Why the Part B fight is roiling Washington
Medicare's planned Part B pilot is either a necessary fix to a broken drug payment system — or the first step to President Donald Trump dismantling the Affordable Care Act. It all depends whom you ask. And this week, we asked Peter Bach and Ted Okon — a high-profile proponent and opponent of Medicare's pilot, respectively — to make their case. Bach joined Dan Diamond to discuss why drug spending has become such a huge problem (starts at the 2:00 mark), why Medicare's trying to change how it pays doctors for drugs (6:00), and how he defends the pilot against charges that it's an over-reach (14:15). Okon joined Dan to explain his criticism of Medicare's pilot (25:20), why he thinks the Part B demo is a dangerous over-reach (34:50), and why oncologists are especially vulnerable to payment changes (43:00). Plus: POLITICO's Sarah Karlin-Smith and Brett Norman join Dan to referee the Part B fight and predict what happens next. (49:17) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.