House Dems: Republicans Using Court System To Hurl Health Law Marketplace Into Chaos
The lawmakers filed a brief in federal court in the case being brought by Republicans over reimbursements made by the administration to insurers.
The Hill:
House Dems Push Back Against GOP ObamaCare Lawsuit
House Democrats on Monday accused Republicans of an “end-run around the law” as they pushed back on a GOP lawsuit against ObamaCare. House Democrats filed a brief in federal court defending the Obama administration in a lawsuit, House v. Burwell, brought by House Republicans. The GOP argues that certain ObamaCare payments are being made unconstitutionally because Congress has not appropriated the money. (Sullivan, 10/31)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Is High-Deductible Health Insurance Worth The Risk?
As companies push workers to pay more for their medical care, millions of employees are facing a tough decision, choosing between high premiums and high deductibles. The choice is this: Pay more every month for peace of mind later, or pay less and run the risk of having higher out-of-pocket costs down the line. (Abelson, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Also-Ran To EpiPen Reaches For A Closing Window Of Opportunity
As the list price of a pair of EpiPen devices soared to more than $600 this summer, people scurried to find alternatives, occasionally throwing caution to the wind. Some bought cheap syringes filled with epinephrine, the medication in EpiPens; others made homemade auto-injectors, following the steps in a popular YouTube video. Few people, though, have turned to the one true alternative — known by the brand name Adrenaclick. (Thomas, 11/1)
Bloomberg:
Valeant Ex-CEO, Ex-CFO Are A Focus Of U.S. Criminal Probe
U.S. prosecutors are focusing on Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s former CEO and CFO as they build a fraud case against the company that could yield charges within weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Authorities are looking into potential accounting fraud charges related to the company’s hidden ties to Philidor Rx Services LLC, a specialty pharmacy company that Valeant secretly controlled, the people said. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York have been investigating the company for at least a year. (Berthelsen, Farrell, Weinberg and Koons, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Colombia Is Hit Hard By Zika, But Not By Microcephaly
This tropical city on the Caribbean coast may hold the answer to one of the deeper mysteries of the Zika epidemic: Why has the world’s second-largest outbreak, after Brazil’s, produced so few birth defects? In Brazil, more than 2,000 babies have been born with microcephaly, abnormally small heads and brain damage caused by the Zika virus. In Colombia, officials had predicted there might be as many as 700 such babies by the end of this year. There have been merely 47. (McNeil and Symmes Cobb, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Americans Blame Obesity On Willpower, Despite Evidence It’s Genetic
Americans believe that obesity is the biggest health threat in the nation today — bigger even than cancer. But though scientific research shows that diet and exercise are insufficient solutions, a large majority say fat people should be able to summon the willpower to lose weight on their own. (Kolata, 11/1)