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DEMOCRATIC VOTERS PREFER BIDEN’S HEALTHCARE PLAN TO ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’: Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden’s plan to build off Obamacare is more popular among Democratic voters than his rivals’ plans to expand government coverage to everyone living in the U.S., a new poll released Thursday morning by the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests.
The poll found that 55% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents prefer a candidate who wants to build on Obamacare, while 40% reported they wanted a candidate to replace Obamacare with “Medicare for all.” A total of 14% of the voters who favor a single, government plan reported that they would not support a candidate who backed any other healthcare proposal, while 22% of “Medicare for all” supporters said they would be willing to.
When looking at the overall public, the survey found that 69% favors providing a government-administered plan to compete with private health insurance, known as a “public option,” while 53% of the public would prefer “Medicare for all.”
Still, there appears to be room for voters to evolve on their positions, as additional surveys suggested some confusion among voters about what the ideas mean. The poll found that 47% of the public says the two proposals are either “very similar” or “somewhat similar,” while 44% say the two proposals are either “very different” or “somewhat different.”
The findings provide helpful context about voters’ views on healthcare as 10 Democratic presidential candidates prepare to face off on the debate stage in Houston on Thursday night. Biden will face the staunchest “Medicare for All” supporters: Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Also on stage will be Amy Klobuchar, who supports a similar plan to Biden’s.
Former congressman Beto O’Rourke of Texas and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend support a more expansive government plan than Biden does. It would take in people on the Obamacare exchanges and people who are uninsured, but also leave private insurers in the game. Senator Kamala Harris of California has said she supports “Medicare for all,” but has waffled on whether she wanted to keep private insurers. The plan she eventually unveiled would let people choose between a government plan and a publicly funded plan administered by private health insurers.
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.
OBAMACARE FAVORABILITY JUMPS AMONG DEMOCRATS: The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that the healthcare law is viewed favorably by 84% of Democratic voters, the highest share since the organization began the poll nine years ago. That support helped tick up the overall favorability of the law, to 53%, an increase of 7 percentage points from where it was in June.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION READIES BAN ON E-CIGARETTES: The president announced Wednesday that his administration will ban e-cigarette flavors, moving to address widespread concern as a mysterious lung illness spreads that appears linked to vaping devices.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that it would be several weeks before the government guidance about e-cigarette flavors would go out, including how it would be enforced, and after that there would be a 30-day delay until the rule goes live. On Twitter, he said that new data about teen vaping had necessitated the change in course. According to his agency, preliminary numbers from the National Youth Tobacco Survey showed more teens were taking up vaping, particularly flavored kinds.
Vaping proponents react: The Vapor Technology Association likened the Trump administration’s decision to the kind of policy advocated by “far left anti-business extremists” and said the ban would be a “public health travesty” given that the devices can help people quit smoking regular cigarettes. They warned smoking rates would go up and that people would turn to counterfeit products.
What’s next: E-cigarette companies had already been facing a court-ordered May 2020 deadline to submit their products to the FDA for approval, and manufacturers of the flavored products would be able to put their devices back on the market if they are approved. In order to gain the green light from the FDA, manufacturers will be required to show that their devices wouldn’t cause teens to pick up vaping.
PURDUE AND STATE ATTORNEYS GET ONE STEP CLOSER TO A SETTLEMENT: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has tentatively agreed to terms with 22 state attorneys general to settle some 2,000 lawsuits against the manufacturer for its role in the opioid epidemic. Settlement talks between Purdue and 35 state attorneys began in August, and this is the closest both groups have gotten to making a deal. The remaining 13 attorneys general still have to agree to terms.
The deal being discussed is purportedly worth $10 billion to $12 billion, and the Sacklers, the powerhouse family behind Purdue’s success, would have to hand over $3 billion of their own wealth. Last week it was rumored that Purdue was asked to contribute $4.5 billion, a figure to which they disagreed, and talks reached an impasse.
MANY CHILDREN LIVE WITH FAMILIES THAT STRUGGLE TO PAY MEDICAL BILLS EVEN AFTER ACA PASSAGE: One in six children lived with family members who struggled to pay their medical bills in 2017, according to the Urban Institute. While the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act helped insure millions, many adults are still uninsured, one in nine, which means their children often lack health coverage as well. The report also found that even with insurance, whether private or through Obamacare exchanges, medical bills often entail hefty out of pocket costs.
OBESITY RATE IN NINE STATES HITS NEW HIGH, SPARKING CALLS FOR POLICY CHANGES: Nine states have surpassed an obesity rate of 35%, according to a new report from the health policy institute Trust for America’s Health, which labeled the phenomenon a “crisis” and called for a broad overhaul to address it.
CEO John Auerbach said that “isolated programs and calls for life-style changes aren’t enough. Instead, our report highlights the fundamental changes that are needed in the social and economic conditions that make it challenging for people to eat healthy foods and get sufficient exercise.”
Thursday’s report makes 31 policy recommendations, including closing federal tax loopholes for unhealthy food manufacturers to make it difficult to market to kids, instituting a tax on sodas and sugary drinks, and ensuring that nutrition-assistance programs like food stamps make access to nutritious food a priority.
The nine states, by the way, are Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and West Virginia.
BIPARTISAN PARENTAL LEAVE BILL GAINS SUPPORTERS: Republican Bill Cassidy announced Wednesday that more Republican and Democratic senators have signed on to his paid leave proposal drafted with Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Cassidy made the announcement at a Joint Economic Committee hearing on “Making it More Affordable to Raise a Family.” He said the newly added supporters of the plan “are now supporting and working with us on legislative text we hope to introduce this fall.”
The 2017 GOP tax cuts increased the Child Tax Credit from up to $1,000 per year to up to $2,000 per year. The Cassidy-Sinema proposal would allow parents to receive $5,000 up front to supplement lost income to take time off from work, offset by a reduced CTC of up to $1,500 for the next 10 years.
CONGRESSWOMAN CALLS ON NIH TO STOP TESTING ON ANIMALS: Democratic congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard requested that the National Institutes of Health reduce the use of animals in medical testing by first keeping a comprehensive inventory of the animals NIH uses and giving that report to Congress. Roybal-Allard told NIH Director Francis Collins that because some animals that NIH uses do not fall under the protection of the Animal Welfare Act, it’s impossible to see whether the NIH is pursuing its stated goal of tapering off animal testing in biomedical research. The California congresswoman told Collins Wednesday that NIH must submit to Congress a detailed plan that outlines how the agency will decrease the number of animals it uses and how much progress in reducing the number that the agency expects to make in the next five years.
JOHNS HOPKINS RECEIVES BIG DONATION TO STUDY PSYCHEDELICS: Private investors have donated $17 million to Johns Hopkins Medicine to open the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, the first of its kind in the U.S. and the largest in the world. Its goal will be to research the benefits of psychedelic drugs in treating behavioral health issues as well as Alzheimer’s. In addition to opening the center and conducting extensive research, Hopkins will also introduce a graduate medical education program for students who want to pursue a career in conducting similar research.
The Rundown
Bloomberg Businessweek Carcinogens have infiltrated the generic drugs supply in the U.S.
Business Insider Walmart is opening health clinics, but that’s just the start. We got the full story from the exec leading its push into the $3.5 trillion US healthcare industry.
The Atlantic Medicaid’s dark secret
The Sacramento Bee California voters could get a chance to overturn new vaccine law
Politico Europe’s missing “vaping sickness”
The New York Times ‘If I’m sent back, I will die’: Sick immigrants tell their stories to Congress
Calendar
THURSDAY | Sept. 12
Congress in session.
8 p.m. Houston. ABC-Univision Democratic debate.
FRIDAY | Sept. 13
Noon. Dirksen G-50. Alliance for Health Policy briefing on “What’s Next on Social Determinants of Health?” Details.
MONDAY | Sept. 16
12:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave NW. American Enterprise Institute event on “If we cannot live with the individual mandate, can we cover enough lives without it?” Details.
