Top Healthcare Policy News from the Week of December 2, 2019
Regulatory | HHS
HHS and CMS are Butting Heads
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and CMS chief Seema Verma seem to be clashing quite a bit in the Oval Office, according to Politico’s anonymous sources. The story goes as far as suggesting that Azar is trying to push Verma out. That’s some high school level drama, eh?
- The bitter rivalry is causing a deep rift in Trump’s healthcare administration, and seems to be holding back policy – like drug pricing or surprise billing – from taking shape.
Regulatory | Vaping
Trump Doesn’t Want to Risk Vaping Ban
Amidst the health concerns surrounding vaping and the continued push for a permanent ban, researchers are saying “hold up.” They think that vaping could actually help people to quit smoking and that the fake smoking device needs more time and research to consider it as an alternative to smoking. Which kills, in case you forgot.
We’re also forgetting the potential political implications of an outright vaping ban. About 10% of Trump’s constituency vapes. I’m sure he’s just gonna ignore that and ban vaping, anyway.
Read this: Trump’s vaping ban puts him at political risk – an estimated 10% of his supporters vape. We get it.
Medicaid | Tennessee
Tennessee Wants a Medicaid Overhaul
Tennessee has found itself as the guinea pig over the future of Medicaid in a highly controversial proposal. In a first for any state, Tennessee asked the federal government for a ‘block grant’ lump sum to fund its Medicaid program, rather than the ‘pay as you go’ program currently funded by the federal government.
- What ultimately gets decided in court may shape the future of the welfare program and cause a complete Medicaid overhaul. Read the article for yourself to see what’s going on.
Payment Models | Radiation Oncology
CMS Delays the Radiation Oncology Payment Model
This week, CMS, who’s in charge of how much Medicare pays for health services, delayed its controversial payment re-design for the radiation oncology industry (that’s people who receive radiation treatment for cancer).
- In other news, CMS also wants to revamp primary care payment models. Through Direct Contracting, CMS wants larger physician groups to take on more risk, a-la, “value-based” arrangements.
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