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DEMOCRATS SET ASIDE INTERNAL FEUD IN MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT HEARING: House Democrats avoided exposing their party’s divisions over healthcare on Tuesday during a hearing for the Medicare for All Act, a bill that would do away with private insurance and move everyone living in the U.S. onto a government plan.
It was difficult to assess from the lines of questioning which Democrats co-sponsored the Medicare for All Act and which ones favored alterations to the current system. Instead, their clashes with Republicans were amplified.
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Rules Committee and co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act, said at the conclusion of the hearing that he was pleased that “a serious topic was treated in a very serious manner” and that his colleagues were surprised the discussion had been “civilized and in-depth.”
It’s been tricky for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to keep her caucus rowing in the same direction. One hundred and nine members support the Medicare for All Act, and it is backed by Democratic presidential candidates, but supporting it entails risk for others in the party because Republicans are eager to cast them as willing to gut the current system in favor of what they call a “government takeover of healthcare.”
Republicans pointed out that holding the hearing on Tuesday showed that the proposal was not being taken seriously by leadership, as the crafting of healthcare policy would typically fall to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. By Tuesday afternoon, however, the Ways and Means Committee agreed that it would also hear the bill.
The tone of Tuesday’s hearing, though, was set by Ady Barkan, a 35-year-old father and prominent healthcare activist with the fatal Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Barkan’s illness, which gradually paralyzes the body, prevented him from speaking, so he delivered an emotional testimony with the help of a machine, setting the tone of the debate.
“Some people argue that although ‘Medicare for all’ is a great idea, we need to move slowly to get there,” he said. “But I needed ‘Medicare for all’ yesterday. Millions of people need it today. The time to pass this law is now.”
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.
CBO ANALYSIS ON ITS WAY: The Congressional Budget Office is set to release an analysis of government healthcare in a report expected sometime Wednesday. House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., has asked the CBO to take a look at the bill, but it’s not clear yet whether it will contain a specific price tag.
The CBO is expected to evaluate how the healthcare system would be financed, whether private insurance companies would play a role, whether patients would face any costs, what methods would be put in place to contain costs, what rules would be placed on hospitals and doctors, how to set reimbursement rates, and whether to do away with other government healthcare programs in favor of a single one.
LEGISLATION ADDRESSING SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS COMING IN A MONTH: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said at the Washington Examiner’s “Examining Health” event Wednesday morning that he expects to unveil a bipartisan bill to address surprise medical bills by the end of the month. Watch the interview.
TRUMP TELLS SCHUMER, PELOSI HE WANTS TO REVISIT FAILED BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE STABILIZATION BILL: President Trump reportedly said Tuesday that he wanted to revisit a failed bipartisan effort to stabilize Obamacare to lower premiums at an infrastructure meeting with Democratic leaders. He suggested reviving legislation authored by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., to fund Obamacare insurer payments, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Alexander-Murray bill, meant to prevent spikes in premiums, would have reinstated cost-sharing reduction subsidies that would reimburse insurers for paying out-of-pocket costs to cover low-income Obamacare customers, but the bipartisan effort ultimately failed in part because of controversy over abortion coverage.
Jones supports leaving Hyde Amendment in the stabilization bill: Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., said at the “Examining Healthcare” event that he would have voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act stabilization bill even with the Hyde Amendment language attached, which prevents federal funds from paying for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s pregnancy is life-threatening. “From my perspective I believe it is there and needs to stay in place,” he said. “I would like to see that off the table and let’s talk about healthcare in general and let’s see what we can do to help people.”
OKLAHOMA SUPREME COURT BLOCKS RESTRICTIONS TO MEDICATION ABORTIONS: The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 2014 measure to block access to medication-induced abortion is unconstitutional. The court ruled that “the law of the land [is] that a woman has a constitutionally protected right to make an independent choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy before viability.” The 2014 law required women seeking drug-induced abortions to take three times as many medications than the singular necessary drug. The law also prohibited women from undergoing a medication abortion after 49 days of pregnancy, forcing them to have a surgical abortion instead.
FDA APPROVES NEW PHILIP MORRIS DEVICE FOR HEATING TOBACCO, RATHER THAN VAPORIZING IT: The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new heat-not-burn tobacco device, called IQOS, from Philip Morris International, as well as the tobacco sticks it heats up: Marlboro Heatsticks, Marlboro Smooth Menthol Heatsticks, and Marlboro Fresh Menthol Heatsticks, all of which qualify as tobacco products under FDA authority. While other smokeless tobacco products heat a liquid with nicotine to produce vapor, IQOS uses real tobacco that is heated rather than burned. The device produces a tobacco-flavored vapor that the company says is much less harmful than a combustible cigarette. While the FDA approved Philip Morris’ premarket tobacco application, it did not approve an application to market the devices as less harmful smoking alternatives.
FDA WARNS CONSUMERS OF INJURIES, DEATHS ON PRESCRIPTION INSOMNIA DRUGS: The FDA will now require prominent warnings on sleep medication packaging after reports of injuries and deaths resulting from sleep behaviors including sleepwalking and sleep driving. Boxed warnings are now required for Lunesta, Sonata, and Ambien.
NIH STUDY FINDS CONTAGION WHEN CELEBRITIES LIKE ROBIN WILLIAMS COMMIT SUICIDE: A study by the National Institutes of Health found evidence that the U.S. sees increased rates of suicides following celebrity suicides, and that existing resources get overwhelmed. The study says funding must be allocated efficiently in order to develop “contingency plans to accommodate increases in call volumes.” Researchers at the NIH and the National Institute of Mental Health studied increased rates of suicide following the suicide of Robin Williams in 2014, which increased from 117 between 2012 and 2014 to 142 suicides per day for 30 days after Williams’ death, using the same suicide method as Williams. NIH said “highly-publicized celebrity suicides, can serve as ‘shocks’ that cause a sudden spike in suicides.”
TOP VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICIAL HITS BACK AT AOC’s CLAIM THE VA DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY: Richard Stone, the Department of Veterans Affairs executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration, pushed back on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s claim the agency’s problem is that it is not fully funded. Stone was asked Monday during a Veterans’ Affairs committee hearing in the House about the trend of veterans committing suicide, specifically, about the recent increase in numbers of veteran suicides on VA property. “This is not a financial problem,” said Stone. “This is a problem of the society that we live in. And this is about the interpersonal connections that we each have, to each other as a society.” When asked by a reporter what the VA needs from Congress right now, instead of saying money, Stone said the bureaucracy needs to be clearer and faster on certain issues.
The Rundown
Kaiser Health News Diabetic amputations a ‘shameful metric’ of inadequate care
The Associated Press Medicaid expansion backers in Kansas may hold budget hostage
The New York Times Like ‘Uber for organs’: drone delivers kidney to Maryland woman
Stat Facebook announces new steps in effort to allow users to ask health questions anonymously
CALmatters For aging California, is the future Florida?
Tampa Bay Times Those on Florida’s front lines in the abortion battle know change is coming
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | May 1
April 28-May 1. Washington Marriott Wardman Park. World Health Care Congress. Agenda.
House and Senate in session.
Congressional Budget Office to release an analysis of the Medicare for All Act.
TUESDAY | May 7
10 a.m. 430 Dirksen. Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on “Implementing the 21st Century Cures Act: Making Electronic Health Information Available to Patients and Providers.” Details.
WEDNESDAY | May 8
10 a.m. 1100 Longworth. House Ways and Means Committee on paid family and medical leave. Details.
