The ideas and innovators shaping health care
| | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne, Erin Schumaker, Ruth Reader and Toni Odejimi | | | | | 
A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange | Getty Images | Washington decisions are affecting the financial outlook across the health sector, according to midyear reports from Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings. Investors are looking at four key areas: 1. Agency power The Supreme Court decision dispensing with its Chevron doctrine and barring agencies from interpreting ambiguous laws could throw a host of important regulatory decisions into doubt — including rules governing federal payments to hospitals and Medicaid rebates. 2. Antitrust enforcement The Federal Trade Commission’s aggressive approach under Chair Lina Khan — from preparing to sue pharmacy benefit managers — the middlemen that manage drug benefits for insurers and large employers — to investigating dialysis giants — could change the outlook on further consolidation. 3. Reimbursement rates Uncertainty over how much the government will pay providers serving Medicare patients is another pain point, with doctors, hospitals and insurers in the Medicare Advantage program complaining they aren’t paid enough. 4. Drug company profits The demand for new weight-loss drugs suggests that expanding their insurance coverage could be a significant boost for the pharmaceutical sector. But Medicare negotiations of prescription drug prices could mean losses for pharma for years to come as the number of drugs subject to negotiation increases.
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Banff, Alberta, Canada | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. The Food and Drug Administration is threatening legal action against companies selling snack foods laced with marijuana in packaging similar to popular snack brands like Cheetos and Chips Ahoy! People are getting sick, with over 300 reports from 2021-2023 of adults and kids ingesting the products without realizing. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com, or Toni Odejimi at aodejimi@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  An FTC rule banning noncompete agreements would empower doctors. | Gerald Herbert/AP Photo | The fate of the Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning noncompete agreements, opposed by hospitals but backed by many doctors, remains unclear after federal district court judges in Texas and Pennsylvania issued contradictory rulings this month. Earlier this week, Judge Kelley Hodge in Philadelphia rejected a tree removal business’ request that she block the FTC order, slated to take effect in September, which would restrict companies from preventing their employees from quitting to join rivals. But earlier this month, Judge Ada E. Brown in Dallas found otherwise, blocking the FTC from enforcing the rule in the case she considered against the plaintiffs: tax services firm Ryan and four business associations, including the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Why it matters for health care: A large share of doctors — 45 percent in group practices and likely many more in other areas of medicine — are bound by noncompetes. While doctors rallied behind the FTC’s proposed ban, it sparked a backlash from hospital administrators who said they depend on the contracts to protect their businesses from cutthroat competition for talent. The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals both lobbied for an exemption. What’s next? The judges in both suits still have to rule on the merits of the cases before them.
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Micky Tripathi is gaining new responsibility at HHS. | Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT | The Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday said it was merging two offices dedicated to health technology, creating a new role for a top White House official and increasing a focus on artificial intelligence policy. The HHS Office of the Chief Technology Officer — whose top role has been vacant since 2020 — will be merged with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The current national coordinator, Micky Tripathi, will take on a new role as the assistant secretary for technology policy, our Chelsea Cirruzzo reports. “For some time, and especially over the last few years, ONC has played an informal role shaping technology and data policy across HHS; this move formalizes this function, which will allow us to build synergies with the work that we’ll continue to do in health IT, and stand-up dedicated organizational capacity to ensure that HHS is making the best use of technology and data across all operating and staff divisions,” Tripathi wrote in a blog post. The new office will oversee technology, data and AI policy. Last week, HHS officials posted job listings for three new roles focused on creating AI policy for HHS that will sit within the new office: A chief AI officer, chief technology officer and a chief data officer. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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