First Edition: February 23, 2016
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The Washington Post:
HHS Failed To Heed Many Warnings That HealthCare.gov Was In Trouble
During the two years before the disastrous opening of HealthCare.gov, federal officials in charge of creating the online insurance marketplace received 18 written warnings that the mammoth project was mismanaged and off course but never considered postponing its launch, according to government investigators. The warnings included a series of 11 scathing reviews from an outside consultant — among them a top-10 list of risks drawn up in the spring of 2013 that cited inadequate planning for the website’s capacity and deviations from usual IT standards. ... The long trail of unheeded warnings is among the findings from an exhaustive two-year inquiry by HHS’s Office of Inspector General into the failings of HealthCare.gov, which crashed within two hours of its launch on Oct. 1, 2013. (Goldstein, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Abortion Foes’ Strategy Faces A Key Test At The Supreme Court
When the Supreme Court meets next week to hear its first abortion-related case in nearly a decade, the justices will consider the most significant challenge to an argument that has become central to the antiabortion cause: that abortion hurts not just a fetus but also its mother. That idea wasn’t always at the heart of the movement, which for years spent more time highlighting what it considered the plight of the unborn child. (Somashekhar, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
Senate Clears Way For Approval Of New FDA Commissioner
The Senate has cleared the way for approval of President Barack Obama’s nominee for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Senators voted 80-6 Monday to end a Democratic filibuster of Obama’s pick to head the agency. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Ed Markey of Massachusetts had held up the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf in an effort to force the agency to be tougher on prescription drug prices and the abuse of opioid painkillers. (Jalonick, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
Health Care Issue, Longtime Uniter Of Democrats, Now Divides
Health care for all. It's a goal that tugs at the heartstrings of Democrats, but pursuing it usually invites political peril. Now Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are clashing over this core question for liberals, making it a wedge issue in the party's presidential primary. It's a choice between his conviction that a government-run system would be fairer and more affordable, and her preference for step-by-step change at a time of widespread skepticism about federal power. (2/22)
NPR:
Sanders Health Plan Renews Debate On Universal Coverage
When Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders stumps for health care for everyone, it always gets huge applause. "I believe that the U.S. should do what every other major country on earth is doing," he told a crowd at Eastern Michigan University on Feb. 15. "And that is, guarantee health care to all people as a right." The Democratic presidential hopeful basically wants to nationalize the U.S. health insurance industry, and have Uncle Sam foot the bill for medical bills, office visits and prescriptions. (Kodjak, 2/23)
Politico:
Former HHS Secretary Sebelius Endorses Clinton
Hillary Clinton picked up the support of former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday. "I just feel that she's the only person, frankly, in the field of candidates who has the experience and background that prepares her nationally and internationally to be the leader of the country," the former governor of Kansas told the Topeka Capital-Journal. "As a mother, a grandmother and a former public servant, who had the privilege of serving with Hillary in the president's Cabinet, I can think of nothing more important than ensuring our next president is someone who will protect and build upon the progress made by President Obama over the past eight years." (Gass, 2/22)
The New York Times:
Kevin McCarthy, G.O.P. House Leader, Says He Could Work With Donald Trump
Representative Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California and the House majority leader, said on Monday that he would be able to work with Donald J. Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, the latest signal of acceptance from national figures of the billionaire real estate developer. “I think I’ll work with Donald Trump,” Mr. McCarthy said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, adding, “I think I can work with anyone that comes out to be the nominee.” That includes Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who helped egg on a government shutdown over efforts to defund President Obama’s signature health care law, according to Mr. McCarthy. (Haberman, 2/22)
USA Today:
Bipartisan Group Calls For Universal Long-Term Care Insurance Plans
The long-term care costs for our aging population are growing so fast and can be so financially overwhelming for families that the United States needs a universal catastrophic insurance program similar to Medicare, a bipartisan policy group announced Monday. The Long Term Care Financing Collaborative, which includes former state Medicaid directors, and members from the Brookings Institution, and the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, is the third recent policy group to cite universal long-term care insurance as a possible solution — and the one that goes the farthest in recommending it. (O'Donnell, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
CVS Health Touts Restrained Prescription Spending Growth
CVS Health is refining its prescription for controlling drug costs, and patients can expect more frequent coverage adjustments, as the pharmacy benefits manager pores over data and reacts to expense spikes. (Murphy, 2/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Zenefits Once Told Employees: No Sex In Stairwells
Zenefits’s new chief executive, David Sacks, last week banned alcohol in the office of the health-insurance brokerage startup as he tries to reverse its rambunctious culture, especially among sales staff. But it wasn’t just drinking booze that gave the San Francisco headquarters a frat-house feel. (Winkler, 2/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Hospitals Strain To Meet Deadline On Electronic Prescriptions
New York hospitals and physicians are scrambling to meet a state mandate to electronically prescribe all medications, with some institutions asking for extra time to comply with a 2012 law to curb prescription drug abuse, medical errors and fraud. New York is the first state to mandate e-prescribing for all prescriptions with penalties for noncompliance, said Zeynep Sumer-King, vice president of regulatory and professional affairs at the Greater New York Hospital Association. (Ramey, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
Georgia Bill Inspired By Jimmy Carter’s Cancer Treatment
Georgia lawmakers have approved a bill inspired by former President Jimmy Carter’s cancer treatment. The bill prevents insurance companies from limiting coverage of drugs for stage 4 cancer patients. (2/22)
Reuters:
Puerto Rico May Issue Delayed Audited 2014 Statements In April
Entities subject to going concern assessments, Garcia Padilla wrote, include not only the government itself, but PREPA, the island’s sole power utility; HTA, which operates the island’s major roads; the Metropolitan Bus Authority, which transports thousands in the San Juan area; the Puerto Rico Medical Services Administration, the island’s main hospital and trauma center; and PRIHA, which oversees Medicaid benefits for 1.6 million poor residents. (2/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Orange County Just Launched Its First Clean-Needle Exchange
A year ago, a group of UC Irvine medical students realized that Orange County was missing what they considered an important public health service that every major city in California had access to: a clean-needle exchange program. So they decided to do something about it. The students organized with partners across the region and submitted a plan to the California Department of Public Health. The agency rejected the plan last summer, noting a lack of community support and funding for a program. (Kandil, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
County To Pilot State Changes To Drug Treatment Funding
Carroll County [Maryland] is poised to serve as a model for treating substance abuse across the state. The Carroll County Health Department plans to address changes to state funding of outpatient substance abuse services, officials told the Board of Commissioners at a briefing last week. (Norris, 2/22)