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HEALTHCARE.GOV OPEN FOR BUSINESS: The Trump administration is overseeing its third Obamacare open enrollment from start to finish, with several indications that the marketplaces are stable.
And while health officials have been eager to take credit for some premiums going down and more insurers entering the market, they also have not hidden their antagonism for the law.
“While we believe the Affordable Care Act is fundamentally flawed, we’re committed to running it as well as we can while it is the law and to helping states strengthen their insurance markets and take advantage of the flexibilities available to them under the law,” tweeted Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
Looming behind open enrollment, as well, is the court case that threatens to throw out all of Obamacare. That won’t have any immediate effect on consumers, but could confuse many.
For now, though, the law will continue chugging along, with open enrollment lasting for six weeks. The biggest change people will notice when they head to the healthcare.gov site is that plans are now getting star ratings to help shoppers compare quality.
While prices will vary significantly depending on where people live, their age, and other circumstances, Kelley Schultz, executive director of Commercial Policy at America’s Health Insurance Plans, said that in general, if you take the different metal tiers together, the prices are about flat as far as premiums are concerned.
“I don’t think we are going to see any major swing in coverage,” she said.
Just like every year, though, AHIP is encouraging people to shop around just in case they had any changes in income. Plus, an analysis of federal marketplace plans by eHealth found that people are likely to face higher out-of-pocket costs this year, so checking deductibles will be key.
“Even if you received a notice from your insurer saying that your premium is going down, you need to compare options and make sure you have the protection from out-of-pocket costs should you or a family member fall ill,” said eHealth CEO Scott Flanders.
The advertising and navigator budgets are the same as last year ($10 million each, 90% less than the Obama administration), but the price tag for some may help plans sell themselves. Some people will be able to get plans with premiums of $0 a month. And, there’s no longer the instability the law faced in the early years with changing deadlines, a glitchy website, and insurers who were still figuring out what kinds of people they could expect to enroll in plans.
“We are at a place where we have withstood a few blows to the program and still trying to retain a steady commitment to the marketplace,” Schultz said.
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.
LET US KNOW HOW OPEN ENROLLMENT IS GOING: Send your experiences about using healthcare.gov or a state exchange to [email protected] or [email protected].
WARREN CAMPAIGN THINKS ‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ WILL COST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY $20 TRILLION MORE: On Friday morning, Elizabeth Warren’s campaign detailed how it would raise $20 trillion over 10 years to pay for “Medicare for all,” but the estimate falls far shorter than the $34 trillion recently estimated by the Urban Institute.
The plan would raise $20 trillion in taxes on employers, financial firms, giant corporations, and the top 1% of earners, including raising $2.3 trillion by cracking down on tax evasion. Warren says she can get there through savings over time with lower administrative costs, paying providers less, and by redirecting health care spending from state governments, even though other estimates that take these changes into account disagree with that conclusion.
‘MEDICARE FOR ALL’ WILL COST INSURANCE INDUSTRY JOBS, WARREN ACKNOWLEDGES: Warren acknowledged Wednesday the insurance industry will lose jobs — about 2 million, according to one outside estimate from University of Massachusetts economist Robert Pollin.
“I think this is part of the cost issue and should be part of a cost plan,” Warren said on New Hampshire Public Radio.
INDIANA PUTS WORK REQUIREMENT ON HOLD: State officials announced that they are waiting on litigation before moving ahead. A federal judge halted similar requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky this year, but the Trump administration appears ready to continue approving applications from states who want to add requirements to beneficiaries as a condition of remaining covered.
GEORGIA UNVEILS HEALTHCARE OVERHAUL: Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, wants to use Obamacare subsidies to fund plans that fall outside of Obamacare’s current mandates, but insists they must still cover pre-existing conditions. The plan would also remove the state from healthcare.gov, instead allowing people to get coverage with the help of brokers, and add $300 million in reinsurance. (Read more details in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)
The state would avail itself of 1332 guidance that the Trump administration put out, the same guidance that Senate Democrats failed to repeal in the Senate this week.
FDA NOM LIKELY COMING TODAY: Numerous news outlets are reporting that President Trump will nominate Stephen Hahn, chief medical executive of the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE APPROVES EIGHT HEALTHCARE REFORM BILLS: The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved eight healthcare bills on issues including improving prevention of tick-caused illnesses like Lyme disease, reducing infant mortality rates, ensuring nurses have the training they need to treat more people, and regulating ways that over-the-counter drugs are introduced to the market.
DEMOCRATS PUSH FOR NAVIGATOR PROGRAM FUNDING: Democratic Senators, including Tammy Baldwin, Patty Murray, and Ron Wyden, announced Thursday they will continue pushing for Baldwin’s ENROLL Act to restore navigator funding as open enrollment for marketplace plans begins today. The GOP has long criticized the program over concerns about wasteful spending on what they say is an ineffective program.
VERMA SAYS THE DAYS OF BUREAUCRATIC BARRIERS TO KIDNEY CARE ‘ARE WANING’: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday new measures to improve access to kidney care for patients in late-stage renal failure, parts of Trump’s executive orders meant to encourage new medical innovations to treat patients and make a dent in the number of people waiting for kidneys — about 90,000. New measures include adjusting Medicare payments to researchers to encourage the development of new renal disease treatments as well as for those developing medical equipment for patients including prosthetics and orthotics.
Trump signed an executive order to improve access to kidney transplants as well as innovative new treatments in July, but, at the time, did not specify how research for these innovations would be funded. Several researchers and nephrologists said they were optimistic about the changes on the horizon, but unsure as to when that funding would be provided.
CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK SAYS MEDICAID SPENDING IS THE PAC-MAN EATING OTHER PROGRAMS’ FUNDING: The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think tank that has boosted Medicaid work requirements, said taxpayers are footing a large part of the bill for Medicaid programs in states, which deprives other programs of funding, including education and transportation. The FGA said 32 states now spend more than 25% of their budgets on Medicaid, and total spending on the program is now 50% higher than funding for education. They call this the “Medicaid Pac-Man.”
SOUTH BEND REPUBLICAN INTRODUCES FETAL BURIAL BILL AFTER DISCOVERY OF HOARDED FETAL REMAINS: Indiana Republican Jackie Walorski introduced a bil to require burial or cremation of fetal tissue in response to the discovery of over 2,000 fetal remains in the late abortion doctor Ulrich Klopfer’s home. The Dignity for Aborted Children Act would require staff at abortion clinics to give a woman who has undergone the procedure a consent form asking if she would like to bury the fetal remains herself or leave them with the clinic to be lawfully disposed. If abortion center staff do not dispose of the remains within seven days of performing the abortion, they could face up to five years in prison.
VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURIES AND DEATHS TICK UP: Lung injuries linked to vaping have risen to 1,888 as of Tuesday, and 37 people have died in 24 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
TOBACCO USE SKYROCKETED IN PG-13 MOVIES IN EIGHT YEARS: The number of PG-13 movies showing tobacco use increased 120% from 2010 to 2018, according to a CDC report. Smoking decreased in fictional movies in that period, but the use depicted in biographical dramas increased 233%.
The Rundown
The New York Times Medicare can be confusing: 6 of your top questions, answered
The Washington Post Measles makes your body forget how to fight other diseases
The Wall Street Journal Altria cuts value of Juul stake by $4.5 billion
California Healthline If power outages are California’s new normal, what about home medical needs?
Kaiser Health News Meth trip or mental illness? Police who need to know often can’t tell
Calendar
FRIDAY | Nov. 1
9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 120 F Street NW. Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy symposium on “Fulfilling Olmstead: Community Living for People with Disabilities.” Agenda.
House in recess.
Nov. 1-Dec. 15. Open enrollment begins for Healthcare.gov.
MONDAY | Nov. 4
Nov. 4-5. Capital Hilton. Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Annual Conference. Details.
THURSDAY | Nov. 7
Nov. 7-8. Renaissance Washington. World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress. Brochure.
