Democrats Propose Bills To Defend Medicaid
Democratic senators have proposed as many as 13 bills regarding Medicaid as the GOP continues its debate over changes to the budget reconciliation bill cuts to the low-income healthcare program. Some of the bills tackle fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA), while others protect expansion of coverage and insulate providers.
#budgetreconciliation #medicaid #trump #congress #coverage
Trump Pushes Big Pharma To Lower Price
With his deadline for brand drug makers to come forward with lower prices, the Trump administration is pushing pharmaceutical companies to begin negotiations to reduce prices. If they do not, the government will begin the process of implementing most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing.
“Under President Trump’s direction, HHS is demanding that pharmaceutical companies end their obstruction and come to the table—just as they already do with nearly every other economically comparable nation—to negotiate fair, transparent pricing for Americans,” a Health and Human Services (HHS) agency spokesperson told STAT, a healthcare website.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#drugpricing #mfn #irp #trump #branddrugmakers
Supplemental Benefits Opaque And Need Clarity
A new Health Affairs Forefront blog calls for clearer choices and better transparency on supplemental benefits. The article says data limitations and enrollee reports raise important questions about the value of supplemental benefits. Authors argue it is unclear if they improve health outcomes and close disparities. They also question if the benefits are reaching those with disabilities or with social determinant barriers.
The authors say there is limited information on eligibility and scope of supplemental benefits access and use. The authors say reforms should include:
- Clear, comprehensive information on supplemental benefits in plan materials.
- Filtering the Plan Finder to allow users to filter on such benefits.
- Curbing plan proliferation and aiming for more plan standardization.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#medicareadvantage #supplementalbenefits
— Marc S. Ryan
