The 2018 midterm elections had been imagined to be a referendum on President Donald Trump, not about points resembling well being care. Still, voters, Democrats and, to a lesser extent, Republicans appear to be protecting well being care on the entrance burner.
The information from Medicare’s trustees that its hospital belief fund is on shakier monetary footing than it was final yr, hefty premium will increase being proposed in a number of states and exercise on Medicaid enlargement all tackle a political tinge because the essential elections draw nearer.
Also this week, an interview with Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the medical insurance business commerce group.
This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call.
Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:
Outside Washington, issues about well being care accessibility and costs stay a giant difficulty. Democrats, trying towards the midterm elections within the fall, assume that well being care is usually a potent difficulty for them. But many additionally imagine that they’ll’t simply run on complaints that the Republicans are sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. They are searching for to discover a message that appears to the longer term. Republicans see the plans by the White House to implement new rules that enable enlargement of affiliation well being plans and short-term well being plans as a robust motion that can thwart complaints that they haven’t mounted the ACA. The states are starting to launch the preliminary requests from well being insurers for premium will increase. They range considerably, however many seem like partly attributed to the choice final yr by Congress to repeal the penalty for individuals who don’t get insurance coverage. The report this week by the Medicare trustees that the hospital belief fund is nearer to insolvency has ignited Democratic criticism of adjustments in well being care legislation that had been a part of the GOP tax lower final yr. Arkansas has begun implementing its work necessities for wholesome adults coated by the Medicaid enlargement. It’s the primary state to do this. But critics level out that these adults must register their work hours on-line solely — and plenty of don’t have entry to computer systems.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favourite well being tales of the week they assume it’s best to learn, too.
Julie Rovner: Mother Jones’ “’Behave More Sexually:’ How Big Pharma Used Strippers, Guns, And Cash To Push Opioids,” by Julia Lurie
Alice Ollstein: Politico’s “Trump Seeks to Reorganize the Federal Government,” by Helena Bottemiller Evich and Andrew Restuccia
Rebecca Adams: ProPublica’s “Hundreds of Illinois Children Languish in Psychiatric Hospitals After They’re Cleared for Release,” by Duaa Eldeib
Stephanie Armour: Kaiser Health News’ “Outsiders Swoop In Vowing To Rescue Rural Hospitals Short On Hope – And Money,” by Barbara Feder Ostrov
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