Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Agency That Helps Protect Americans From Medical Debt May Face Overhaul
President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are weighing vast changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, seeking to limit the powers and funding of a federal watchdog agency formed in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis. ... By design, the CFPB has a broad mandate to protect Americans from unfair, deceptive or predatory financial practices. Its current Democratic leader, Rohit Chopra, has been aggressive, pursuing a host of rules to shield people from medical debt, make it easier for them to switch banks, and limit the fees they face from overdrawing their checking accounts. (Romm, 11/23)
New polling from Data for Progress demonstrates strong public support for recent actions taken by the CFPB to increase competition in the banking sector and protect consumers from unfair medical billing, misuse of financial data, mortgage lending discrimination, and worker surveillance. Despite the CFPB’s actions being highly popular, the bureau’s visibility is limited, as a plurality of voters (48%) do not have an initial opinion of the CFPB. Even so, those who do have an opinion overwhelmingly approve of the CFPB across partisanship. (Hanley, Bisogno and Blank, 11/21)
Two in-house investigators at U.S. intelligence agencies recently quit their jobs. There’s growing fear in Washington that they could be the start of an exodus — or a purge — of government watchdogs. A wave of departures by inspectors general would give President-elect Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate or appoint people of his choice to the watchdog posts — leaving dozens of federal departments, agencies and offices subject to oversight by people who would owe their positions to Trump. (Gerstein and Toosi, 11/25)
Other news about health care costs —
The Department of Veterans Affairs has revised its estimated budget shortfall for fiscal 2025, telling Congress on Monday that it now needs $6.6 billion for veterans' medical care instead of the $12 billion it previously requested. Based on rising demand for VA medical services and benefits tied to passage of the PACT Act, the VA estimated in July it would need an extra $12 billion for the Veterans Health Administration in 2025 and $3 billion to cover veterans disability compensation and benefits through October. (Kime, 11/25)
