HHS Secretary makes questionable claims on AHCA

The Washington Post gave HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, its worst fact-check rating for his defense of the Republican-sponsored plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Two misleading claims Price gave in a May 7 CNN interview, according to the Washington Post, were 1) the American Health Care Act (AHCA) will not cut $839 billion from Medicaid over 10 years, and 2) it would “absolutely not” result in Medicaid beneficiaries losing coverage.

“The fact of the matter is that Medicaid spending under the proposal and under the budget goes up every single year. And it goes up by a factor that is great—that is equal to the cost of medical care,” Price said.

The Post said both of those claims are false. Read the full fact check at the link below: 

""
John Gregory, Senior Writer

John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.