What We're Reading: ACA and Drug Prices; FDA Ponders Vape Cessation; Democrats Trim Medicare Plans

Proposal on How ACA Plans Cover Drugs Could Leave Some Spending More

FDA May Have to Approve Methods for Quitting Vape Devices, Gottlieb Says

Democrats Look for Slimmed-Down Version of Medicare for All

President Trump’s latest healthcare proposal could have the effect of raising out-of-pocket drug costs for some while lowering them for others, The New York Times reported. The proposal would apply to health insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. Under the proposal, insurers would not have to count the full amount of a consumer’s co-payment for a brand-name drug toward the annual limit on cost-sharing; plans would only count the smaller amount that would be charged for a generic version of the drug.FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said it is shocking to him that the rate of young people addicted to using e-cigarettes, or vaping, had reached levels at which FDA-approved methods for quitting e-cigarettes could be necessary, The Hill reported. He said the problem stems from the explosion in availability and popularity of e-cigarettes over the past year, in part fueled by the availability and convenience of JUUL brand e-cigarettes. Those factors have caused vaping rates to nearly double among high school students between 2017-2018.“Medicare for More,” not Medicare for All, is likely to emerge as Democrats jockey for 2020 with a watered-down version of universal health care, Politico reported. The move is stirring friction within the party's empowered left wing, which has panned any attempt to water down the progressive dream of a single-payer system. But Democrats have introduced 8 plans that range from modest reforms to something just short of full Medicare for All.