Probable Democratic Presidential Candidate Harris To Left Of Biden On Healthcare
With endorsements stacking up, Vice President Kamala Harris looks to be the probable presidential nominee of the Democratic Party after President Biden bowed out this weekend. Thus, the media is looking at her positions, including on healthcare.
In general, Harris appears to be to the left of President Biden on a number of healthcare issues. Harris will of course take credit for the Medicare drug price negotiations and Exchange premium enhancements. She would want to expand and extend each. She agrees with Biden’s anti-trust platform and was active on the issue as California’s attorney general.
She may be to the left of Biden on abortion rights, universal access, and drug pricing. Harris once backed Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All, although she stepped it down later and advocated for a lighter form — a decade-long transition with private plans playing a role. On drug pricing, she wants to benchmark all prices to developed-world countries. Oddly, Trump agrees with this to a degree.
Additional articles: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-policy/kamala-harris-election-2024-abortion-rights-medicare-health-policy-donald-trump and https://insidehealthpolicy.com/daily-news/harris-enters-presidential-race-health-record-includes-ma-all-option-pharma-lawsuits and https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/21/kamala-harris-on-healthcare-abortion-rights-medicare-for-all-drug-price-caps/ and https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/electioncoverage/111198 and https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/kamala-harris-healthcare-policy-positions-6-notes.html
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#election2024 #healthcare #harris #aca #obamacare #drugpricing #medicareforall
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4786867-vice-president-kamala-harris-health-policy
Pharmacies Sue UnitedHealth Over Change Healthcare Cyberattack
Joining dozens of other lawsuits, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the independent pharmacy lobby, and 39 providers filed a lawsuit alleging Change Healthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group’s actions in response to a February cyberattack was inadequate and gravely affected their ability to operate.
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#changehealthcare #cyberattacks #providers
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/legal/change-heathcare-outage-class-action-lawsuit-unitedhealth
AstraZeneca Buys Rare Disease Biotech Company
AstraZeneca announced recently it closed on a $1.05 billion acquisition of Amolyt Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on treatments for rare endocrine diseases. AstraZeneca and other brand drug makers have acquired numerous such companies for huge sums to bolster their often inadequate drug pipelines. AstraZeneca and the others will build the acquisition cost into their introductory price of any drug that comes to market. Thus, Americans continue to pay hugely for drugs compared with other developed nations.
#drugpricing #manda #acquisitions #branddrugmakers
Experts Recommend Legislative Changes In Light Of Supreme Court Striking Chevron Precedent
Policy experts will appear before the House and urge an expanding of regulatory oversight in light of the Supreme Court striking the Chevron precedent. The experts are likely to recommend the creation of a congressional Office of Legal Counsel or Office of Regulatory Review. This would ensure sufficient direction on the regulatory front.
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#chevrondeference #regulations #supremecourt #congress
Hospitals Dropping Medicare Advantage Contracts
Hospitals and health systems are ending their contracts with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans over administrative challenges, including prior authorization denials and claims denials and delays. So far Becker’s has found at least 15 hospitals that have dropped or will drop MA plans. A Healthcare Financial Management Association survey from January said that 16% of 135 health system CFOs surveyed plan on ending one or more MA plan contracts in the next two years, another 45% considering the same.
#medicareadvantage #hospitals #priorauthorization #claimsdenials #contracting
— Marc S. Ryan
