Obama Thanks Insurers For Sticking With ACA Marketplace Through ‘Growing Pains’
The president met with top insurance officials and also sent a letter to the companies that will continue offering coverage under the health law.
The Wall Street Journal:
Obama Pledges Redoubled Efforts To Make Health Law Successful
President Barack Obama made a personal bid Monday to shore up his signature health law as it heads into its final test of his administration, urging insurers selling plans on HealthCare.gov to stay the course and pledging redoubled efforts by the government to make the law a success. In a letter released publicly by the White House on Monday, Mr. Obama thanked insurers for participating in the health exchanges the federal government runs on behalf of three dozen states, which the Obama administration calls ‘the Marketplace,’ and acknowledged some of its recent turbulence. (Tau and Radnofsky, 9/12)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
GOP Lawmakers Denounce Fraud In ObamaCare
Republican lawmakers are denouncing the Obama administration after a watchdog report found that the ObamaCare marketplaces remain "vulnerable to fraud." The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office submitted applications from fictitious people for ObamaCare coverage. Those applicants in many cases were approved for coverage, with financial assistance, by the administration. (Sullivan, 9/12)
The New York Times:
Failure To Improve Is Still Being Used, Wrongly, To Deny Medicare Coverage
For months, physical therapists worked with Mrs. Kirby, a retired civil servant who is now 75, trying to help her regain enough mobility to go home. Then her daughter received an email from one of the therapists saying, “Edwina has reached her highest practical level of independence.” Translation: Mrs. Kirby wouldn’t receive Medicare coverage for further physical therapy or for the nursing home. If she wanted to stay and continue therapy, she’d have to pay the tab herself. (Span, 9/12)
The Hill:
McConnell Tees Up Short-Term Funding Bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is turning the Senate toward a short-term spending bill as lawmakers face an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. "I expect to move forward this week on a continuing resolution through Dec. 9 ... that includes funds for Zika control and for our veterans," the Senate Republican leader announced Monday on the Senate floor. McConnell filed cloture on proceeding to a House legislative appropriations bill, which is expected to be the vehicle for the short-term continuing resolution (CR). (Carney, 9/12)
The New York Times:
How The Sugar Industry Shifted Blame To Fat
The sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to play down the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead, newly released historical documents show. The internal sugar industry documents, recently discovered by a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, and published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggest that five decades of research into the role of nutrition and heart disease, including many of today’s dietary recommendations, may have been largely shaped by the sugar industry. (O'Connor, 9/12)