For Many It’s ‘Beyond Belief’ That Funding For Wildly Popular CHIP Program Is In Limbo
“It crushes me to think we’re in an environment where kids’ health is up for debate," said Dr. Todd Wolynn, a pediatrician in Pittsburgh. Although the program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the past, Congress has been dawdling on renewing funding for the program.
The New York Times:
The CHIP Program Is Beloved. Why Is Its Funding In Danger?
Laquita Gardner, a sales manager at a furniture rental store here, was happy to get a raise recently except for one problem. It lifted her income just enough to disqualify her and her two young sons from Medicaid, the free health insurance program for the poor. She was relieved to find another option was available for the boys: the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, that covers nearly nine million children whose parents earn too much for Medicaid, but not enough to afford other coverage. (Goodnough and Pear, 12/5)
In other national health care news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Support Wavers For Senate Bill To Shore Up Health-Insurance Markets
Republicans appear to be on the brink of striking down the Affordable Care Act’s health-insurance requirement, an ardently sought goal of the law’s opponents. But the fate of a bipartisan bill that centrist Republicans hoped would offset some of the fallout remains uncertain. Some key GOP centrists supported a Senate tax overhaul that repeals the requirement that most people have health insurance, a move experts say will likely drive up premiums, on the condition that it be swiftly accompanied by a bipartisan measure that aims to lower premiums. (Armour and Peterson, 12/5)
The Hill:
Ryan's Office Warning He Wasn't Part Of Deal On ObamaCare: Source
Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) office told a meeting of congressional leadership offices on Monday that the Speaker is not part of a deal to get ObamaCare fixes passed before the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made a commitment to Sen Susan Collins (R-Maine) that he would support passage of two bipartisan ObamaCare bills before the end of the year, a promise that helped win her vote for tax reform. (Sullivan, 12/5)
Los Angeles Times:
FDA's Program To Speed Up Drug Approval Shaved Nearly A Year Off The Process
Speeding the pace at which potentially lifesaving drugs are brought to market was a rallying cry for Donald Trump as a candidate, and is a stated priority of his Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb. But a new study finds that programs already in place were routinely shortening the drug development process by close to a year, and sometimes much more. (Healy, 12/5)
Stat:
Temporary Doctors Are No Worse For Patients' Health, Study Finds
Doctors who are employed under short-term contracts — called locum tenens (Latin for “to hold a place”) — provided a similar level of care as staff doctors, a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found. Researchers came to that conclusion after analyzing 1.8 million Medicare patients hospitalized between 2009 and 2014 who were treated by general internists. No significant difference in 30-day mortality rates was seen between patients treated by temp physicians compared to those treated by staff physicians. That finding could help dispel the stigma that temp doctors have long faced, researchers said. (Blau, 12/5)