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In The News is a concise digest of health care news in Vermont and the nation. VMS is not responsible for the content of the articles.
VERMONT NEWS
VTDIGGER: New health care bill could cost Vermont $200 million
Officials at the Vermont Agency of Human Services say a bill currently moving through Congress could cost the state $200 million per year in federal funding starting in late 2019. That staggering sum is the first estimate of potential losses the state could face if the proposed American Health Care Act is enacted. The state currently spends $1.7 billion in federal and state dollars on the Medicaid program. Al Gobeille, the secretary of the Agency of Human Services, said without that $200 million per year, the state could be forced to lower Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals; reduce benefits for Medicaid patients; and cut other health programs that receive Medicaid funding. More »
VPR: After meeting with Trump, Welch optimistic about controlling prescription drug prices
Vermont Democratic Congressman Peter Welch is optimistic after having President Donald Trump's ear last week week on controlling drug prices. But others in Congress are dubious that the president was swayed by the Democrat's argument. President Trump brought in Rep. Welch for a small group meeting to discuss the high cost of prescription drugs. Welch reports having a receptive audience with the leader of the free world who has promised to save you money — from the cost of new military airplanes to those pills you need every once in a while. More »
VTDIGGER: Vermont insurer, hospitals oppose Obamacare replacement bill
Vermont’s largest insurance company and the association representing all of the state’s hospitals are coming out against a Republican proposal in Congress that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The proposal is called the American Health Care Act. It would keep a few popular commercial insurance regulations from Obamacare while lowering the amount of help the federal government gives people to pay their health care premiums. Insurance companies would be allowed to charge more to customers who let their coverage lapse during the year, and Americans could not use the federal money to buy insurance plans that cover abortion. Medicaid patients would no longer be able to use their insurance to get services through Planned Parenthood. More »
VPR: Beyond Lyme: New Tick-Borne Diseases On The Rise In U.S.
It all started in the shower. Tucker Lane looked down, and there they were. “Two ticks, on my right hip, directly next to each other," he says. At the time, Lane didn't think much about it. He grew up on Cape Cod. Ticks are everywhere there in the summer. "Just another tick bite. Not a big deal," he thought. That was June. In September, everything changed. More »
NATIONAL NEWS
NY TIMES: G.O.P. health law insures fewer people, nonpartisan review shows
The House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would cause 24 million people to lose health insurance within a decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Monday. Republicans had been bracing for what was almost certain to be a bleak accounting of the legislation’s projected effects. The American Health Care Act, as Republicans call their bill, was already facing widespread criticism from providers of health care, some conservatives, and a united Democratic Party. The numbers released Monday will only make it more difficult for Republicans to explain why their legislation would bring positive change to the country’s health care system. More »
WASHINGTON POST: The GOP’s dramatic change in strategy to pass its health-care law
To get the Affordable Care Act passed, Democrats used a big-tent approach, convening health-care groups that did not normally talk to each other while cutting deals and strong-arming key industry players to build broad support for the plan. First, the drug companies got on board. Then came the hospitals and the doctors. “It was a little thuggish. You’d be at the table or you’d be on the menu,” said Doug Badger, who was a senior health-policy adviser to President George W. Bush. In contrast, the Republican effort to sweep away President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law has unfolded so fast that lobbyists and industry groups barely had time to digest the bill before lawmakers began marking it up. More »
NY TIMES: Health groups denounce G.O.P. bill as its backers scramble
Influential groups representing hospitals and nurses came out on Wednesday against a Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, joining doctors and the retirees’ lobby to warn that it would lead to a rise in the uninsured. In a letter to lawmakers, major hospital groups wrote, “As organizations that take care of every individual who walks through our doors, both due to our mission and our obligations under federal law, we are committed to ensuring health care coverage is available and affordable for all.” More »
THE HILL: Trump to name Scott Gottlieb as FDA chief
President Trump plans to nominate Scott Gottlieb to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a more mainstream choice than some expected. Gottlieb is a former FDA official under President George W. Bush, and seen as a qualified choice within the normal bounds for a Republican administration. More »
MODERN HEALTHCARE: Healthcare jobs grew by 26,800 in February under shadow of ACA repeal
Hospitals and the healthcare industry posted another month of robust job growth in February even as a looming repeal of the Affordable Care Act hangs over the sector. The healthcare sector created 26,800 jobs in February, surpassing the 18,300 new positions in January, according to the February jobs report issued Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare was among the sectors that drove total national jobs creation in February to a better-than-expected 235,000 jobs. Analysts had expected the number to be just shy of 200,000. The national unemployment rate stands at 4.7%. More »
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