December Healthcare News

Here’s what happening in the healthcare industry this month:

Pop-up pill could stay in stomach to release drugs for days READ

A meeting between Bill Gates and Boston researchers four years ago has led to the development of a multi-dose capsule that, researchers said, could solve one of medicine’s more vexing problems: delivering oral drugs over an extended period of time with one dose.

Health advocates say they stand ‘ready to fight’ for Covered California READ

As President-elect Donald Trump threatens to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, which provides health care to millions, supporters of Covered California are joining forces to come up with ways to defend the public health exchange they’ve spent the last five years building. At a well-attended meeting Thursday [11/17], the Covered California board said it is continuing to push ahead with open enrollment, which ends Jan. 31 for people changing their coverage within the exchange or gaining coverage for the first time, despite the program’s uncertain future.

As Soda Taxes Gain Wider Acceptance, Your Bottle May Be Next READ

But this month, voters in San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, Calif., as well as Boulder, Colo., stunned the industry by approving ballot measures in favor of soda taxes. Cook County, Ill., followed a few days later, bringing a soft-drink tax to Chicago and surrounding areas. They are joining Berkeley, Calif., which passed a tax two years ago, and Philadelphia, which passed one in June, bringing to seven the number of American communities with soda taxes… With that public momentum, a soda tax may be coming to a city near you.

Governors planning ‘very, very active’ role in ObamaCare rewrite READ

The National Governors Association (NGA), a proudly bipartisan group representing every state, is now eyeing a more public — and more aggressive — role alongside GOP leaders as they attempt to gut the massive federal program. “Governors will be very, very active and engaged,” the group’s health policy director Frederick Isasi said in an interview. “They really are one of the few groups who are, in this very tangible day-to-day way, are living the results of the policies.” Governors from both parties will be on the front lines of healthcare reform next year. Many will be under intense pressure to avoid an abrupt repeal of law that would prompt 22 million people to lose their coverage and likely cause a marketplace crash.