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BATTLE OVER MEDICAID WORK RULES ESCALATES: The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed notice that it will appeal a federal judge’s decision to strike down requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas that certain Medicaid beneficiaries work in order to receive government healthcare.
The case will go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia after being struck down March 27 by Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.
Despite the ruling and the ongoing litigation, several other states are considering starting Medicaid work programs or seeking permission from the Trump administration to start them. Since Boasberg’s ruling, Idaho’s governor signed a bill into law to apply to participate, and the Trump administration approved a work plan in Utah. In all, at least 15 states are somewhere in the process of applying for or implementing the work requirement, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is tracking the plans.
Even in Florida, which has not expanded Medicaid, state House lawmakers are considering moving forward with a bill that would require work or training for work for 500,000 Medicaid recipients.
The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative group that supports work requirements, cheered the appeal in a statement on Thursday.
“This is the first step in restoring Medicaid to its original intent as a temporary safety-net for the truly needy, but Arkansas, Kentucky, and other states should continue to move forward with Medicaid work requirements, even while the appeal process is underway,” said Kristina Rasmussen, vice president of federal affairs at FGA.
The case may eventually be appealed to the Supreme Court. The Trump administration’s argument is that Medicaid could go beyond providing healthcare coverage and instead, through work requirements, help beneficiaries improve their lives by earning more money and securing private health insurance coverage.
Plaintiffs in the case counter that the goal of Medicaid is to deliver healthcare, and noted that the program that kicked off in Arkansas had resulted in more than 18,000 people losing coverage. They argue that the rules can be difficult to follow, with people often not knowing they are supposed to log their hours, lacking access to the internet to keep track of their work, or living in places with crippling unemployment.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing some of the plaintiffs in the case, said it was confident that the rules would eventually be struck down.
“The Trump Administration is wrong on the law,” Sam Brooke, the deputy legal director for the group, said in a statement. “And we are confident that the judge’s well-reasoned opinion in this case will stand.”
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
OBAMACARE’S DAY IN COURT ROUGHLY FOUR MONTHS AWAY: The 5th Circuit agreed on Wednesday to expedite the appeal for the case challenging Obamacare, after the Trump administration asked for the case to be moved up. Oral arguments are expected sometime between July 9-12 in New Orleans. Attorney General William Barr is expected to present his argument for not defending Obamacare before May 1.
Barr defends Obamacare position in committee: Barr told Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Wednesday that the decision to ask a court to throw out all of Obamacare was “a defensible and reasonable legal position” during an Appropriations Committee hearing. Collins, who has consistently voted against repealing Obamacare, is one of the few members of Congress who has been vocal about opposing the Trump administration’s stance.
SANDERS WILLING TO PASS MEDICARE FOR ALL THROUGH RECONCILIATION: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Wednesday in a statement that if he were to win the presidency then he would support having the Medicare for All Act passed through reconciliation. It’s not clear that the Medicare for All Act would fit the reconciliation rules, as it applies only to budget bills, but this would mean the bill would need 50 votes in the upper chamber, assuming the support of a future vice president. Fourteen senators are co-sponsoring the Medicare for All Act at this time.
WHITE HOUSE, GOP ATTACK LATEST MEDICARE FOR ALL ACT: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders warned in a statement that the bill would “hurt seniors, eliminate private health insurance for 180 million Americans, and cripple our economy and future generations with unprecedented debt.” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday compared the Medicare for All Act to the “Green New Deal.” Conway said she wants government to have as little to do with her medical procedures as possible as someone who has given birth four times. Republicans in the Energy and Commerce Committee declared, “We can’t wait to have this debate” on the healthcare bill.
Schultz joins the criticism: Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO who’s considering running for president as an independent, criticized the Medicare for All Act in a statement Wednesday. “Being a leader requires making hard choices and being honest,” he said. “Bernie Sanders’ plan does neither and only serves to advance a far-left agenda.”
LAWMAKERS SKEWER PBMs, DRUG COMPANIES: House lawmakers on Wednesday warned drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers — who blamed each other for high drug prices — in a hearing that they would soon take action to reduce the prices of insulin. Multiple reports and first-hand accounts from constituents have shown that people are forgoing the drug because of high costs or rationing it, putting them at risk of death. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that his constituents were asking him to set prices, and Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., said he thought PBMs should be “converted to nonprofits.”
REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: The Protect Act, introduced by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., with 17 GOP co-sponsors, would ban insurers from charging sick people more than healthy people, from turning them away from coverage, or from refusing coverage that would treat a pre-existing condition. Protect Our Care, a pro-Obamacare group, fired at Republicans over the legislation, accusing them of trying to mask “repeated attempts to strip protections from millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.”
SENATE DEMOCRATS SLAM TRUMP OVER HEALTHCARE IN NEW VIDEO: Senate Democrats released a video Wednesday accusing the GOP of being “all repeal, no replace” on healthcare. Democrats in the video said President Trump promised multiple times to introduce an improved healthcare plan and instead is now launching the “latest all-assault” on established healthcare.
GRASSLEY EXPECTS DRUG PRICING BILL BY SUMMER: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters Wednesday that he and Sen. Ron Wyden, R-Ore., had started discussing legislation to lower drug prices about one month ago. Grassley added that he hopes to have a bill drafted by June or July of this year, and that his bill could be combined with Sen. Lamar Alexander’s, R-Tenn., measure to lower healthcare costs.
OHIO TO PASS SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN: The Ohio Senate passed a ban on abortion after six weeks on Wednesday, advancing it to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to sign into law. Upon passing, Ohio will be the sixth state to pass a six-week ban, which does not make exceptions for instances of rape or incest. The ban is intended to apply before a heartbeat can be detected, and before many women know they are pregnant.
Former Gov. John Kasich vetoed a six-week ban bill in 2018, explaining that a court battle over the constitutionality of it would cost the state hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in legal fees.
HOUSE AGAIN INTRODUCES REPEAL OF THE MEDICAL DEVICE TAX: The latest bill was introduced Wednesday by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Scott Peters, D-Calif., and Richard Hudson, R-N.C. The 2.3 percent tax on medical devices is part of Obamacare and has been suspended for several years in a row. The House has voted to repeal it before, and the Senate version was introduced in March.
GOP TEXAS LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL THAT COULD MAKE ABORTION PUNISHABLE BY DEATH: Texas state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican from northeastern Texas, reintroduced a bill that would punish women who receive an abortion with a homicide conviction, which is subject to capital punishment in the Lone Star state. He said he wants the state government to provide “equal protection” for unborn children both “inside and outside the womb.”
KENTUCKY BECOMES FIRST IN NATION TO USE TWO-HOUR DNA TESTS IN RAPE INVESTIGATIONS: Kentucky on Wednesday became the first state to begin using rapid DNA testing for all sexual assault investigations, with the aim of significantly faster results helping close rape cases. The state began using rapid DNA tests on a trial basis earlier this year as it went through sexual assault evidence kits, otherwise known as rape kits. The system was co-developed with the military when the Pentagon needed mobile DNA processing for missions in the Middle East and elsewhere.
OPINION: NEW BERNIE SANDERS HEALTHCARE PLAN IS EVEN MORE ABSURD THAN HIS OLD ONE
The Rundown
Politico From abortion to immigration, things you didn’t know were in Medicare for All
Stat AIDS activists skewer CDC for conflicting stance on collecting HIV drug royalties
VTDigger.org Health care reform curbed Vermont Medicaid spending, report says
The New York Times Parkland victims’ families sue, claiming negligence in mass shooting
Tampa Bay Times Senate panel advances more House healthcare priorities, including Canadian drug importation
Calendar
THURSDAY | April 11
April 10-12. Marriott Marquis. Business Health Agenda Conference. Agenda.
MONDAY | April 15
House and Senate in recess.
WEDNESDAY | April 17
Noon. Dirksen G-50. Alliance for Health Policy event on “Right Care, Right Patient, Right Time: The Role of Comparative Effectiveness Research.” Details.
