Could Trump-Vance abortion messaging be working?

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Oct 03, 2024 View in browser   By Ben Leonard and Chelsea Cirruzzo Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices With David Lim  Driving The Day During Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, Sen. JD Vance tried to tamp down fears that he and former President Donald Trump would try to impose a national abortion ban. | Matt Rourke/AP BID TO ‘EARN PEOPLE’S TRUST BACK’ — In Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) acknowledged that many Americans don’t trust Republicans on abortion. His efforts on the debate stage and former President Donald Trump’s comments on social media — pledging to veto a federal abortion ban Tuesday night — are trying to assuage fears they would pursue a national ban if elected and neutralize Democrats’ significant edge on the issue. It comes after months of Trump and Vance contradicting each other on abortion. There are signs it could be paying off, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. Polling in several swing states shows that many who back abortion rights — and plan to vote to safeguard the procedure at the state level — also plan to vote for Trump, who has boasted about installing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.  Such signs include:  — Fox News polls conducted in late September in Arizona and Nevada that found high levels of support for Trump and Vance and the pro-abortion-rights amendments on the ballot — Polls in Florida, Missouri and South Dakota — where abortion is also on the ballot — show a similar pattern to Arizona and Nevada — Democrats’ struggle to convince voters in Michigan — where voters already approved a ballot measure protecting abortion — that abortion rights remain under threat if Republicans win in November With the race still within the margin of error, Republicans’ ability to shave off even a small group of undecided or Democratic-leaning voters could make a difference. “I’m sure JD Vance put the fear in Democratic consultants last night because their magic message of ‘Republicans are bad on abortion’ seemed, to me, to be mitigated,” said Stan Barnes, an Arizona strategist and former GOP lawmaker. “For a lot of voters, I think the threat of a national ban rings hollow.” Dems fire back: Democrats and abortion-rights groups dismiss Vance and Trump’s messaging as semantic games and misinformation, noting the many ways the Trump administration reduced abortion access through executive actions and court appointments. They also point to plans Trump allies have pushed to eliminate most abortions. “Just because JD Vance’s tone was demure and more civil, that doesn’t change history or the stakes of this election, and it does not change who they are and what we’ve seen from them,” said Nourbese Flint, president of the abortion-rights group All* Above All Action Fund. The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement that Trump is “trying to rewrite his record, words, and actions … of ripping away women’s freedoms” but predicted it won’t work and that voters “will hold him accountable this November.” WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Are there any under-the-radar health care stories on the campaign trail? We want to hear from you. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to bleonard@politico.com and ccirruzzo@politico.com and follow along @_BenLeonard_ and @ChelseaCirruzzo.   A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices: Policymakers have more than 33 million reasons to protect and strengthen Medicare Advantage. Seniors vote – and they’re voting for Medicare Advantage. Learn more.   In Congress In 2022, then-E&C Chair Frank Pallone (left) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, ranking member at the time, asked the GAO to investigate whether CMS was keeping tabs on hospitals' compliance with price transparency. | Francis Chung/POLITICO TRANSPARENCY ON TRANSPARENCY — CMS has failed to verify that hospitals adhere to regulations mandating complete and accurate public price disclosures, a government watchdog said in a report released Wednesday. In 2021, CMS implemented transparency regulations, but a number of issues have limited the data’s usefulness, such as data complexity and quality. In updates to those regulations, which went into effect earlier this year, CMS required hospitals to post their data in a standard format and affirm their data is complete and accurate. The agency put the rules in place to boost competition and therefore lower prices for consumers. In a report Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office called on CMS to do more to ensure hospital compliance. “CMS has not assessed whether hospital price transparency machine-readable files are sufficiently complete and accurate to support program goals, and accordingly whether additional enforcement actions are needed,” the GAO wrote. HHS concurred with the GAO’s recommendation and said CMS may assess potential inaccuracies and incompleteness. The broader implications: The findings come as health care costs rise and lawmakers look for ways to control them. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said it bolsters the case for her legislation, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, which passed the House late last year. She requested the report in 2022 when she was the committee’s ranking member with then-Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) The act would bolster transparency requirements for hospitals, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate drug prices for large insurers and employers. Medicaid MEDICAID SPENDING AND IMMIGRATION — The Trump campaign has repeatedly claimed the former president’s push for mass deportations would help ensure that Medicaid can care for qualified citizens and end the “financial drain” on the system. Most states don’t cover undocumented immigrant adults. Those that do use state money. But limited Medicaid coverage for emergency services is available for those who would qualify for full benefits if their immigration status isn’t taken into consideration. On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office injected new data into the debate over immigration and health care spending. In response to a request from House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), the CBO said Wednesday that federal and state governments spent close to $27 billion on emergency Medicaid for non-U.S. nationals not eligible for Medicaid due to their immigration status. Of the spending, about $18 billion was federal and $8.5 billion was state. The scorekeeper said that based on available data, it couldn’t distinguish between how much of the spending was from non-U.S. nationals who have temporary legal status and those who don’t. Still, expect the data to become a potential talking point on the campaign trail for Republicans. AROUND THE AGENCIES FDA MISSES PULSE OX TARGET — The FDA has yet to issue revised draft guidance on pulse oximeters despite its end-of-September target to do so. The FDA’s plan to issue the guidance by the end of the 2024 fiscal year came after the agency acknowledged in 2021 that the devices approved to measure blood oxygen levels could overestimate blood oxygen in people with dark skin. In February, an outside expert panel called on the FDA to make moves aimed at improving the devices’ performance in people with dark skin tones. The agency is weighing a clinical trial proposal that would recommend studies to include at least 24 people across a skin-tone scale. Agency spokesperson Carly Kempler told Pulse that updating the guidance is a priority for the FDA and noted that the FDA’s guidance agenda isn’t binding. Zooming out: The Covid-19 pandemic brought new attention to the devices’ accuracy. Small studies have shown misreadings in people with darker skin for many years. The issue has raised broader concerns about bias in technology as it becomes increasingly ubiquitous in the health care system, potentially increasing health disparities if not addressed. CBO: PART D SUBSIDIES WILL COST $5 BILLION — An effort by CMS to offset Medicare Part D premiums will cost $5 billion next year, Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel wrote Wednesday to top Republicans on several committees, David reports. That number is in line with a CMS estimate first reported by POLITICO last month, but associated federal debt interest costs over the next decade will require an additional $2 billion in outlays.   A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:   Global Health MARBURG UPDATE — Two passengers suspected of having the highly dangerous Marburg virus prompted an emergency response in Hamburg, Germany’s main train station. Rwanda is experiencing an outbreak of the virus, which has a mortality rate of up to 88 percent and is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of infected victims. One of the passengers, a medical student, was in Rwanda recently and was in contact with a patient later diagnosed with Marburg, German outlet Bild reported. Names in the News Mostafa Kamal, CEO of Prime Therapeutics, is now chair of the board at PCMA. He succeeds David Joyner, president of CVS Caremark, who finished his term as chair. Hunter Lovell is now press secretary for the House Intelligence Committee and Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio). He most recently was communications director for the Joint Economic Committee and Vice Chair David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). David P. Cleary has joined theGROUP as principal. He was most recently with DLA Piper and was previously Republican staff director on the Senate HELP Committee. WHAT WE'RE READING POLITICO's Rachel Bluth reports that California’s $25-an-hour health care minimum wage will begin rolling out this month. POLITICO's Sophie Gardner reports that kindergarten vaccine coverage continues to decline. The Wall Street Journal reports that CVS — which is considering breaking up its business — “will find it’s hard to do.”   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.     Follow us on Twitter Dan Goldberg @dancgoldberg Chelsea Cirruzzo @chelseacirruzzo Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM Sophie Gardner @sophie_gardnerj 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 Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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