Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Hands Decisions On Disputed 340B Payments To HHS
The Department of Health and Human Services will get to decide how to compensate hospitals for years of underpayments related to a federal drug discount program, a federal court decided Tuesday. The decision is the latest installment in a legal dispute between hospitals that get discounted drugs through the 340B program and the federal government over Medicare payment formulas. The repayments HHS owes hospitals total more than $1 billion, and hospitals had hoped the court would force the government to pay them back immediately. (Cohrs, 1/10)
In 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cut 340B reimbursement by nearly 30%, which generated $1.6 billion in savings. The agency redistributed the money to all hospitals, sparking frustration among hospitals that participate in 340B. (Berryman, 1/10)
As the enrollment deadline nears, HHS announces the latest ACA sign-ups —
Nearly 16 million Americans have so far signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace, a 13% jump from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday. Enrollment for 2023 healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is open between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15. About 3.1 million people who have signed up for the plans are new enrollees, HHS said. (1/11)
In news on Medicaid expansion —
For years, state Sen. Phil Berger says, there was nobody in North Carolina who opposed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act more vehemently than he did. Berger, a Republican, is president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate, the most powerful position in the chamber, so his opposition virtually guaranteed that the legislature would not expand the joint federal/state program to include an additional 600,000 adults with low incomes. That’s why Berger’s recent conversion from opponent to proponent has shot North Carolina to the top of the list of the states that are most likely to break ranks with the other 10 that have refused to expand Medicaid. (Ollove, 1/11)
Expanding Medicaid coverage leads to fewer post-birth hospitalizations, according to a new study in Health Affairs. Health experts have long recommended that states expand postpartum coverage and take other steps to improve maternal and child health in the U.S., which has the highest maternal mortality rates among developed nations. (Gonzalez, 1/10)
