Subject: POLITICO Pulse, presented by PhRMA: Making sense of the Medicaid mega-reg — The White House wants to create more health care jobs — UnitedHealth now out of 26 states
From: POLITICO Pulse <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2016 08:02:54 -0600

By Dan Diamond | 04/26/2016 10:00 AM EDT

D.C. finishes last in a new state ranking of safe hospitals, and UnitedHealth continues its steady retreat from Obamacare markets. But first: Our quick breakdown of Medicaid's mammoth Monday regulation.

MAKING SENSE OF THE MEDICAID MEGA-REG - CMS dropped a 1,425-page bomb on Monday, a super-sized regulation that overhauled Medicaid managed care requirements for the first time in more than a decade.

The rule: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba29fa884fdd6eb443e841800885e42f47f02d9d283615bac2 
Fact sheets, listed under "final rule": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11bafe740e38a92cf6001c788815a80417f85d8b1e1a9336a5fb 
Implementation timeline: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11bab9706747de3dfd6af4513374ff88a92e5b8d5bec32fefa3c 

The Pro health care team plucked out five key takeaways:

1) For the first time, each state must create its own network adequacy standards for private Medicaid plans. Telemedicine can play a role. More for Pros.

2) Medicaid managed care plans are now subject to a national medical loss ratio standard of at least 85 percent, although it doesn't impose payment penalties if plans spend less than that share of premiums on care. More for Pros.

3) The final rule could expand access to care for mentally ill patients by easing restrictions on reimbursements at certain facilities. More for Pros.

4) CMS will add a quality rating system for private Medicaid and CHIP plans; the program is expected to be similar to one utilized for Medicare Advantage plans. The agency plans to implement the rating system for Medicaid plans over five years and will seek feedback on its proposed methodology before moving ahead. 

5) CMS will prohibit states from making certain supplemental payments to hospitals and other providers that serve Medicaid managed care enrollees, a move that hospitals said was disappointing. Instead, states and Medicaid plans must transition to systems where the payment structure is linked to delivered services or quality, with CMS allowing a multi-year transition period.

- What officials are saying. "These improvements modernize the way these managed care health plans operate so that Medicaid and CHIP continue to provide cost-effective, high quality care to consumers," CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt and deputy administrator Vikki Wachino write in a blog post that touts other recent reforms to Medicaid.

- What the wags are saying. "I thought there was a rule that rules over a thousand pages are promulgated on Fridays," Adrianna McIntyre tweeted. "They started printing it on Friday," economist Matthew Martin responded. "Just finished today."

THIS IS TUESDAY PULSE - Where we're old enough to remember the last time CMS put out a 1,400-page-plus rule on a Monday: It was only a week ago. Tips and sympathy to [email-masked] or @ddiamond on Twitter.

With help from Paul Demko (@PaulDemko) and Rachana Pradhan (@RachanaDixit).

THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS TO CREATE HEALTH CARE JOBS - The administration has announced a new initiative, Health Careers Pathways, intended to help steer millions of Americans to work in the health care sector across the next decade. The effort's privately led and builds on a Department of Labor effort to help community college graduates match with employers' needs.

"These jobs will play a critical role as our system increasingly focuses on value-based care, care coordination, and other skilled services," according to a White House blog post. "Tying these front-line jobs to clearly defined career pathways and training could create ladders of opportunity for millions of Americans to move from entry-level jobs into middle-class careers."

- Who's involved. The effort will be jointly led by the Advisory Board Company, which is convening major employers like the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., and the Hope Street Group, which is organizing training and hiring efforts in Denver, Minneapolis and five other communities.

SAREPTA GOES DOWN - As expected, FDA advisers on Monday evening voted against FDA approval of Sarepta's Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment eteplirsen. 

The vote came despite pleas from lawmakers, patients, and advocates to approve the drug, and after an extra-long day of testimony that left attendees vocal and distraught. "This is so weird," RAPS's Zach Brennan pointed out after one vote. "Shouting and anger at every turn from the audience."

More for Pros: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba7d8d3e54d5f0778482a82822f9c25d6de35ad5db880b2dee 

 - 'Right to Try' advocates sound alarm. "Today's decision to keep a potentially life-saving drug tied up in the FDA's approval process is immoral," said Darcy Olsen, president of the Goldwater Institute. "The FDA itself has said this drug is safe, and that it's just a matter of how efficacious it might be and for how many kids. This is exactly why we need Right To Try and drug approval reciprocity with other developed countries."

- The hard truth. A parent of one patient "says our kids are not your (FDA's) science experiment," FierceBiotech editor John Carroll tweeted. "But they are. That's what a clinical trial is. Emotion vs data." 

UNITEDHEALTH EXIT COUNT: 26 STATES - That's according to a new count by Bloomberg's Zach Tracer, who finds that the nation's largest insurer will pull out of Kentucky's individual marketplace for Obamacare plans.

United participated in 34 state exchanges last year, so at this point, it's faster to just list the states where they're confirmed to be staying: Nevada, New York and Virginia. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba1103be0f0eaa92ad2d46c8940f6919bbf6e5e5934f660598

ICYMI: INSURERS LOST MORE THAN $2.2 BILLION ON 2014 INDIVIDUAL PLANS - That's according to a new analysis from George Mason University's Mercatus Center. Full financial data for 2015 is not yet available, but the researchers suggest a similarly dismal performance in the second year of full ACA implementation. 

- Who did relatively well: Insurers that offered narrow-network plans
- Who did the worst: The health insurance co-ops, many of which have since gone out of business

Read the study: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11bad52a650e9a4fe2af88a2fab139b49d71d3bfaabce7911b2d

** A message from PhRMA: Today is World IP Day and biopharmaceutical intellectual property (IP) protections, such as patents, provide the incentives that spur research and development and lead to lifesaving treatments and cures. Learn more here about the outcome of strong IP policies. **

SCOTUS WRESTLES WITH PATENT REVIEW - The court on Monday heard oral arguments in Cuozzo Speed Technologies v. Lee, which centers on whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's challenge process, known as inter partes review, should use federal court standards or agency guidelines when deciding whether patents should be invalidated.

Why health care is watching
. The pharmaceutical and biotech industries are among those who say the USPTO review process makes it too easy to nix legitimate patents. 
. Tech companies and retail firms, however, argue the reviews are a crucial tool for weeding out bad patents that often fall into the hands of "patent trolls," which exist simply to extract licensing fees from companies.

Kate Tummarello has the story for Pros: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba6016a2ceba697db7e78358b6d82cf50528a38eec5ff514bb

MILLENNIALS PASS BABY BOOMERS AS AMERICA'S LARGEST GENERATION - That's according to new Census population estimates, observes a new blog post from the Pew Research Center.

As of 2015, the U.S. population broke down as ... 

Millennials (born 1981-1997): 75.4 million
Generation X (born 1965-1980): 66 million
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964): 74.9 million 
Silent Generation (born 1928-1945): 28 million

WHAT'S IN THE HOUSE JUDICIARY OPIOIDS DRAFT - The draft differs from the Senate-passed CARA, Pro's Brianna Ehley writes. Notably, it redirects $103 million in appropriated money for states to address the opioid epidemic instead of creating a handful of demonstration programs that were included in the Senate bill.

More on the draft, which is circulating ahead of a Wednesday markup: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba3a2a9a8cc7419210be0bb8a49e97e6991411ef5100fc820a 

TWO PRACTICAL ISSUES FACING THE CADILLAC TAX - Economists Jeff Lemieux and Chad Moutray write in Health Affairs that there are two "serious" issues that threaten implementing the controversial tax, politics aside.

1) The indexing question, or how the tax's slow-rising thresholds could come to affect 70 percent of health care workers by 2030. They point out that economist Jon Gabel even warned that the Cadillac tax could eventually become a "Chevy" tax.

2) The adaptation question, or whether employers would really respond to the tax by designing more flexible health care plans, as fellow economists argue. Instead, they believe that employers would likely shift more costs to patients.

Read their post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11babe9b7a3e162381b753dc72fd229a0a6008fcb2da01a7df1e 

Meanwhile, around the nation:

HAWAII GOV ENACTS OBAMACARE 1332 WAIVER LEGISLATION - Democratic Gov. David Ige on Monday signed legislation authorizing the state to submit an ACA state innovation waiver to the federal government, so the state's application to the feds could be imminent. Hawaii wants to waive certain components of the ACA that conflict with a "employer mandate" the state enacted in the 1970s, including the state's Obamacare SHOP exchange. 

 - Context on the move. "Getting legislative authorization is an important step for Hawaii and demonstrates their commitment to the waiver process," Heather Howard of the State Health Reform Assistance Network tells Pro's Rachana Pradhan. "They are one of the very small number of waiver applications that the federal government will see this year as they seek a narrow change focused on protecting pre-ACA provisions."

D.C. RANKS LAST IN NEW LEAPFROG SAFETY SCORE HOSPITAL RANKINGS - The Leapfrog Group rated six hospitals in the District of Columbia, and none of the six qualified for an "A" grade in safety and quality. (In contrast, Leapfrog determined that five of the six hospitals it rated in Vermont were worthy of an "A.") See Leapfrog's latest safety scores, issued Monday: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba66b4f834e0f37f5b33c7069c9fbfb8ea1b9104e36d31faf0

UC-BERKELEY WANTS TO AXE PROGRAM THAT PRODUCES PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS - Why kill Berkeley's Joint Medical Program? Blame budget cuts: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11baa0bacfe1b77326eb82c247d5191f1ed457e64559127ac082

FLU SEASON IN REVIEW - It wasn't as bad as last year's season, but this year's flu was worse than the 2013-2014 season, according to new athenaResearch data. And while there's been a steady decline in flu cases for five straight weeks, this season isn't quite over yet: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba201619f13b2a35e306fe6d4bf4c34cd17dfdee4cdbeb43a3 

Checking in on the FDA front:

BROWN AND DURBIN TO BLAST POLICY ON POWDERED CAFFEINE TODAY - Sens. Sherrod Brown and Dick Durbin will again call on FDA to ban the retail sale and marketing of pure, bulk powdered caffeine. They'll be unveiling new data on the dangerous effects of pure caffeine at noon at the Capitol and will be joined by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and families of victims.

- Too much of a stimulant. According to the FDA, a single teaspoon of pure caffeine is roughly equivalent to the amount in 28 cups of coffee.

TAKE BACK MEDS - FDA staff are invited to bring unwanted, unused or expired prescription drugs to the FDA campus tomorrow for safe disposal as part of the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative. "In past years, we've collected more than 200 pounds of unused medications that would have otherwise lingered in medicine chests and kitchen cabinets," FDA's Douglas Throckmorton blogs.

Coming up: National Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for Saturday.

ABOUT FOUR GLASSES PER DAY - That's how much "plain water" the average American drinks, according to a new CDC report (and some back-of-the-envelope PULSE math). It's roughly half the mythical ideal dose. 

But don't panic: We get another four-plus glasses of water in other forms every day, the CDC notes, through assorted foods and liquids. Check out the report, which makes for good water cooler conversation: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba577c9cc725789f36becc1e508fc16eced574a131f09344ff

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR PULSE CHECKED THIS WEEK? - Stay tuned.

WHAT WE'RE READING by Brianna Ehley

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is expected to announce an agreement today between the state and seven insurance companies that will be required to cover costly hepatitis C medications for nearly all patients who have commercial plans, the Wall Street Journal reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba676f1e01436cf2d69feff0a72ac7bd9dda0633a3c69bae2e

Police departments across the country are adopting crisis intervention training to be prepared to respond to incidents involving individuals suffering from severe mental illness. The New York Times has the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11bab4926b11e70ab086d97b50a3ab2367c5406a69ab3574ef8d

Canada has confirmed its first case of sexually transmitted Zika, the Toronto Star reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11ba18ceb1be2d1c1a09a0b3f67dcf4ba75a362d279894815f78

Olympic athletes are getting worried about Zika as they prepare for the summer games in Brazil, where 1,168 cases of microcephaly linked to the virus have already been confirmed. Time has the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11baba768e33381e5ec3cfa8f2b26bb38e4b9547a5ee34c42520 

A new study says treatments for cancer stemming from CT scans cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year, according to Medscape: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9d8cc34d994d11bae0e3fedffe5095c8a8cd1bbff59bc267b25d0b3787f836e6

** A message from PhRMA: Take a moment on World IP Day to consider the impact that strong and robust IP policies have on our daily lives and on the country. Due to the complexity of developing a medicine, strong IP protections are necessary to ensure that innovative biopharmaceutical companies are able to secure resources for future investments in research, giving hope to patients who await tomorrow's medicines. Learn more here about the outcome of strong IP policies. **

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