| | | | |  | | By Ben Leonard and Chelsea Cirruzzo | PROGRAMMING NOTE: Pulse won’t publish from Monday, Aug. 28, to Monday, Sept. 4. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
| | |  The Biden administration says the Medicare drug pricing push will help counter inflation and boost the economy by slashing the costs of critical medicines. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | DRUGS DROPPING SOON — The Biden administration is expected to reveal the first 10 drugs set to be subject to Medicare’s pricing negotiations early next week, our David Lim and Adam Cancryn report, citing four people involved with the plans. Administration officials are expected to unveil the list before stock markets open Tuesday since it could affect public drug companies’ stock prices. The White House is set to host a Tuesday event on “lowering health care costs” at 2 p.m., according to an invite POLITICO obtained. A White House official confirmed the event will be held next week. The White House official declined to specify when exactly the administration would release the list of drugs. But people involved in the plans — who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning — cautioned that the timing could still change. The announcement represents a significant step in attempts to lower drug prices. Health officials have closely guarded the names of the specific medicines they plan to target for negotiation, though only a limited group of drugs appear to qualify under the program’s criteria. “These drugs include blood thinners, diabetes medicines and cancer drugs,” Bailey Reavis, federal relations associate at health advocacy group Families USA, said of the drugs that fit the parameters, which include pricey, widely used medicines without generic competitors. “We know that they’ll be drugs that cost Medicare billions of dollars annually.” Why it’s happening: CMS is required to publish up to 10 Medicare Part D drugs that it selects for negotiation by Sept. 1 under the Inflation Reduction Act, through which Democrats gave Medicare additional powers. Democrats have long viewed Medicare negotiation as a major part of their drug pricing agenda. The challenges ahead: It will take years for the administration to negotiate the savings and pass them on to patients. And multiple court challenges from drug companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce contending the negotiation is unconstitutional could derail the process. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Do you know what GOP candidates are planning on health care? We want to hear from you. Reach me at bleonard@politico.com. Plus, send me or Chelsea (ccirruzzo@politico.com) general tips, scoops and feedback. Follow along @_BenLeonard_ and @ChelseaCirruzzo. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Alice Miranda Ollstein talks with Ben, who breaks down the debate in Congress over proposed changes to high-deductible health insurance plans and how the changes could help or hurt lower-income families.
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Presidential candidates clashed over a national abortion ban at the GOP primary debate. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | HEALTH CARE IN THE DEBATE — Candidates sparred over how far to go on abortion restrictions and talked tough on fentanyl in Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate, but health care wasn’t front and center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dodged a question about whether he’d sign a federal abortion ban similar to Florida’s six-week ban into law. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley also ducked a direct answer to the question, arguing that a national ban isn’t likely to garner the needed 60 Senate votes to pass. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) backed a national ban, arguing that not doing so would facilitate abortions in Democrat-led states. Zooming out: Health care played a major role in some recent elections, including 2020 — when Covid was top of mind — and the 2022 midterms, just after the fall of Roe v. Wade. Abortion has continued to be a significant motivating factor for Democratic voters in recent state elections. It also played a prominent role in 2016 and 2012 after the Affordable Care Act was enacted. In the GOP primary this time around, health care figures to be on the back burner, potentially marking the first presidential election in many years in which Obamacare isn’t a significant issue. “Generally, Republicans try to avoid talking about health care,” said Larry Levitt, KFF's executive vice president for health policy. “Health care is often a political loser of an issue for Republicans. The GOP had some political success early on opposing Obamacare, but it backfired.” Most candidates haven’t released substantive health care plans yet. Although it varies by candidate, when they’ve discussed health care before Wednesday, it’s largely been focused on cracking down on fentanyl and dealing with mental health, though usually thin on details. Candidates have also often been pressed on their stance on abortion. Questions about federal abortion bans and whether to make cuts to Medicare could divide candidates, Levitt said. Mental health and fentanyl could unite candidates, and institutionalization for mental health could be a “sleeper” topic, he added.
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The FDA has appointed a new leader to oversee its troubled human foods division. | Teresa Crawford/AP Photo | NEW FDA FOOD DIVISION LEADER — The FDA is tapping Environmental Protection Agency veteran Jim Jones to lead the agency’s troubled human foods division, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. Jones served as a member of the independent expert panel that last year detailed “constant turmoil” within the FDA’s foods division. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf appointed the panel following a string of food-safety breakdowns, culminating in the shutdown of a major baby formula plant that triggered nationwide shortages last year.
| | FIRST IN PULSE: PUBLIC PROVIDER DIRECTORY — Data firm Trilliant Health is making public its nationwide provider directory, which leans on claims data from more than 300 million Americans. Why it’s happening: The company aims to help health care organizations comply with the No Surprises Act, which restricts how much people can be billed for out-of-network providers based on inaccurate directory information. It plans to make directories more accurate by using up-to-date data, using claims activity and not requiring providers to manually update data. Health plans and self-insured employers must release price comparison information for all covered items and services by Jan. 1 to comply with CMS health plan price-transparency regulations. “You can’t do that meaningfully without a directory,” Trilliant Health CEO Hal Andrews told Pulse. “This is really useful for that.” It comes after CMS asked for public input on creating a national provider directory in October. Directories are often inaccurate and can be expensive, the agency said.
| | RFK JR. STRIKES OUT — A federal judge denied a request on Wednesday from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to temporarily restrain Google from removing two videos of the presidential candidate, POLITICO’s Andrew Zhang reports. Kennedy seeks to sue the company for censorship, claiming that federal government officials coerced Google to remove them. YouTube, which Google owns, had removed videos of Kennedy making what the company said were medical misinformation claims. The firm contends that the content violated YouTube’s policies. The Kennedy campaign told POLITICO it is “prepared to continue” its efforts.
| | MOMS REPORT MATERNAL MISTREATMENT — One in 5 mothers say they were mistreated by providers during maternity care, a new CDC report finds. Amid a rise in the U.S.’ maternal death rate, officials told reporters the findings underscore the importance of respectful care to save lives — particularly since 45 percent of moms surveyed said they didn’t feel comfortable speaking up about their concerns. The agency said health care systems should train providers on unconscious bias, stigma and discrimination in maternity care. Thirty percent of Black, Hispanic and multiracial mothers reported mistreatment, which ranged from no responses when calling for assistance to being shouted at to having their physical privacy violated, and 40 percent reported discrimination during maternity care. Limitations: More than two-thirds of the respondents in the self-reported, opt-in survey were white, though Black women accounted for two-thirds of maternal deaths in 2021.
| | NYC PATIENT DEATH — A longtime patient who fought against a consolidation plan involving Montefiore’s Family Health Center in the Bronx died in a stairwell to the facility last week but wasn’t discovered until five days later, according to the NYPD and community organizers, POLITICO’s Maya Kaufman reports. Sary Mao, 57, was discovered Monday. A preliminary police investigation found she fell and died the previous Wednesday, but no criminality was suspected. Since Montefiore implemented the consolidation plan last fall, current and former employees said waiting rooms have been overcrowded, and patients are waiting longer to be seen. As a result, medical emergencies or other patient incidents that unfold outside exam rooms are more likely to go unnoticed, three employees said. Montefiore declined to address the employees’ allegations or answer questions about the incident.
| | NBC News reports on veterans “overwhelmingly” being denied benefits for issues tied to radiation exposure. STAT reports on a study finding that gender-affirming care surgeries have tripled in the U.S. in recent years.
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