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VERMA IN THE HOT SEAT: House Democrats aren’t glossing over their feelings about Seema Verma’s handling of Obamacare in Wednesday morning’s hearing titled “Sabotage: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Healthcare.”
The hearing, held by the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations panel, is a political opportunity for Democrats to take the spotlight off “Medicare for all” and instead focus on the parts of Obamacare that are popular with voters.
But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator is coming in armed with data fresh off the press showing that, for the second year in a row, Obamacare premiums are falling and more insurers are entering the marketplace.
“Under President Trump’s direction, the administration acted to promote market stability, increase competition, and provide states additional tools and flexibility to meet the needs of their residents and promote more affordable coverage,” Verma said in prepared remarks.
Much of her opening statements look at what the Trump administration has done across the board on healthcare, and some of it is pretty bipartisan, such as giving more people with kidney failure the option to get dialysis at home.
But Democrats are ready to bring the focus back to Obamacare. We’re likely to hear about waivers that let states apply to make changes to the law, about Medicaid work requirements, and about the lawsuit seeking to invalidate Obamacare.
“Since day one, Seema Verma has championed Trump’s healthcare sabotage agenda and undermined Americans’ healthcare at every turn,” said Leslie Dach, chair of the pro-Obamacare group Protect Our Care.
Democrats and pro-Obamacare advocates decry nearly every action the Trump administration has taken on Obamacare as an act of “sabotage.” They view the latest good news about Obamacare as proof of the law’s resiliency, rather than acknowledge their predictions were off target. Plus, they have Census data showing that 2 million more people are uninsured under Trump, 400,000 of them children.
“Let’s just think about how many more people would be covered now, and how much lower premiums could be, if not for the repeated acts of sabotage at the hands of this administration, “ said Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. “The ACA is succeeding despite the Trump administration’s efforts to tear it down.”
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 GETS LONG MARKUP: But after 12 hours, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act moved out of the House Ways and Means Committee. All Republicans voted against it and Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who wants to see the bill become more progressive, voted “present” and said he’d be looking for changes.
We’ll be watching for amendments when the bill is expected to hit the floor next week. Progressives want to see more drugs get negotiated. They already were able to secure a minimum number of 35 negotiated drugs, rather than the 25 the bill originally called for.
FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EXEMPTIONS TO BIRTH CONTROL MANDATE: On Tuesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Trump administration rule that would have let certain employers opt out of providing coverage that paid for contraception for workers. The exemptions were already blocked by a Pennsylvania judge.
ABORTION CASES ON THE DOCKET TODAY: The Center for Reproductive Rights is asking the Oklahoma County District Court to temporarily block a state law that would force doctors to tell patients medication abortion can be reversed. The law would otherwise take effect Nov. 1.
The U.S. District Court in Northern California will hear oral arguments in County of Santa Clara v. HHS, over the Trump administration rule that lets healthcare workers with religious or moral objections opt out of providing or refering to abortion, medically assisted suicide, and sterilization.
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS? THESE GROUPS ARE PAIRING UP TO FIGHT ANIMAL-FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH: The White Coat Waste Project, which advocates against animal testing on the basis of wasteful spending, has paired up with Americans United for Life, Pro-Life Democrats, and Pro-Life San Francisco for the cause.
“Taking at an old issue and looking at it from a new point of view is how you win,” Justin Goodman, vice president for the White Coat Waste Project, said at a briefing Tuesday. He later told the Washington Examiner that this was the most revved-up he had seen Republicans on the issue.
The groups want the National Institutes of Health to review grants they gave to scientists who conduct research that involves fetal cells or parts. In most of these experiments, animals are also used, according to the NIH database.
ANTI-MEDICARE EXPANSION GROUP COMMISSIONS STUDY AGAINST PUBLIC OPTION: A new study by KNG Health Consulting, LLC said the Medicare for America proposal would cause about a third of people on employer plans to lose them by 2032.
The Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, which paid for the study, said “a new government insurance system would be a ‘stepping stone’ to a one-size-fits-all system run by politicians.”
The plan they’re describing is Medicare for America, Beto O’Rourke’s healthcare proposal, but it’s also similar to the plan from Pete Buttigieg, which would actively enroll certain people in a government plan and provide the option to others.
FDA APPROVES TOBACCO MAKER’S CLAIM THEIR SMOKELESS TOBACCO IS SAFER THAN CIGARETTES: For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration will allow a tobacco maker, Swedish Match USA, Inc., to advertise eight of its smokeless tobacco products as safer alternatives to cigarettes. The company’s snus products, which come in pouches, will be the first smokeless tobacco products to ever be legally allowed to include the following label on their products: “Using General Snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.”
CDC FINDS THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WITH VAPING-LINKED LUNG INJURY USED THC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 53 patients in Utah with vaping related lung injury, and 49 said they had been using THC e-liquids — vaping liquids made from the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The CDC has not yet singled out a cause for the lung injuries, maintaining that people should avoid both nicotine and THC vaping products.
ILLINOIS DEMOCRAT URGES THE FDA TO MOVE FORWARD WITH VAPING FLAVOR BAN: Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi urged acting administrator of the FDA Ned Sharpless to put out a policy to enforce Trump’s proposed e-cigarette flavor ban, announced Sept. 11. Krishnamoorthi has advocated for nicotine caps in vaping cartridges, having announced this month the Ending Nicotine Dependence from Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Act, which aims to mandate nicotine caps to make e-liquids less addictive.
SMALL TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE SHORT ON FLU VACCINES: Local news sources have reported that small towns nationwide, their public health departments, and pharmacies are worried about a shortage of the high-dose flu vaccine, recommended for seniors whose immune systems are weaker than younger people. Juliet Altman of the Upper Missouri Public Health Unit in North Dakota told the Washington Examiner that, while it’s great that more people are getting the vaccine, a shortage is troubling: “I would rather anyone 65 and older get something rather than nothing. I know sometimes it would be… the people who are 65 and older, their immunity wanes a little faster.”
The Rundown
CBS News Families fight insurers for life-saving care for loved ones with mental health conditions
The Boston Globe Baker defends health care plan as concerns arise
Las Vegas Sun Ruling on transgender inmates could affect health care access in Nevada
NBC News As NYPD suicide deaths rise, New York City to provide officers free mental health care
Dallas Morning News How much does it hurt to pay for health insurance? Unlike individuals, employer plans aren’t embracing narrow networks
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Oct. 23
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on “Sabotage: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Healthcare.” Tune in.
1 p.m. 1100 Longworth. Ways and Means Committee markup of tax and health legislation. Tune in.
FRIDAY | Oct. 25
Noon. Reserve Officers Association Building. 1 Constitution Ave NE. Alliance for Health Policy congressional briefing on “Modernizing Medicare Part D.” Details
WEDNESDAY | Oct. 30
10 a.m. National Press Club. 529 14th St. NW. Physician organizations will call for tighter regulations on e-cigarettes. Details.
