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Congress is finally getting down to real work on legislation to end 鈥渟urprise鈥� medical bills, which patients get if they inadvertently receive care from an out-of-network health providers or use one in an emergency. But doctors, hospitals, insurers and other health care payers can鈥檛 seem to agree on who should pay more so patients can pay less.
Meanwhile, the fight over women鈥檚 reproductive rights continues in both Washington, D.C., and the states. This week, governors in three states 鈥� Vermont, Illinois and Maine 鈥� signed bills to make abortions easier to obtain. At the same time, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives took up a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services that still includes the 鈥淗yde Amendment,鈥� which bans most federal abortion funding 鈥� despite the fact that most House Democrats oppose the restriction. House Democratic leaders fear that the fight to eliminate the restriction would jeopardize the rest of the spending bill in the GOP-controlled Senate and at the White House.
This week鈥檚 panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner.
Among the takeaways from this week鈥檚 podcast:
- Republicans on Capitol Hill and at the White House are just as eager as Democrats are to settle on legislation that would keep consumers from getting surprise medical bills. It would provide a nice counterpoint during the upcoming campaign to Democrats鈥� charges that the GOP has been undermining health care with its opposition to the Affordable Care Act.
- A federal judge in Texas has struck down the ACA鈥檚 provision that health plans must cover contraception. That is at odds with another judge in Pennsylvania who earlier this year blocked the Trump administration鈥檚 plans to loosen the birth control mandate.
- State insurance regulators are raising concerns about health care sharing ministries, which offer plans that provide coverage for some medical expenses. But consumers often don鈥檛 realize that the plans may not cover many health costs, including those from preexisting conditions.
Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:
Julie Rovner: The Washington Post鈥檚 鈥溾�� by Emily Wax-Thibodeaux
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times鈥� 鈥�,鈥� by Lisa Lerer
Stephanie Armour: NPR鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� by Rebecca Hersher
Kimberly Leonard: Politico鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� by Arthur Allen
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