{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpoliticos-pulse-check.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fwhy-the-part-b-fight-is-roiling-07481ad0","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Why the Part B fight is roiling Washington","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/57e73d/57e73d0a-dce0-413c-a342-50aa222ebb97/9a4ff27e-39b9-4423-acda-24efe8d4b5bc/1510085840artwork.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/9a4ff27e-39b9-4423-acda-24efe8d4b5bc\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Why the Part B fight is roiling Washington\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"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.\n\n"}