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Senate sets up vote for 20-week abortion ban. The Senate likely will vote next week on a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, an effort that could be stalled because of a filibuster by Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved Wednesday to start debate on the Pain-Capable Childhood Protection Act. The House passed its own version last year. After debate on the bill is completed, the Senate will take a vote, likely sometime next week. However, it will require 60 votes to stop a Democratic filibuster. The last time the Senate took up a 20-week abortion ban was in 2015, when three Democratic senators joined Republicans to approve it. However, the motion failed to advance by a 54-42 vote. Supporters are expected to receive some Democratic backing, but it may not be enough to reach the 60-vote threshold. The decision by McConnell comes less than a week after the March for Life, a major annual gathering of anti-abortion activists on the National Mall. Five Republican senators wrote to McConnell last week asking him to bring up the bill for a vote. “Twenty states have already passed legislation protecting unborn children beginning at 20 weeks of pregnancy,” the letter said. “A vote would make our constituents immediately aware of the members of Congress who support elective late-term abortions and oppose extending legal protections to pain-capable unborn children nationwide.”
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Powerful opioid easy to buy online, Congress finds. Buying the powerful painkiller fentanyl is as easy as doing a Google search, a new congressional report finds. Congressional investigators posed as first-time buyers of the opioid and found six online sellers able to easily ship the drug from overseas to the U.S. The report released Wednesday found major deficiencies in tracking packages partly because of a lack of international cooperation. The probe conducted by the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee comes as localities are struggling with the proliferation of fentanyl. “Thanks to our bipartisan investigation, we now know the depth to which drug traffickers exploit our mail system to ship fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the United States,” said subcommittee Chairman Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Idaho aims to upend state’s Obamacare plans. Idaho has announced a plan that would allow health insurers to sell cheaper plans that do not carry some of the same protections as those offered under Obamacare. Under the state’s proposal, insurers would be able to sell plans that deny coverage for pre-existing illnesses for up to 12 months unless the customer already had continuous prior coverage. Insurers wouldn’t be required to cover children’s vision or dental care, and would need to offer only one plan with maternity coverage, rather than only plans that include it. The proposal would allow insurers to charge people more based on where they live and based on their medical history and their age. Insurers would be able to cap their own costs at $1 million a year per customer and could charge customers out-of-pocket maximums for different services, whether for medicines, doctor visits, or hospital stays. If Idaho is able to go through with the change, it could lead to major changes in individual markets of other conservative states, but it remains questionable whether the proposal could stand up in court given that Obamacare’s regulatory structure remains on the books.
Senate confirms Azar to be Trump’s health secretary. The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Trump nominee Alex Azar to be the next Health and Human Services secretary. Azar, who was confirmed 55-43, is a former health official at HHS, where he served as deputy secretary under former President George W. Bush. He also is a former top executive for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. He has cited several priorities in his new role, including tackling the high cost of prescription drugs, lowering the price of health insurance for Obamacare customers, addressing the opioid epidemic, and finding ways for healthcare providers to be reimbursed based on patient outcomes rather than the number of tests or procedures that they run.
Industry and advocacy groups welcome Azar. Azar was praised by the American Public Health Association, which said he had the “necessary experience” to lead the department. “Congratulations to Secretary Alex Azar. We appreciate his experience in public service and the private sector, his collaborative approach, and his perspectives for improving healthcare, including addressing the high list prices that have made prescriptions unaffordable for millions of Americans,” America’s Health Insurance Plans said. “We look forward to working with Secretary Azar to improve affordability, access, choice and value for every American.” The Advanced Medical Technology Association’s president and CEO, Scott Whitaker, said, “He has demonstrated his depth of knowledge on a wide range of crucial health care issues facing the country and his willingness to address these challenges head on.
Cecile Richards to step down as Planned Parenthood president. Cecile Richards plans to step down as president of Planned Parenthood after more than 10 years at the organization, according to several reports. Richards has told members of the board of directors of her decision, BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday. “Cecile plans to discuss 2018 and the next steps for Planned Parenthood’s future at the upcoming board meeting,” a spokesman for Planned Parenthood told the Washington Examiner. Richards, 60, has been at the helm of Planned Parenthood as Republican lawmakers have tried repeatedly to cut the organization’s federal funding.
Kentucky Medicaid beneficiaries sue Trump administration over work requirements. Fifteen Medicaid beneficiaries in Kentucky are suing the Trump administration in federal court for approving a waiver that would require beneficiaries of the program to work. The plaintiffs are being represented by the National Health Law Program, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center. In the complaint, the groups wrote that federal officials violated Medicaid law by adding the work requirement provision, which they argue can be changed only through Congress. Medicaid waivers, they wrote, are intended to expand access to coverage or improve health. They argued that states are not allowed to impose additional requirements on the program. The complaint also said the Administrative Procedure Act was violated, which requires presidents “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
HHS acting secretary Eric Hargan was visiting Kentucky as the lawsuit was announced. Hargan met with Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, senior members of Bevin’s administration, and citizens. They discussed how Medicaid had affected their lives and how they believed the addition of work requirements would help the state. “With Kentucky receiving the first approval for community engagement requirements for certain adults in the Medicaid program, we look forward to working with the commonwealth on developing innovative strategies to improve the health and well-being of its Medicaid beneficiaries,” Hargan said. “I enjoyed speaking with Gov. Bevin, officials implementing the Kentucky waiver, and individuals who spoke about the great benefits and dignity finding work had brought to their lives.”
Trump administration wants work requirements for food stamps. The Trump administration is pressing for additional work requirements for people receiving food stamps from the government. In a four-page document released Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture made several suggestions for farm bill legislation being crafted in Congress, writing that it supports “work as the pathway to self-sufficiency, well-being, and economic mobility for individuals and families receiving supplemental nutrition assistance.” The program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, was formerly known as food stamps and covers 45.6 million people. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue elaborated on the recommendations in a Wednesday event in Pennsylvania with reporters, according to Bloomberg. “It’s evident that there are able-bodied adults without dependents who are on the food stamp program, who we believe it is in their best interests, and their families’ best interests, to move into an independent lifestyle,” he said. “During the last downturn, it became a lifestyle for some people. We don’t want it to become permanent.”
Study: 340B hospitals not using financial gains to help low-income patients. A study found that the 340B drug reimbursement program hasn’t resulted in expanded care or lower mortality for low-income patients, the program’s main goals. The study’s findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine Thursday come a few weeks after $1.6 billion in cuts to the program went into effect. The program gives hospitals that treat many low-income patients discounts on outpatient drugs through Medicare The study found that hematology and oncology doctors were 230 percent more likely to move their office into a hospital participating in the 340B program than one that did not and ophthalmologists were 900 percent more likely. It also found financial gains for the hospitals. But the study said it found “no evidence of hospitals using the surplus monetary resources generated from administering discounted drugs to invest in safety-net providers, provide more inpatient care to low-income patients or enhance care for low-income groups in ways that would reduce mortality.”
New coalition seeks technological ways to fight opioid abuse. The Health IT Now coalition started an alliance on Thursday dedicated to finding solutions to combating opioid abuse, including more virtual care and more accurate electronic records. The new effort, called the Opioid Safety Alliance, includes the pharmacy chain Walgreens and drug distributor McKesson, which Kentucky sued this week over the opioid epidemic. It also includes tech giants IBM and Oracle. One change the group is advocating include allowing healthcare providers to know all information about a patient’s medical history, including substance abuse.Health IT Now is a broad coalition that includes patient and research groups, tech companies and payers.
RUNDOWN
Axios Big Pharma’s lobbying spree in Trump’s first year
The Hill Controversial Trump drug appointee to step down
NPR Will state voters continue to pour money into stem cell research?
Washington Post Trump administration seeks new ways to allow people to dodge Obamacare’s individual mandate
Kaiser Health News Pharma greets hundreds of ex-federal workers at the ‘revolving’ door
CNN Fewer young adults are getting HIV tests. Here’s why
Wall Street Journal Philadelphia’s novel plan for opioid crisis: Supervised drug use
Calendar
THURSDAY | Jan. 25
Jan. 25-26. Ronald Reagan Building. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission’s January meeting. Details.
Jan. 25-27. Hyatt Regency. Families USA Health Action Conference. Details.
2 p.m. Commonwealth Fund Teleconference on association health plans. Details.
TUESDAY | Jan. 30
9 p.m. President Trump’s State of the Union address.
WEDNESDAY | Jan. 31
8:30 a.m. Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. 700 Second St. NE. AARP policy forum on “Social Isolation: An Important Health and Public Health Issue and a Significant Cost to Medicare.” Details.
