RealClearHealth Morning Scan -- 01/14/2016
Today's Top Stories
Sanders Pressed for Details on Health Plan
Kevin Hardy, D.M. Register
News that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders may not release tax details of his universal health care plan before Iowans go to caucus on Feb. 1 sparked a heated back-and-forth between his campaign and that of his chief rival, Hillary Clinton.
Obama Proposes New Medicaid Expansion Funds
Peter Sullivan, The Hill
Obama will propose in his 2017 budget to have the federal government pick up the entire cost of expansion for three years, no matter when a state decides to accept the expansion.
Senate Medical Bill Delayed by Partisan Bumps
Caitlin Owens, Morn. Con.
Sparring over legislation that would accelerate the development of medical cures has a senior Senate Republican threatening to act without Democratic support, despite the popularity of the issue.
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What's Next for National Institutes of Health?
Nora Kelly, The Atlantic
Congressional disagreements around the agency tend to be limited to how much funding it deserves, not whether it deserves much at all. And as supporters prepare themselves for new budget negotiations around the corner, they’re hoping this increase—with money for Alzheimer’s, precision medicine, and other research—is the first of many to come.
Dirty Scopes Infected Scores of Patients
Melody Petersen, L.A. Times
Scores of hospital patients treated with medical scopes were infected with potentially deadly bacteria because of repeated failures by manufacturers, regulators and hospitals to report outbreaks, according to a U.S. Senate investigation released Wednesday.
Risk Adjustment Having Reverse Robin Hood Effect
Amy Goldstein, WP
The goal is to help keep insurance markets stable by sharing the “risk” of sicker people and removing any incentive for plans to avoid individuals who need more medical care. Such stability is likely to encourage competition and keep prices lower for consumers, while its absence can undermine both and limit coverage choices — the basic principles of the law. Yet the way the Obama administration has carried out this strategy shows another unexpected consequence of the 2010 health-care law.
Controversial 'Pay-for-Delay' Rx Deals Drop
Diane Bartz, Reuters
Branded drug companies hammered out far fewer deals with generic drug makers to delay sales of cheaper medicines in the year after the Supreme Court ruled the Federal Trade Commission could legally pursue such agreements as potentially illegal.
Hemophilia Patient or Drug Seller?
Andrew Pollack, New York Times
Drugs for hemophilia are so expensive and therefore so lucrative for the pharmaceutical industry that they have created an unusual conflict of interest, blurring the lines between being a patient and drug seller. More and more, manufacturers of hemophilia drugs and the specialty pharmacies that dispense the medicines are hiring patients and their relatives to gain an inside track and access in selling their products.
Network to Make More Health Data Available
Joyce Frieden, MedPage
Cities and regions may have data-sharing networks, but they are not linked with others doing similar things. That's where the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) hopes to help.
2015 Was a Record Year For Organ Donations
Maggie Fox, NBC News
Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network shows a nearly 5 percent increase in organ donations over 2014.
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