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WCOE: Graham-Cassidy Repeal Plan Has Deep Cuts; Bipartisan ACA Hearings Set; Sticker Shock Over Leukemia Drug; New Palliative Care Study; & More

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What Caught Our Eye (WCOE), August 25, 2017
What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention.

Affordable Care Act

“Cassidy-Graham Would Deeply Cut and Drastically Redistribute Health Coverage Funding Among States”

Via Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) — The Cassidy-Graham plan (which Senator Dean Heller has also co-sponsored) would have much the same damaging consequences as other Senate and House Republican repeal and replace bills. It would cause many millions of people to lose coverage, radically restructure and deeply cut Medicaid, increase out-of-pocket costs for individual market consumers, and weaken or eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
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“Five governors to testify at hearing on bipartisan healthcare bill”

Via The Hill — Five governors will testify in front of the Senate Health Committee next month on ways to fix ObamaCare. Govs. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.), Steve Bullock (D-Mont.), Bill Haslam (R-Tenn.), Gary Herbert (R-Utah) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) will testify at a hearing on Sept. 7.

Many insurers have requested large premium increases for 2018 because of the uncertainty surrounding the payments. The Trump administration has made them on a month-to-month basis, but insurers have asked for long-term certainty.
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“Data Note: Strongly Held Views on the ACA”

Via Kaiser Family Foundation — …Kaiser polls have shown an overall increase in ACA favorability over the past year, with 52 percent holding a favorable view of the law in August 2017, up 10 percentage points since June 2016, and nearly 20 percentage points since a low of 33 percent in November 2013.
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“Health reform revived: Murkowski says bills will advance via committee process”

Via the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said the health care discussion in Congress is moving forward nearly a month after the failed Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“The committee process, which is something that I had been pounding the drum on for months and months, is underway,” Murkowski said at a Monday interview with the Daily News-Miner editorial board.

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“States Watch Iowa’s Push to Reshape Health Law”

Via Wall Street Journal — Officials seek waiver to revamp rules, including subsidies; Ohio, Oklahoma, others consider changes.

Iowa asked for federal permission to alter major provisions of the Affordable Care Act next year, a proposal that will be closely watched by officials in other states who hope to rewrite parts of the health law as Republican efforts to do so in Congress have stalled.
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Cancer News

“‘Breakthrough’ Leukemia Drug Also Portends ‘Quantum Leap’ In Cost”

Via Kaiser Health News — When doctors talk about a new leukemia drug from Novartis, they ooze enthusiasm, using words like “breakthrough,” “revolutionary” and “a watershed moment.” But when they think about how much the therapy is likely to cost, their tone turns alarmist.
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“Palliative Care Cut Healthcare Use in Advanced Cancer: Data show real-world influence in Medicare patients”

Via Medpage Today — In elderly patients with advanced cancer, a palliative care consultation soon after diagnosis substantially decreased healthcare use, and helped caregivers manage patients’ expectations, as well as maintain their quality of life (QoL), according to researchers.
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“Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Care: Has the Affordable Care Act Made a Difference?”

Via the Commonwealth Fund — Between 2013 and 2015, disparities with whites narrowed for blacks and Hispanics on three key access indicators: the percentage of uninsured working-age adults, the percentage who skipped care because of costs, and the percentage who lacked a usual care provider.
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