First Edition: June 19, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
How Will The Health Care Subsidies Decision Affect Everyday Americans?
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on health care subsidies soon. As the country awaits the decision, PBS NewsHour interviewed people who would be personally affected by the ruling, and Julie Rovner of KHN answers their concerns. You can watch it here. (6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Feds Charge More Than 200 People With Medicare Fraud
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said the latest sweep in the government’s nationwide strike force against Medicare fraud has led to criminal charges against 243 people, including 46 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. (Barrett, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
Feds Announce Nationwide Health Care Fraud Sweeps
The dragnet spread from Miami to Los Angeles, and Dallas to Brooklyn, N.Y. Arrests were made earlier this week. Combining all the cases, allegedly fraudulent billings totaled some $712 million. (Alonso-Zalidvar, 6/18)
USA Today:
Hundreds Charged With Medicare Fraud In Record Enforcement Sweep
A "strike force" including the Justice Department, FBI and Department of Health and Human Services and local officials brought cases in 17 districts, including the fraud hot spots of Miami and New York City. The cases include 46 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals such as physical and occupational therapists. The schemes involved more than $700 million in false billings. (O'Donnell, 6/18)
The Washington Post:
Government Arrests 243 In Largest Crackdown On Health-Care Fraud
In Miami, the owners of a mental-health treatment center allegedly billed Medicare for tens of millions of dollars’ worth of intensive therapy that actually involved just moving people to different locations. Some of them had dementia so severe that they couldn’t even communicate. In Los Angeles, prosecutors say, one doctor collected $23 million for more than 1,000 power wheelchairs and other equipment his patients didn’t need — which he often didn’t even provide. (Bernstein and Horwitz, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
Peril, Promise In Obama's End Game On Trade, Health, More
Obamacare is a wildcard, as well. The president could win outright in a legacy-clinching decision by the Supreme Court or be dealt a stinging loss. But even if the court votes to remove a vital piece of the 2010 health care law, Obama still could have room to maneuver. Republicans are scrambling to come up with an alternative if millions of Americans suddenly lose their government-backed health insurance. The burden may fall on Republican governors to find a way out of the mess. (6/19)
USA Today:
Half A Dozen Major Cases Await Supreme Court Rulings
The future of same-sex marriage and President Obama's health care law hang in the balance as the Supreme Court's 2014 term draws rapidly to a close this month. But those aren't the only big issues on the justices' plate. Fair elections, racial discrimination, clean air, capital punishment: All await rulings over the next two weeks as the court completes action on 11 cases remaining this term. The next decisions will come Monday morning. (Wolf, 6/18)
USA Today:
House Ignores Veto Threat And Backs Repeal Of Medical Device Tax
The House on Thursday easily backed repeal of a tax on the medical device industry. But President Obama has threatened to veto the bill, which would add more than $24 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. With not all House members voting Thursday, that chamber's 280-140 vote fell one vote shy of a veto-proof majority to repeal the tax, which helps pay for the expansion of health insurance under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. (Groppe, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
House Votes To Kill Health Care Law’s Medical Device Tax
Thursday’s 280-140 House vote was exactly the two-thirds margin that supporters would need to override a presidential veto. The real suspense will come in the Senate, which voted overwhelmingly to repeal the levy in 2013, but in a nonbinding roll call lacking the political pressures of a veto showdown. (Fram, 6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Is Trade Agreement Bad For Your Health?
Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement really be bad for your health? The trade pact is under negotiation to lower tariffs and open markets by 12 countries in the Asia and Pacific regions. But over the past several months, portions of the text have been leaked—courtesy of WikiLeaks—and each disclosure has raised fresh questions about the extent to which the pharmaceutical industry might benefit at the expense of consumers. (Silverman, 6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
UAW Looks At Pooling Auto-Worker Health Care
The United Auto Workers is looking to create one large health insurance pool for workers at Detroit’s Big Three auto makers, a move aimed at helping the companies better leverage their size to win cost savings from medical providers. UAW President Dennis Williams said Thursday he aims to bring the proposal to the bargaining table next month when the union starts negotiations for a new four-year contract with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and FCA US LLC, the U.S. unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. He said the insurance pool could include active hourly workers, as well as salaried employees and hourly retirees, a group that would combined have more than 1 million members. (Rogers, 6/18)
Reuters:
UAW President Says Union Wants To Expand Health Care Pool
United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams said on Thursday he wants to enter talks with the three major U.S. automakers to pool active union and nonunion workers and UAW retirees to bargain for lower healthcare costs. Such a pool of about 900,000 people connected to Detroit's three automakers would not mean a single healthcare plan, but instead a collective to wield more leverage in negotiations with drug companies, hospitals and insurance companies, he noted. (6/18)
USA Today/Detroit Free Press:
UAW Open To Including Salaried Workers In Health Trust
Traditionally, non-union salaried employees for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have had separate benefits than hourly workers who are represented by the UAW. But Williams said that a health care trust created in 2007 to insure UAW retirees is well-managed and could pave the way for the inclusion of blue-collar workers and white-collar employees. (Gardner, 6/18)
The Associated Press:
Medicare Project: House Calls For Frail Seniors Cut Costs
The humble house call is being put to the test to see if it can improve care and cut costs for some of Medicare's frailest patients — and new data suggests it can work. Medicare announced Thursday that it saved more than $25 million in the first year of a three-year study to determine the value of home-based primary care for frail seniors with multiple chronic illnesses, by avoiding pricier hospital or emergency room care. Dr. Patrick Conway, Medicare's chief medical officer, says the house call delivers "high-touch" coordinated care that allows doctors and nurses to spot brewing problems in a patient's everyday environment before he or she worsens. (Neergaard, 6/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Teladoc Outlines IPO Terms
Teladoc Inc., an early player in the field of telemedicine, said in a securities filing Thursday that it plans to raise up to $136.9 million in its initial public offering. The company had confidentially filed IPO paperwork in April. According to a regulatory filing, the company plans to sell 7 million shares for $15 to $17 a share. Underwriters have the option to purchase up to 1.05 million additional shares, Teladoc said. (Beilfuss, 6/18)
Los Angeles Times:
CalPERS Approves 7.2% Increase In HMO Rates As Drug Costs Climb
Citing higher drug prices, the California Public Employees' Retirement System said its HMO premiums are rising by 7.2% next year. Rates for PPO, or preferred provider organization, plans are going up even more at 10.8%, on average, for 2016. (Terhune, 6/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Louisville Needle Swap Aims To Stop Repeat Of Nearby HIV, Hepatitis C Outbreaks
A trio of deadly afflictions is ripping through a rural county in southern Indiana. More than 130 patients in Scott County, Ind., tested positive for HIV in less than a year, making the community of about 24,000 people the site of one of the worst outbreaks in decades. (Shepherd, 6/18)