Do it for the kids

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Dec 06, 2024 View in browser   By Ruth Reader, Daniel Payne and Carmen Paun TECH MAZE Parents want House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to pass a law to protect their kids online. | Angelina Katsanis/POLITICO Speaker Mike Johnson faces a KOSA pressure campaign. Next week, parents will descend on Capitol Hill to convince House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) to pass legislation that would protect kids online as part of end-of-year spending bills. In the past month, doctors’ associations, parents, state attorneys general and Senate leadership have called on Johnson and Scalise to advance the Kids Online Safety Act, which the Senate passed 91-3 in July. But the lawmakers won’t budge. Parent advocacy groups say Johnson refuses to even meet with them. “We’ve done the math, and big tech’s harmful design practices have been unchecked for over 25 years,” said Christine Peat, director of the National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. “This is a bipartisan issue.” On Tuesday, a range of advocacy groups will host a holiday-themed rally that features parents who have lost children to online bullying, drug sales and other exploitative content. Groups include the Eating Disorder Coalition for Research, Policy and Action; Fairplay; ParentsTogether; Accountable Tech; and Design It For Us. Peat says that while Congress waits, social media algorithms continue to harm kids by serving them content that promotes suicide and eating disorders, “things that on their face are damaging and harmful, especially for kids and adolescents that are vulnerable,” she said. Why it matters: The House advanced a weaker version of KOSA out of committee in September, but it has stalled. The action on the Hill is just the latest in a series of moves meant to pressure House Republican leaders to move the bill along. This week, a bipartisan group of senators, including Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), alongside Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and KOSA sponsors Sens. Marcia Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to House GOP leaders urging them to put aside politics and pass KOSA. A group of more than 170 organizations — including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Kennedy Forum and pediatric organizations in 42 states — has made the same request. Issue One, a nonprofit focused on bringing accountability to politics, is running a KOSA-focused ad campaign in Washington and Scalise’s and Johnson’s home state of Louisiana. In November, attorneys general in 31 states urged Congress to do the same. Even so: Scalise and Johnson have said the bill as written violates free speech rules. But groups say they’re pushing to have at least some provisions of KOSA added to a larger spending bill. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Athens, N.Y. | Erin Schumaker/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. After UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot this week in New York City, major health insurance companies took their executive leadership pages and photos offline. 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, or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.   REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss.     FORWARD THINKING Americans say they're sick of paying high prices for low-quality health coverage. | AP Americans pay more per capita for health care than many of their peers, but that doesn’t mean they’re pleased with the quality. Ratings for health care quality and coverage fell to historic lows this year in new polling out today from Gallup. Forty-four percent of respondents believed the quality of their health care was “excellent” or “good.” The rest said their care was “fair” or “poor.” Health coverage got lower marks, with 28 percent saying they had “excellent” or “good” coverage. Even so: Cost remains the biggest concern for those polled, with 19 percent of respondents satisfied with the cost of care. Why it matters: Policymakers, well attuned to public opinion, especially in sectors where they have sway, may increasingly see an opening to go after a health care system that Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with. Bipartisan momentum has been building for years to move consumer-focused reforms in Congress to reduce consolidation, stop price increases from pharmacy middlemen and make medical care more affordable.   Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today.     FUTURE THREATS The return of a potent opioid could hinder progress on reducing fatal drug overdoses. | AFP via Getty Images While fatal drug overdoses have begun to decrease, that progress could be threatened by the reemergence of an opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl. The drug previously caused a spike in overdose deaths in 2016 and 2017. Its availability in the drug supply chain decreased in 2018, potentially leading to a drop in fatal overdoses that year. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials warned in a study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Thursday that they’ve seen a resurgence of carfentanil — an elephant tranquilizer — in the drug supply. How so: Deaths involving carfentanil increased from an average of three a month between January 2021 and June 2023 to 34 deaths a month between July 2023 and June 2024. Most of the more recent deaths also involved other types of fentanyl, the study said. The presence of carfentanil in the U.S. is more widespread than it was in 2016 and 2017, when the fatal overdoses linked to carfentanil were concentrated in a few areas, the study says. Why it matters: When carfentanil is mixed with other types of fentanyl, users might be unaware of its presence — and fentanyl testing strips can’t detect it. What’s next: Although efforts to decrease fatal overdoses caused by fentanyl can help drive down carfentanil deaths, the drug’s high potency might require additional doses of the opioid reversal drug naloxone and a faster overdose response. A multipronged approach to prevent and reduce drug use, increase access to treatment and distribute naloxone “could lead to lasting decreases in overdose deaths that could withstand changes in the drug supply,” the study authors wrote.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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