Health Beat: Supreme Court Blog To Live-post On Affordable Care Act Ruling

Editor’s note: Each Wednesday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Health Beat,” a round-up of health-related topics in our email newsletter, which you can sign up to receive daily for free here.

SUPREME COURT BLOG TO LIVE-POST ON AFFORDABLE CARE ACT RULING
Scotusblog.com, the highly-watched blog devoted to comprehensive and unbiased coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, will begin live blogging at 9:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday in anticipation of the potential ruling on King v. Burwell, the challenge to the availability of tax subsidies for people who purchase health insurance in the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.

The nation’s high court is expected to hand down one or more opinions at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Besides King v. Burwell, the court is also expected to weigh in on a number of other high-profile issues, including the status of same-sex marriage, the gerrymandering debate on lines for Congressional elections, the right to put the Confederate flag on license plates and lethal injection drugs that states can use to administer the death penalty.

Here’s what Amy Howe, editor of the Supreme Court blog, had to say in a blog post following 90 minutes of oral arguments on the King v. Burwell case in early March:

Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg all seemed like solid votes for the federal government, defending the subsidies, while the challengers could clearly count on the votes of Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito. Chief Justice John Roberts – who three years ago joined the Court’s more liberal Justices to uphold another provision of the Affordable Care Act, requiring everyone to buy health insurance or pay a penalty (it’s a tax!) – kept his cards close to his chest, asking only a few questions that gave no real hint as to how he might vote. But even if it ultimately doesn’t get the Chief Justice’s vote, the government could still win as long as it can pick up just one more vote. And that seemed like at least a possibility; because Justice Anthony Kennedy asked several questions which suggested that he might be leaning more toward the government than the challengers.

To get live blogging updates of the Supreme Court on Thursday, click here.

CVS, TARGET ANNOUNCE ‘STORE-IN-A-STORE’ PHARMACY DEAL
CVS Health and Target Corp. announced a deal this week to acquire the retailer’s pharmacy and clinic businesses for approximately $1.9 billion. Through this agreement, CVS will acquire Target’s more than 1,660 pharmacies across 47 states and operate them through a “store-within-a-store” format, branded as CVS/pharmacy.

In addition, a CVS/pharmacy will be included in all new Target stores that offer pharmacy services. Target’s nearly 80 clinic locations will be rebranded as MinuteClinic, and CVS Health will open up to 20 new clinics in Target stores within three years of the close of the transaction. CVS said the new clinics will be part of the pharmacy chain’s plan to operate 1,500 clinics by 2017.

The two companies also plan to develop five to 10 small, flexible format stores over a two-year period following the deal close, which will each be branded as TargetExpress and include a CVS/pharmacy.

UAMS, ARKANSAS DOCTORS JOIN NATIONAL EFFORT TO RAISE ADULT VACCINATION RATES
The Arkansas chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), together with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the Arkansas Pharmacists Association and the Arkansas Immunization Action Coalition have joined together in a nationwide effort to raise adult vaccination rates.

The local groups, in conjunction with the national ACP, will assist physicians and other health care providers in protecting their patients from vaccine-preventable diseases by providing tools for communicating with their patients about the importance of immunizations and by tracking and providing access to vaccines. Partner organizations across the U.S. announced the kickoff of the program at a meeting of “I Raise the Rates” Immunization Champions in New Orleans on May 15.

Current rates in Arkansas for recommended adult vaccines are well below national CDC recommendations and exhibit large racial disparities. According to the CDC, one-third or more of Arkansas seniors have not received a flu or pneumonia vaccine; among African Americans, the rates are even higher.

HEALTH REFORM TASK FORCE BOGS DOWN ON DHS CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, GOVERNOR TO REVIEW
Members of a legislative task force looking at health reforms in Arkansas took a detour down a philosophical road regarding contract management at the Department of Human Services in a discussion that lasted more than an hour last Thursday. At the same time, Gov. Asa Hutchinson was holding a meeting with the press and explaining his staff would conduct a thorough review of a growing list of “high-risk” state contracts within the expansive state Department of Human Services.