State of the Union Healthcare Stuff.
Here’s a quick recap of the healthcare State of the Union:
Trump wants Congress to get past its gridlock on drug pricing – “I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay.”
- He took a shot at Bernie’s Medicare for All proposal.
- He talked about positive progress in kidney care, Alzheimer’s, and the opioid crisis.
- He’s focused on eliminating HIV over the next decade.
- He promised to protect pre-existing conditions. It’s political suicide these days to say otherwise.
- Read more: Here’s the full #SOTU2020 transcript.
The White House’s Brag Letter.
Finally, the White House released a statement on its progress in healthcare during Trump’s first term. The statement lists a variety of accomplishments and positive developments that have occurred during Trump’s presidency.
- Many think healthcare is one of Trump’s weakest issues, so it makes sense that the statement was released. Read it here.
How would Medicaid block grants affect major payors?
During Centene’s Q4 earnings call, CEO Michael Neidorff weighed in on the recent Medicaid block grant proposal and called it a potential net positive for payers.
Other policy updates to know.
HHS responded to a recent lawsuit against the recent price transparency rules that would force providers and insurers to publicly disclose negotiated reimbursement rates, arguing that the administrative cost caused by the request would be manageable and that providers are only ‘adding’ to the confusion.