Friday's health stories
It's going to be Obamacare insurer payments vs. the wall
So here's where we're at on Obamacare insurer subsidy payments in the upcoming government funding bill:
- Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney on Bloomberg TV: Trump administration is offering Democrats $1 in insurer subsidy payments in exchange for every $1 in funds they're willing to support to build the border wall.
- "Complete non-starter," per Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, via spokesman Matt House.
Bottom line: Yes, we're going to have to go through this. It's not going to be a no-drama solution.
Moderates, conservatives cut tentative new Trumpcare deal
House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows and Tuesday Group co-chairman Tom MacArthur have reached a tentative Trumpcare deal, according to the Huffington Post:
- Pre-existing conditions: States could get waivers to get around the rule prohibiting insurance companies from charging higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions. They'd have to be part of a federal high-risk pool or set up their own before getting the waivers
- Essential Health Benefits: Benefits like prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and mental health services would be included again in the bill, but states could get a waiver for that too if they prove it would lower premiums, help cover more people or provide some other benefit to people.
Drug tech company ZappRx nabs $25 million funding round
Health care startup ZappRx has raised $25 million in a new round of funding led by the health care arm of Qiming Venture Partners. Other big names in ZappRx's round were GV, the venture capital hub of Google and Alphabet, and SR One. The company has now raised $41 million and will use the money to scale nationally.
What ZappRx does: It gets specialty drugs to patients faster by cutting administrative waste. ZappRx CEO Zoe Barry started the company in 2012 after her brother, who has epilepsy, had to wait more than nine months to get the medication he needed. It usually takes 19 minutes for providers to fill out enrollment and prior authorization forms for many specialty drugs, but Barry says her company's technology gets that down to just under two minutes.
Context: Specialty medicines, or those that treat complex and chronic conditions, are a primary cause behind the country's rising prescription drug spending. ZappRx is designed to get patients the treatment they need more quickly, but it doesn't address drug pricing itself.