Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
TrumpRx Program Bulks Up Its Offerings, Adds 160 Medications
President Trump on Friday announced that over 100 prescription medications would be added to his administration’s direct-to-consumer drug platform, TrumpRx, the second expansion of the initiative in as many months. “I am pleased to announce that TrumpRx.gov is adding another 160 Prescription Drugs, at highly discounted prices, for a new total of over 800 of the most commonly-used Prescription Drugs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “TrumpRx.gov will now provide clear, transparent, and DISCOUNTED offerings for FOUR OUT OF FIVE of every prescription filled by Americans,” the president added. (Brams, 6/6)
On the Affordable Care Act —
Chicago, Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, and Pima County, Arizona, want a court to toss a recent health insurance regulation that they maintain includes policies never authorized by federal law. The plaintiffs contend that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services violated the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 when it issued a final rule last month that will make major changes to the health insurance exchanges next year. Pima County is home to Tucson, the second-most populous city in Arizona. (Early, 6/5)
On Medicaid —
The 40 plus states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act thought they knew what to expect when Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act outlined last year which low-income residents might be shielded from work requirements because they are too “medically frail.” ... Patient advocacy groups, physicians and state officials say they fear that chronically ill people, whose ability to work often fluctuates, will fall through the cracks and become uninsured at a time when they most need care. (Ollstein and King, 6/7)
Allegations that Medicaid is losing billions of dollars to fraud have sent Ohio Republicans racing to overhaul the state’s home-care system before their summer break. But as conservatives rush forward with a sweeping reform bill, critics are questioning whether lawmakers are moving too quickly to understand how the changes could harm elderly and disabled Ohioans who depend on this kind of care to live independently. (Staver, 6/7)
In 2023, lawmakers passed a measure requiring the state’s Medicaid program to pay for services provided by community health workers who help patients navigate the medical system. The law passed but didn’t specify an implementation date, and the budget didn’t earmark funding for the initiative. Today, community health workers and advocates are still waiting for the state to come up with the money to make the measure a reality. (Golvala, 6/5)
On Medicare Advantage and hospital-at-home services —
A recent federal court ruling could shake up the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings program. The decision only requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to recalculate 2026 Medicare Advantage star ratings for Clover Health, but its consequences could reach further and lead to higher quality scores, and more bonus revenue, across the industry. (Tepper, 6/5)
Health systems are getting a bigger bang for their buck by using hospital-at-home platforms for other services. Virtua Health, Wellstar Health System, Mass General Brigham and other providers are finding success using remote patient monitoring equipment and staff to track patients released early from the hospital or those at high risk for readmission. Finding opportunities to spread the cost of hospital-at-home infrastructure across other services could convince more health systems to launch the programs. (Eastabrook, 6/4)
