As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip

The Host

Whereas repealing the Reasonably priced Care Act appears to have fallen off congressional Republicans’ to-do listing for 2023, plans to chop Medicare and Medicaid are again. The GOP desires Democrats to agree to chop spending on each applications in change for a vote to stop the federal government from defaulting on its money owed.

In the meantime, the nation’s well being care employees — from nurses to docs to pharmacists — are feeling the pressure of caring not only for the rising variety of insured sufferers looking for care, but in addition extra critically unwell sufferers who’re tough and typically even violent.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of Public Well being and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Conservative Home Republicans are hoping to capitalize on their new legislative clout to slash authorities spending, because the struggle over elevating the debt ceiling affords a preview of attainable debates this yr over expensive federal entitlement applications like Medicare.
• Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy mentioned Republicans will shield Medicare and Social Safety, however the elevation of conservative firebrands — like the brand new chair of the highly effective Home Methods and Means Committee — raises questions on what “defending” these applications means to Republicans.
• Document numbers of Individuals enrolled for insurance coverage protection this yr underneath the Reasonably priced Care Act. Years after congressional Republicans final tried to repeal it, the as soon as extremely controversial program also called Obamacare seems to be following the trajectory of different established federal entitlement applications: evolving, rising, and changing into much less controversial over time.
• Current experiences present that whereas Individuals had much less bother paying for well being care final yr, many nonetheless delayed care because of prices. The findings spotlight that being insured just isn’t sufficient to maintain care reasonably priced for a lot of Individuals.
• Well being care employees are rising louder of their requires higher staffing, with a nursing strike in New York Metropolis and up to date experiences about pharmacist burnout offering a number of the newest arguments for a way widespread staffing points could also be harming affected person care. There may be bipartisan settlement in Congress for addressing the nursing scarcity, however what they might do is one other query.

Plus, for further credit score, the panelists suggest their favourite well being coverage tales of the week that they assume you must learn, too:

Julie Rovner: Roll Name’s “NIH Lacking Prime Management at Begin of a Divided Congress,” by Ariel Cohen

Tami Luhby: CNN’s “ER on the Area: An Inside Take a look at How NFL Medical Groups Put together for a Recreation Day Emergency,” by Nadia Kounang and Amanda Sealy

Joanne Kenen: The Atlantic’s “Don’t Concern the Handshake,” by Katherine J. Wu

Victoria Knight: The Washington Put up’s “‘The Final of Us’ Zombie Fungus Is Actual, and It’s Present in Well being Dietary supplements,” by Mike Hume

Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:

The New York Occasions’ “As France Strikes to Delay Retirement, Older Staff Are in a Quandary,” by Liz Alderman

Stat’s “Congressional Medicare Advisers Warn of Larger Drug Costs, Regardless of New Worth Negotiation,” by John Wilkerson

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