Overnight Healthcare: Medicare fight looms on Capitol Hill

An Obama administration proposal aimed at fighting high drug prices is facing a backlash on Capitol Hill.

Republicans say the pilot program that would change how Medicare pays for certain drugs should be scrapped, while congressional Democrats are expressing serious concerns and seeking changes, but generally do not want to terminate it completely.

{mosads}Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) told The Hill that he plans to introduce a bill on Friday that would block the program; he expects some Democrats to support it.

At issue is a five-year pilot program that would change the way Medicare Part B pays for drugs.

Currently, Medicare pays doctors the average price of a drug plus 6 percent. The administration warns that system gives doctors an incentive to prescribe higher cost drugs so that they get paid more. The pilot program would reduce the 6 percent add-on to 2.5 percent plus a flat fee of about $16.

So far, the proposal is finding little support in Congress. Every Democratic senator on the Senate Finance Committee joined a letter to the administration on Thursday calling for changes to the program before it moves forward.

The Finance Committee Democrats warned that the program could harm patients by limiting their access to treatments if doctors’ costs to acquire drugs become higher than the reimbursement rate for Medicare.

House Democrats, led by Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), are circulating a similar letter that expresses 11 different concerns with the effort, including over patient access to drugs, the impact on rural doctors, and a shortage of stakeholder input. Read more here.

GOP hardens stance against emergency money for Zika:

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lashed out against using any emergency funding for the Zika virus on the Senate floor on Thursday, a shift in his party’s stance last week.  

The No. 2 Senate Republican flatly rejected President Obama’s $1.9 billion funding request and opposed any new funding outside of the regular appropriations process: “It’s emergency spending, its deficit spending. It completely lacks any kind of accountability.”

It appears to be a shift from Senate GOP leaders’ tone just last week, when Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said a short-term funding bill would reach the floor “in the near future.” That package was being negotiated by health appropriations leaders Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) but talks have gone cold.

Meanwhile, the House GOP will hold a policy meeting Friday morning, and Zika funding is expected to be on the agenda. Read more here.

Aetna defends ObamaCare exchanges:

CEO Mark Bertolini told analysts he does not expect to lose money on the exchange business this year unlike other major insurers, such as UnitedHealth.

Bertolini also mounted a defense of the ObamaCare marketplaces, calling it “a good investment.” It’s a change of course from Bertolini’s remarks in February, when he said he had “serious concerns” about the sustainability of those markets. More here.

Abortion rights group launches campaign:

NARAL Pro-Choice America is calling on Congress to repeal the so-called gag rule that prevents service-oriented groups, including AmeriCorps, from promoting or supporting abortions in any way. The prominent abortion rights group is defending AmeriCorps after a half-dozen of the service program’s workers violated federal laws by helping women seeking abortions. This week, it has launched a petition to Congress, which it will promote in letters to supporters as well as on Facebook and Twitter. More here.

ON TAP TOMORROW

House Democrats will hold a conference on health disparities, featuring the black, Hispanic and Asian Pacific caucuses at 11 a.m.

House GOP leaders will hold a policy meeting at the Capitol at 9 a.m, with Puerto Rico and the budget on the agenda.

The manufacturing and trade subcommittee of House Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing on “the pet medication industry” at 9:45 a.m.

Vice President Biden will give remarks at the Vatican pushing for global collaboration on cancer research.

WHAT WE’RE READING

The teen birth rate has fallen to an all-time low, with the biggest strides seen among black and Hispanic girls, according to new federal health data (NPR)

Republicans are arguing that Obama administration’s Zika response can wait until next year’s spending process (Washington Post)

Most former inmates who now live in halfway houses will be eligible for Medicaid benefits under a new federal rule. (USA Today)

A major British medical group is urging smokers to switch to electronic cigarettes to help them quit, marking a stark contrast with U.S. public health officials (New York Times)

IN THE STATES

Republican lawmakers in Texas are eying new laws on fetal tissue after a grand jury recently cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. (Texas Tribune)

ICYMI FROM THE HILL:

The Obama administration released the first regulation in its ambitious Medicare payments reform plan.

The Senate Finance Committee’s top Democrat introduced a bill aimed at protecting seniors from high drug costs, the same day as a high-drama hearing with Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

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