Briefs

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week unveiled a bill that would prevent a government shutdown and provide more than $1 billion to battle the Zika virus. McConnell said the stopgap measure was “clean” of controversies, and he left out language regarding authority over internet domain names demanded by Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. But Democrats immediately blasted the proposal and said they would likely filibuster the measure since it omits a bipartisan plan to provide| $220 million to help Flint, Mich., and other cities with lead emergencies replace pipes and take other steps to clean their water.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Colorado’s Medicaid program, claiming the agency systematically denies thousands of Colorado residents access to effective hepatitis C treatments, such as Harvoni from Gilead Sciences, because its policy is to administer it only to patients who have reached Stage 2 liver damage. The class action lawsuit claims the decision contradicts federal law that requires state Medicaid agencies to provider medically necessary services and treatment. Harvoni costs $1,125 per pill in the U.S. on average. Washington faced a similar situation and the Obama administration has publicly discussed increasing access to these drugs in state Medicaid programs.

The CMS announced that Medicare Advantage premiums will drop in 2017 and more enrollees will have access to higher quality plans. The average Medicare Advantage monthly premium will decrease by 3.6% next year. Meanwhile, for the seventh straight year, enrollment is projected to increase to a new all-time high. The CMS also released new data that show 11 million seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare have saved more than $23.5 billion on prescription drugs. The average premium for a Medicare prescription drug plan next year is estimated at $34 a month.