Week in Washington is brought to you by Michael Cohen, PhD. Tune in each week to read the latest on healthcare policy and get a glimpse of what’s on the horizon.
Week in Washington
03/23/2023
On the Hill
A Senate committee advanced a bill that would increase PBM transparency, limit certain practices including spread pricing, and give the FTC power to enforce the bill. It’s unclear if there is sufficient support for the bill to pass the Senate (let alone the House).
Covid Vaccines
The FDA is slated to meet to determine if further boosters are necessary. This would be the first major booster approval that occurs without any type of government subsidization.
PHE Ending
Another sign that the Administration will in fact end the Public Health Emergency in May was that it announced the disbanding of its covid-19 response team. All signs point to the PHE ending on May 11. For a good summary of what things will be affected when that happens please see KFF’s useful summary.
ACA Open Enrollment Report
CMS released its annual report on ACA Open Enrollment. You can find the report here and the PUF here. A few highlights:
- 13% increase in plan selections relative to 2022
- 21% increase in new consumers relative to 2022
- 90 % of enrollees with APTC – (slightly up for last year)
- More migration to gold (and out of 73/87 silver CSRs)
- Net premiums slightly down in FFM states (up in SBMs)
Happy Birthday ACA
The ACA officially turned 13 this week.
Previous editions:
03/16/2023: Week in Washington
03/09/2023: Week in Washington
03/02/2023: Week in Washington
02/23/2023: Week in Washington
02/09/2023: Week in Washington
02/02/2023: Week in Washington
01/26/2023: Week in Washington
01/19/2023: Week in Washington