TAKE ACTION
- During the congressional recess week, take action to make your voice heard at local town halls and from home.
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Register for the 2017 National Leadership Conference and book your hotel room before the extended April 9th cut-off date to recieve the room block rate.
WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE
Though discussions between the White House, the House Freedom Caucus and centrist Republicans continued this past week in an attempt to revive support for the American Health Care Act, the
GOP health bill is still in shambles as the House commences a two-week spring recess. Following the cancelled vote, momentum for the AHCA stalled given discordance between different factions within the Republican party. Yesterday, House Republicans
introduced an amendment that creates a federal “
invisible risk-sharing program,” to reduce premiums in the individual insurance market. The $15B amendment is a form of re-insurance, designed to help states reduce premiums by reimbursing insurers for individuals with high-cost medical conditions. The proposal passed the House Committee on a party line vote; however, it leaves out specific details regarding
enrollee eligibility and state funding qualifications. The White House is reportedly working on
additional amendments to the billthat would allow states to request waivers to opt out of certain Obamacare insurance regulations, like essential health benefits— a move that the
Freedom Caucus has viewed favorably. Discussions are expected to continue during the two-week break, in order to rally enough support for the bill to pass the House thereafter.
As the deadline for insurers to submit exchange participation applications approaches, AHIP and other insurance
industry groups remain concerned about the future of the Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies. This funding issued to insurers to subsidize exchange customers’ out-of-pocket costs are not guaranteed next year, as the administration decides how to handle the
House Republican’s court case challenging the legality of cost-sharing subsidies. House Speaker Paul Ryan has stated that he expects the funding to continue; however,
some advisers believe that funding should cease. Meanwhile, insurers are still wavering on their participating in the individual market.
Aetna has announced that it will exit from the Iowa individual exchange marketplace. This decision came soon after
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Iowa’s dominant insurer, also retreated from the individual marketplace, leaving many Iowa counties with only one insurance option.
Lastly in the pharmaceutical sector, companies learned of a new effort by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to
change the way in which drugs are paid for under Medicare Part B. The Commission voted 15-0 to recommend that Congress enact
new drug reimbursement lawsthrough several proposals that would decrease Medicare spending by as much as $750M in the first year of implementation, and $5B over five years. Pharmceutical companies and providers have previously succeeded in lobbying against a similar attempt to change reimbursement laws under the Obama administration.
MEMBERS IN ACTION
Tell us about what you are up to! Email your updates and photos to [email protected].
March for Health
New York
Dr. Bruce Rector, New York State Director and Co-chair of the DFA Drug Pricing, Value, and Affordability Campaign, shares that on Saturday, April 1st, DFA-NY members marched with other physicians from our New York physician advocacy coalition, nurses, patients and union members to deliver a strong, unified message on the need for equitable and affordable access to high-quality healthcare for all. Speakers shared powerful stories on how the ACA benefited them as women, people with disabilities, people with mental health problems, LBGTQ members, freelance employees, veterans and more. Local politicians joined them on stage to speak about the need for equitable health care for all and DFA-NY member, Kamini Doobay, passionately spoke about the need to dismantle racism in healthcare.


Washington
Dr. Lisa Playmate, Washington State Director, also spoke at a March for Health rally in Washington. During her remarks she said, “When we moved to Seattle 10 years ago, I decided to follow my passion and go where I was most needed. I first went to eastern WA, to work with migrant workers in a federally funded community clinic; we did not ask for citizenship papers, and most of patients were in subsidized programs. I then worked for a special clinic in Rainier Valley, where our patients were frail, elderly, complex and poor – eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. I cannot imagine how any of the patients I saw in either of those places could have been seen under the repeal plan.”
KEY ARTICLES
New York Times: Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the United States Supreme Court
Kaiser Family Foundation: State Medicaid Expansion Approaches fact
NEJM: Comparison of FDA regulatory review process to that of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
STAT: Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearings begin Wednesday for FDA Commissioner nominee Scott Gottlieb
Kaiser Family Foundation: Webcast on how the decision regarding ACA cost-sharing subsidies could disrupt Obamacare marketplaces
CBPP blog: Tweak to House GOP health bill much ado about nothing
CBPP report: To help stabilize the individual health insurance market, take ACA repeal off the table