A federal District Court judge in Washington, D.C., has 鈥� for now 鈥� blocked Kentucky鈥檚 proposal to add a work requirement for much of its adult Medicaid population. The decision, while far from final, is likely to prompt lawsuits from advocates in other states where the Department of Health and Human Services has approved similar proposals.
Also this week, HHS released updated enrollment information about those purchasing health insurance in the individual market. Despite efforts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to depress enrollment by cutting outreach and canceling federal payments to insurers, the number of people who actually paid their first month鈥檚 premium was up slightly in 2018, compared with 2017.
This week鈥檚 panelists for KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥� are: Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico.
Among the takeaways from this week鈥檚 podcast:
- While the overall number of people buying coverage in the health law鈥檚 exchanges rose, the number of people not getting help with their premiums fell for the third-straight year. While some consumers may have found other coverage (through Medicare or jobs), rising premiums have been a problem.
- The court decision blocking Kentucky鈥檚 Medicaid work requirement does not necessarily preclude other states鈥� work requirements from going forward. But the decision is likely to spark lawsuits in those states that have already had their work programs approved by HHS.
- The window for bipartisan action on health care costs on Capitol Hill has closed. The Justice Department鈥檚 decision to join the state attorneys general lawsuit on preexisting conditions was likely the last straw. Issues surrounding coverage of preexisting conditions will now likely dominate the political discussion leading up to the midterm elections this fall.
- Two things worth noting from the month of June. First, the recent court decision on risk-corridor payments to insurers seems to be a significant blow to the industry. Also, the Trump administration announced a major reorganization of Cabinet-level agencies. Although this is a common step for an administration, and something that rarely moves beyond 鈥減ie-in-the-sky鈥� discussions, this one seems to be encapsulating the debate about the safety-net and social welfare programs.
Read the latest on the Bill of the Month series:
鈥淔ather鈥檚 And Son鈥檚 Injuries Lead To The Mother Of All Therapy Bills,鈥� By Stephanie O鈥橬eill.
If you have a medical bill you鈥檇 like NPR and KHN to investigate, you can submit it here.
Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥� the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner:聽Kaiser Health News鈥� 鈥淯nlocked And Loaded: Families Confront Dementia And Guns,鈥� by JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey
Stephanie Armour:聽狈笔搁鈥檚 by Shefali Luthra and Anna Gorman
Anna Edney:聽The New York Times鈥櫬�
Joanne Kenen: The Washington Post鈥檚 By Amy Ellis Nutt
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