‘Medicare For All’ System Would Mean Americans Have ‘Less Choice And Control,’ Health Industry Group Warns In Ad Campaign
The group behind the ad is the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, whose members include major industry players such as America’s Health Insurance Plans and PhRMA. The video is part of a five-figure ad buy over the next three weeks, as part of a larger six-figure effort that will continue through the year, the group said.
The Hill:
Health Care Industry Group Launches Digital Ads Against 'Medicare For All'
A health care industry group on Thursday launched a digital ad campaign against "Medicare for all," as health care companies ramp up their efforts to fight the idea gaining ground on the left. “Whether it’s called Medicare for all, single-payer or a public option, a one-size-fits-all health care system will mean all Americans have less choice and control over their doctors, treatments and coverage,” states the two-and-a-half minute video, which will run as a digital ad on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Sullivan, 1/24)
In other national health care news —
The Washington Post:
CDC: Nearly 2 Percent Of High School Students Identify As Transgender — And More Than One-Third Of Them Attempt Suicide
Nearly 2 percent of high school students in the United States identify as transgender, according to data published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... Amit Paley, chief executive and executive director of the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, called the report’s findings “groundbreaking.” (Strauss, 1/24)
Nashville Tennessean:
Superintendent Allegedly Used Own Insurance To Help Sick Student
An Indiana school superintendent who allegedly used her own insurance to help a sick student faces multiple charges including insurance fraud. Casey Smitherman — superintendent of Elwood Community Schools in Elwood, Indiana — was booked on charges of insurance fraud, identity deception and official misconduct on Wednesday and later released on bail, according to court records. Smitherman says the charges come after she recently went to the home of a student who had missed school and saw he had symptoms of strep throat. After the student was refused treatment at a clinic, she took him to another one, this time saying he was her son. (Shannon, 1/24)
Stat:
Whistleblower Hits Justice Department Move To Dismiss Nurse Educator Lawsuits
The company that filed nearly a dozen lawsuits alleging drug makers devised schemes in which nurses were used illegally to promote medicines and boost prescriptions has filed blistering responses to a federal government effort to dismiss the cases. In court filings, the National Health Care Analysis Group took the U.S. Department of Justice to task for misunderstanding the issues raised in its whistleblower lawsuits, maintained the government never fully investigated the allegations, and suggested a conflict of interest in the Executive Branch may have influenced the decision to have the cases tossed. (Silverman, 1/24)
Stat:
Lawsuit Involving Gawande Venture Raises A Question: Who Counts As A Threat?
Before last month, David W. Smith was a midlevel executive at the sprawling health services company Optum. He’d never met the company’s CEO, according to a sworn affidavit, or cracked into a senior leadership team that includes about 200 people. He was basically a strategy consultant. But on Dec. 11, he became an existential threat. He took a job working for a nascent competitor, the health venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co and helmed by Dr. Atul Gawande. (Ross and Sheridan, 1/25)