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In health news, Tuesday marks the start of ObamaCare’s 10th open enrollment period — and experts think it will be busy.
Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi.
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Open enrollment for ObamaCare set to kick off as subsidies keep costs low
Millions of Americans will be able to start signing up for health insurance on Tuesday when ObamaCare's 10th open enrollment period kicks off, as the Biden administration seeks to sustain record low uninsured numbers.
Only 8 percent of Americans were without health insurance as of August, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Premiums are increasing this year, but most consumers will largely be shielded from higher costs because Democrats in Congr...
Open enrollment for ObamaCare set to kick off as subsidies keep costs low
Millions of Americans will be able to start signing up for health insurance on Tuesday when ObamaCare's 10th open enrollment period kicks off, as the Biden administration seeks to sustain record low uninsured numbers.
Only 8 percent of Americans were without health insurance as of August, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Premiums are increasing this year, but most consumers will largely be shielded from higher costs because Democrats in Congr...
House investigation finds insurers, benefit managers improperly limit access to birth control
Some of the nation's largest insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) impose coverage exclusions and other restrictions on birth control products, contrary to an Affordable Care Act requirement, according to a House investigation.
Under the ACA, health plans must cover Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved contraceptive products without cost-sharing. But a staff report from the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee found insurers and PBMs required patients to p...
Sacrificing health care on the altar of ideology
Medical doctors are among the most highly educated professionals on the planet. Why, then, would the federal government seek to curtail their ability to perform their jobs to the best of their ability? Knee-capping the scientific process in the name of highly contested “gender-affirming” care not only puts patients in a needlessly risky position; it forces physicians to choose between abiding by government edicts and following their own medical judgment.
The Centers for Medica...
Sacrificing health care on the altar of ideology
Medical doctors are among the most highly educated professionals on the planet. Why, then, would the federal government seek to curtail their ability to perform their jobs to the best of their ability? Knee-capping the scientific process in the name of highly contested “gender-affirming” care not only puts patients in a needlessly risky position; it forces physicians to choose between abiding by government edicts and following their own medical judgment.
The Centers for Medica...
COVID contributed to a quarter of maternal deaths in 2021, 2020: GAO
Maternal mortality rose during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the virus contributing to a quarter of all maternal deaths in 2020 and 2021.
According to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), COVID-19 caused most of the increase in maternal deaths in the last two years, contributing to 25 percent of deaths.
The average number of monthly maternal deaths ranged from the mid-50s to the mid-60s in the two years before the pandemic bega...
Americans are drowning in medical debt. Here’s how our leaders can help
Today, more than 100 million Americans are living with medical debt totaling nearly $200 billion. A recent study found this debt leads to increased rates of eviction, food insecurity and bad health outcomes, regardless of health insurance status or income. While the debt is widespread, it is also unevenly distributed; patients of color disproportionately bear its burden. This is a story we’ve heard too many times before, and it’s time for our nation’s leaders to take action.
T...
Democrats try to break through on drug pricing message
Much of the public appears to be largely in the dark about Democrats' signature effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, a potentially troubling sign ahead of next month's midterm elections.
The inclusion of a provision allowing those negotiations in the Inflation Reduction Act marked the culmination of an at least 20-year push by Democrats and was touted as a major win over Big Pharma.
Health care has been a winning issue for the party in p...