• Mon, May 13, 2024:  Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s claim that “Obamacare massively increased the cost of health care in Ameria” earns 3 pinnochios from Fact Checker.
• Mon, May 6, 2024:  2024 Medicare Trustees Report projects:
  • The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2036, 5 years later than reported last year. At that point, that fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 89 percent of total scheduled benefits.  Medicare Hospital Insurance is financed primarily by the HI payroll tax.  The improvement relative to last year’s projection is due to several factors, including a policy change correcting for the way medical education expenses are accounted for in Medicare Advantage rates starting in 2024, higher payroll tax income resulting from the stronger-than-expected economy, and actual 2023 expenditures that were lower than projected last year.
  • The Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund, which finances Medicare Parts B, C, and D, is assessed as “adequately financed”; however, this is a misleading technicality because the SMI Fund is not actually a “trust fund,” being financed primarily by general revenue infusions from the Treasury. (Typically, a “trust fund” is designed to finance specific programs with dedicated tax revenues, which is not the case here.)
  • For more background, see our primer, Trillions.
• Wed, Apr. 24, 2024: KFF reports, “The FDA recently approved a new use for Wegovy (semaglutide), the blockbuster anti-obesity drug, to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese….An estimated 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries with obesity or overweight could be eligible for Medicare Part D coverage of Wegovy to reduce the risk of serious heart problems….It’s possible that Medicare could select semaglutide for drug price negotiation as early as 2025….As of 2022, gross Medicare spending on Ozempic alone placed it sixth among the 10 top-selling drugs in Medicare Part D, with annual gross spending of $4.6 billion, based on KFF analysis. This estimate does not include rebates….”
• Tues, Apr. 16, 2024: CBO report: Medicare Accountable Care Organizations: Past Performance and Future Directions.  NPR: Why Homeless People Are Losing Health Coverage in Medicaid Mix-Ups.
• Fri, Apr. 12, 2024: KFF reports that “nearly a quarter of people who say they were disenrolled from Medicaid during the “unwinding” (post-Covid) are now uninsured.”
• Wed, Mar. 13, 2024:  The Hill reported Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell “threw cold water over the long-held Republican aim of repealing the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), saying this week that fight is ‘largely over.’” Former President Trump has repeatedly called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act without offering an alternative to enable Americans with preexisting conditions and without employer coverage to purchase health insurance.
• Fri, Mar. 8, 2024:  See this KFF review of five health policy topics touched on during the State of the Union Address: Abortion, Drug Prices, Affordable Care Act, Health Care Affordability, and Gun Violence.
• Tues, Feb. 27, 2024:  Roll Call reports that “health package talks (broke) down amid broader spending feud….(A) smaller bill will likely focus (on) extender policies as well as…funding for community health centers and partial offsets to scheduled Medicare cuts for physicians.”
• Wed, Jan. 31, 2024:  CBO Testimony on Federal Subsidies for Health Insurance and Policies to Reduce the Prices Paid by Commercial Insurers
• Wed, Jan. 24, 2024:  CNN reports that “a record 21.3 million Americans flocked to Affordable Care Act coverage for 2024, further cementing the law’s place in the nation’s health care landscape.”
• Fri, May 26, 2023: NYTimes: Hundreds of Thousands Have Lost Medicaid Coverage Since Pandemic Protections Expired
• Wed. May 24, 2023: CBO report: health insurance for people younger than 65 — Expiration of Temporary Policies Projected to Reshuffle Coverage
• Tues. May 16, 2023: CBO Federal Health Spending Update