Breaking News in Healthcare Reform
“While the cap is an important stopgap measure, other reforms to improve the affordability of insulin are urgently needed.”
The Winners and Losers of the Proposed Insulin Cost Cap
MedPage Today | Kao-Ping Chua, MD, PhD; Rena M. Conti, PhD | April 8, 2022
“Failure is not an option here.” —HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
Becerra to Congress: ‘Failure Not an Option’ on COVID-19 Relief as Lawmakers Leave for 2 Weeks
Fierce Healthcare | Robert King | April 8, 2022
“…a case study in what can go wrong when government outsources core functions to the private sector.”
California Handed Its Medicaid Drug Program to One Company. Then Came a Corporate Takeover.
California Healthline | Samantha Young | April 7, 2022
“If you had to single out one thing that is really the most complex and difficult … it’s the good-faith estimate….”
Surprise Billing Compliance ‘Very Daunting,’ Regulatory Experts Say
Healthcare Dive | Samantha Liss | April 7, 2022
“Finger pointing by various industry players obfuscates who wins in this scenario, but the losers are definitely patients who rely on the blood thinners.”
Medicare Blockbusters’ List Prices More Than Doubled Since Launch
Axios | Caitlin Owens | April 6, 2022
“But despite all of its achievements, the [Affordable Care Act] to this day remains vastly insufficient for American consumers. Roughly 28 million Americans are uninsured. … American medical debt stands at about $195 billion….”
As Obama Returns to White House to Celebrate Affordable Care Act, Former Advisor Outraged by Costs
Salon | Jon Skolnik | April 5, 2022
“…Becerra recently told Congress that the agency received 2 million claims for uninsured COVID-19 testing and treatment in the eight days prior to the coverage deadline. The agency was expecting a similar flood leading up to today’s deadline, he said, underscoring the need for additional relief funding.”
HRSA Says It Will Reopen Pandemic Relief Reporting to Providers With ‘Specific Extenuating Circumstances’
Fierce Healthcare | Dave Muoio | April 5, 2022
“CMS is not making any change to the risk adjustment calculation, which is meant to compensate plans for treating sicker patients. That’s despite calls for an overhaul in the wake of allegations of abuse of the system.”
Medicare Advantage Plans Will See 8.5% Revenue Bump in 2023
Healthcare Dive | Shannon Muchmore | April 5, 2022
“Given the push in California for such a program in a system of ‘unified financing,’ the plans are attempting to address the fragmented, wasteful and inefficient model they’ve created to forestall reform and the inevitable reckoning over their failures.” —Michael Lighty
California Setting Up Statewide Medical Data-Exchange Grid
Capitol Weekly | Seth Sandronsky | April 4, 2022
“The finding of this report reveals neglect and sometimes intentional decisions to not focus on the poor.”
Poor People Died from COVID at Twice the Rate of Wealthy Americans, Study Finds
USA Today | Deborah Barfield Berry | April 5, 2022
“While this emergency injection of additional funding is absolutely necessary, it is well short of what is truly needed to keep us safe.”
Senate Strikes $10B Covid Deal
Politico | Burgess Everett, Erin Banco, Sarah Ferris | April 4, 2022
“…75 drugs represented $93.2 billion in total Medicare Part D spending in 2020. That is almost half of the $198.7 billion that Medicare Part D spent on all prescription drugs the same year.”
Medicare Spends the Most on These 10 Prescription Drugs — How It Affects You
AOL | David Nadelle | April 3, 2022
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