Scales Of Federal Power Could Be Tipped By Wonky Insurance Subsidies Battle
The fight between Democrats and Republicans over Affordable Care Act spending goes beyond health care.
The New York Times:
How An Arcane Spending Fight Could Alter The Federal Balance Of Power
The fight between House Republicans and the Obama administration over billions of dollars in disputed health care spending sounds arcane, but it could have major — some might say huge — consequences for our constitutional democracy. Consider it in this context: How would lawmakers react if a willful new chief executive, unable to win money from Congress for a wall on the Mexican border, simply shifted $7 billion from another account and built it anyway? How about if a future president were so determined to cut college costs that she bypassed Congress and funneled billions of dollars into a new tuition grant program without approval? (Huse, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Dr. Paid Less: An Old Title Still Fits Female Physicians
Female physicians at some of the nation’s most prominent public medical schools earn nearly $20,000 less a year on average than their male colleagues, according to an analysis published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Before adjusting for factors that could influence income, the researchers found that the absolute difference between the genders was more than $51,000 a year. (Saint Louis, 7/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Giving Patients Some Choice May Boost Drugs’ Effectiveness
Allowing patients to choose among different medications that do the same thing may increase the effectiveness of the selected drug and reduce possible side effects, according to a study in Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Participants who got to pick between two different formulations of a medication reported significantly fewer side effects after 24 hours compared with those not allowed to choose, the study found. The subjects weren’t aware that the drugs were harmless placebos. (Lukits, 7/11)
USA Today:
Pharma Trade Group Helps Fund Patient Fight Against Medicare Project
Groups that advocate for patients' and doctors' interests are working in near lockstep with the big pharmaceutical companies that fund the groups to fight a proposed Medicare rule that could affect the companies' bottom lines, documents and interviews show. At stake is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal to test the effect of cutting what doctors get from Medicare for administering high-priced infusion drugs. (O'Donnell and Crescente, 7/11)
The Hill:
Reid, McConnell Spar Over Zika Funding
The Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders battled Monday over funding to fight the Zika virus, a clear sign that lawmakers have yet to break a stalemate days ahead of a seven-week recess. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to bring up the Senate's original deal — spearheaded by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) — that would provide $1.1 billion in funding. (Carney, 7/11)