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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AIMS TO LET PATIENTS SEE CARE COSTS AHEAD OF TIME: The Trump administration unveiled long-awaited healthcare cost transparency policies on Friday.
One part of the plan is a proposed rule would require health plans to allow patients to view the costs they would be responsible for paying to undergo a procedure or receive care in a hospital. Insurers would also have to make public the costs of services after they have negotiated prices with hospitals. Plans would also have to show patients what their estimated costs would be for out-of-network care.
Another part of the plan, a finalized rule, will require hospitals to publish standard charges for services, including procedures and prescription drugs administered in the hospital. The rule will go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
The administration is saying that Friday’s effort is the biggest action it’s taken yet related to healthcare.
“Today’s transparency announcement may be a more significant change to American healthcare markets than any other single thing we’ve done, by shining light on the costs of our shadowy system and finally putting the American patient in control,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in introducing the plan.
Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said the rule will allow patients to compare prices of certain services at various hospitals, including x-rays, lab tests, and C-sections, thus increasing competition.
Hospitals and insurers generally do not disclose prices of procedures. They are likely to fight the new rules in court, but Azar said that “we feel we are on a very sound legal footing with what we’re asking.”
President Trump will expound on the rules at 2 p.m. Friday in the Roosevelt Room. Read more about the proposed and finalized rules here.
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.
A LOT OF MEDICARE HOSPICE PATIENTS AREN’T BEING VISITED BY STAFF BEFORE THEY DIE: It appears that many Medicare hospice patients are being left alone and not getting care in their last days. That’s one of the main findings in a new Government Accountability Office report, requested by Democrat Ron Wyden, which found 83 providers, 80 for-profits and 3 non-profits, that did not have hospice staff visit beneficiaries within the last three days of their life.
“Americans at the end of life and their families expect the best care possible — it’s unacceptable that too often hospice providers are falling short,” the Oregon senator said in a comment on the report. His office said too that the report finds generally that for-profit hospices are more likely to have worse outcomes.
VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURIES REACH ANOTHER RECORD HIGH: As of Nov. 13, 2,172 cases of lung injuries linked to vaping have been confirmed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The death toll has also risen to 42.
PALLONE PUSHES FOR INVESTIGATION INTO JUUL FOR SELLING CONTAMINATED PODS: Democrat Frank Pallone urged Acting Commissioner Brett P. Giroir of the Food and Drug Administration to open an investigation into Juul Labs for allegedly selling mint-flavored pods that they knew were contaminated and expired. Pallone said: “It is imperative that [FDA] investigate this allegation regarding contaminated products on the market if it has not yet done so.”
Whistleblower Siddharth Breja, previously Juul’s senior vice president for global finance, testified in a Northern District of California suit that Juul was trying to make up for lost sales after having to take flavors like mango and cucumber off the market last fall, and soon enough consumers started buying so many mint pods that demand outstripped supply. Juul allegedly shipped about 1 million contaminated or expired pods to retailers, and didn’t recall them when the company learned they were contaminated in March. Breja said he suggested to Juul executives that they either recall the pods or place a “best by” date on packaging, but they declined. Breja was fired soon after.
MAYBE SMOKING CIGARETTES ISN’T COOL AFTER ALL: The share of adults who smoke cigarettes has hit an all-time low of 13.7%, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Not only is that the lowest it has ever been, it’s a two-thirds decline since the Surgeon General’s first warning about negative health effects of smoking over 50 years ago.
EVEN BABIES ARE EATING TOO MUCH SUGAR: Nearly all toddlers (98.3%) and most infants (60.6%) consume added sugar on a given day, according to a new government study —which they shouldn’t be per recommendations.
“The most important thing to take away is that added sugars are everywhere,” Kirsten Herrick of the National Cancer Institute’s cancer control and population sciences division told the New York Times.
The study, based on CDC data, concludes that infants are mostly getting the added sugars from yogurt, baby food snacks/sweets, and sweet bakery products.
The Rundown
Stat A drug maker courted controversy when it shut out a family-run rival. Now some patients say the medicine isn’t working
Vice Privacy rights group sues DHS over ‘coercive’ DNA tests at the border
The Associated Press Court rules Trump EPA unlawfully ignored dangerous chemicals
Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio state lawmakers propose total abortion ban
Miami Herald The cost of not expanding Medicaid in Fla.? Nearly 2,800 deaths, a new report estimates
Calendar
FRIDAY | Nov. 8
Senate and House in session.
WEDNESDAY | Nov. 20
10 a.m. Dirksen 430 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the Nomination of Stephen M. Hahn, MD, to serve as Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Details.
12 p.m. 1330 G. St. NW. Kaiser Health News Discussion, “How We Cope: Intimate Lessons From the Front-Lines of Family Caregiving.” Details.
2 p.m. Dirksen 215 Senate Finance Committee Hearing to examine Alzheimer’s awareness, focusing on barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and care coordination. Details.
2 p.m. Rayburn 2128 House Financial Service Committee hearing on the Current State of Residents’ Health and Safety in HUD Housing. Details.
