Opinion

Nov 24, 2024, 05:07

Gregg Margolis: Three things to read about health policy this week

Gregg Margolis, Director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), shared a post on LinkedIn:

“If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest…

Politico: Trump Picks Dr. Oz To Be CMS Administrator Oz has been a major supporter of Medicare Advantage, the Medicare-approved private option that has grown in popularity but has come under intense scrutiny for care denials and alleged overbilling. During his Senate campaign, Oz pushed a ‘Medicare Advantage for All’ plan that would expand the program.

‘These plans are popular among seniors, consistently provide quality care and have a needed incentive to keep costs low,’ Oz said in an AARP candidate questionnaire. In August, he posted a YouTube video to his nearly 2 million subscribers on “the benefits of enrolling” in Medicare Advantage. (Leonard and King, 11/19)

The Washington Post: Millions May Not Have Health Coverage If Subsidies Return To Pre-Biden Level But eliminating the subsidy increase poses political risks. If subsidies fall to their pre-2021 level, experts say, many new subscribers would choose not to renew their coverage — the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that 3.4 million more people would become uninsured — and many of them live in states that lean heavily Republican.

Health policy research organization KFF said that if the subsidy expansion expires, premiums would more than double in 12 heavily Republican states — including Texas, West Virginia and Alaska — while rising less sharply in many blue states. (Weil, 11/17)

The New York Times: Medicaid May Face Big Cuts And Work Requirements With Republicans set to control Washington, conservative lawmakers and policy experts who could advise the next Trump administration are discussing long-sought cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers roughly a fifth of all Americans and makes up about 10 percent of the federal budget.

Some of the changes are being proposed as a way to pay for a law that would extend the tax cuts from the first Trump administration, most of which benefited corporations and wealthier Americans. The policies might slash funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion — which added roughly 23 million people to the program — or require that many enrollees work in order to receive benefits. (Kliff and Weiland, 11/20)

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Gregg S. Margolis, PhD, serves as the director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Previously, he held the position of Director of the Division of Health System Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Margolis specializes in health policy, leadership development, emergency medicine, and public health emergency preparedness and response.