Washington Watch  

 

Kaiser Family Foundation Prescription Drug Survey. Just over half of Americans (54 percent) are currently taking a prescription drug. While most say their drugs are easy to afford, consumers in general (72 percent) believe drug costs are unreasonable, according to the poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. More people (51 percent) think competition would do a better job of controlling prices than federal regulation (40 percent). But large majorities said they would favor allowing Medicare to negotiate with companies on prices and allowing people to buy medicines imported from Canada. (KHN, 8/20)

 

DE: The state Department of Health and Social Services informed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that the state will maintain its state-federal partnership exchange for 2016. The state will withdraw its application to become a state-based exchange and instead will maintain the plan management and consumer outreach functions under a partnership exchange. (Aetna Health Reform Weekly, 8/17)

PA. Gov. Wolf announced last Thursday a series of small benefit upgrades for families with coverage though the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), effective Dec. 1. Changes include removal of limits on inpatient and outpatient stays for mental-health and substance-abuse treatment, and the end of outpatient co-payments for mental-health services. Vision care was broadened to cover more types of prescription lenses and tinting. CHIP has long been considered excellent insurance, and many of the changes will apply to small portions of the 148,000 children in the program. For example, few would normally exceed the current limit of 50 outpatient visits a year, which will be removed. But some with chronic conditions had maxed out, said Colleen McCauley, health policy director for the nonprofit Public Citizens for Children and Youth. (KHN, 8/21)