First Edition: June 3, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
California Sees Housing As Significant Investment In Health Care
Will Nebbitt lives on the 5th floor of a new downtown apartment building. From his window, he has a panoramic view of the Los Angeles skyline. He can also see Skid Row, where he spent decades sleeping on the ground. Nebbitt, 58, says his body can’t handle life outside anymore. He has a seizure disorder, heart disease and depression. He’s had four operations, including bypass surgery on his leg in March. (Gorman, 6/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Health Law Enrollees On Track To Meet Administration’s Revised Goals
A total of 10.2 million people signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and paid their premiums by the end of March, the Obama administration said Tuesday, indicating the administration is on track to meet its revised goal. The administration had said last year that it expected to have between 9.1 million and 9.9 million consumers paid up and enrolled in insurance plans through state and federal online exchanges in 2015. (Armour, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Latest Obamacare Enrollment Total Slips But Still Outpaces 2014
That is down from 11.7 million sign-ups recorded in February when the 2015 enrollment period closed. The tally still represents growth over 2014, when 6.3 million people were enrolled in health plans at the end of the year, according to updated 2014 figures also released Tuesday. The new data also underscore how many consumers rely on federal insurance subsidies made available by the law. About 85% of 2015 enrollees are getting assistance to buy coverage on the marketplaces. (Levey, 6/2)
The New York Times:
13% Left Health Care Rolls, U.S. Finds
About 13 percent of people who signed up for health insurance coverage in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act have fallen off the rolls, many because they failed to pay their share of premiums, the Obama administration said Tuesday. ... Nationwide, the administration said, the federal government is paying insurance subsidies in the form of tax credits to 8.7 million people, including 2.3 million in states that run their own exchanges. The average tax credit for those who qualified for financial assistance was $272 a month, the administration said. (Pear, 6/2)
The Washington Post:
6.4 Million Americans Could Lose Obamacare Subsidies, Federal Data Show
Although health researchers made similar projections earlier this year, the government figures released Tuesday provide the best available estimate of how many people would be at risk, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “These are the people we now know are receiving subsidies that would be lost if the court sides with the challengers,” he said. “The amounts are substantial.” (Sun, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hospitals Expected More Of A Boost From Health Law
The health law’s expansion of Medicaid in many states hasn’t benefited nonprofit hospitals in those states as expected, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service. Hospitals in the mostly blue states that expanded Medicaid were largely expected to benefit from fewer unpaid bills and more paying customers, but that hasn’t generally translated into better operating margins or cash flow, Moody’s found. (Weaver, 6/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Price Of A Common Surgery Varies From $39,000 To $237,000 In L.A.
A short drive in the Los Angeles area can yield big differences in price for knee or hip replacement surgery. New Medicare data show that Inglewood's Centinela Hospital Medical Center billed the federal program $237,063, on average, for joint replacement surgery in 2013. That was the highest charge nationwide. And it's six times what Kaiser Permanente billed Medicare eight miles away at its West L.A. hospital. Kaiser billed $39,059, on average, and Medicare paid $12,457. (Terhune and Poindexter, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Government Retiree Costs To Be Put In The Spotlight
State and local governments will have to add hundreds of billions of dollars in retiree obligations to their books under rules enacted Tuesday that spotlight the growing costs of health insurance and other benefits owed to former municipal employees. The new rules approved unanimously by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which sets accounting rules for states and municipalities, will require governments to carry their unfunded retiree-benefit obligations on their balance sheets—thus making their overall financial position look worse. Currently, governments are required only to disclose the benefit costs in the footnotes to their financial statements. (Rapoport, 6/2)
The Associated Press:
House Panel Votes To Repeal Health Law's Medical Device Tax
A Republican-run House committee voted Tuesday to repeal a 2.3 percent tax on many medical devices that helps pay for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The Ways and Means Committee's mostly party-line 25-14 vote came with Republicans complaining that the levy costs jobs and stifles innovation. (6/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Activist Investor Wins $2 Million Arbitration Award From UBS
An activist investor has won a $2 million arbitration award from UBS AG, which he said derailed his proxy fight against a health-care information systems company by calling a margin loan and selling almost 2.3 million shares he had in the business. (Rieker, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Workers’ Drug Use Appears To Rise
The share of U.S. workers testing positive for drugs appears to be on the rise, according to data from millions of workplace drug tests administered by one of the nation’s largest medical-screening laboratories. Traces of drugs—from marijuana to methamphetamine to prescription opiates—were found in 3.9% of the 9.1 million urine tests conducted for employers by Quest Diagnostics Inc. in 2014, up from 3.7% in 2013. (Weber, 6/2)
NPR:
Emergency Rooms Crack Down On Abusers Of Pain Pills
In the last few years, the ER has become a top destination for people seeking addictive prescription painkillers like Vicodin, Oxycodone, or Percocet. In response, hospitals in some states, including New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming, have developed tracking systems specifically tailored to the emergency room. The program at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's ER, in Cheyenne, Wyo., is just getting off the ground. (Bryan, 6/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Tobacco Companies Drop Suit Against FDA Over Labeling
The biggest U.S. tobacco companies on Tuesday dropped a federal lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration after challenging the agency’s recent effort to assert authority over labels on tobacco products. (Mickle, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Clears Way For New Curbs On Antibiotics Given To Farm Animals
The Food and Drug Administration paved the way for new restrictions on antibiotics given to cows, chickens and other farm animals as the Obama administration pursues ways to fight the so-called superbugs that are growing increasingly resistant to infection-fighting drugs. The FDA on Tuesday issued a set of guidelines for veterinarians who will, as of next year, be responsible for prescribing antibiotics for animals destined for the dinner plate—marking a key step in ending the practice of distributing those drugs over the counter. (Tracy and Burton, 6/2)
NPR:
Vaccine Court Aims To Protect Patients And Vaccines
The court administers a no-fault compensation program that serves as an alternative to the traditional U.S. tort system. The program was established in 1986, after a series of high-profile lawsuits against drug companies. A number of children had serious adverse reactions — including seizures and brain damage — that appeared to be linked to the diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus vaccine, or DPT vaccine (this version was later replaced by the DTaP vaccine). The parents filed lawsuits against the makers of the DTP vaccine and in at least two cases, won awards worth millions of dollars. (Kelto, 6/2)
NPR:
Are The Vaccine Court's Requirements Too Strict?
The vaccine injury compensation program was designed to make the legal process that governs vaccines more efficient, and to encourage a steady supply of the life-saving shots. A 75-cents surcharge added to the price of every dose of vaccine funds the program and the monetary awards. Today, some cases before the court are more clear-cut than that of Nicholas Wildman. Sometimes, there is clear scientific evidence of a link between a vaccine and a rare side effect. In these cases, the case is fast-tracked, and victims are compensated quickly. A list of known vaccine injuries facilitates the process. But often, the court is presented with cases more like that of the Wildmans — a compelling story, but with little or no scientific evidence to support the claim that the vaccine caused the injury. (Kelto, 6/3)
Los Angeles Times:
State Senate OKs Measures On Immigrant Healthcare, E-Cigarettes
The state Senate approved a hotly debated measure Tuesday that would provide healthcare coverage to many immigrants who reside in California illegally. Lawmakers also gave the first full-house approval to bills that would raise the state smoking age to 21, prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in the same way smoking is banned, provide more public grants for university students and automatically register to vote all eligible residents who obtain a driver's license. The healthcare proposal would allow up to 240,000 immigrants younger than 19 to enroll in Medi-Cal, California's health program for the poor, and an unspecified number of low-income adult immigrants to receive the same services from a separate program. (McGreevy and Mason, 6/2)
The Associated Press:
California Considers Health Coverage For Immigrant Kids
The California Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would make the state the first in the nation to extend health coverage to children who are in the country illegally and seek federal authorization to sell private insurance to immigrants without documentation. (Lin, 6/2)
The Associated Press:
Insurance Broker Pleads Guilty To Stealing $10M From Aetna
A former insurance broker who stole $10 million from Aetna Inc. by failing to submit health insurance premiums paid by a New Jersey university has pleaded guilty to fraud. Bonney Hebert pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut, to wire fraud and a theft charge. Her sentencing is set for August. The 59-year-old Killington, Vermont, resident faces up to 30 years in prison. (6/2)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Legislation Would Let Women Get A Year Of Birth Control At Once
The D.C. Council gave final approval Tuesday to legislation that would require health plans to authorize the dispensing of up to a year’s worth of birth control at one time — a move that officials hope will decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies by making contraception more accessible. (Stein, 6/2)
The Washington Post:
Jailed Heroin Addicts In Maryland Can Get Treatment Under New Program
The Hogan administration on Tuesday announced plans to begin treatment of heroin addicts in eight Maryland county jails and detention centers with a drug that could keep them from using once they are back on the streets. The treatment — to be funded with a $500,000 federal grant to Maryland — is the first such program initiated by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to address the state’s addiction problem, which he has called a top priority and which is part of a nationwide crisis. (Hicks, 6/2)
The Associated Press:
Federal Report Critical Of W. Virginia Mental Health System
West Virginia’s mental health system relies too much on facilities like psychiatric hospitals to treat children and should make changes such as expanding in-home services to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal authorities said. (Raby, 6/2)
NPR:
Indiana's HIV Outbreak Leads To Reversal On Needle Exchanges
On a recent afternoon, Brittany Combs drove a white SUV through a neighborhood at the northern end of Austin, Indiana. In the back of her vehicle, there were hundreds of sterile syringes, each in a plastic wrapper. "Anybody need clean needles today?" she shouted out the window at people sitting on front porches or walking down the street. When Combs, a nurse with the Scott County Health Department, got takers, she made sure they had a unique ID card before opening up the hatch and handing each of them a week's worth of syringes. (Harper, 6/2)