Great Health 202 team, researchers Mackenzie Beard and editor paige winfield cunningham We’ll also keep you up to date with all the latest health policy news. Send your best tips to [email protected] and [email protected].
Today’s edition: Doctors in states with abortion bans are asking hospitals to help them make important decisions. The Biden administration is proposing changes to resolve payment disputes over unexpected medical bills. But first…
Abortion rights and anti-abortion advocates are honing their election strategies for 2024
This year has seen several tests of how voters feel about abortion rights ahead of 2024, with activists testing their messages and developing strategies ahead of next year’s elections. We offer ways to sharpen your skills.
The anti-abortion movement has suffered a blow. series of losses Last year’s midterm elections left supporters searching for a new roadmap. This year, they rallied early to oppose an abortion rights ballot measure in Ohio. And in Virginia, Republicans are betting big that a proposal to ban most abortions after 15 weeks, with some exceptions, would give Republican legislative candidates a distinctive political message.
Meanwhile, abortion rights groups are leaning to message What worked last year was keeping the government out of private health care decisions. Ohio is also piloting an effort to put more doctors who support abortion rights at the center of campaigns. And in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race, Democratic candidates spoke openly about their claims. personal opinion Strategies that supported abortion rights and helped persuade a Wisconsin judge to victory Almost 7 months ago.
All of these races will reassess voters’ positions and give both sides more data points heading into 2024.Abortion is expected to be a decisive issue in next year’s presidential, House and Senate races, while abortion rights groups some major statesThey have begun efforts to include an amendment to the state constitution that would spell out this process directly to voters.
The conservative-leaning state is the only state to have an amendment enshrining the right to abortion in the constitution on this year’s ballot.
A group of doctors who support abortion rights worked to gather signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November. And it’s already providing support and guidance to health professionals working on voting measures in other states, including Missouri and Florida.
- “I feel like all eyes are on Ohio State to see what works and what doesn’t for next year,” he said. lauren bean Managing Director of Doctors championing reproductive rights in Ohio.
Ohio voters in August vetoed Republican-backed legislation That would have made it even more difficult to amend the state constitution ahead of November’s abortion vote. Anti-abortion groups then began focusing more on messages they thought would appeal to more centrist voters.
“We’ve always said this is a bridge too far.” michael gonidakis president of ohio right to life, Said. “But instead of ‘trying to change hearts and minds about life’s issues,’ we became fully focused on that message.”
of Revised wording This law allows states to restrict abortions beyond the fetal lifespan (usually around 22 to 24 weeks of gestation) unless “necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.” However, abortion rights groups vehemently reject the claims made by opponents that these exceptions are possible. Widely interpreted.
(Read more about how anti-abortion groups are trying to reunite after August’s anti-abortion protests. Annie Gowen‘s Shipping from Ohio.)
Virginia became a major. A battleground for abortion this year. All 140 seats and control of the General Assembly will be up for grabs in this purple state on November 7th. Only There has been no move to restrict abortion in the South since then. Roe vs. Wade It was flipped last year.
I am fully aware of the risks and Virginia women are speaking out — Political action committee and partner of prominent anti-abortion organizations SBA Pro Life America — announced on Friday be $1.5 million campaign To support Republican candidates who support a 15-week ban on most abortions.
governor Glenn Youngkin (R) tied The Virginia Republican Party’s desire to win Congressional races rests in part on pitching such proposals as “reasonable” restrictions. It’s a message that will serve as a national litmus test for the 2024 cycle, according to the Post. Gregory S. Schneider and michael sherrer.Meanwhile, the Democratic Party flooded the airwaves with ads. The party claims that I would like to go further on abortion.
Other elections in which abortion has been a major flashpoint include the Kentucky gubernatorial race and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race.
- Republican and Democratic candidates in Kentucky both accused Both sides have extreme positions on this issue.
- Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania recently said Health Journal 202 states that a woman’s decision to have an abortion is “best made between the woman, her doctor, and her conscience.” Republican candidates say they will “uphold the law.”
After all the voting is complete next week, there are a few data points to keep an eye on. One is the vote difference, and the other is the turnout for each side.
Advocates on both sides of the issue are paying close attention and say they plan to conduct an autopsy of the campaign after the election, win or lose.
“Abortion will be one of the biggest issues in 2024,” he said. Serinda Lake, “But I think there’s a question mark as to how competitive it will be,” he said, a Democratic pollster who worked on the 2020 Biden campaign. “The Ohio race and the Virginia race are early indicators of that. I think it will be,” he added.
Faced with abortion ban, doctors seek help from hospitals on key decisions
many hospitals failed Provide specific guidance Helping doctors interpret medical exceptions in states’ abortion bans can lead to situations where patients are denied treatment until they are near permanent injury or death, our colleagues said. caroline kitchener and Dan Diamond report.
The Post’s investigation into overlooked fall aftershocks Roe vs. Wade The study is based on interviews with 26 doctors, lawyers, and hospital administrators in anti-abortion states and documents collected from public records requests to the 50 largest public hospitals in anti-abortion states.
Here’s a snapshot of what they discovered.
- Only nine hospitals had records showing they provided guidance to physicians on how to interpret state law medical exceptions.. Most responses were carefully crafted responses advising physicians to take a cautious approach.
- It turned out that the guidance was provided using documents provided by 28 other facilities. It was substantially the same or identical to the language of the abortion ban.
tension: Hospital administrators are reluctant to document or widely discuss their policies, navigating untested legal territory, political pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers and concerns about losing federal funding. a lot of people.
Doctors are often told to contact lawyers and hospital leaders for advice on a case-by-case basis, but they are unable to reach these people when faced with an emergency after hours. , only a work phone number, or, in one example, an email address, writes Caroline and Dan.
I started reporting this article in May, when I went to an obstetrics and gynecology conference and was struck by how different the physician experience was at each hospital. One doctor had a detailed list of symptoms that the hospital agreed was safe to treat. Most received no guidance. 3/
— Caroline Kitchener (@CAKitchener) October 28, 2023
Biden administration proposes changes to resolve controversy over surprise bill
The Biden administration announced Friday a proposal aimed at modifying the process used by insurance companies and health care providers to resolve payment disputes over surprise medical bills.
Since last year, the insured person has been protected Avoid inadvertently receiving treatment from an out-of-network medical institution and being billed for large medical bills. But litigation over the process of determining who gets the lion’s share of the tab has led the administration to plan to fix the process.
of latest iteration The version released Friday includes several changes. For example: The government’s proposals would require payers to provide more information when refusing to pay, and encourage parties to engage in “meaningful and open negotiations” before resorting to a formal arbitration process. Contains changes intended to
📅Welcome back! It’s shaping up to be a quiet week for health policy on Capitol Hill, but we’re keeping an eye on some events elsewhere.
Today’s topic: President Biden is releasing sweeping executive order This includes directing the federal health department to establish a program to receive and remediate reports of unsafe medical practices involving artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, at the post, my colleagues I will interview Rep. Co-Chair of the House Cancer Caucus. Brian Higgins (DN.Y.) and other experts discuss how technology is transforming cancer treatment and research.
on tuesday: independent advisor food and drug administration I will review Experimental gene editing treatment for sickle cell disease developed by vertex pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics.
on wednesday: Sen. bill cassidy (Louisiana), tops Republican rankings Senate Support Committee; Atul Gawande, USAID Deputy Administrator for Global Health.and other experts join the post The event focuses on ways to improve health systems, enhance patient care, and contain costs.
Over the next 10 days, you’ll be able to: The Biden administration will hold daily briefings to highlight the 10 drugs selected for the first round of Medicare price negotiations, White House officials said.This will look like this president biden is in the midst of a re-election campaign and wants to focus on efforts to lower costs for consumers.
- On the move: Frederick Isasi intention get off as executive director of family usa At the end of the year. The left-leaning consumer health lobby is searching nationally for a new leader.
- On our radar: of Senate Finance Committee I plan to vote Nov. 8 on a legislative package that includes addiction and mental health policy, pharmacy benefit manager reform, and extensions to provider payment policies in Medicare and Medicaid. status‘s John Wilkerson and Rachel Coles The story was reported by five medical lobbyists.
- coronavirus treatment will start appearing on the commercial market Wednesday, However, health care providers can order the government-sponsored course of Merck’s Radebrio until November 10th and the government-sponsored course of Pfizer’s Paxlovid until December 15th.
