2024 GOP candidates’ health policy check-up

Presented by PhRMA: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy.

Aug 08, 2023 View in browser   By Ben Leonard and Chelsea Cirruzzo Presented by With Daniel Payne  Driving the Day GOP presidential candidates have a mixed bag of health policy proposals. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo GOP CANDIDATES ON HEALTH CARE — As the 2024 presidential race heats up, top Republican candidates are slowly revealing more about their stances on health care. We’ve included proposals from the top 5 leading candidates, according to POLITICO’s campaign guru Steven Shepard. Former President Donald Trump  Trump has rolled out the most extensive range of policy proposals thus far among the candidates. He’s called for: — Bringing production of “all essential medicines” to the U.S. — Creating a presidential commission to investigate rises in chronic childhood illnesses — Ordering the military to “inflict maximum damage” on cartels — Protecting Medicare and coverage for preexisting conditions and boosting price transparency — “Bring[ing] back” institutionalization for mental illness to fight homelessness — Enlisting the federal government to play a “vital role” in fighting against abortion, but he’s been mum on a federal ban. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  DeSantis has made pushing back against Covid restrictions and vaccine mandates a major tenet of his campaign, though he hasn’t laid out much in terms of formal plans yet. So far, he’s: — Floated a bipartisan task force to hold medical agencies accountable for purported overreach that could include vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Floated institutionalizing more people with mental illness. — Pushed for “deadly force” to be used against suspected drug traffickers. — Said he wouldn’t “mess with” programs like Medicare despite previous votes to do so — Signed a six-week abortion ban into law in Florida and said states should handle the issue   A message from PhRMA: Medicine doesn’t work 5 times better when you take it in a hospital. So why do hospitals charge 5 times what they paid for medicines? These costs leave patients and the rest of the health care system paying more. See the new data.   Former Vice President Mike Pence Pence spokesperson Devin O’Malley noted that Pence hasn’t rolled out his health care plan yet but pointed to his advocacy group's pillars. They include: — Boosting competition and transparency to lower costs and giving consumers more choices when choosing providers — Expanding telehealth access and reforming the individual and employer markets — Giving states more Medicaid flexibility — Going beyond Operation Warp Speed to get treatments to patients more quickly He’s also: — Been among the most conservative on abortion in the race, supporting as early as a six-week ban and pulling mifepristone from the market — Said Medicare cuts should be considered in the “long term” Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley  Haley hasn’t released a formal plan but has honed in on the fentanyl crisis. She’s called for: — Ending trade relations with China until they “stop killing Americans” with fentanyl — Focusing on the “harder work” of lifting people up instead of expanding Medicaid, which she opted not to expand as South Carolina governor — Making potential cuts to Medicare for younger generations — Forcing members of Congress to use VA health care — Opening the door to federal involvement in abortion but said a federal ban isn’t realistic South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott  Scott, who has been active on health care in Congress, has called for America to lead on medical innovation. He’s also called for: — Prioritizing mental health care and securing the border to fight the fentanyl crisis — “Ramp[ing] up” research and development and boosting American manufacturing — Instituting a 15-week federal abortion ban but has deflected questions about a six-week abortion ban — Preserving Medicare benefits "for my own mother, and for you too." — Having Medicaid pay more for outcomes than “transactions” WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE. For those who were wondering, the 400-pound black bear known as “Hank the Tank,” responsible for at least 21 home break-ins around Lake Tahoe, has been captured. She’s being transported to a sanctuary in Colorado. Send your news tips, scoops and feedback to bleonard@politico.com and ccirruzzo@politico.com and follow along @_BenLeonard_ and @ChelseaCirruzzo. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, your host Ben talks with Alice Miranda Ollstein, who describes the challenges facing Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) as chair and ranking member of the committee investigating the government response to Covid-19 — and how their inability to find common ground on the pandemic response threatens their 10-year bipartisan collaboration and friendship while raising concerns about further erosion of public trust in government. Listen to today’s Pulse Check podcast Abortion Iowa voters will decide today whether to make it harder to change the state's constitution. | Darron Cummings/AP Photo OHIO ABORTION PROXY WAR — Voters in Ohio will cast ballots today in an unusual special election in which they’ll decide on an amendment that would make it substantially more difficult to change the state constitution, POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez and Alice Miranda Ollstein report. More than 500,000 voters have already voted on Issue 1, which will have immediate implications for the fate of Ohio’s abortion-rights ballot measure in November. Should voters approve Issue 1 on Tuesday, the threshold to approve future ballot initiatives will rise from a simple majority to 60 percent. The push to pass Issue 1 is widely seen as an attempt by Republicans in the state to thwart that abortion-rights initiative later this year — although proponents of Issue 1 insist it’s not just about abortion, but it’s instead about protecting the state constitution from special interests. Carol Tobias, the president of the National Right to Life Committee, argued that state constitutions should be as challenging to amend as the federal constitution, which requires supermajority votes in both chambers and ratification by a supermajority of states.   YOUR TICKET INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: California Playbook delivers the latest intel, buzzy scoops and exclusive coverage from Sacramento and Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and across the state. Don't miss out on the daily must-read for political aficionados and professionals with an outsized interest in California politics, policy and power. Subscribe today.     Hospitals CYBERATTACK HITS SEVERAL STATES — A major cyberattack has hit hospitals in several states, disrupting the delivery of care. The ransomware attack at Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns 16 hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island and 165 outpatient clinics, has caused a systemwide outage. Some sites have had surgeries, imaging, blood draws and other services disrupted, according to Eastern Connecticut Health Network's website. A Rhode Island site said it had to move to paper records. Prospect Medical Holdings didn’t respond to a request for comment. The news of the attack comes as the threat of ransomware attacks and breaches in the sector have surged, threatening patients’ lives and the bottom lines of health care organizations. What Washington has been doing about it: HHS’ Office for Civil Rights has reorganized its office to better tackle the rise in breaches, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is working on legislation that could establish minimum cybersecurity mandates for health care organizations.   A message from PhRMA:   Eye on the FDA RED CROSS MOVES ON DONOR GUIDELINES — The Red Cross said Monday it will assess potential blood donors based on individual risk factors, not sexual orientation, in light of new FDA guidelines. The Red Cross, which makes up about 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply, says that the new procedures will still ensure a safe blood supply. The backstory: In May, the FDA finalized a long-awaited plan to ease blood donation restrictions. Under previous guidelines, men who have sex with men had to abstain from sex for three months before giving blood. The new policies will still recommend deferral of individuals who report having a new sexual partner and have engaged in anal sex in the past three months, as well as of individuals who report having more than one sexual partner in the last three months and have also had anal sex. At the Agencies PREGNANT WORKER REGS — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission detailed on Monday how it plans to enforce employers’ obligations to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, POLITICO’s Olivia Olander reports. The regulations stemming from the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations, such as those for pregnant people who have difficulties standing for long periods or lifting heavy objects and allow time for health care appointments. The regulations would also cover accommodations for therapy appointments due to postpartum depression, limited exposure to secondhand smoke and the ability to take a leave for in-vitro fertilization treatments, according to the notice. The law, signed late last year, covers businesses with 15 or more employees and is intended for workers who are pregnant or recovering from pregnancy and related conditions. The law also covers job applicants. HEALTH WORKERS HEALTH WORKER OVERDOSE RISK — Registered nurses, social workers and behavioral health workers are at a higher risk of drug overdose deaths than people who don’t work in health care, according to research from Columbia University, Daniel reports. The study, to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found social and other behavioral health workers were 112 percent more likely than their peers to die from an overdose. Health care support workers and registered nurses were, respectively, 100 and 51 percent more likely than their peers to die from a drug overdose. Researchers said in a release about the research that several factors could be causing the disparity, including access to prescription drugs and work stress.   HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.     Names in the News Tasha Dawson has been appointed as director of strategic partnerships at Families USA. She was previously at AARP. What We're Reading Stanford researchers argue in JAMA that medical professionals need to shape the adoption of large language models in medicine. HealthInfoSec reports that class action attorneys are “poised to pounce” on health care breaches.   A message from PhRMA: Five times more. That’s how much more a hospital can charge you for a medicine compared to what they paid for it. And this massive markup winds up creating a significant financial burden for patients and the health care system in general. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Dan Goldberg @dancgoldberg Chelsea Cirruzzo @chelseacirruzzo Katherine Ellen Foley @katherineefoley Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM Kelly Hooper @kelhoops Robert King @rking_19 Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ David Lim @davidalim Megan Messerly @meganmesserly Alice Miranda Ollstein @aliceollstein Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Evan Peng @thepngfile Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker Megan R. Wilson @misswilson   Follow us

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