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U.S. NEWS Thursday 16 June 2022
GAO: US didn't track if its aid was used in Yemen attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The peninsula. Aid groups and
Pentagon and the State international organizations
Department failed to inves- say the war has greatly
tigate whether a Saudi-led deepened food insecurity
coalition used arms or other for millions of people there.
materiel bought from U.S. The General Accounting
suppliers in attacks alleged Office examined how well
to have killed civilians in Ye- the U.S. government has
men, a U.S. government re- tracked any role that ex-
port released Wednesday tensive U.S. military aid to its
says. two Gulf strategic partners,
The findings may under- Saudi Arabia and the Unit-
mine the reliability of as- ed Arab Emirates, played in
surances from a series of civilian deaths.
U.S. administrations that Congress commissioned
Americans were working to Wednesday's report from
minimize civilian harm from the GAO last year. The
strikes by two major strate- GAO is meant to be an
gic partners and arms-buy- independent watchdog
ers, Saudi Arabia and the assisting government over-
United Arab Emirates, in a sight. The version of the re-
now 7-year war against Ira- port released Wednesday
nian-allied rebels in Yemen. A Yemeni soldier inspects a site of Saudi-led airstrikes targeting two houses in Sanaa, Yemen, withholds what the govern-
Publication of the critical March 26, 2022. ment says is classified ma-
report comes the day after Associated Press terial from the original ver-
the White House confirmed sion, which was not made
that President Joe Biden fensive military aid to Saudi ported on wedding parties U.S., U.N. and other interna- public.
plans a July trip to Saudi Arabia, in response to the and other civilian targets. tional mediation, all sides in The U.S. has provided more
Arabia in a bid to bolster re- bogged-down Saudi-led The U.S. says it has worked the conflict have joined in than $54 billion in military
lations with the oil-produc- war in Yemen. to train Saudi forces on im- what U.S. officials say is a support to Saudi Arabia
ing kingdom. Biden took News organizations and proved targeting and other promising truce this spring and the UAE since 2015,
office denouncing Saudi rights groups have cited best practices to minimize and summer. when Saudi-led troops
Arabia over civilian deaths repeated civilian deaths civilian casualties. Houthi rebels are also launched attacks, through
in Yemen and the 2018 kill- blamed on airstrikes by the The United Nations esti- widely accused of rights 2021. State Department of-
ing of U.S.-based journalist coalition. That includes a mates that from March violations, including forcing ficials told the GAO investi-
Jamal Khashoggi. 2018 strike on a school bus 2015 to August 2021 about children to fight and profit- gators they consider civilian
Biden, a Democrat, also that killed at least 26 chil- 23,000 airstrikes by the ing off food and fuel des- harm and how equipment
pledged at the outset of his dren, according to Human Saudi-led coalition in Ye- perately needed by civil- is used when weighing U.S.
term that the United States Rights Watch, and other men killed or injured more ians. Yemen is the poorest arms sales to Saudi Arabia,
would withhold any U.S. of- airstrikes have been re- than 18,000 civilians. Under country by far on the Arab the report said.q

High court rules against government on drug reimbursement

By JESSICA GRESKO deep discount. The gov- In a statement, the Ameri-
Associated Press ernment said reimbursing can Hospital Association
WASHINGTON (AP) — the hospitals, called 340B and other groups involved
The Supreme Court said hospitals, at the same rate in the case called the de-
Wednesday that the feder- as other hospitals that pay cision a "decisive victory
al government improperly more created an incen- for vulnerable communities
lowered drug reimburse- tive for the hospitals to and the hospitals on which
ment payments to hospitals overprescribe the drugs or so many patients depend."
and clinics that serve low- prescribe more expensive They hope to work with
income communities, a re- drugs. It said that lowering the administration and the
duction that cost the facili- the reimbursement would courts on a reimbursement
ties billions of dollars. also save Medicare ben- plan.
The high court ruled unani- eficiaries money in co-pay- The case before the justices
mously in a case involving ments because those are involved Medicare, which
payments for drugs, largely linked to reimbursement provides health insurance
for cancer, that are used rates. for nearly 60 million people The U.S. Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington,
by Medicare patients in Justice Brett Kavanaugh age 65 and older or people June 9, 2022.
hospital outpatient depart- wrote for the court that with certain disabilities. Un- Associated Press
ments. The Biden admin- "absent a survey of hospi- der Medicare, health care
istration had stood by a tals' acquisition costs" the providers get reimbursed that 340B hospitals and the reimbursement rate by
Trump administration de- Department of Health and by the government for ex- clinics, which serve low-in- nearly 30%, an annual de-
cision to reduce the pay- Human Services "may not penses including drugs come communities, would crease to 340B hospitals
ments. vary the reimbursement used in hospital outpatient be reimbursed at a lower and clinics of about $1.6
The government had said rates for 340B hospitals. departments. rate. That's because 340B billion.
that the hospitals and HHS's 2018 and 2019 reim- Hospitals had been getting hospitals and clinics are Affected hospitals sued
clinics, because of their bursement rates for 340B reimbursed at a rate based entitled to discounts from and a federal judge initially
special status serving low- hospitals were therefore on the average price of drug manufacturers that let ruled for them, but that de-
income communities, are contrary to the statute and the drugs. But in 2018 the them buy drugs at a lower cision was reversed by an
able to buy the drugs at a unlawful." Trump administration said cost. The administration cut appeals court.q