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CALIFORNIA KICKS OFF OBAMACARE EXPANSION EXPERIMENT: The enrollment for California’s Obamacare plans launched this week, and with it come some big changes that will bolster or undermine arguments to expand the healthcare law.
Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill into law this summer that will kick in more government premium help for more people and that adds a penalty on the uninsured, substituting for the federal individual mandate zeroed out by Republicans. The state’s open enrollment is also much longer than the federal government’s because it began Oct. 15 and stretches until Jan. 31. In comparison, the federal marketplace that covers most states runs Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.
The state estimates that nearly 1 million people will pay less for their coverage when they shop on the state exchange, Covered California. Officials will spend $110 million on marketing and outreach about the law, a sum similar to recent years.
California’s marketing investment hasn’t always paid off: The Trump administration has come under fire by Obamacare critics for only paying $10 million toward marketing and another $10 million toward groups that help people enroll for coverage, but the enrollment in California hasn’t fared better overall despite the effort it put into marketing. Enrollment fell 2.3% in 2018 and in the last enrollment period they remained about the same. The boosted premium help that make the plans cheaper, however, may change the calculus. This year Covered California will be partnering with athletes to get the word out.
California’s expansion is similar to what House Democratic leaders want: The bill, Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Healthcare More Affordable Act, funnels more dollars into Obamacare so that more people will qualify for premium help, and adds more money for marketing. It does not, however, reinstitute the individual mandate. It’s worth noting that expanding subsidies is an idea that lowers premiums for people without instituting price controls, so it has the full backing of the healthcare industry.
Notably, there’s no public option in California: Not that state elected officials haven’t tired over the years, but the absence of a state example could create a hard sell for a future Democratic president. By Inauguration Day 2021, no state is slated to have tried a public option that candidates envision. One “public option” in Washington state is set to take effect in 2021, but that plan appears different than what candidates like Joe Biden have in mind because it would really be a private plan that pays healthcare providers less. When lawmakers passed Obamacare, they were able to point to the Massachusetts example.
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.
PELOSI DRUG PRICING BILL MOVES AHEAD: Despite protests from Republicans, two House committees advanced legislation on Thursday introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to let the federal government negotiate the price of up to 250 drugs.
Republicans trolled Pelosi’s top health aide. They introduced an amendment in the Energy and Commerce markup that would have renamed the bill the “Promoting Rationing in Medicine Under Socialism Act.” And yes, that stands for “PRIMUS Act,” after senior Pelosi aide Wendell Primus.
The bill actually is being renamed. But it’s after Rep. Elijah Cummings, who died Thursday morning and during his time in Congress fought to have the government negotiate drug prices.
FORMER PLANNED PARENTHOOD HEAD EXPLAINS HER TWEETS ABOUT ABORTION: Former Planned Parenthood president Leana Wen said at the TIME 100 Health Summit that there needs to be a more nuanced discussion about abortion. “A lot of us believe that abortion is a complex moral issue,” she said. “And we may not want to have an abortion ourselves but would never get in the way of somebody else making this deeply personal medical decision for themselves. Or maybe we’re even uncomfortable about abortion but would not want women to die because they don’t have access to safe, legal abortion either.”
JUUL WILL NO LONGER SELL FRUIT-FLAVORED PODS, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: Embattled e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs announced Thursday it will halt nationwide sales of non-tobacco and non-menthol-flavored pods, including mango, cucumber, creme, and fruit. “We must reset the vapor category by earning the trust of society and working cooperatively with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders to combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers,” said CEO K.C. Crosthwaite:
The move is the latest in several that Juul is taking to paint itself as innocent in the huge run-up in vaping that has over 2 million teens using flavored e-cigarettes. In September, Crosthwaite announced that Juul would suspend all lobbying efforts in Washington, as well as broadcast and print advertising. President Trump teased an all-out ban on flavors in September.
VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURIES AND DEATHS HAVE RISEN: The number of vaping-related lung injuries reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has risen to 1,479 and the death toll has hit 33.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON WILL PAY STATES OVER $115 MILLION IN A SURGICAL DEVICE SETTLEMENT: In the latest dust-up with the legal system, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon Inc. will pay 41 states and the District of Columbia $116.9 million to settle disputes over its marketing of an unsafe vaginal surgical mesh device.
The case against the company over the device, which was pulled from the market in 2012, is one of many against the company for shady marketing tactics for several products, from baby powder to opioids.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TO HEAR ARGUMENTS IN CONSCIENCE OBJECTION CASE: The American Civil Liberties Union will give oral arguments Friday in two cases against the Trump administration’s rule that would protect healthcare providers with religious objections from performing certain procedures, such as abortion, sterilization, and medically assisted suicide. The ACLU argued that the rule “would create a new pathway for discrimination, and be particularly devastating for patients who rely on federally funded healthcare.”
The rule, announced May 2 by Health and Human Services, has been heavily contested in court by liberal groups, including the Center for Reproductive Rights, Lambda Legal, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They call it a “denial of care rule,” and argue that it allows providers to put patients’ health at risk for the sake of advancing religious beliefs.
PHYSICIAN GROUPS KEEP UP ARBITRATION PUSH: More than 110 national physician groups including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine are continuing their push to have Congress add arbitration to surprise billing legislation, telling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in a letter this week that it would incentivize insurers to make fair out-of-network payments on behalf of their customers. The Senate bill moved out of committee only has benchmarked prices, which would limit what doctors and hospitals can charge. McConnell hasn’t made any promises about the bill’s future.
DOUBLE TAKE — PETE BUTTIGIEG WAS A ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ SUPPORTER: Turns out Pete Buttigieg, who has come out in strong opposition of “Medicare for all” in his presidential campaign, used to be pretty fond of the plan.
He tweeted in February 2018, as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana: “I, Pete Buttigieg, politician, do henceforth and forthwith declare, most affirmatively and indubitably, unto the ages, that I do favor Medicare for All, as I do favor any measure that would help get all Americans covered. Now if you’ll excuse me, potholes await.”
Buttigieg was responding to tweets from The People’s Summit, a progressive political organization, which had pressed him on whether he supported Medicare for all.
The Rundown
The New York Times How pending decision on Obamacare could upend 2020 campaign
Stateline CBD may be natural, but is it safe?
Boston Globe AG says price transparency isn’t helping consumers save on health care costs
Kaiser Health News Whistleblower alleges Medicare fraud at iconic Seattle-based health plan
Los Angeles Times Outrage among new pharmacists after cheating scandal upends licensing exam results
Calendar
FRIDAY | Oct.
Noon. Dirksen G-50. Alliance for Health Policy briefing on “Examining the Continuum of Coverage Proposals.” Details.
WEDNESDAY | Oct. 23
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on “Sabotage: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Healthcare.” Details.
