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| By Daniel Payne |
With help from Ben Leonard
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 Health care providers have stepped up efforts to contact Medicaid patients who might be removed from the program’s rolls. | David J. Phillip/AP Photo |
HALF A MILLION — That’s the number of people in 11 states who have already been taken off the Medicaid rolls since redetermination started, according to a new analysis from KFF. The total number of people disenrolled varied significantly by state — as did the percentage of total completed renewals affected. Florida tops the charts for both measures, with nearly 250,000 removed from the rolls, equaling about half the number of completed renewals. Other states had smaller numbers on both counts: Virginia reported about 22,000 disenrollments, which equals about 10 percent of the number of completed renewals. Through the pandemic, Medicaid grew to historic levels, largely because states weren’t allowed to remove coverage. Though many states have yet to redetermine which beneficiaries keep coverage post-pandemic, the early numbers confirm previous notions that the end of continuous enrollment could end coverage for a significant portion of the population. Earlier this year, health experts estimated 17 million could be taken off Medicaid nationwide by the end of redetermination. That number has startled many health providers, leading to a frenzy of new strategies to keep patients enrolled — and government payments to clinics and hospitals coming, your host reports. Those strategies include massive outreach campaigns, sometimes to tens of thousands of patients, as well as new check-in and check-out procedures to try to ensure enrollment for anyone eligible. Clinics and hospitals with large Medicaid patient populations are particularly worried about the impacts of unwinding, given they generally have smaller margins and could feel an outsized impact from the policy. And doctors worry their patients could miss out on important care and see progress on chronic conditions quickly lost.
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| POLITICO’s Health Care Summit on Wednesday, June 7, will explore how tech and innovation are transforming health care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the U.S. Register now. | |
WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE, where we’re trying to keep up with the ever-growing field of 2024 candidates. Do you know who will announce next — or if these contenders have interesting health policies? Let me know at dpayne@politico.com. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Carmen Paun talks with Robert King, who explains why doctors and hospitals are frustrated with the challenges they encounter as they try to collaborate with the Biden administration on finding new cost-saving measures for Medicare.
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The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee held a confirmation hearing Wednesday to consider the nominee for VA deputy secretary. | Getty Images |
SUPPORT FOR VA NOMINEE — Senators on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee indicated support for a key VA nominee during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Ben reports. Tanya Bradsher, nominee to be deputy secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is currently the VA’s chief of staff and a senior adviser to the secretary and deputy secretary. As deputy secretary, she would oversee the VA’s electronic health records modernization project and implementation of the 2022 PACT Act. That law expanded benefits for veterans sickened by exposure to burn pits and toxins during their service. Bradsher said one of her goals would be to steady the department’s EHR modernization efforts. If confirmed, she’d be the highest-ranking woman sworn in at the VA in its history. Bradsher told the senators she’s committed to ensuring veterans’ access to resources when they leave service and rebuilding trust with veterans, including via the PACT Act. Before joining the VA, Bradsher was chief of staff to Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) after many years in military public affairs. As deputy secretary, she would replace Donald Remy, who departed on April 1. What’s next: It’s not yet clear when she’ll get a committee vote. Committee chair Jon Tester (D-Mont.) didn’t give a specific timeline for a vote but said he’d slate one as soon as possible.
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| GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. |
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HHS’ DATA DRIVER — The Biden administration could choose a for-profit company to run a key patient health data-sharing initiative, an agency spokesperson told Ben. That could mean a reversal from the current contract, won by the Sequoia Project, a nonprofit that manages the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. That contract ends this year. “ONC’s intention is to obtain the best offer to fulfill the terms and conditions of the posting,” the spokesperson said. “The solicitation is intentionally silent on this matter so as to provide a full and open opportunity to maximize the competitive process.” Why it matters: The 21st Century Cures Act — enacted in 2016 — called on HHS to create TEFCA. HHS put out a first draft of the framework in January 2018 and finalized it in January 2022. The expiration of the Sequoia Project’s contract comes at a crucial time for HHS as it works to get the initiative up and running.
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| PFIZER’S RSV VACCINE GETS GO-AHEAD — The FDA on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for older adults, Abrysvo, POLITICO’s Katherine Ellen Foley reports. It’s the second vaccine of its kind; the agency approved a similar vaccine from GSK earlier this month. The CDC estimates the virus leads to as many as 160,000 hospitalizations for adults 65 and older and 13,000 deaths annually in the U.S. In late-stage clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was more than 66 percent effective at preventing mild cases of RSV and more than 85 percent effective against more moderate cases. Though most healthy adults experience mild symptoms of RSV, it can be particularly dangerous for older adults and infants. Pfizer has also asked the FDA to approve its RSV vaccine that helps protect pregnant individuals’ fetuses; RSV can lead to severe illness in newborns and infants. Late-stage clinical trial data showed the vaccine was more than 80 percent effective at preventing severe RSV in the first three months of life and 69 percent effective at preventing severe RSV in the first six months. The FDA will decide whether to approve that vaccine by August. CRACKING DOWN ON VAPES — The FDA said Wednesday it sent warning letters to 30 retailers and one distributor for selling unauthorized, disposable e-cigarettes, Katherine reports. Many of those vapes are popular among minors, with roughly 20 percent of middle- and high-school students who regularly vape reported using them. The warning letters informed vendors that they can’t sell products from two companies, Puff and Hyde, which include Puff Bar disposable vapes. Warning letters are the first step of enforcement the FDA can take against companies selling tobacco products that the agency hasn’t authorized for market. The letters require a response to the agency within 15 business days detailing how they’ll update their sales practices to comply with the law. If companies don’t respond or are found to be selling unauthorized products again, the agency can take further action, including the seizure of products and or imposing monetary penalties.
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CANADA’S NEW WARNINGS — In a world first, individual cigarettes in Canada will get health warnings, POLITICO’s Joseph Gendeon reports. The labels will feature a rotation of warnings in French and English like: “Cigarettes damage your organs,” “Cigarettes cause impotence” and “Poison in every puff.” Each warning will appear in bold, black text on the cigarette butt as part of the ongoing campaign to prevent deaths linked to tobacco consumption. Health Canada said the regulation will go into effect Aug. 1. King-sized cigarettes with the warning will reach stores by April 2024; retailers will carry regular-sized cigarettes with the messaging the following April.
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FIRST IN PULSE: Yvette Fontenot is joining Impact Health Policy Partners, formerly known as Wynne Health Group. She was previously a staffer for the Finance and Energy and Commerce Committees, a senior adviser in the White House and HHS during the Obama administration and a partner at Avenue Solutions. R. Tamara Konetzka, Brian Miller and Gina Upchurch have been named new members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
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The Associated Press reports that the Oklahoma Supreme Court Wednesday struck down two state laws banning abortion, though the procedure remains illegal in most cases. STAT reports on a new survey that shows the prevalence of racism in nursing — and the low rates of reporting it. CNN reports that weight-loss surgery is becoming increasingly common among children and teens.
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| DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. |
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