycles found running against Obamacare to be a winning issue. Comments congressional leaders have made in recent days suggest that looking ahead to 2020, they’re hoping that running against the Medicare for All Act might achieve similar results.
Republicans made it clear to President Trump last week that they have no desire to take another swing at repealing and replacing Obamacare. They are instead putting the responsibility of coming up with a backup plan in the White House’s lap, and continuing to focus on legislation to lower drug prices and surprise medical bills.
But the GOP isn’t silent on the issue of healthcare coverage. They have found another area they’re more comfortable going after politically: The alternatives Democrats are putting forward, many of which would expand Medicare’s provisions and then have the program cover more or all of the U.S. population.
The rhetoric was on display at the American Hospital Association’s annual meeting in downtown Washington, D.C. Dubbing the proposal “Medicare for None,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday vowed that if he were again to take the helm in the Senate after the 2020 election then his party would fight “tooth and nail” against the Medicare for All Act that would gut private healthcare coverage. At that same event, Rep. Mike Burgess, R-Texas, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, called the Medicare for All Act the “no-one-gets-healthcare system.” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., on Monday at the AHA meeting called the idea “one of the worst things that could happen” to the U.S. healthcare system.
All were preaching to the choir: Hospitals have prepared to fight strongly against the Medicare for All Act. They also, however, are pushing for members of Congress to expand Obamacare in the vein of what Democrats are pursuing in the House.
Members of Congress aren’t the only ones using the talking points: They’ve been used frequently by members of the Trump administration. The White House is attacking Obamacare at the same time, framing Democratic proposals as an indication that the party is displeased with the healthcare law and therefore is looking at extending government healthcare.
“Everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn’t work,” Trump tweeted April 1. “Premiums & deductibles are far too high – Really bad HealthCare! Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance.”
Top officials are taking after the president. Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, tweeted last week that the Medicare for All Act would be “worse” than Obamacare, which was a “proven disaster.”
“Democrats have admitted Obamacare doesn’t work,” White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on Fox News Sunday. “That’s why they’re out there talking about this amorphous ‘Medicare for all.’ They are not talking about how great Obamacare is because they know it’s broken.”
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.
SENATE FINANCE GRILLS PBMS: Drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers — CVS, Optum, Cigna, Humana, and Prime Therapeutics — are facing the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday morning to defend charges that they are primarily to blame for high prices that patients pay at the pharmacy counter. Tune in.
SANDERS TO REINTRODUCE MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT WEDNESDAY: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will unveil the latest version of the Medicare for All Act on Wednesday. The bill will include coverage for long-term care and disability, both of which were excluded from the previous iteration. Sanders’ office didn’t reply to inquiries about which senators would be co-sponsoring.
THE MAN IN CHARGE OF ONE PROVISION IN TRUMP’S BUDGET THAT’S LIKELY TO PASS: It is customary for Congress to shrug off the president’s budget proposal, but there is one ask from Trump that has drawn bipartisan praise: The request for $291 million toward ending HIV transmission in a decade.
The initiative focuses on working with community organizations to boost the number of people taking medication to treat and prevent HIV. At this time, progress in the U.S. has stalled, and 40,000 people are still infected by HIV every year.
To get a closer look at the plan, Kimberly sat down with Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant health secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. He addressed how he believed the initiative would be successful, questions about Medicaid, and the debate over supervised injection sites. Read the interview.
BLACK MATERNAL CAUCUS FORMS: Reps. Alma Adams, D-N.C., and Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., on Tuesday launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus to help address the disproportion of deaths and disability from pregnancy and childbirth that black women in the U.S. suffer. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related conditions than white women are.
STATES TO GIVE PATIENTS MORE CONTROL OVER HEALTH INFORMATION: New state laws in Maryland and Oregon would give patients ownership of the medical data they generate when they visit healthcare providers. Both bills would require healthcare providers that sell medical information to tell patients they can share in the profits and would also require healthcare providers to get written permission from patients before selling their medical data, even if the data has been de-identified.
The bills are the brainchild of Hu-manity.co, the maker of a blockchain-based app launched in September that aims to help users take control of their medical data. New Hampshire is currently the only state that has passed a law giving patients ownership of their medical data.
DEMOCRATS TELL JUUL THEY ‘WON’T REST’ UNTIL KIDS STOP VAPING: Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and 10 other Democrats wrote to Juul Labs., the leader in the e-cigarette market, pressuring the company over whether it markets its products to youth and its recent partnership with tobacco giant Altria. “[W]e will not rest until your dangerous products are out of the hands of our nation’s children,” the senators wrote.
FLORIDA BILL WOULD REQUIRE MINORS TO GET PARENTAL CONSENT FOR ABORTION: Florida state Rep. Erin Grall, a Republican, has introduced legislation to change Florida abortion law so that legal guardians would have to consent to an abortion procedure if the woman is a minor, the latest instance in Republicans advancing anti-abortion legislation that could provide challenges to Roe v. Wade. As of now, Florida law only requires guardians to be notified in the event of a procedure for a woman younger than 18.
MEASLES CASES ARE SOARING, SECOND-MOST SINCE 2000: As of April 4, the number of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. has reached 465, up from 387 the week before. The states reporting outbreaks include Arizona, New York, Florida, Oregon, and Texas. This total is the second highest reported since measles was eradicated in 2000.
FDA APPROVES TWO-DRUG REGIMEN FOR HIV PATIENTS WHO HAVEN’T TAKEN ANTIRETROVIRALS: The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug called Dovato to treat HIV in adults who have never received other treatment for the virus. This new approval is a two-drug regimen to treat HIV, but the norm until now has been using a three-drug regimen.
TRUMP PUSHED TO REINSTATE MIGRANT FAMILY SEPARATION POLICY: Trump has been pressuring his administration since January to resume family separations at the border, according to a report Monday. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resisted the demand, which contributed to her firing, NBC News reported. Trump’s policy resulted in thousands of families separated at the border, as well as criticism from Democrats and his own wife. HHS is responsible for caring for children separated from parents.
The Rundown
POLITICO DOJ asks for speedy hearing in case that could kill Obamacare
The New York Times Culture of secrecy shields hospitals with outbreaks of drug-resistant infections
Dayton Daily News How convenience is reshaping local healthcare
CNBC America’s $103 billion home health-care system is in crisis as worker shortage worsens
The Boston Globe Patients can get paid to shop for healthcare. But there are drawbacks.
Calendar
TUESDAY | April 9
House and Senate in session.
April 7-9. Marriott Marquis. American Hospital Association annual meeting. Agenda.
10 a.m. 226 Dirksen. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Abortion Until Birth: The Need to Pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” Details.
10 a.m. Rayburn 2008. House Appropriation Committee’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the Indian Health Services budget.
10:15 a.m. 215 Dirksen. Senate Finance Committee hearing with pharmacy benefit managers. Details.
WEDNESDAY | April 10
8 a.m. AJAX. Axios event on “The Wellness Paradigm.” Details.
10:30 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on “Priced Out of a Lifesaving Drug: Getting Answers on the Rising Cost of Insulin.” Details.
