Daily on Healthcare: Medical device industry applauds government funding deal…delayed Obamacare taxes will add to deficit

Medical device industry applauds deal that ended government shutdown. A three-day government closure ended Monday when President Trump signed a short-term spending bill that funds the government until Feb. 8. The short-term deal includes a six-year reauthorization of CHIP. It also includes two-year delays to Obamacare’s medical device tax and a tax on high-cost health plans, called the Cadillac tax; and a one-year delay in 2019 for the health insurance tax. The medical device industry praised the decision to include the delays. “Congress’ action – just days before medical technology innovators were set to start cutting checks to the IRS – means funds will not be diverted from current investments in jobs, capital improvements and research into new treatments and cures,” said AdvaMed, the top medical device lobby. Meanwhile, the health insurance tax is still in effect for 2018. While the health insurance tax would still be on the books for the current tax year, it would be suspended for 2019.

Delayed Obamacare taxes will increase deficits. The delay of three Obamacare taxes, included in the short-term spending deal, will increase the federal deficit by $31 billion over the next decade, according to a Tuesday estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Welcome to Philip Klein’s Daily on Healthcare, compiled by Washington Examiner Managing Editor Philip Klein (@philipaklein), Senior Healthcare Writer Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and Healthcare Reporter Robert King (@rking_19).  Email [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list.

Democrats tout commitments for funding for community health centers, fight opioid epidemic. Some Senate Democrats touted a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up funding for tackling the opioid epidemic and fund community health centers. However, there isn’t any timeline on when the funding bills would be taken up. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., tweeted about the commitment but later told Politico it was an agreement. “My understanding is there’s an agreement that we need more resources for the opioid epidemic,” Van Hollen said. He added that there is no deal on how much money should be given for the funding. Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire have called for $25 billion over two years for the opioid epidemic, which federal data shows kills 91 Americans a day. Funding for community health centers expired Sept. 30.

Pelosi to Democrats: Shutdown deal does not ‘diminish our leverage.’ House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday the decision by Democrats to accept a deal proposed by McConnell, R-Ky., does not lessen the leverage held by congressional Democrats in future negotiations. “While today’s vote ends the Trump Shutdown, it does not diminish our leverage,” Pelosi said in a “Dear Democratic Colleague” note to her caucus members. “While members may vote differently on this bill, we are unified in our determination to meet the needs of the American people with our Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future.” The deal has drawn the ire of many liberals and lawmakers who were insisting that a legislative fix for Dreamers be attached to the must-pass spending bill. “It’s a great disappointment to me,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said after the vote on cloture Monday afternoon. “It’s a great disappointment to the more than 300,000 young people in the state of California … I’m just very disappointed.”

Trump says Democrats ‘have come to their senses’ by reopening government. Trump praised congressional Democrats on Monday for accepting a deal that will reopen the government in exchange for the promise of future negotiations on immigration. “I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses and are now willing to fund our great military, border patrol, first responders, and insurance for vulnerable children,” Trump said in a statement read by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders Monday. “As I have always said, once the government is funded, my administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration. We will make a long-term deal on immigration if and only if it is good for the country.”

Steve Scalise to return to House Monday after follow-up surgery. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who left Congress two weeks ago to undergo a follow-up surgery needed in the aftermath of a June assassination attempt, returned to the House Monday. On June 14, he was nearly killed after a gunman opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers practicing for a baseball game on a field in Alexandria, Va. Scalise was in the hospital and in rehabilitation for months before returning to work in the fall.

House Republicans want more concessions on Obamacare bills. Several House Republicans said two bipartisan Obamacare stabilization bills need to include more reforms to win support in the House. The comments came the same day some senators said a deal to end a three-day government shutdown provides a new opportunity to approve the two bills. They also highlight the struggle that has plagued the two bills: While the Senate GOP leadership and President Trump support passage, the House does not. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said more reforms to Obamacare must be added to the bills to get enough support. “So far the only thing I have seen is additional flexibility at the state level. For me it is not enough,” Cole said. Conservatives oppose cost-sharing reductions for insurers, which they call a “bailout.” The payments reimburse insurers for a requirement to lower co-pays and deductibles for low-income Obamacare customers. “The CSRs are still something that most of the guys I am talking with are saying I can’t get there,” said Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., chairman of the 170-member Republican Study Committee.

Trump signs bipartisan caregiving bill into law. Trump signed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2017 into law Monday. The bill convenes a Family Caregiving Advisory Council and establishes and maintains a national family caregiving strategy that would need to be created by HHS. The bill is aimed at the more than 40 million caregivers in the U.S. and was endorsed by more than 60 aging associations. “Family caregivers play an essential role in our communities by dedicating time and attention and making countless personal and financial sacrifices to care for their loved ones,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who introduced the bill with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.  “I am delighted that our bipartisan legislation to develop a coordinated strategic plan to leverage our resources, promote best practices, and expand services and training available to caregivers has been signed into law.”

RUNDOWN

Axios Beyond CHIP: More health care programs in limbo

STAT News Trump’s global gag rule goes far beyond abortion, groups say

CNN Opioid commission member: Our work is a ‘sham’

Washington Post CHIP won in the government shutdown. But community health centers did not

Kaiser Health News Tax bill provision designed to spur paid family leave to lower-wage workers

NPR Part of Oregon’s funding plan for Medicaid goes before voters

Reuters Drug companies told to do more to tackle ‘superbug’ crisis

Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel U.S. nonprofits that deliver human services are in dire financial condition.

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.

10 a.m. SD-342 Dirksen. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on “Combating the Opioid Crisis: Exploiting Vulnerabilities in International Mail.” Details.

2 p.m. Commonwealth Fund Teleconference on association health plans. Details.