| | | | | |  | | By Adam Cancryn and Dan Diamond | Presented by |  | | | With Joanne Kenen PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning PULSE will not publish on Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 30. Editor's Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The Trump administration is likely to finalize a series of major health policies today aimed at slashing drug prices and overhauling provider regulations. — President-elect Joe Biden's advisers are planning a massive expansion of Covid-19 testing, in hopes of heading off asymptomatic superspreaders. — Vice President Mike Pence touted "great progress" fighting the pandemic, in a discordant briefing that came amid a record Covid-19 surge. WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE — and who needs crowded bars and clubs when, according to this missed connection , the Judiciary Square Covid test site will do just fine. Play matchmaker yourself: pair up PULSE with newsy tips at acancryn@politico.com and ddiamond@politico.com. | | A message from the Partnership for America's Health Care Future: When it comes to what's next in health care, let's build on and improve what's working, where private coverage, Medicare and Medicaid work together, not start over with a one-size-fits-all new government health insurance system. Learn more. | | | | | | TRUMP PREPS ELEVENTH-HOUR POLICY BLITZ — The Trump administration is likely to finalize a host of major policies today, in a bid to put a final stamp on the health system before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. That rollout will include two ambitious rules aimed at lowering drug prices, as well as a pair of sweeping regulations designed to encourage health care providers to work together. Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks on drug pricing at 2:30 p.m. — The drug price actions represent the end of a long-running saga. Trump is expected to unveil a "most favored nation" policy that would link some government payments to an international index, as well as new regulations effectively eliminating rebates from seniors' drug plans. The administration deliberated over the two for years, in a process that sparked internal feuds, criticism from Hill Republicans and intense lobbying from the drug and pharmacy benefit manager industries. In the end, Trump resurrected the most favored nation plan cracking down on pharmaceutical companies — a decision that came just days after the president lashed out at Pfizer over accusations the company delayed its Covid-19 vaccine announcement until after the election. The finalization of the so-called rebate rule, meanwhile, would represent a victory for HHS Secretary Alex Azar — who spent months touting the policy as a transformative move, only to run into resistance within the White House. — Also on deck: Stark and anti-kickback reforms. The regulatory overhaul targeting decades-old fraud and abuse rules is likely to be announced today, POLITICO's Dan Diamond and Adam Cancryn scooped. The rules — which had idled for months — enjoy bipartisan support, and aim to make it easier for providers to team up to deliver patient care. The administration waived the Stark and anti-kickback rules during the pandemic, and this policy change would further allow hospital-physician arrangements, such as allowing larger health systems to donate electronic health records and provide cybersecurity protections to smaller physician groups. — Why the rush: The health department is racing to clear the decks before this weekend, after which any rule finalized within 60 days of Biden taking office could be more easily overturned by the new administration.
| | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION, SUBSCRIBE TO TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: As states certify their election results, President-elect Biden is building an administration. The staffing decisions made in the coming days, weeks, and months will send clear-cut signals about his administration's agenda and priorities. Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to what could be one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Stay in the know, subscribe today. | | | | |
INSIDE BIDEN's PLAN TO FIX TESTING — The Biden team is plotting a massive expansion of U.S. testing capacity that would focus on detecting asymptomatic people before they turn into superspreaders, POLITICO's David Lim reports.
The strategy is central to the incoming administration's hopes of curbing the pandemic, with Biden's advisers seeking to turn the nation's testing system into a tool capable of reducing infections — not just documenting the pandemic's toll. — The team is targeting three areas, according to experts advising the president-elect: Boosting the availability of cheap, rapid tests; invoking the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing of supplies; and strengthening federal coordination of testing. It's an approach that public health experts say is sorely needed, as the availability of tests struggles to keep up with the growing demand. — But the virus' surge could quickly complicate matters. Strengthening the nation's supply chain will take time, and the need to test mounting numbers of sick people could slow the push to concentrate rapid testing on identifying asymptomatic cases. The Biden administration may also face industry opposition to its use of the Defense Production Act, with medical device group AdvaMed warning that it "should be used carefully" and only in cooperation with the industry's efforts. PENCE TOUTS 'GREAT PROGRESS' AS THE PANDEMIC RAGES — As the coronavirus engulfs the nation and cases, hospitalization and deaths hit fresh daily highs, the Trump administration is making the case for optimism. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday touted "great progress" against the worsening pandemic, insisting the nation has "never been more prepared to combat the virus than we are today," POLITICO's Brianna Ehley reports. — That upbeat view rested largely on the promise of vaccines. Both Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci emphasized the prospect of a Covid-19 vaccine within months, while Pence promoted efforts to secure protective equipment for hospitals. — What wasn't addressed: The Trump-sized elephant in the room. The White House coronavirus task force — holding a briefing for the first time since July — left without taking questions, even as Trump's refusal to concede the election threatens to set back the pandemic fight. It also failed to address Trump and other White House officials' dismissals of the growing health crisis, including the president's pre-election claim that the virus would simply disappear after the election. And despite warnings about raging community spread, no one offered any guidance for how Americans should navigate Thanksgiving — even though the CDC hours earlier cautioned against travel and gatherings with people outside their immediate households. Health officials at the briefing again emphasized mask wearing, social distancing and avoiding gatherings, but not the upcoming holiday. — Put plainly: There may be a case for optimism — but it'll first require enduring months of death and sickness, with no clear message from the White House for how the nation should manage through it. | | | BIDEN PRESSES AGAIN FOR COVID PLANNING ACCESS — Biden blasted Trump for blocking cooperation on pandemic planning during his own Covid-19 event on Thursday. During a meeting with several governors, Biden vowed to help states combat the crisis — but added that his own incoming administration isn't getting what it needs to prepare its coronavirus response. He cited specifically the lack of access to Operation Warp Speed, echoing advisers who have previously worried the delay could hamper efforts to distribute an eventual vaccine. — Biden also promised to cover the National Guard's coronavirus work. The Biden administration will fully fund the relief work that the National Guard is doing for states, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. The commitment is a break from the Trump administration's approach, which is making most states pick up 25 percent of the cost of having the Guard run testing sites, staff hospitals, and carry out other pandemic-related tasks. Biden criticized Trump over the policy, calling it the kind of national emergency that "FEMA is supposed to deal with." The current Guard authorization expires on Dec. 31. But the White House hasn't yet committed to extending the deployment of roughly 20,000 members into 2021, raising the risk of a funding gap before Biden is sworn in. More than 20 states have already requested an extension, anticipating that the virus' surge means they'll need the Guard's aid until well into next year. STANFORD FACULTY DISAVOW SCOTT ATLAS — More than 100 Stanford health faculty are formally denouncing Trump administration adviser Scott Atlas over his call for people to "rise up" against Michigan's governor in response to new public health measures. The group on Thursday voted to condemn Atlas, writing that he had endangered public officials and that his "behavior is anathema to our community, our values, and our belief that we should use knowledge for good." Atlas, a senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, previously faced criticism from the faculty group over his dismissals of the pandemic's severity. And earlier this week, Stanford University itself issued a statement declaring that Atlas' remarks "reflect his personal views" and not those of the Hoover Institution. In its latest resolution, the faculty group urged Stanford leadership to more forcefully disavow Atlas, arguing that he'd violated the university's ethical standards. | | | |   | | | | | | FDA AUTHORIZES COMBO COVID TREATMENT — The agency granted an emergency-use authorization for a combination treatment made up of Gilead's remdesivir and an Eli Lilly rheumatoid arthritis drug, POLITICO's Zachary Brennan reports. The decision is based on an NIH-sponsored trial that showed the two drugs decreased the odds of death compared with patients who only took remdesivir, and also reduced hospital recovery time by a day. The analysis of that study will soon be published in a peer-reviewed journal. FDA last month made remdesivir the first Covid-19 treatment to win full approval, despite a multi-country trial that found the drug showed "little to no effect" on hospitalized coronavirus patients. | | A message from the Partnership for America's Health Care Future: Today, 54 million Americans living with pre-existing conditions have access to care, almost 2.3 million young adults are able to stay on their parents' health insurance plans and nearly 150 million Americans have access to free preventative services with no out-of-pocket costs.
We still have work to do to ensure every American has access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care. Let's build on and improve what's working in health care, where private coverage, Medicare and Medicaid work together to ensure every American is able to access the high-quality coverage and care they deserve – not start over. Learn more. | | | | | | WHAT FLORIDA CAN TEACH US ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IN A PANDEMIC — Florida is used to the hurricane kind of traumas — certainly traumatic, but also finite, POLITICO's Joanne Kenen writes. The stress, anxiety and isolation of a pandemic is different. In a two-part discussion with Florida officials and mental health practitioners, Joanne discussed what's working (telemedicine, outdoor events, expanded home meal deliveries to the elderly and a lot of outreach) and what's not (gaps in who is being served). Watch the discussion with Florida Secretary of Children and Families Chad Poppell, Elder Affairs Secretary Richard Prudom, Darcy Abbott of the state's division of emergency management, Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital CMO Patricia Areas-Romero and Della Mosley, an assistant professor of counseling psychology at the University of Florida.
| | | | KEEP UP WITH THE GLOBAL HEALTH AGENDA IN 2021: If nothing else, the past year has revealed how critical it is to keep up with the politics, policy, and people driving global health. A new Biden administration comes with the expectation that America will reclaim its leadership on global health. But will it be that easy? What impact could Joe Biden's presidency have on global vaccine access and the international response to the pandemic? Our Global Pulse newsletter connects leaders, policymakers, and advocates to the people, and politics impacting our global health. Join the conversation and subscribe today. | | | | |
| | | In her return to hosting her show, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow delivers a gripping monologue about the last couple weeks spent caring for her coronavirus-afflicted partner. Companies building contact-tracing apps tried to plan for every variable – but keep getting tripped up by simple human nature , Kaiser Health News' Rae Ellen Bichell reports. In an interview with The Washington Post's Ben Terris, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he took an unproven Covid-19 treatment recommended by the CEO of MyPillow.
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