Dwindling Choices In Health Law Marketplace May Be Trickier Issue Than Spiking Premiums
Subsidies provide a safety net for most customers, but there's not backup plan for insurers completely pulling out of the marketplace. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama paints a sunny picture of his signature law in the face of negative news about the premiums.
The Associated Press:
Lack Of Choice In Health Insurance Markets A Growing Problem
Americans in the health insurance markets created by President Barack Obama's law will have less choice next year than any time since the program started, a new county-level analysis for The Associated Press has found. The analysis by AP and consulting firm Avalere Health found that about one-third of U.S. counties will have only one health marketplace insurer next year. That's more than 1,000 counties in 26 states — roughly double the number of counties in 2014, the first year of coverage through the program. (10/28)
The Hill:
Obama: Most Will Be ‘Pleasantly Surprised’ By Health Plan Costs
President Obama said Thursday that most people will be “pleasantly surprised” by the cost of their health insurance plans this year despite the deluge of negative headlines about rising premiums. In a national call with healthcare groups and activists, the president painted a sunny outlook of ObamaCare as he sought to combat the tide of negative attention on his healthcare law this week. “The bottom line is most people are going to be pleasantly surprised by just how affordable their options are, if we can just get them to see for themselves,” Obama said, adding the vast majority of people would find plans that cost less than $75 per month with the help of tax credits. (Ferris, 10/27)
Bloomberg:
Democrats Face Difficult Obamacare Fight In 2017, Even If Clinton Wins
After news broke Monday that premiums for the Affordable Care Act will rise an average of 22 percent next year, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spent the week defending the healthcare law, saying its problems are fixable. She called for lowering the Medicare buy-in age and again advocated for a so called public option — a government-run competitor to private insurers. While polls show her leading Republican Donald Trump with just 10 days to go before the election, a Clinton administration likely would find itself caught between liberal lawmakers wedded to the politically unviable public option and Republicans who want to scrap the law entirely. (John, 10/28)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
Senators Unveil Bipartisan Medicare Reforms
A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday released a draft of legislation aimed at making Medicare more efficient and saving money in the long run. The proposal is the product of months of work by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), as well as Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). The bill, referred to as the Chronic Care Act, would expand or create a range of Medicare programs to make treatment of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes more coordinated and cost-efficient. (Sullivan, 10/27)
Reuters:
EpiPen Price Hikes Add Millions To Pentagon Costs
Mylan NV's price hikes on EpiPens have added millions to U.S. Department of Defense spending since 2008 as the agency covered more prescriptions for the lifesaving allergy shot at near retail prices, government data provided to Reuters shows. Pentagon spending rose to $57 million over the past year from $9 million in 2008 - an increase driven both by volume and by price hikes that had a bigger bite on prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies, according to the previously unreported data. (10/28)
Reuters:
Mylan EpiPen: One Piece Of A Complicated U.S. Pricing System
The complex U.S. system for drug pricing creates wide variation in what people pay for the same prescription medications, such as Mylan NV's EpiPen. A Reuters review of government data found that Mylan's price hikes on the lifesaving allergy shot have increased spending for the U.S. Defense Department, based on its arrangements for covering drug costs. Here's how drug pricing works for different constituencies. (10/28)
The Washington Post:
She Didn’t Think A Flu Shot Was Necessary — Until Her Daughter Died
Piper Lowery had a fever that soared to 105 degrees. It hurt for her to walk, and she was breathing heavily, her mother said. She was also bleeding from her nose and vomiting blood. On Jan. 16, just four days after she got sick, Piper collapsed in the parking lot of a children's hospital in Tacoma, Wash. By then, the H1N1 flu had already attacked her kidneys.Piper died shortly before 12:30 p.m. that day. She was 12 years old. (Guerra, 10/27)