There's a lobbying war over how HHS implements new protections shielding patients from large, unexpected medical bills.A woman opens up some of her medical bills at home in Glastonbury, Conn., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. | AP Photo/Jessica HillA lobbying onslaught from the health care industry nearly stopped Congress from passing a nationwide ban on “surprise” medical bills last year. Now, the same powerful groups are racing to sway federal agencies tasked with making the new law work — with billions of dollars and promised patient protections on the line.Health groups and consumer...…There's a lobbying war over how HHS implements new protections shielding patients from large, unexpected medical bills.A woman opens up some of her medical bills at home in Glastonbury, Conn., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. | AP Photo/Jessica HillA lobbying onslaught from the health care industry nearly stopped Congress from passing a nationwide ban on “surprise” medical bills last year. Now, the same powerful groups are racing to sway federal agencies tasked with making the new law work — with billions of dollars and promised patient protections on the line.Health groups and consumer...WW…

Nature is healing ... for one side of the aisle.Democrats have been hesitant to return to in-person fundraising, while Republicans have been hobnobbing in person with donors for weeks, if not months. | Getty ImagesMore and more people are getting the Covid vaccine, but for party fundraisers and members of Congress on the Democratic side, it’s not quite time to be piling into overpriced steakhouses or Georgetown soirees once again.A few Democrats have dipped their toes in the water with outdoor events, but the party has mostly stuck to virtual fundraisers. A list of more than 80 upcoming...…Nature is healing ... for one side of the aisle.Democrats have been hesitant to return to in-person fundraising, while Republicans have been hobnobbing in person with donors for weeks, if not months. | Getty ImagesMore and more people are getting the Covid vaccine, but for party fundraisers and members of Congress on the Democratic side, it’s not quite time to be piling into overpriced steakhouses or Georgetown soirees once again.A few Democrats have dipped their toes in the water with outdoor events, but the party has mostly stuck to virtual fundraisers. A list of more than 80 upcoming...WW…

Businesses warn the policy could create confusion and bring hefty new costs for employers.Currently, 16 states have no mask mandates in place, and the CDC and OSHA’s guidelines are now optional recommendations. | Noah Berger/AP PhotoThe Biden administration is expected to issue new temporary rules next week to curb Covid-19 spread in the workplace, setting a collision course with the growing number of states loosening restrictions on businesses to aid their reopening.The mandates — which would add enforcement powers to guidelines that are now just optional — threaten to further roil the...…Businesses warn the policy could create confusion and bring hefty new costs for employers.Currently, 16 states have no mask mandates in place, and the CDC and OSHA’s guidelines are now optional recommendations. | Noah Berger/AP PhotoThe Biden administration is expected to issue new temporary rules next week to curb Covid-19 spread in the workplace, setting a collision course with the growing number of states loosening restrictions on businesses to aid their reopening.The mandates — which would add enforcement powers to guidelines that are now just optional — threaten to further roil the...WW…

The Obama administration vet, who helped craft the Affordable Care Act, will be charged with helping Biden expand the health care law.President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will play a leading role in crafting plans to expand on Obamacare. | Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden will nominate seasoned Democratic health policy broker Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to helm the trillion-dollar Medicare and Medicaid agency, according to four sources familiar with the selection.Brooks-LaSure, an Obama administration veteran who oversaw implementation of...…The Obama administration vet, who helped craft the Affordable Care Act, will be charged with helping Biden expand the health care law.President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will play a leading role in crafting plans to expand on Obamacare. | Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden will nominate seasoned Democratic health policy broker Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to helm the trillion-dollar Medicare and Medicaid agency, according to four sources familiar with the selection.Brooks-LaSure, an Obama administration veteran who oversaw implementation of...WW…

The move will likely have little impact on the outcome of the case, which the justices heard one week after Election Day and could decide on soon.President Joe Biden speaks as he makes a statement at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Building. | Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe Biden administration is withdrawing the federal government’s support for a challenge to Obamacare, that the law should remain on the books.The move by the Justice Department follows speculation on whether Biden would try to withdraw from the high-profile red state lawsuit — fully supported by the Trump...…The move will likely have little impact on the outcome of the case, which the justices heard one week after Election Day and could decide on soon.President Joe Biden speaks as he makes a statement at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Building. | Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe Biden administration is withdrawing the federal government’s support for a challenge to Obamacare, that the law should remain on the books.The move by the Justice Department follows speculation on whether Biden would try to withdraw from the high-profile red state lawsuit — fully supported by the Trump...WW…

But with both New Yorkers vying for the open seat, the state's lawmakers risks losing spots on the Energy and Commerce panel.Both Reps. Kathleen Rice and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are privately angling for one of the few open seats on one of the House’s most powerful committees. | AP PhotoA pair of high-profile New Yorkers are jockeying for a prized slot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a competition that could have long-lasting reverberations in the Democratic Caucus and for influential states.Both Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kathleen Rice are privately angling for one of...…But with both New Yorkers vying for the open seat, the state's lawmakers risks losing spots on the Energy and Commerce panel.Both Reps. Kathleen Rice and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are privately angling for one of the few open seats on one of the House’s most powerful committees. | AP PhotoA pair of high-profile New Yorkers are jockeying for a prized slot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a competition that could have long-lasting reverberations in the Democratic Caucus and for influential states.Both Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kathleen Rice are privately angling for one of...WW…

President-elect Joe Biden’s incremental approach will face opposition from Republicans, powerful health care lobbies and even moderate Democrats.POLITICO illustrationFor President-elect Joe Biden, creating a public option to compete with private health insurance may be no easier to pass than it was a decade ago.His campaign promise to lower Medicare’s eligibility age and advance a robust public option to compete with private health insurance was seen as an olive branch to progressives agitating for a total government overhaul like “Medicare for All.”But Biden’s more incremental approach...…President-elect Joe Biden’s incremental approach will face opposition from Republicans, powerful health care lobbies and even moderate Democrats.POLITICO illustrationFor President-elect Joe Biden, creating a public option to compete with private health insurance may be no easier to pass than it was a decade ago.His campaign promise to lower Medicare’s eligibility age and advance a robust public option to compete with private health insurance was seen as an olive branch to progressives agitating for a total government overhaul like “Medicare for All.”But Biden’s more incremental approach...WW…

The directives on patient protections and billing that the president outlined aren't likely to yield new safeguards.President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2020. | Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump on Thursday moved to shore up one of his biggest campaign weaknesses with a symbolic pledge to protect people with preexisting conditions even if the Supreme Court overturns Obamacare.Trump also promised to send seniors $200 drug discount cards before the election to help cover prescription drug co-pays. And he said he would ban the practice...…The directives on patient protections and billing that the president outlined aren't likely to yield new safeguards.President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2020. | Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump on Thursday moved to shore up one of his biggest campaign weaknesses with a symbolic pledge to protect people with preexisting conditions even if the Supreme Court overturns Obamacare.Trump also promised to send seniors $200 drug discount cards before the election to help cover prescription drug co-pays. And he said he would ban the practice...WW…

The rates of the uninsured continued to grow under Trump, despite positive economic gains that would be halted by the pandemic.The Healthcare.gov website is seen. | AP PhotoThe ranks of the nation’s uninsured continued to grow last year, even before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic that’s devastated the economy, .Nearly 30 million Americans went without health coverage at some point in 2019, up by roughly 1 million from the previous year, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. The figures show continued losses in health insurance under the Trump administration, slightly eroding...…The rates of the uninsured continued to grow under Trump, despite positive economic gains that would be halted by the pandemic.The Healthcare.gov website is seen. | AP PhotoThe ranks of the nation’s uninsured continued to grow last year, even before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic that’s devastated the economy, .Nearly 30 million Americans went without health coverage at some point in 2019, up by roughly 1 million from the previous year, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. The figures show continued losses in health insurance under the Trump administration, slightly eroding...WW…

Opposition by powerhouse interest groups could spell trouble for Democrats’ signature health proposalA sign is held up that reads "ACA Is Here To Stay" front of the US Supreme Court. | Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesBernie Sanders threw Joe Biden a lifeline on health care this week. K Street is now trying to cut it away.A deep-pocketed health care coalition has launched an assault on the public option during the Democratic National Convention, previewing the intense level of industry opposition Biden’s health plan will face if he’s elected president.A new six-figure ad campaign from the...…Opposition by powerhouse interest groups could spell trouble for Democrats’ signature health proposalA sign is held up that reads "ACA Is Here To Stay" front of the US Supreme Court. | Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesBernie Sanders threw Joe Biden a lifeline on health care this week. K Street is now trying to cut it away.A deep-pocketed health care coalition has launched an assault on the public option during the Democratic National Convention, previewing the intense level of industry opposition Biden’s health plan will face if he’s elected president.A new six-figure ad campaign from the...WW…