News: 4 key health issues in the VP debate spotlight

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

4 key health issues in the VP debate spotlight

Oct 01, 2024

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By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard

Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices

Driving The Day

Signage is displayed outside the CBS Broadcast Center.

The vice presidential debate is expected to highlight the candidates' stances on critical health care issues. | Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

VANCE VS. WALZ — Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance will face off today in the only vice presidential debate in an election where health care issues, including abortion and affordability, have taken center stage.

Both Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, and Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, will likely try to establish themselves on the national stage and talk up their potential administrations if elected.

Here are four health care issues we’ll be watching for:

— How the candidates might explain their abortion policies: Walz, like his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris, is a staunch supporter of abortion rights and has the record to prove it: Early last year, he signed a bill ensuring the state’s existing protections on abortion remained in place.

Vance has aligned with his running mate, former President Donald Trump, on saying abortion should be left to the states and that Trump would veto a national abortion ban. Vance was, however, forced to backtrack when Trump said in a September presidential debate that he hadn’t discussed a national ban with Vance.

— How they might clarify their in vitro fertilization policies: After Trump angered some conservatives by calling himself a “leader” on IVF and proposing free coverage of the procedure, it could be up to Vance to further explain how a Trump administration might cover the expensive procedure.

Walz, meanwhile, could face questions on how he has represented his personal experiences with infertility. Vance has accused Walz of lying about his wife using IVF when she used a slightly different procedure known as intrauterine insemination to conceive. Both sides of the aisle are trying to cement a position and policy on the procedure after an Alabama court decision declared frozen embryos should be considered people.

— How Trump/Vance might replace the Affordable Care Act: While the Trump campaign has offered few details on its plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, Vance has floated some ideas, including a plan to adjust insurance premiums based on health status: Healthy people would pay lower premiums compared with those who are sicker, who would pay higher premiums. In a “National Review” op-ed, Brian Blase, president of the conservative Paragon Health Institute, argued that Vance’s idea would allow health plans to tailor their services to specific populations. KFF, a health policy research group, said those high-risk pools, which existed before the ACA, were often costly, excluded preexisting condition coverage and capped enrollment.

— How Walz might discuss health care affordability: Both Harris and Walz have taken on corporate interests in health care when Harris was California attorney general and Walz Minnesota governor. Walz backed down from a proposed health care affordability plan when the Mayo Clinic threatened to take its investments elsewhere. “I’ll be curious to see if that comes up,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, told Pulse.

WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE. Happy 100th birthday to former President Jimmy Carter. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_.

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Policymakers have more than 33 million reasons to protect and strengthen Medicare Advantage. Seniors vote – and they’re voting for Medicare Advantage. Learn more.

AROUND THE AGENCIES

The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed at company offices.

Johnson & Johnson has abandoned its controversial drug pricing strategy for two of its products after HRSA said it would impose federal sanctions on the company. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

J&J PULLS BACK REBATE PLAN — Johnson & Johnson bowed to the threat of federal sanctions Monday and withdrew its plan to require 340B hospitals to apply for rebates for two drugs instead of giving an upfront discount.

A J&J spokesperson said in a statement that it would pull back on the model “to ensure [the Health Resources and Services Administration’s] unprecedented position would not restrict patients’ access to J&J’s life-saving and life-changing medicines.”

Background: Last month, J&J told disproportionate share hospitals, which serve a large number of Medicaid and uninsured patients, that they would need to obtain the drugs Stelara and Xarelto, used to treat psoriatic arthritis and blood clots, respectively, at a commercial price and then obtain rebates once they administered them to patients. HRSA has said J&J violates its obligations under the 340B statute. Nearly 190 members of Congress opposed J&J’s move last week.

The drug discount program requires drugmakers to sell outpatient drugs at discounts to hospitals, community health centers and many provider-based rural health clinics, but ballooning participation and costs have led to a bipartisan and pharmaceutical industry-backed push for reforms.

In a letter to HRSA on Monday, Scott White, chief operating officer for J&J’s North America Innovative Medicine, criticized the agency’s threat to fine the company or pull Medicare or Medicaid coverage of its drugs if it implemented the model.

“Besides threatening harm to the patients whom J&J is committed to serve and for whose benefit the 340B program was intended, HRSA’s actions are inconsistent with federal law, which permits J&J’s proposed rebate model,” White wrote.

An HRSA spokesperson confirmed to Pulse its position that the rebate model is “inconsistent with the 340B statute” but would not comment further.

HELENE TAKES IV FLUID FACTORY OFFLINE — A North Carolina factory that’s the largest manufacturer of IV fluid in the U.S. has had to pause production due to damage from Hurricane Helene.

Baxter International, a health care company based in Illinois, said Sunday its facility in Marion, North Carolina, was flooded and had to be closed for production. The company is working with federal officials to assess the damage and restore the plant’s operations.

An HHS spokesperson confirmed with Pulse that it's working with Baxter as the company moves to increase production capacity at its other factory sites and contact the health care industry about the allocation of products.

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Artificial Intelligence

ON THE HOME FRONT — POLITICO inks a partnership with Capitol AI to bring new artificial intelligence features to POLITICO Pro. Subscribers later this year will be able to “create custom reports seamlessly by locating, organizing and integrating our extensive library of political and policy reporting, intelligence and analysis,” POLITICO EVP Rachel Loeffler said.

Health Costs

HEALTH COST CURVE NOT DIPPING — U.S. health care spending is set to nearly double by 2032, according to a new analysis from health data firm Trilliant Health, Ben reports.

Fueled partially by growth in Medicare spending with an aging population, spending is projected to grow from $4.5 trillion in 2022 to $7.7 trillion in 2032. By 2034, the group expects close to 14 million more people to be on Medicare’s rolls than in 2023.

Hospital care and doctor and clinical services are the two largest drivers of growing spending.

It’s just the latest sign that health care costs continue to grow, and Washington has done little to rein them in. Policymakers have eyed targeting consolidation, as well as lowering prescription drug costs and new ways of paying for health care.

‘The only real force that’s left to bend the cost curve is the employer,” said Trilliant CEO Hal Andrews. “Either the employers are going to solve this in the next five to 10 years or something breaks.”

The group also found that government efforts to innovate and regulate to reduce costs have largely failed to produce value.

The patent factor: One potential avenue that could lead to reduced costs, the group said, is the expiration of patent protections for a slew of pricey drugs over the next decade, though many of the patents might be extended. Congress is considering several bipartisan patent reforms that the Congressional Budget Office estimates could save billions.

“[Congress] could meaningfully change the landscape by focusing on patent law,” Andrews said.

WHAT WE'RE READING

POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth reports that a California hospital is being sued by the state for refusing to provide an emergency abortion.

Reuters reports on the dismissal of a lawsuit against Bristol Myers Squibb for delaying federal approval of a cancer drug.

NBC reports that Georgia’s six-week abortion ban has been struck down by a state judge.

A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:

More than half of America’s seniors and people living with disabilities choose Medicare Advantage because it delivers better benefits, better access to care, and better value. The more than 33 million Americans who choose Medicare Advantage receive higher-quality care and have access to more preventive services compared to those in fee-for-service Medicare – while saving more than $2,500 a year.

To protect and strengthen their Medicare Advantage coverage, thousands of seniors in the Coalition for Medicare Choices are making their voices heard from their local communities to Washington, D.C. Their message is clear: Medicare Advantage gives them better care and lower costs, and policymakers should defend it.

This fall, seniors are voting – and they’re voting for Medicare Advantage. Learn more.