Three of the highest officers of the Department of Health and Human Services — Secretary Alex Azar, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma — had been out in drive this week. All made main public appearances in an effort to reset the division’s agenda. In the wake of the failed congressional effort to “repeal and replace” the federal Affordable Care Act, the administration officers mentioned they plan to concentrate on reducing the prices of well being care and giving states and shoppers extra energy.
On Capitol Hill, Congress is nearing the subsequent deadline to complete laws aimed toward protecting the federal government operating. But disputes stay over funding for well being applications and over separate laws that might be added to the “must-pass bill” aimed toward stabilizing the person insurance coverage market.
This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico.
Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
As Congress seems to be at a federal reinsurance program to assist stabilize the person insurance coverage market, there’s an fascinating irony: The effort would require new funding that Republicans are hesitant to decide to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, however on the identical time this system can be very similar to the high-risk swimming pools that the GOP has been touting. It’s not but clear if the latest spherical of high-level public outreach from HHS signifies a change within the administration’s well being insurance policies, however the technique may be very completely different than that underneath former chief Tom Price. The newest big-name consolidation in well being care — Cigna’s announcement that it’s shopping for Express Scripts — additionally means that insurers need to scale back prices by eliminating the drug business middlemen. Arkansas acquired approval this week to implement work necessities for some individuals receiving Medicaid advantages. It’s the most recent signal that it is a coverage precedence for the administration. Email Sign-Up
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Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists advocate their favourite well being tales of the week they assume you must learn, too.
Julie Rovner: NPR’s “Miracle Of Hemophilia Drugs Comes At A Steep Price,” by Jenny Gold of Kaiser Health News.
Joanne Kenen: The New York Times’ “A ‘Bright Light,’ Dimmed in the Shadows of Homelessness,” by Benjamin Weiser.
Margot Sanger-Katz: Vox.com’s “America’s Opioid Crisis Has Become an ‘Epidemic of Epidemics,’” by Ella Nilsen.
Anna Edney: The New York Times’ “The Price They Pay,” by Katie Thomas and Charles Ornstein.
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Related Topics Cost and Quality Medicaid Multimedia Pharmaceuticals The Health Law Drug Costs HHS Podcast Prescription Drugs Trump Administration U.S. Congress