| | | | |  | | By Ben Leonard and Chelsea Cirruzzo | | Presented by |  | | | | | | | 
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said she received more than 300 responses to a request for information on the follow-up legislation she proposed last Congress: Cures 2.0. | Francis Chung/E&E News | DeGETTE DISHES — Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), is in line to be the chair or ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee next year, replacing Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who is not seeking reelection. Democrats on the panel typically choose leaders based on seniority, and DeGette, in office for close to three decades, is next in line. Many health policy watchers expect DeGette, who led efforts on the landmark 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, to get the position. Ben caught up with DeGette in her Capitol office this week, and spoke with her about what she’d like to see in a lame-duck package and about her priorities for the next Congress. Here are some of the highlights of the conversation, which Pro subscribers can read in full here. Lame duck: DeGette agrees with the consensus opinion, that how big Congress goes on a legislative package hinges on the election results. She has her own priorities, including lengthening the window for the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of long-term impacts of health care legislation, which she said has run into some GOP Senate opposition. She also hopes to get her legislation with Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), dubbed the VALID Act, done by year’s end. That bill would overhaul the regulation of lab tests and diagnostics. She said she’s working to overcome some resistance, but that if it doesn’t get done this year, it will be a top priority next year. 21st Century Cures followup: DeGette said she and Bucshon received more than 300 responses to a request for information on the follow-up legislation she proposed last Congress: Cures 2.0. Portions of that bill have been enacted, including establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. She suggested a new package, which she called Cures 2.1, could address clinical trials for rare diseases, as well as data access. She hopes to lay the legislative groundwork for the next Congress by releasing a white paper this fall. Bucshon is not seeking reelection. DeGette said she is waiting until after the election to find a new Republican partner. Next Congress: DeGette said she’d look to expand Medicare drug price negotiations and investigate the insurance system’s impact on drug costs. She’d like to pursue new regulation of pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers, and cap insulin costs in private insurance. She said next year — the 15th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act — is a good time to examine what’s working and what’s not to lower health care costs. Virtual care: DeGette said she’d push to make eased Medicare telehealth rules permanent after a likely two-year extension is enacted this year. But she has lingering concerns about how telehealth is used, and wants lawmakers to focus on ensuring it’s appropriate WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. Let us know whether there's anything else you'd like to see in the Cures 2.0 follow-up. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to bleonard@politico.com and ccirruzzo@politico.com and follow along @_BenLeonard_ and @ChelseaCirruzzo.
| | | | A message from the Alliance for Fair Health Pricing: Health care costs are skyrocketing, making premiums and out-of-pocket expenses unaffordable for many Americans. Over the past decade, premiums jumped 47% and deductibles rose by 53%, forcing families to choose between their health and basic needs. Hospital consolidation is driving prices higher, without improving care quality. We need Congress to act. The AFFHP sent lawmakers a letter, urging them to rein in consolidation and escalating costs. Our families deserve affordable, high-quality health care. | | | | | EPIC-PARTICLE ESCALATION — Electronic health records giant Epic is calling for the release of a non-public resolution from a privacy dispute involving it and health IT firm Particle Health. The backstory: The move is the latest in a dispute over data sharing that has raised questions about governance and oversight as the industry tries to solve persistent information-sharing issues. Earlier this week, Particle Health filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Epic, claiming it used its market share to coerce Particle customers into leaving the company and that it launched a "smear campaign" against Particle. The lawsuit follows a disagreement among Epic, Particle and others that has roiled the health tech industry. Epic has said Integritort, which provides analyses of medical records for legal cases, used Particle Health to incorrectly access its patient data through Carequality, a nonprofit framework for sharing health information. In its suit, Particle claimed that Carequality’s steering committee “fully agreed” with Particle in the dispute, finding the company did “nothing wrong” and that “Epic’s allegations against Particle had no basis in fact.” Epic’s response: In a statement Friday, Epic said Particle is “mischaracterizing” the resolution. “Particle should join Epic in asking Carequality to release the resolution immediately so that patients, healthcare organizations, other network participants, interoperability advocates, lawmakers, and journalists can evaluate the facts for themselves,” Epic said.
| | | LAWMAKERS HAMMER VA SCHEDULING — Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle slammed the VA for failing to fix its scheduling system, saying it makes it difficult for veterans to make appointments — a decade after a scandal over significant waiting times. The VA is rolling out changes to its scheduling tools, including a move to bringing them under its Integrated Scheduling Solution, which would consolidate applications. ISS is set to be fully implemented by February, agency officials said, and for an old system to be retired by June. “It has been decades of modernization efforts with little to no success,” said Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Technology Modernization Subcommittee. “In the last 10 years, we've seen four partial efforts to create this functionality for veterans, all of which have suffered from the same failing as most of VA's IT modernization struggles: poor requirements development.” Subcommittee Chair Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) said the systems are still difficult to navigate and that the VA should have stuck with a system from electronic health record giant Epic that it abandoned. Cherri Waters, executive director for the health portfolio in the VA's IT office, said the move to the new system will be a "significant milestone" in its journey to more cohesive scheduling, including for community care. The bigger picture: This project is just the latest tech project at the VA to draw lawmakers’ scrutiny. The agency’s electronic health records overhaul with contractor Oracle Cerner is on pause, billions over budget and may have caused at least four veterans’ deaths.
| | | |  Americans are becoming more reluctant to roll up their sleeves for vaccines. | Mary Conlon/AP | FIRST IN PULSE: BIPARTISAN ANTI-VAX OPPOSITION GROUP — A group trying to encourage vaccine uptake is enlisting the help of some well-known Washington insiders. The Infectious Disease Prevention Network Education Fund is establishing a council of supporters, including former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), and former HHS Secretaries Tommy Thompson of the Bush administration, Donna Shalala of the Clinton administration and Kathleen Sebelius of the Obama administration. They’ll work on state policy and fight “misguided” legislation discouraging vaccine uptake. The group of supporters also includes the American Pharmacists Association, the American Public Health Association, the Autism Society and the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “Our campaign is about protecting public health and saving lives," said Dr. Jerome Adams, former U.S. surgeon general under the Trump administration who serves on the Infectious Disease Prevention Network’s board. "Misinformation and disinformation about vaccines spread fear, which not only leads to lower vaccination rates but also catalyzes dangerous choices by policymakers.” The bigger picture: Since the pandemic, lawmakers in a number of states have moved to eliminate vaccine requirements for workers and public school students amid eroding trust in science. Some candidates from both parties have leaned into a growing anti-vaccine movement, bringing together traditional vaccine skepticism and broader distrust in institutions. Public health officials warn that declining childhood vaccination rates spilling over from resistance to the Covid-19 vaccine could mean other diseases like measles and polio could spread more widely.
| | | | A message from the Alliance for Fair Health Pricing:   | | | | | NEW FDA AI GLOSSARY — What is — and isn’t — artificial intelligence is sometimes confusing. The FDA is stepping in with its own glossary, released Thursday, on digital health and AI terms. While the agency says the glossary isn’t agency guidance, policy or recommendations, or legally enforceable, it hopes it can facilitate consistent use of terminology. The definitions come from executive orders, published research and organizations that set technical standards. The move comes as the FDA is authorizing more medical devices incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning and amid growing interest in the technology in the health care sector. What’s next: The agency says it will “routinely update” the glossary and is taking feedback. Also in AI: HHS said Thursday it's funding a project that will use AI to speed the discovery and development of new antibiotics. The project, through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, comes amid rising antibiotic resistance. Phare Bio, the Collins Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard’s Wyss Institute are leading the project, with a budget of up to $27 million.
| | | | The Washington Post reports on Florida hospitals shoring up resources as Hurricane Helene approaches the state. STAT reports on the Biden administration killing a proposal to require more Medicaid drug price transparency. POLITICO reports on the FDA's approval of a new schizophrenia drug.
| | | | A message from the Alliance for Fair Health Pricing: Hospital consolidation is driving up the cost of care for patients, pushing many to the brink of financial insecurity. It’s not just a financial issue. Consolidation has left patients with fewer choices and less access to services, especially in rural and low-income areas.
Congress: Patients, employers, and physicians agree—the current system is unsustainable. We urge you to pass legislation that will increase transparency and curb unfair billing practices, including by:
● Codifying hospital and insurer price transparency requirements to promote competition
● Establishing site-of-service billing transparency to prevent patients from being overcharged for care depending on the settings
● Advancing site-neutral payment reform to ensure patients pay the same price for the same services regardless of where they receive them.
Congress: families are counting on you to make good on your promises to lower health care costs this legislative year. On behalf of America’s patients, it’s time to finish the job. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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