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Schumer signals that healthcare will be central to Democrats’ midterm strategy. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the August work period to expand Obamacare. “Democrats believe that healthcare coverage needs to be universal and more affordable,” Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to McConnell, R-Ky. “Premiums, deductibles, and the cost of care are still too high for many. To that end, I urge you to dedicate the new three-week August work period to considering legislation that would lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs.“ McConnell announced Tuesday that most of the August recess would be scrapped. He said the Senate will remain in session to clear a backlog of Trump administration nominees and legislation to fund the federal government. Schumer wants the GOP to instead agree to consider a list of bills authored by Democrats that would broaden Obamacare. Democrats want the GOP to consider legislation that would create a drug czar who would focus on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, a bill to expand Medicare so people younger than 65 could enroll, and a measure to give states incentives to expand Medicaid. Democrats also want to vote on a bill to provide federal subsidies to insurance companies, which they said would lower insurance premiums. With Republicans in control of the Senate, the proposals are obviously dead even before arrival. But the move signals that Schumer plans on making healthcare a central part of Democrats’ efforts to retake the Senate, because after all, he could have chosen any other issue to message on during August. This is a major shift. In the four election cycles after Obamacare’s passage in 2010, Democrats were always playing defense on the healthcare issue. With Republicans in control of government, having failed to deliver on promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, Democrats increasingly feel that they can go on the offense, blaming higher premiums on Republican sabotage and proposing a broader expansion of the government’s role in healthcare.

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Medicare to become insolvent in 2026, Social Security in 2034. Medicare’s trust fund will run out in 2026 and the combined trust funds of Social Security will run out in 2034, the trustees for the government programs projected Tuesday. The projected exhaustion of Social Security’s trust fund is unchanged from last year. For Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund, the date has been moved up three years. The trustees, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, called on Congress to address the shortfalls “in a timely way in order to phase in necessary changes gradually and give workers and beneficiaries time to adjust to them.” The revised dates of Medicare’s trust fund exhaustion raises the prospect of a major fiscal showdown facing Congress. There was some good news, though. Fewer people are applying for and receiving disability insurance through Social Security as the economy improves, helping to shore up the disability trust fund.

Republicans, Democrats wage blame game on Obamacare prices. Arguments over who is to blame for double-digit price increases in Obamacare are heating up between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have seized on the rate increases as evidence that the Trump administration and Republicans are trying to “sabotage” Obamacare. Republicans, meanwhile, say they tried to pass a law that was initially bipartisan and would have lowered premiums, but were blocked by Democrats. Sen. Patty Murray, who is the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, drew attention to proposed premium increases in Washington state, which she represents, of 19 percent, and blamed Republicans for blocking the bipartisan bill. “We could have passed it and sent it to President Trump’s desk if only Republican leaders hadn’t blocked our efforts at every turn — and we still should,” she said. In a meeting with reporters Tuesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., suggested that Democrats blocked the bill from becoming law so they could use it as a political chip ahead of the election. “It seems Senate Democrats put partisan politics ahead of lowering premiums for families,” Cassidy said in a statement issued later. “I’d love to see a bipartisan solution to lower healthcare costs, but let’s be clear: just a few months ago, Ranking Member Murray killed a bipartisan bill called ‘Alexander-Murray’ that would have lowered premiums by 40 percent. That’s right — she opposed her own bill.”

Senate panel to consider long-stalled drug pricing bill. More less-expensive, generic drugs would hit the market under a bipartisan bill being considered by a Senate panel Thursday. The bill, known as the Creates Act, has been stalled for months as it faced opposition by the pharmaceutical industry. The bill has been placed on the Judiciary Committee calendar for Thursday, which would set it up for a vote next week. The bill goes after a practice by brand-name drugmakers to block generic companies from making cheaper copies. To make cheaper medicines, generic drugmakers need thousands of copies of the brand-name product to run tests against their own version to gain FDA approval. Certain brand-name drugmakers, however, deny the request for the samples, pointing to safety programs that are designed to protect consumers. The bill would make it easier for manufacturers of generics to sue in those cases. Critics have said that the bill would mostly help lawyers, not consumers.

Fewer patients die, get sick in hospitals from medical mistakes. More than 8,000 people were saved from 2014 to 2016 as a result of fewer mistakes made in hospitals, the Department of Health and Human Services reported Tuesday. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that the drop in those mistakes, which include infections spread in hospitals, falls, and improper medications, reduced costs for hospitals by $2.9 billion. It estimates that the mistakes, known as “hospital-acquired conditions,” fell by 350,000, a reduction of 8 percent from 2014 to 2016. The one area that showed an increase was pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores, which form when patients stay in one place for too long.

Pennsylvania announces stable Obamacare prices, bucking trends. Pennsylvania officials announced that premiums for Obamacare plans will increase by a modest 4.9 percent on average in 2019, bucking double-digit increases that have been reported in other states. They credited the tempered increases to how they allowed insurers to raise rates only on certain plans after Trump ended payments known as cost-sharing reduction subsidies. They also credited an outreach effort by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, after the Trump administration reduced its own funding in that area. Because of how the state structured its plans, many customers ended up paying less — or even nothing — for coverage, which the state advertised heavily to consumers. Most states implemented similar methods for their plan structures. Other states, however, have announced that preliminary rates are in the double digits, including Washington state, Maryland, Virginia, and New York.

Congo tests Ebola treatment as death toll rises. Five experimental treatments for Ebola will be made available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the country faces a growing outbreak from the virus and a rising death toll. Until now, treatment for the virus involved keeping patients hydrated with IV fluids and lowering blood pressure with oxygen. The illness is deadly when left untreated, causing vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and bleeding. Patients need to consent to using the experimental drugs, which include Zmapp, a serum that was used to treat U.S. patients who had been working as missionaries during the 2015 outbreak in West Africa. The latest report from the World Health Organization shows that an estimated 25 people have died from the virus and 56 more are suspected to be infected.

Trump scraps plan to cut Ebola funds. The Trump administration has withdrawn a request to rescind funding dedicated to fighting Ebola. Trump had asked Congress to withdraw $252 million in Ebola response funds as part of a larger package that would rescind $15 billion in government funds that haven’t been spent. A vote on that package hasn’t been scheduled in the House yet. The Ebola funds had been set aside during the West Africa outbreak in 2015 that killed more than 11,300 people. Healthcare workers there are trying an experimental vaccine in Congo to try to cut off the spread of the illness, and the U.S. is contributing $8 million toward the fight.

More than 100 lawmakers urge Mattis to drop transgender policy. A group of more than 100 House lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis asking him to abandon a proposed policy that would ban many transgender people from serving in the military, according to a report. The letter organized by Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-R.I., questioned Mattis’ conclusion that potential medical issues should exclude people diagnosed with gender dysphoria and charged the Pentagon with cherry-picking research data to back its decision, USA Today reported. “There is a deep chasm between established medical research and the underlying analysis your department used to justify this policy, and we call on you to reverse your recommendations,” Kennedy wrote in the letter. Kennedy’s Capitol Hill office did not respond to a request for the letter and comment.

Athenahealth co-founder exits as activist fund Elliott Management presses $7 billion offer. Athenahealth Inc.’s co-founder is stepping down as chief executive officer as the company’s board considers a takeover bid from activist investor Paul Singer. Singer’s firm, Elliott Management, is urging Athenahealth’s board to approve its estimated $7 billion offer after the firm rejected previous claims that shareholders wanted a deal. “The board has authorized a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger or continuing as an independent company under new leadership,” said newly appointed executive chairman Jeff Immelt, the former General Electric CEO. Athenahealth co-founder Jonathan Bush is vacating both the role of CEO as well as his seat on the Athenahealth board, effective immediately. Immelt and Chief Financial Officer Marc Levine will run day-to-day operations.

Ivanka Trump mourns Kate Spade, urges people struggling with mental health to seek help. Ivanka Trump mourned Kate Spade on Tuesday after the renowned fashion designer was found dead of apparent suicide in her New York City apartment. Spade’s death came as a shock to many, and Trump urged people struggling with mental health to seek help. Trump included information to a suicide hotline in her tweet. “Kate Spade’s tragic passing is a painful reminder that we never truly know another’s pain or the burden they carry. If you are struggling with depression and contemplating suicide, please, please seek help,” Trump wrote.

RUNDOWN

Washington Post Trump to sign veterans health bill as White House works against plan to fund it

CQ Roll Call Congress’ focus on opioids misses larger crisis

Propublica Hundreds of Illinois children languish in psychiatric hospitals after they’re cleared for release

Politico Schumer to McConnell: Let’s spend August on healthcare

Modern Healthcare Insurers downplay mandate repeal’s effect, but still raise premiums

CNN San Francisco bans sale of flavored tobacco products

The Federalist 24 ways Senate Republicans’ Obamacare retread adds federal control