Turning Campaign Rhetoric Into Reality: Dems Ran On Health Care, But Do They Really Have Power To Protect ACA?
Republicans still maintain control of the Senate and the White House, so Democrats' election-season promises to shore up the health law may not be quite as easy to fulfill as promised. Meanwhile, sign-ups on the exchanges continues to drag from last year's numbers, but the CMS numbers don't include enrollment in states that operate their own exchanges, nor do they include those who will be automatically enrolled in plans during the last week of open enrollment.
Politico:
Can House Democrats Really Protect Obamacare?
House Democrats who swept back into power on the promise to protect people with pre-existing conditions face tough legal and political choices as they try to make good on that vow. Those promises galvanized millions of voters. But now, like the Republicans previously elected on promises to repeal and replace Obamacare, they face the formidable challenge of turning campaign rhetoric into reality. (Ollstein and Cancryn, 11/24)
Modern Healthcare:
HealthCare.Gov ACA Enrollment Lower By 400,000
A little more than 1.9 million people signed up for health insurance in the first three weeks of the Affordable Care Act open enrollment for 2019 coverage. That compares with almost 2.3 million during the first three weeks of open enrollment last year, which included an additional day. Americans are signing up for coverage through the federal marketplace at a slower rate this year, but the CMS numbers don't include enrollment in states that operate their own exchanges. It also does not include those who will be automatically enrolled in plans during the last week of open enrollment, which ends Dec. 15 in most states. (Livingston, 11/21)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Invites Health Care Industry To Help Rewrite Ban On Kickbacks
The Trump administration has labored zealously to cut federal regulations, but its latest move has still astonished some experts on health care: It has asked for recommendations to relax rules that prohibit kickbacks and other payments intended to influence care for people on Medicare or Medicaid. The goal is to open pathways for doctors and hospitals to work together to improve care and save money. The challenge will be to accomplish that without also increasing the risk of fraud. (Pear, 11/24)
The Hill:
Five Controversial Health Actions On Trump's Agenda
The Trump administration is expected to push ahead with a range of controversial health policies next year despite Democrats retaking the House. Democrats captured the House majority in part on their health-care message. But despite that there are a slew of actions where the administration is moving ahead on its own agenda. (Weixel, 11/24)
The Associated Press:
Fights, Escapes, Harm: Migrant Kids Struggle In Facilities
In one government facility for immigrant youth, a 20-year-old woman who had lied that she was 17 sneaked a needle out of a sewing class and used it to cut herself. In another, cameras captured a boy repeatedly kicking a child in the head after they got into an argument on the soccer field. One 6-year-old tried to run away from the same facility after another boy threw his shoes into the toilet. Three employees had to pull the boy off a fence and carry him back into a building. (11/24)
Stat:
Senators Press Insurers For Reams Of Pricing And Rebate Info On Insulin
As tensions persist over the cost of insulin, two U.S. senators want three of the nation’s largest health insurers to provide a raft of data about pricing, rebates, and plan coverage. In each case, Aetna (AET), Anthem (ANTM), and UnitedHealthcare (UNH) are being asked to fork over information about the effect that rebates have on their insulin spending, how rebates from drug makers may reduce expenses for beneficiaries, and the relationship between insulin pricing and what patients pay at pharmacies, among other things. (Silverman, 11/21)
The New York Times:
Federal Ban On Female Genital Mutilation Ruled Unconstitutional By Judge
More than two decades ago, Congress adopted a sweeping law that outlawed female genital mutilation, an ancient practice that 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone. But a federal court considering the first legal challenge to the statute found the law unconstitutional on Tuesday, greatly diminishing the chances of it being used by federal prosecutors around the country. A federal judge in Michigan issued the ruling in a case that involved two doctors and four parents, among others, who had been criminally charged last year with participating in or enabling the ritual genital cutting of girls. Their families belong to a small Shiite Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra, that is originally from western India. (Belluck, 11/21)
The Hill:
Trauma Surgeon Creates Twitter Account To Organize Doctors Against Gun Violence
A Twitter account for “Medical Professionals who care for #GunViolence Victims” has reached over 15,000 followers since it was created by a trauma surgeon earlier this month. The account @ThisIsOurLane has grown in popularity as health care professionals clash with the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the gun rights organization tweeted “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane.” (Axelrod, 11/21)
The Washington Post:
Number Of Abortions In U.S. Hit Historic Low In 2015, The Most Recent Year For Which Data Is Available
Fewer U.S. women are having abortions than at any time since Roe v. Wade, according to new government figures released Wednesday. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, a total of 638,169 abortions were reported, a decrease of 2 percent from 652,639 abortions in 2014. The abortion rate was 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44 in 2015, compared with 12.1 in 2014 and 15.9 in 2006. (Cha, 11/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
When Mental-Health Experts, Not Police, Are The First Responders
They are the kind of calls that roll into police departments with growing regularity: a man in mental crisis; a woman hanging out near a dumpster at an upscale apartment complex; a homeless woman in distress. In most American cities, it is police officers who respond to such calls, an approach law-enforcement experts say increases the risk of a violent encounter because they aren’t always adequately trained to deal with the mentally ill. At least one in every four people killed by police has a serious mental illness, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit based in Arlington, Va. (Elinson, 11/24)