Smart content. Deeper culture. Better access. Become a subscriber to the Washington Examiner magazine.
SIGN UP! If you’d like to continue receiving the Washington Examiner‘s Daily on Healthcare newsletter, SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com/newsletter/daily-on-healthcare/
DEMOCRATS AGAIN PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON GOP FOR OBAMACARE ATTACKS: The House will vote this week on a bill that would boost Obamacare outreach funds to $100 million, reversing the Trump administration cuts that have lessened the budget to $10 million in recent years.
The marketing budget is intended to help the administration inform people eligible for Obamacare plans about enrollment dates, health insurance options, and subsidies. The Democratic bill also would block the Trump administration from promoting plans that fall outside of Obamacare’s rules, such as short-term health insurance coverage.
The bill, the Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower Health Education Act, is again meant to put the spotlight on Republicans for voting to repeal Obamacare and to show that Democrats are committed to the law. It was introduced by Democratic Reps. Lisa Blunt of Delaware, Kathy Castor of Florida, Dan Kildee of Michigan, and Lucy McBath of Georgia.
The Trump administration has said that the budget doesn’t need to be as high as it was during the Obama administration — when it was $100 million during its final year — because people are already aware of the healthcare law’s options since they became available for 2014.
Democrats counter that the Trump administration shortened the enrollment period to half of what it used to be, a fact many consumers may not know about. They see cutting the budget as one of several acts of “sabotage” they believe the administration is waging against the healthcare law and say people are confused about how to enroll in the exchange, or whether they can, because of Republican repeal efforts.
It’s not clear how much the marketing budget helps to bolster enrollment in the exchanges. In California, enrollment fell slightly in the exchange in 2018 after the state spent $110 million. The state spent the same amount for 2019, and enrollment remained steady.
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.
NEXT ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ HEARING SCHEDULED: The Budget Committee is holding the next hearing on the Medicare for All Act on May 22 at 10 a.m., where members will review the latest Congressional Budget Office analysis about the legislation. Three CBO staffers are set to testify.
WASHINGTON STATE TO PASS PUBLIC OPTION: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who is also running for the Democratic nomination for president, is set to sign a bill into law Monday that would allow the state to add a public option beginning in 2021. The plan would be publicly funded and cap payments to doctors and hospitals but would be run by private health insurers.
MARYLAND TO PASS NEW ENROLLMENT TOOL: GOP Gov. Larry Hogan is expected to sign a bill into law Monday that would help people who are uninsured in Maryland sign up for coverage when they file their tax returns. The provision would automatically enroll people in Medicaid if they qualify or let then know whether they qualify for subsidies to sign up for Obamacare plans.
MURKINESS ABOUT THE HEALTHCARE POSITIONING OF TWO DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES:
Harris tries to clarify her stance on private insurance: Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday that she meant she wanted to eliminate bureaucracy in healthcare and not private insurance when she said “let’s eliminate all of that,” at a town hall event in January. She is a vocal supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., Medicare-For-All bill, which would eliminate almost all private insurance plans. She said eliminating private coverage would have minimal impact “because Medicare for all, and the vision of what it will be includes an expansion of coverage.”
Booker supports “Medicare For All” … who want it: Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.Y., told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl Sunday that he wants to provide “Medicare for all who want it,” as a push toward universal coverage, despite being an early supporter of the Medicare for All Act. Karl said he was describing something closer to a public option, allowing people to choose whether they want coverage. Booker responded that while he supports ‘Medicare for all,’ he “is also a realist,” who knows “you can’t hold progress hostage for some purity.”
CALIFORNIA CHARGED MEDICAID $71M TO COVER DEAD PEOPLE: The Health and Human Services’ Inspector General found California continued fixed monthly payments to managed care organizations after beneficiaries had died, totaling about $70.9 million. The OIG found that the state did not disenroll beneficiaries after their deaths, and did not confer with the state health department about inconsistent death dates and Social Security numbers, or take extra steps to verify whether beneficiaries were still alive.
GOTTLIEB WARNS ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ WOULD HOLD BACK MEDICAL PROGRESS: Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb waded into the “Medicare for All” debate on Friday, warning that access to life-saving treatments could suffer if the government were to become the only payer of healthcare services. “I think it would squelch innovation, and I think it would hold back medical progress,” Gottlieb said at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “There are many reasons to be skeptical of expanding Medicare and using it to crowd out private coverage.”
REPUBLICANS DEMAND STRICT OVERSIGHT OF MAIL-ORDER ABORTION DRUGS: One hundred and sixteen members of Congress have demanded the FDA take stricter action to crack down on illegal sales of unapproved abortion-inducing drugs from the foreign company Aid Access. The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, and Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., thanked FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless for his efforts to stop the flow of illicit, unapproved abortion drugs, and asked that the work continue in earnest.
1,000 ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVISTS RALLY OUTSIDE CLINIC WHERE DEMOCRAT HARASSED PROTESTERS: Anti-abortion protesters flooded the street outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in response to Democratic state Rep. Brian Sims filming himself harassing female protesters and asking people to “doxx” them. CBS 3 reported at least 1,000 people attended Friday’s rally, where speakers included the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, LiveAction President Lila Rose, and Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who later became an anti-abortion activist.
MEASLES CASES REACH NEW HIGH: As of May 10, the number of confirmed measles cases has climbed to 839, an increase of 75 since last week. This is the highest number of cases since 1994 and has spread across the country to 23 states.
OPINION: KAMALA HARRIS’S STATEMENTS ON PRIVATE INSURANCE ARE INCOHERENT
The Rundown
Kaiser Health News How Obamacare, Medicare and ‘Medicare For All’ muddy the campaign trail
California Healthline Newsom changes course on plan to pay for immigrant health Coverage
VT Digger Anti-racism training plan questioned at state psychiatric hospital
The Post and Courier Trump’s plan to stamp out HIV includes a big focus on 7 states, including SC
FiveThirtyEight Democrats have no safe options on healthcare
The Washington Post ‘Who’s going to take care of these people?’
Calendar
MONDAY | May 13
9 a.m.-2:45 p.m. White Oak Campus. Food and Drug Administration meeting on “The Future of Insulin Biosimilars: Increasing Access and Facilitating the Efficient Development of Biosimilar and Interchangeable Insulin Products.” Details.
TUESDAY | MAY 14
May 14-15. Hyatt Centric. Arlington, Va. Population Health Payer Plan Innovations for Medicaid, Medicare, and Duals. Payer Agenda.
Noon. 1333 H St NW. Center for American Progress event on antitrust in healthcare. Details.
WEDNESDAY | May 15
May 15-16. Hyatt Centric. Arlington, Va. Population Health Payer Plan Innovations for Medicaid, Medicare, and Duals. Hospital Agenda.
8 a.m. AJAX. 1011 4th St. NW. Axios event on “Easing America’s Pain.” Details.
Noon. Newseum. AIR340B 6th Annual National Stakeholder Summit.
THURSDAY | May 16
10 a.m. 2154 Rayburn. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on “HIV Prevention Drug: Billions in Corporate Profits after Millions in Taxpayer Investments.” Details.
