REPORT: Possible Settlement With Insurance Companies Over Obamacare Payments

The possibility of settlements has drawn alarm from Republican lawmakers, who warn that the administration is seeking to get around limitations set by Congress.

Several insurers have sued the administration for funds they are owed under an ObamaCare program called risk corridors, which is meant to protect insurers from heavy losses in the early years of the health law. A shortfall in funding has limited payouts.

Republicans are furious that the White House is looking to solve the issue in the courts, which could skirt oversight from Congress. They argue that Congress already passed a provision to prevent the administration from shifting funds into the program in 2014. Any settlements could be a way around that prohibition, for what they call a “bailout” of insurers.

That argument played out at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, between CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.).

“So there have been discussions, by somebody [at CMS], with Justice about how you’re going to settle, and you don’t know where the money’s going to come from, but you assume somewhere it’ll come from?” Griffith asked.

“Yeah they’re representing us, so we have in fact talked to them, yes,” Slavitt said of discussions with the Department of Justice. More here: https://bit.ly/2cuLdK5

Critics of the so-called “Cadillac” tax may have earned a two-year delay, but some of the country’s biggest companies say they’re already taking steps to avoid the penalty by shrinking options or shifting costs to workers.

About 12 percent of companies say they have taken steps to avoid being hit by the much-maligned tax on high-priced health insurance plans, which goes into effect in 2020.

The data offers the latest proof about the wide-ranging impact of the tax, and is likely to be used to drive efforts to permanently repeal it next January, says long-time critic of the tax, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).

“I think President Clinton has already made a commitment [to repeal it], so I think that’s plan A – to really come flying out of the gate in January,” Courtney told The Hill on Wednesday. “There’s a pretty strong expectation that that’s going to be a big agenda item.” https://bit.ly/2cuLoVx

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said Wednesday there “are lots of problems” with a Republican proposal to fund the government beyond the end of the month, dampening hopes a deal might be reached this week.

Reid told reporters that Republican and Democratic leaders are at loggerheads over the stopgap funding measure, citing GOP demands that none of the $80 million slated for Puerto Rico’s Zika response will go to Planned Parenthood clinics.

“Zika funding is not done; it’s a work in progress,” Reid said. Asked whether the partisan dispute over granting Planned Parenthood access to federal funds remains a sticking point, Reid said, “Planned Parenthood is not gone.”

On the House side, senior appropriator Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) hinted that GOP leaders are still working on a deal to resolve the last remaining hurdle: the “huge issue” of Planned Parenthood funding in the Zika response.

“I think we’re inching closer, I do. People want to get these problems solved, and honestly in the Senate, I think even more than us,” he said, adding that the upper chamber is focused on crafting a bill that could also pass the House. “You can’t have a situation where you have 50 or 60 Republicans voting with 180 Democrats. That’s just not a tenable situation.” https://bit.ly/2cK4JCA

The Senate Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing on the stability of ObamaCare’s marketplace at 10 a.m.

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) is the keynote speaker at an 8 a.m. event on prescription drug costs hosted by RealClearPolitics

House Oversight panel to grill EpiPen CEO next week https://bit.ly/2cuJR1F

Poll: Swing-state voters support abortion access for Zika-infected women https://bit.ly/2cW8TuB

After mixed signals, Trump shares physical exam results on ‘The Dr. Oz Show’https://bit.ly/2cofQPT

Clinton releases medical records https://bit.ly/2cogPj6

CDC deploys new rapid response team, known as a “medical SWAT team” to fight Zika in Florida and Texas. (Kaiser Health News)

Gap plans, or “insurance for insurance,” is increasingly being used to cover out-of-pocket expenses like high deductibles. (NPR)

The NFL is launching a $100 million concussion program to improve player safety, including $40 million toward medical research to study head injuries. (Washington Post)

Zika case involving Utah caregiver remains medical mystery. (Associated Press)

Texas’s uninsured rate dropped just two percentage points despite large national decrease. (Texas Tribune)

The GOP-controlled Missouri Senate voted to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill that would allow Medicaid providers to charge a missed appointment fee. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed bills that would have repealed the sales tax on diapers and tampons because of concerns over a state budget hole. (Los Angeles Times)

An appeals court ruled Wednesday that Louisiana can’t block Planned Parenthood from receiving any state funds. (Associated Press)

Nearly one-third of Kentucky’s population is now enrolled in Medicaid. (Lexington Herald Leader)