Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Majority Of Voters In 3 Battleground States Think Insurers Should Be On Hook For Surprise Medical Bills, Poll Finds
President Trump鈥檚 campaign pollster is warning that swing-state voters oppose a bipartisan bill meant to protect patients from 鈥渟urprise鈥 medical bills they receive when going out-of-network for emergency care, according to a polling memo obtained exclusively by The Hill. A survey of voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania conducted by Tony Fabrizio, the president鈥檚 campaign pollster, found that a majority of voters in three battleground states believe that health insurers should be on the hook when patients receive 鈥渟urprise鈥 medical bills for out-of-network emergencies. (Easley, 9/17)
The House Education and Labor Committee has called off plans to vote on legislation this week to protect patients from "surprise" medical bills because of divisions among lawmakers on the panel, according to House aides and lobbyists. The panel had been planning to hold a markup on legislation to protect patients from getting massive medical bills when they go to the emergency room and one or more doctors treating them turn out to be outside of their insurance network, a problem that lawmakers in both parties say is a top priority.聽(Sullivan, 9/17)
In other news from Capitol Hill 鈥
Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday joined a Democratic colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, in introducing legislation that would block the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥減ublic charge鈥 rule.That rule, which will be implemented on Oct. 15, would deny entry or green cards to immigrants based on their use of public assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid. (Radelat, 9/17)
Near the end of a congressional hearing last week, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz grilled executives of the 3M, DuPont and Chemours chemical companies about their willingness to compensate people harmed by fluorinated compounds. The hearing, before a U.S. House subcommittee on environmental oversight and reform, was the third in a series amid pending legislation that aims to better regulate the chemicals, known collectively as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, nicknamed 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥 because of their persistence in the environment. (Barnes, 9/18)
