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The approaching Congress will look totally different from the present one: Whereas Democrats narrowly saved management of the U.S. Senate, Republicans gained a majority within the Home. Whereas their majority is small, it’s going to probably be sufficient to dam any additional gadgets on President Joe Biden’s agenda.
In the meantime, the present, lame-duck Congress nonetheless has plenty of gadgets on its to-do listing, together with preserving the federal government open and averting a scheduled 4% minimize in funds to well being suppliers.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of Public Well being and Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- With Democrats holding the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is predicted to be the following chairman of the Committee of Well being, Schooling, Labor, and Pensions. In that function he would be capable to set a extra progressive agenda, although he couldn’t push modifications to Medicare, which isn’t underneath the committee’s jurisdiction. Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R-La.), a health care provider who labored on shock billing laws, is in line to turn out to be HELP’s high Republican.
- Republicans clinched management of the Home of Representatives and have nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to be speaker, although he’ll have to beat tensions over weaker-than-expected midterm outcomes. Whereas there are probabilities to show bipartisanship, like on telehealth regulation, the social gathering will be capable to push again in opposition to the Democratic-controlled Senate and White Home. Look ahead to investigations into the Biden administration and Republican refusals to fund the federal government and lift the debt ceiling.
- Within the states, Oregon voters authorized a constitutional modification that establishes a person proper to well being care, although it doesn’t give the state the power to spend cash to make sure that proper. It stays to be seen what the change means, though it presumably opens the door for residents to sue the state over well being care affordability.
- A liberal group, the Equity Challenge, was behind a wave of profitable poll measures final week, capitalizing on the hole between voters and Republican lawmakers on points like abortion and Medicaid enlargement. Each events have discovered success in utilizing poll initiatives to attract voters to the polls throughout non-presidential election years, and this 12 months Democratic election officers like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan seem to have benefited from such measures.
- Congress is staring down a busy lame-duck session, with must-dos together with funding the federal government and averting long-scheduled cuts to Medicare funds. Pandemic preparedness and maternal well being laws are additionally on the listing of potentialities. President Biden remains to be pushing for more cash for covid-19 aid as present pandemic funds run out, although Republicans are unlikely to budge of their opposition.
- Codification of abortion rights appears unlikely for now. Neither social gathering seems to have the assist to go nationwide protections or nationwide restrictions, although appropriations fights are anticipated over a number of present insurance policies, together with these affecting incarcerated ladies and Indigenous ladies. In the meantime, the U.S. Convention of Catholic Bishops elected two hard-line opponents this week, and the courts are scrutinizing state bans in Georgia and Kentucky, as Florida talks about growing restrictions there.
- The Cleveland Clinic has instituted a coverage of charging sufferers’ insurance coverage $50 to reply any message despatched to suppliers via its on-line portal that takes greater than 5 minutes of their time to answer. Insurance coverage corporations are more likely to push again, however look ahead to the coverage to unfold to different suppliers.
- A yearlong KHN mission on non-public fairness possession in well being care wrapped this week with reporting exhibiting non-public fairness has poured practically $1 trillion into 8,000 well being care transactions in simply the previous decade. However weak reporting necessities imply the federal authorities is usually not reviewing these transactions for potential antitrust violations.
Plus, for further credit score, the panelists suggest their favourite well being coverage tales of the week they suppose you must learn, too:
Julie Rovner: The Philadelphia Inquirer’s “,” by Sarah Gantz
Alice Miranda Ollstein: ProPublica’s “,” by Kavitha Surana
Victoria Knight: The Each day Beast’s “,” by Will Sommer
Joanne Kenen: The Pink Sheet’s “” by Sarah Karlin-Smith
Additionally talked about on this week’s episode:
Axios’ “,” by Sabrina Moreno
Cleveland.com’s “,” by Julie Washington
KHN’s “” by Fred Schulte
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