 Health Care |
Health Care |
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High price tag bolsters ACA tax credit opposition |
One of the biggest health care fights that will occur in Congress next year has an official price tag: Permanently extending ObamaCare's tax credits would increase the deficit by $335 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). |
In a letter sent Monday to House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), CBO said 3.4 million more people annually would have health insurance if the subsidies were made permanent. The subsidies were originally intended for people who earn up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level to obtain coverage. The subsidies were expanded under the COVID-era American Rescue Plan, capping what people with higher incomes pay for a silver plan premium at 8.5 percent of their income. The subsidies were set to expire in 2022, but they were extended to 2025 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, whoever controls Congress after the November elections will be able to decide whether to let the subsidies expire or seek to extend them permanently. The tax credits have helped millions of people buy insurance and lowered premiums for others, but Republicans argue too many high earners are getting taxpayer-subsidized insurance. The CBO score gives Republicans new ammunition, and they can claim major savings by letting the tax credits expire. "At a time when we are experiencing a record $35 trillion national debt with health care expenditures accounting for nearly 18 percent of GDP, it is unconscionable that Democrats would continue to push for massive taxpayer-funded handouts to the wealthy and large health insurance companies," Arrington and Smith said in a joint statement. |
Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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A bipartisan group of over 50 lawmakers in both the House and Senate is calling for increased oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) in Medicare Advantage (MA) coverage decisions. In the letter addressed to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the group of lawmakers said that they are "concerned about MA plans' use of prior authorization, specifically their ongoing … |
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| Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) wants the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate why a low-cost generic cancer drug isn't widely available to patients. In a letter sent to HHS Tuesday shared first with The Hill, Rosen questioned why Medicare patients pay $3,000 a month for abiraterone, a generic oral drug used as part of prostate cancer treatment, when a version that costs $171 is also on the market. … |
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Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) proposed barring the use of defense funds for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. Rosendale filed an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, his office announced Tuesday. The amendment states that the bill would defund "assisted reproductive technology that includes any infertility treatments or technologies including IVF to ensure human life is protected." "While I feel … |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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FDA warns maker of Sara Lee and Entenmann's not to claim foods contain allergens when they don't |
Federal food safety regulators said Tuesday that they have warned a top U.S. bakery to stop using labels that say its products contain potentially dangerous allergens when they don’t. U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found that Bimbo Bakeries USA — which includes brands such as Sara Lee, Oroweat, Thomas’, Entenmann’s … | |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- State organizations request health department investment following Medicaid redetermination (Daily Montanan)
- Arizona Department of Health establishes their first statewide chief heat officer (KYMA)
- Communities across N.C. work to curb suicides amid worsening mental health crisis (North Carolina Health News)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- In states that won't pay for obesity drugs, 'they may as well have never been created' (The New York Times)
- Health privacy bill faces GOP opposition (Politico)
- Finland to offer bird flu vaccinations to at-risk residents in a world first (NBC News)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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The nation is bracing for a high-stakes Supreme Court decision that could come as soon as this week on former President Trump's arguments that he is … Read more |
| Author and activist Monica Lewinsky said Tuesday the judge overseeing former President Trump's classified documents case should be impeached. "i awakened … Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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