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.
The New Obamacare Lawsuit Could Undo Far More Than Protections for Preexisting Conditions
A new Trump administration court challenge is explicitly aiming to remove a central promise of Obamacare — its protections for people with preexisting health conditions. But if the court rules in the way the Justice Department has requested, the result will be a world in which it is much more difficult for individuals and small businesses to buy health insurance. The health law is complicated, with interlocking parts. It will be hard to remove just two rules from the individual market without disrupting many others. (New York Times by Margot Sanger)
Worker Protections Seen at Risk in Trump Health Care Shift
The Trump administration’s latest move against "Obamacare" could jeopardize legal protections on preexisting medical conditions for millions of people with employer coverage, particularly workers in small businesses, say law and insurance experts. (Associated Press by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar)
Broad Health Care Coalition Opposes Administration Stance in Anti-ACA Lawsuit
A broad swath of health-care constituencies weighed in on Thursday to oppose a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, forming an uncommonly united front against a decision by the Trump administration not to defend significant parts of the law. Hospitals, doctors, medical schools, patient advocacy groups, the health insurance industry, and others filed briefs in a federal court in Texas, disputing the argument of 20 Republican-led states and the Justice Department that all or part of the 2010 law is unconstitutional. (Washington Post by Amy Goldstein)
Azar Backs Protections for Preexisting Conditions, Skirting Administration’s Legal Stance
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers Tuesday that he wants to preserve access to affordable insurance for Americans with preexisting medical conditions, but he declined to disclose his view of an administration move that could undercut such consumer protections, calling it "a constitutional position . . . not a policy position." (Washington Post by Amy Goldstein and Laurie McGinley)
Increases in health-care costs and policy changes are driving Obamacare premium increases for the 2019 plan year, according to a new report released Wednesday. The American Academy of Actuaries says that the elimination of the individual mandate penalty and the expansion of cheaper health plans with fewer benefits will contribute to premium increases next year. (The Hill by Jessie Hellmann)
Frustrated AMA Adopts Sweeping Policies to Cut Gun Violence
With frustration mounting over lawmakers’ inaction on gun control, the American Medical Association on Tuesday pressed for a ban on assault weapons and came out against arming teachers as a way to fight what it calls a public health crisis. The action comes against a backdrop of recurrent school shootings, everyday street violence in the nation’s inner cities, and rising U.S. suicide rates. "We as physicians are the witnesses to the human toll of this disease," Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency-medicine specialist at Brown University, said at the meeting. (Associated Press by Lindsey Tanner)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will not update the hospital quality star ratings on Hospital Compare next month as it continues to evaluate concerns from stakeholders on methodology changes, the agency told hospitals on Tuesday. The agency had posted proposed changes to the methodology in late May for hospitals to preview before the July release. (Politico by Paul Demko)
Fed Up with Rising Costs, Big U.S. Firms Dig Into Health Care
At its Silicon Valley headquarters, network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc is going to unusual lengths to take control of the relentless increase in its U.S. health care costs. Cisco last year began offering its employees a plan it negotiated directly with nearby Stanford Health medical system. Under the plan, physicians are supposed to keep costs down by closely tracking about a dozen health indicators to prevent expensive emergencies, and keep Cisco workers happy with their care. If they meet these goals, Stanford gets a bonus. If they fail, Stanford pays Cisco a penalty. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co and Walmart Inc, the world’s largest retailer, have likewise hammered out health plans directly with providers. (Reuters by Caroline Humer)
Insurers Spark Blowback by Reducing Emergency Room Coverage
Health plans intent on driving down costs are zeroing in on emergency room visits — one of the biggest drivers of medical inflation but a category of care that's seldom been subject to denials. Anthem, the country’s largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, shook the market last year by refusing to pay for some ER visits it deemed unnecessary, triggering heated battles with hospitals and doctors and fueling a broader debate over whether patients can find less expensive settings without putting their health at risk. (Politco by Renuka Rayasam & Paul Demko)
Health Care Costs Increasing at Unsustainable Pace
Medical costs are poised to continue their relatively flat growth in 2019, but researchers say the steady trend is unsustainable for consumers. The expected 6 percent growth in 2019 aligns with the 5.5 percent to 7 percent trend over the past five years — a welcome change from the double-digit spikes in the 2000s — but higher costs haven't translated to similar gains in consumers' health and productivity, said PricewaterhouseCoopers researchers who studied employer-sponsored healthcare spending. Expensive new medical services and drugs and market consolidation are driving higher costs, said Barbara Gniewek, a health services principal at PwC. "It looks like costs are stabilizing, but they are still going up at a rate above inflation," she said. "They are still increasing at an uncontrolled level and are ultimately unsustainable." (Modern Healthcare by Alex Kacik)
Kentucky's Medicaid Work Requirement Faces Reckoning in Court
In a case with major national implications, the Trump administration and advocacy groups are set to argue in federal court in Washington Friday over whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has the legal authority to allow Kentucky to establish a work requirement and other tough new conditions on people receiving Medicaid coverage. (Modern Healthcare by Harris Meyer)
To ease financial strain, Minnesota is at the forefront of a growing number of states testing a new Medicaid payment system. It rewards hospitals and physician groups holding down costs by keeping enrollees healthy. Under this arrangement, those health care providers are asked to do more than just treat medical issues such as diabetes and heart disease. They are called on to address the underlying social issues — such as homelessness, lack of transportation, and poor nutrition — that can cause and exacerbate health problems. (Kaiser Health News by Phil Galewitz)
Trump's Health Chief Suggests ‘Massive’ Drug Price Cuts Not Imminent
President Donald Trump’s top health care official is lowering expectations that drug companies will soon announce huge price cuts, undercutting Trump’s recent claims that his drug pricing plan would produce immediate results. HHS Secretary Alex Azar told the Senate HELP Committee Tuesday morning that there are "several drug companies that are looking at substantial, material decreases in drug prices," but he indicated it could take time for the cuts to happen. (Politico by Sarah Karlin-Smith)
Trump Officials Meet with Drug Companies to Push for Voluntary Price Cuts
Department of Health and Human Services officials have been meeting with pharmaceutical companies to seek voluntary cuts in drug prices, according to sources familiar with the meetings. Voluntary cuts in prices would allow the administration to immediately tout benefits of President Trump's recently announced drug pricing plan, rather than having to wait for any regulatory actions to be put forward and take effect. Trump said at the end of May that "in two weeks" drug companies would "announce voluntary massive drops in prices." It is not yet clear whether any drug companies have agreed to cut their prices voluntarily. (The Hill by Peter Sullivan)
Two Weeks After Trump Unveiled Plan to Lower Drug Prices, Two Cancer Drugs Got a $1,000-per-Month Price Hike
Two weeks after President Trump in May unveiled a plan to lower drug prices for Americans, promising "it will start to take effect very soon," the drug company Bayer hiked the list prices of two cancer drugs by more than $1,000 per month. Bayer wasn't alone. A research note by Wells Fargo analyst David Maris found that although fewer drug-price increases occurred in May than in previous months, dozens of increases did occur. (Washington Post by Carolyn Y. Johnson)
