Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is Repealing 'Cadillac Tax' A Terrible Idea? Many Health Care Economists Think So
From Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side to key Republican lawmakers in Washington, including Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, there is a growing bipartisan push to repeal the so-called 鈥淐adillac Tax鈥 on high-cost health insurance plans that is due to kick in in 2018 under the Affordable Care Act. (Garver, 10/2)
A key federal program designed to cushion health insurers' risks in the Obamacare exchanges has a massive shortfall, which could throw some insurers into financial turmoil. Insurers requested $2.87 billion in so-called "risk corridors" payments for 2014, but will only receive $362 million, or 12.6%, said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees Obamacare. (Luhby, 10/2)
In state Medicaid news,聽Arkansas' plans for a hybrid expansion move forward, Virginia's governor again urges state lawmakers to聽expand and 1 in 4 Connecticut residents who lost Medicaid coverage signed up for private insurance. Also in thenews, on Arizona's health insurance marketplace next year, companies are dropping their PPOs -
A much-anticipated report to lawmakers on Arkansas' hybrid Medicaid expansion won't resolve the muddied future of a program providing coverage to more than 200,000 people. But it could at least provide some clarity on the options the Legislature faces, and how difficult finding consensus on the program will be. The task force formed to look at the state's "private option" is expected to hear from the Stephen Group, the consultant lawmakers hired to study the expansion and the overall Medicaid program. Wednesday's report by the consultant marks a turning point for the 16-member panel, with a December deadline fast approaching to issue recommendations on the Medicaid expansion. (DeMillo, 10/3)
In a replay of the aftermath of the August slaying of two broadcast journalists in southwest Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday said stricter gun laws and an expansion of Medicaid to treat the mentally ill could curtail gun violence such as the deadly Oregon college shooting. (Portnoy, 10/2)
About one in four low-income parents who lost Medicaid coverage in September signed up for a private health plan through the state鈥檚 health insurance exchange before the deadline last week 鈥 a total of 166 people. Officials had hoped to boost the number who signed up in the final weeks before the deadline, but just 26 people signed up between early September and the end of the month. (Levin Becker, 10/5)
Four major health insurance companies will discontinue preferred-provider plans for tens of thousands of Arizonans next year on the federal marketplace. Instead, they鈥檒l sell pared-down, health maintenance organization plans that limit the doctors and hospitals that consumers can visit at lower, in-network rates. (Alltucker, 10/3)
In other news related to Medicaid and the safety net -
Three health and safety net programs for the poor and elderly accounted for most of the federal government鈥檚 $124.7 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2014, the Government Accountability Office reported Thursday. The figure, which represents improper payments across 124 federal programs, is up roughly 20 percent from $105.8 billion in fiscal 2013, according to a new GAO report. (Pugh, 10/3)
