Our Scorecard ranks every state’s health care system based on how well it provides high-quality, accessible, and equitable health care. Read the report to see health care rankings by state.
Presidents Interested in Health Reform Must Act Quickly
“The politics of health care reform can be as complex as the system itself. But you can take one point to the political bank: Presidents who want to transform the U.S. health system must act quickly after they are elected or re-elected, or they might as well not act at all. And that means the early months of our very long presidential campaign season can be decisive for the future of American health care.” — David Blumenthal, M.D., President of the Commonwealth Fund
Drug Pricing Policies Find New Momentum as a '2020 Thing’
The next presidential primary contests are more than a year away. But presumed candidates are already trying to stake a claim to one of health care’s hot-button concerns: surging prescription drug prices. “This is a 2020 thing,” said Peter Bach, M.D., who directs the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and tracks drug pricing policy. (Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News)
Trump Plan to Force Drugmakers to Advertise Prices Might Work, but Not If Pharma Gets Its Way
A Trump administration proposal to require drugmakers to advertise prices in television ads could dissuade consumers from considering pricey medicines, according to a new study. But this reaction was mitigated when ads mentioned some patients may be able to receive the treatment for nothing, which is language that drug makers are pushing to include in the White House scheme. (Ed Silverman, STAT)
Maine Gov. Mills Rejects Work Requirements LePage Sought for Medicaid
The Mills administration in Maine has rejected new work requirements for Medicaid recipients that were requested by former Gov. Paul LePage and approved by the Trump administration just days before LePage left office. Instead, the Mills administration will expand or implement various programs for those receiving public assistance, to help them find work or attend school, that currently exist in the food stamp and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs. (Joe Lawlor, Portland Press Herald)
Utah Lawmakers Aim to Derail Voter-Backed Medicaid Plan
Utah voters approved a ballot measure last year to enact full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, bringing health care to 100,000 lower-income residents. But that isn't the last word. A bloc of conservative state lawmakers, saying there isn't enough money to pay for the expansion, is looking to "repeal and replace" Proposition 3 with a less-ambitious plan. (Mark Richardson, Public News Service - UT)
The percentage of Americans without health insurance has reached its highest point since 2014, when Obamacare was still in its early years of implementation. The uninsured rate was 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, well above the record-low rate of 10.9 seen in 2016, the last year of President Obama's second term, according to a survey released by Gallup Wednesday. That represents about 7 million people losing or dropping insurance between 2016 and 2018, Gallup said. (Jessie Hellmann, The Hill)
Judge Questions Administration Motives on Association Health Plans
The Trump administration's paper trail of Obamacare criticism could spell trouble for newly expanded association health plans. U.S. District Judge John Bates on Thursday repeatedly challenged the Justice Department's assertion that the Trump administration's final rule on association health plans, or AHPs, didn't aim to reshape the Affordable Care Act exchanges. (Susannah Luthi, Modern Healthcare)
Harris Backs 'Medicare for All' and Eliminating Private Insurance as We Know It
California Sen. Kamala Harris fully embraced "Medicare-for-all" single payer health insurance at a CNN town hall Monday and said she's willing to end private insurance to make it happen. "We need to have Medicare-for-all," Harris told a questioner in the audience. When pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper if that means eliminating private insurance, the senator answered affirmatively, saying she would be OK with cutting insurers out of the mix. (Tami Luhby and Gregory Krieg, CNN)
