Tag Archives: Health Insurance Industry Lobby

Is 3.49 more than 3?

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Is 3.49 more than 3?

Image result for fuzzy math

HHS has already submitted a proposal of new rules to OMB. [Under the proposal,] insurers would have more leeway to vary prices by age, so that premiums for the oldest customers could be 3.49 times as large as those for younger customers. Today, premiums for the old can be only three times as high as premiums for the young, which is what the Affordable Care Act stipulates. According to sources privy to HHS discussions with insurers, officials would argue that since 3.49 “rounds down” to three, the change would still comply with the statute.

This is kinda dumb. It’s also not so legal. The ACA says that “the rates” for health plans “shall not vary by more than 3 to 1 for adults.” The statute couldn’t be clearer. As I said to Jonathan: ”If I told you not to sell something for more than $3.00, and you went ahead and sold it for $3.49, then you’ve disregarded my instruction. It doesn’t matter if it rounds to $3.00. It’s more than $3.00.”

Under Chevron, agencies have lots of room to interpret ambiguous statutes. But there’s no ambiguity here. The statute says no more than 3, period. As Monty Python might say, 3.49 is right out. (Here’s where I insert the standard caveat that the administration hasn’t offered a legal argument—or any public comment, for that matter—and it’s possible I’m missing something. Also, the rule could easily be amended during OMB review.)

 

Trump, GOP Lawmakers Back Off From Immediate Obamacare Repeal

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http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/06/513718166/trump-congressional-gop-back-off-from-immediate-obamacare-repeal

There’s a moment in the Broadway musical Hamilton where George Washington says to an exasperated Alexander Hamilton: “Winning is easy, young man. Governing’s harder.”

When it comes to health care, it seems that President Trump is learning that same lesson. Trump and Republicans in Congress are struggling with how to keep their double-edged campaign promise — to repeal Obamacare without leaving millions of people without health insurance.

During the campaign, Trump promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act immediately upon taking office. Last month, in an interview with The Washington Post, he said he had a replacement law “very much formulated down to the final strokes.”

But on Sunday, he dialed back those expectations in an interview with Fox News.

“It’s in the process and maybe it will take till sometime into next year, but we are certainly going to be in the process. It’s very complicated,” Trump said.

He repeated his claim that Obamacare has been “a disaster” and said his replacement would be a “wonderful plan” that would take time “statutorily” to put in place. And then he hedged the timing again.

“I would like to say by the end of the year, at least the rudiments,” he said.

Trump’s recent hesitation comes as Republicans in Congress tame their rhetoric surrounding the health care law.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate health committee, said he’d like to see lawmakers make fixes to the current individual market before repealing parts of the law.

“We can repair the individual market, which is a good place to start,” Alexander said on Feb. 1.

The players who are set to influence Trump on health care

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The players who are set to influence Trump on health care

It’s customary in the nation’s capital to hail members of the incoming administration by telling everyone in town how close you are to them. So many in conservative Washington lobbying circles and elsewhere are busy touting their relationships with President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers.

There’s a benefit to proximity to power, especially now. At a time when nobody really knows how the Trump administration will regulate drugs and medical devices, fund scientific research, or repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act, relationships with the newcomers are viewed as critical to getting one’s issues on the table.

Donations don’t hurt, either.

Trump’s transition team is a moving train, so influencers are likely to jump aboard fast. Here’s STAT’s look at people and organizations in health care and science who are likely to have influence with a Trump presidency — and who else might benefit.