Senate Democrats are launching a partisan push to end the funding battle over the federal government’s child healthcare program, which is set to expire in the fall.
All of the chamber’s Democrats are signed on as co-sponsors to a bill that would extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2019. It is the Senate’s first piece of legislation this session to extend CHIP and was introduced the same day as a companion bill in the House.
{mosads}The 18-year-old program provides coverage to about 10 million children and once had bipartisan support. But it has generated controversy recently because some Republicans believe the costly program overlaps with new benefits under the Affordable Care Act.
Some lawmakers argue that new subsidies and expanded eligibility under Medicaid should mean CHIP is no longer needed. But Democrats have argued that the program is still needed, partly because nearly half of the states have yet to expand Medicaid.
As many as 2.7 million children could fall into an insurance gap if CHIP expires, according to one report. Read more here.
ATTACKING THE INSURER TAX: A House Republican surgeon is renewing his push to repeal an ObamaCare tax on insurance companies that he says “drives up costs” across the board. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) is joining Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on a bill to repeal the Health Insurance Tax, which he said hurts individuals and businesses by increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
The tax is an important revenue source for the Affordable Care Act, amounting to $8 billion in 2014 and rising to $14.3 billion by 2018, though the Congressional Budget Office has warned it would be “largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.” Read more here.
DON’T FORGET V-DAY: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants you to remember two important days this weekend: Valentine’s Day and the deadline to sign up for ObamaCare.
“As a nice Valentine’s Day gift, you can sign up for healthcare,” Pelosi said as she closed her weekly briefing Thursday. Read more here.
HIGH COST AT THE COURT: There will be a rise in unpaid healthcare costs if the Supreme Court rules against ObamaCare, according to a new study.
The report from The Urban Institute, a liberal think tank, finds that if the Supreme Court strikes down the law’s subsidies, there will be $12 billion worth of healthcare that is not paid for in 2016, because people will lose insurance that they can no longer afford without the subsidies. Much of the “uncompensated care” comes in the form of emergency room visits by people without insurance.
The report estimates 8.2 million people will lose insurance if the Supreme Court rules against the law, including around 6 million who will be stripped of subsidies and more than 1 million more who will be unable to afford coverage because of premium increases. Read more here.
REFORMING CANCER PAYMENTS: HHS on Thursday unveiled a new payment model for cancer treatments that puts a stronger focus on the quality of care instead of quantity.
It is part of a larger effort by HHS to transition away from the dominant fee-for-service model toward one that pays based on performance and whole episodes of care, rather than for each procedure. Read more here.
OBAMA DISMISSES CRITICISM OF EBOLA CZAR: President Obama on Thursday took a stab at the administration’s critics as he praised his embattled Ebola czar Ron Klain for taking on “a challenge that many called insurmountable.”
“There was more than a little skepticism from some corners at the selection of Ron to fulfill this function,” Obama said in a statement Thursday, one day before Klain officially leaves his post. “Background noise notwithstanding, I chose Ron for a reason.” Read more here.
State by state
Arkansas to end alternative ObamaCare plan for the poor
Wolf says he wants to create ‘plain vanilla’ Medicaid
Philadelphia mayors encourage ACA enrollment
What we’re reading
States have already introduced more than 100 abortion bills this year
BuzzFeed runs promo-video for ObamaCare alongside interview package
Obama administration partners with online gamers to promote ObamaCare
Koch brothers group aims to stop Medicaid expansion in some states
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Please send tips and comments to Sarah Ferris, sferris@digital-release.thehill.com, and Peter Sullivan, psullivan@digital-release.thehill.com. Follow on Twitter: @thehill, @sarahnferris, @PeterSullivan4