Overnight Health Care — Sponsored by PCMA — Dems want answers on DOJ ObamaCare decision | Experts say mandate repeal driving up premiums | Senate to vote on bill addressing maternal death rates

Sponsored by Pharmaceutical Care Management Association | View in Browser     Welcome to Overnight Health Care, sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. We're over halfway through the week! Today we learned that a child in Idaho is being treated for the plague. It's a rare condition with only eight confirmed cases in Oregon and two in Idaho since 1990, according to WXYZ Detroit. And now today's big stories...   Insurance experts say ObamaCare mandate repeal driving up premiums Democrats got some more evidence to use against Republicans to argue that the GOP is to blame for rising premiums. The American Academy of Actuaries says that the elimination of the individual mandate penalty and the expansion of cheaper health plans with fewer benefits will contribute to premium increases next year. "The individual market, which had shown signs of stabilizing, now faces a potential deterioration of the risk pool due to policy changes that reduce incentives for healthy individuals to enroll in ACA marketplace plans. This deterioration and other factors could drive premiums higher for 2019," said Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello. Democrats quickly seized on the report. "The latest report from the American Academy of Actuaries further confirms that the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans' systematic efforts to sabotage our health care system are driving up costs for millions of middle-class families," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "Wondering why your premiums are going up? Look no further than President Trump's polices," wrote Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). More on the report and the politics here.         SPONSORED CONTENT   Pharmaceutical Care Management Association Drugmakers set and raise the price of prescription drugs unrelated to the rebates they negotiate with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).  The most direct way for drugmakers to reduce costs and improve access is to simply cut their own prices.       House Dems turn the screws on GOP on pre-existing condition protections Democrats have been seizing on the Trump administration's argument in court that ObamaCare's pre-existing condition protections should be overturned. On Wednesday, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) held a press conference to blast the GOP over the move. And Democratic committee leaders wrote a letter to the administration. The lawmakers asked HHS if it conducted any analysis on the impact the decision will have on the country's health-care system. The decision "breaks with DOJ's longstanding tradition of defending laws enacted by the United States Congress, and constitutes yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to sabotage the [Affordable Care Act] at the expense of consumers across the nation," the letter said. Key takeaway: Democrats view health care as a winning issue for them in the November midterm elections, and the letter is the latest example of members pressing their perceived advantage. We explain the controversy here. And we've got the letter here.     The Senate Health Committee will vote next week on a bill aimed at cutting maternal mortality rates in the U.S. Sponsored by Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the bill would support state-level efforts to form review committees that specifically track and investigate pregnancy-related deaths and then look for ways to prevent future deaths from occurring. Why it matters: For every 100,000 live births in America, 26.4 women experience pregnancy-related deaths, according to a study published in The Lancet, a general medical journal. There is also a racial disparity, with black women four times as likely to die from pregnancy than white women. On average, among developed countries, there are 12 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the World Health Organization. More on the bill here.   The House passed even more opioid bills. Yesterday, the chamber passed 25 bills aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic, which is leading to an estimated 115 American deaths per day. On Wednesday, the chamber passed even more, such as a bill to establish an interagency task force to better the federal government's response for families impacted by addiction and another aimed at giving the FDA more power to seize drugs.         SPONSORED CONTENT   Pharmaceutical Care Management Association The Congressional Budget Office’s $43 billion score of point-of-sale rebates in Medicare Part D is the latest in a series of official estimates showing this mandate would increase costs for the government and taxpayers. This score strikes another blow to the drugmakers’ multi-million dollar campaign to shift blame for their own prices onto the health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that negotiate discounts and rebates to reduce costs.       What we're reading Unwieldy health costs often stand between teachers and higher pay (Kaiser Health News) Costs are rising for employer-sponsored insurance -- again (CBS News) Major opioids legislation is taking shape. Can it make a dent in a national epidemic? (Stat)   State by state As Medicaid costs soar, these states are trying a new approach (Kaiser Health News) Did Nevada's Heller back bill to cut pre-existing conditions protections? (Politifact) Kentucky's Medicaid work requirement faces reckoning in court (Modern Healthcare) New York doctors wrote more opioid prescriptions after pharma payments (CNN)   From The Hill's opinion pages New Jersey's disastrous decision to resurrect ObamaCare's individual mandate         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Healthcare Newsletters     Forward Healthcare Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

News Alert: Trump tightens grip on GOP

View in your browser     Trump tightens grip on GOP President Trump has solidified his grip on the Republican Party, forcing GOP lawmakers to think twice about challenging him in public for fear that it might come back to hurt them politically. Rep. Mark Sanford's (R-S.C.) loss in Tuesday’s primary is the latest reminder to Republicans of the president's popularity with the GOP base and his ability to inflict revenge when angered. Read the full story here           Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for News Alerts     Forward News Alerts     You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Pruitt faces new criticism from conservatives | GOP senator says Pruitt may need to resign | Group to run ads against Pruitt | Courts deal blow to EPA on Clean Air Act

View in your browser     PRUITT'S CONSERVATIVE FIREWALL CRACKS: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt is facing new criticism from conservative allies over his spending and ethics scandals. Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham said Wednesday President Trump should fire Pruitt, while Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Pruitt may need to step down. The developments came the day that The Washington Post reported that Pruitt enlisted an aide and GOP donors to help his wife, Marlyn, get a job, and that she ended up getting a temporary position with the Judicial Crisis Network. The reporting adds to recent allegations that Pruitt used his position or resources for personal gain, including trying to get his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise and having his security detail travel to multiple Ritz-Carlton hotels to find a lotion he wanted. In response to the Post's story, Ingraham tweeted "PRUITT BAD JUDGMENT HURTING @POTUS, GOTTA GO." She expanded slightly on her thoughts later Wednesday on her radio show. "It just doesn't look good," Ingraham told Inhofe, referring specifically to his use of taxpayer money. "If you want to drain the swamp, you've got to have people in it who forego personal benefits, and don't send your aides around doing personal errands on the taxpayer dime. Otherwise, you make everybody else look bad." Inhofe, who has known Pruitt for years and is considered one of his closest allies in Congress, unexpectedly agreed. "I see these things, they upset me as much as they upset you," Inhofe said. "And I think something needs to happen to change that. One of those alternatives would be for him to leave that job." He continued, "I'm afraid my good friend Scott Pruitt has done some things that really surprised me. And I'm the one to say this because frankly he's a good friend of mine. But all these things that are coming out are really not good things." Read more on Ingraham here, Inhofe here and the Post's reporting here.   Happy Wednesday! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill.   RIGHT-WING GROUP CALLS FOR PRUITT'S OUSTER: Elsewhere in conservative political circles, the right-wing American Future Fund is out with new television ads calling on Trump to fire Pruitt. "EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is embarrassing President Trump," the voiceover says before running through some of Pruitt's recent high-profile scandals, like spending $43,000 on a soundproof phone booth for his office and giving big raises to close aides by bypassing the White House. "Mr. President, you know what to do," the voiceover says, cutting to a clip of Trump from "The Apprentice" saying "You're fired!" "For the good of the country, Pruitt must go," the spot concludes. The group's leader said Trump needs to show the country that using public resources for private gain is unacceptable. "President Trump needs to make an example out of Pruitt and show that this administration will not tolerate rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars," AFF founder Nick Ryan said in a statement. "He is best known for using his office to enrich his wife, buy engraved keepsakes and direct federal guards to help find his favorite moisturizer. He's the head of the EPA, not the Sultan of Brunei." Read more.   COURTS DEAL BLOW TO EPA OVER CLEAN AIR ACT: Two separate courts ruled this week that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must enforce regulations that restrict states from emitting pollution that could cross borders into neighboring states. U.S. district courts in Maryland and New York both ruled separately that EPA was derelict in its duty by not enforcing states to comply with the "Good Neighbor provision" under the Clean Air Act meant to address smog pollution. The New York court found that EPA failed to meet an August 2017 deadline that would begin the process of enforcing the law throughout states. The court's judge ruled that EPA must take necessary steps to limit the smog that blows into New York and Connecticut from five surrounding states: Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan and Virginia. "The court notes that it does not grant the above extension lightly," Maryland's district court wrote in its verdict. "On the contrary, the court is troubled by EPA's apparent unwillingness or inability to comply with its mandatory statutory duties within the timeline set by Congress." An EPA spokesperson said the agency plans to propose a new action that will address the good neighbor policies in CAA by the end of the month. The court set a Dec. 8 deadline for compliance. "There is no reason why the EPA should not be required to follow the typical practice here, especially when they agreed it is feasible for them to do so," the court wrote in its determination. "Given the prior violations of the statutory deadline by EPA, it is a reasonable exercise of the court's equitable powers to require the EPA to do the minimal tasks it has agreed it can do to remedy its past violation of the statute." In Maryland, a similar verdict found that EPA must take a final action by Sept 15. We explain here.   MORE PRUITT... CORN GROUPS PUSH BACK ON ETHANOL: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt got an earful from corn growers and ethanol producers during his visit to Kansas on Tuesday. Pruitt, a key figure in ongoing debate between the ethanol and natural gas industry over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), faced strong criticism during a roundtable at the East Kansas Agri-Energy LLC ethanol plant in Garnett, Kan., attendees said. Kansas Corn Growers Association President Ken McCauley said farmers at the meeting worked to clearly voice to Pruitt their frustration with any Trump administration proposal that would lower the RFS and allow oil and gas companies to sell fuel with a lower percentage of ethanol. "When you look at what EPA is doing, they are most definitely picking winners and losers and right now, ethanol is the loser," McCauley said in a statement Wednesday. "Our concern was that Administrator Pruitt thought he could come to Kansas, take a few photos with smiling farmers and tell the President that corn farmers are okay with his actions. That would be a gross misinterpretation of what happened here today." McCauley added that farmers told Pruitt they were "mad as hell." The EPA promoted the meetings in Kansas on social media, calling them informative and productive. We have the details here.   ON TAP THURSDAY: The Senate Appropriations Committee will vote on the Interior Department and EPA spending bill for fiscal year 2019. Read more about the bill, which passed subcommittee Tuesday, here. The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the Enhancing State Management of Federal Lands and Waters Act, which would, among other things, punish states that seek to block offshore drilling off their costs. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's environment subcommittee will hold a hearing on implementation of The Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards Program.   OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: A southwestern Colorado wildfire has grown to more than 27,000 acres, the Denver Post reports. The company behind the Rover Pipeline has agreed to pay $430,000 to settle water pollution claims in West Virginia, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. Michigan's legislature passed a bill that would create a private industry panel in the Department of Environmental Quality to weigh in on regulations, the Associated Press reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Wednesday's stories ... -GOP senator floats Pruitt's resignation -Courts deal blow to EPA over Clean Air Act -Antarctic ice melting at accelerated pace, study finds -Republicans propose penalties for states that oppose offshore drilling -Pruitt faces resistance from ethanol groups during midwest trips -GAO to look into Trump's reduction of carbon social costs -Conservative group launches ad calling on Trump to fire Pruitt -Fox's Ingraham calls for Trump to fire Pruitt: 'GOTTA GO' -Pruitt had aide, GOP donors help wife find job: report -Trump taps Hill veteran for White House environment job         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.