Nearly two weeks after Nov. 6, the ballots have been counted and the winners and losers are finally in the books. A lame duck session of Congress is in progress with some 2019 spending bills, having been kicked down the road, needing approval to avoid a partial shutdown. Meanwhile the Senate promises to expedite as […]
Congress has adjourned until after the midterm elections. The folks are out trolling for votes. The Affordable Care Act is still on the books and government sponsored healthcare, aka Medicare for All is the new feel-good campaign slogan. There have been some wins for price transparency but some folks in DC are pushing government control […]
A bipartisan group of senators led by Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is proposing a bill that would impose price controls on independent (“out of network”) physicians, under the guise of preventing outrageous “surprise bills” and medical bankruptcies, states the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). It would relieve the insurance industry of its responsibility to […]
ObamaCare News Roundup curated by Jane M. Orient, M.D. The most important way in which the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased coverage is through Medicaid expansion. But California, according to the HHS inspector general spent an estimated $738.2 million on 366,078 expansion beneficiaries who were ineligible, and an additional $416.5 million for 79,055 expansion […]
The House is on break for August but the Senate is staying in DC, except for the week of Aug. 6. In this latest edition of legislative update, Marilyn M. Singleton, MD, JD looks at what happened in the House before they left town and what health care legislation the Senate has on its plate […]
In the Oath of Hippocrates, physicians promise to work for the good of their patients, according to the best of their ability and judgment, and to do no harm. AAPS members support a return to this ethic in American medicine, and oppose programs and laws that harm patients by subjugating their care to the interest of the government […]
Before we get to the special legislative update, patients need your help! HHS is seeking input on the Administration’s blueprint for lowering prescription drug costs and the deadline is July 16. Comments can be submitted at: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=CMS-2018-0075-0001 Here’s a suggestion you can copy, paste, and modify as desired: There are many reasons why prescription drugs […]
In this edition of Health Policy News Roundup, Dr. Jane Orient dives into the implications of increased flexibility for Association Health Plans and Short Term Limited Duration Insurance. Association Health Plans The Labor Department just released rules for association health plans (AHPs). “Many of our laws make healthcare coverage more expensive for small businesses than […]
In this special edition of Legislative Update, Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD breaks down the surge of opiate-related legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill. In response to the opiate abuse epidemic, Congress has put forth almost 60 bills, many of which are receiving votes by the full House this week (the week of June 11th). In […]
This week’s health policy news roundup curated by Jane M. Orient, MD: One of the fundamental design flaws (or is it a feature?) of the [Un]Affordable Care Act (ACA or ObamaCare) is the tax on the healthy. Those who have to buy coverage on the individual market or are uninsured—but in good health—must pay more, […]