News: Guthrie could reshape key health policy as new chair

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Guthrie could reshape key health policy as new chair

Dec 10, 2024

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With Lauren Gardner and Carmen Paun

Driving The Day

Rep. Brett Guthrie speaks during a press conference.

In his new role as House E&C Committee chair, Rep. Brett Guthrie will be in a position to steer the health policy agenda. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

GUTHRIE’S GAVEL — Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) is poised to be the next chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will have significant power to shape health care policy in a Republican-controlled Washington.

The House Steering Committee chose Guthrie to take over the panel from Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who’s retiring after two decades in Washington. Guthrie had been a favorite to win against Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) in the race for the panel that legislates on sweeping issues including Medicare, Medicaid and public health.

He ran on bolstering the Inflation Reduction Act oversight, improving drug and device supply chains and boosting transparency to reduce drug costs.

“We must work together to restore America’s energy dominance and lower energy prices, protect children’s online safety and ensure America remains the world leader in technological innovation, and protect access to life-saving treatments while lowering health care costs,” Guthrie said in a statement.

Guthrie is set to be a key part of executing and shaping President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda, which could come together through a reconciliation process, which bars the Senate filibuster and allows Congress to pass legislation by a simple majority vote in each chamber.

Guthrie is thought to have strong relationships with the health care industry and has received significant donations from pharmaceutical companies and medical device and provider groups. The full GOP conference is expected to approve Guthrie’s selection.

Here’s what to know about some of Guthrie’s stances on issues that could run through the committee:

IRA: Guthrie wants to amend the law that allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time. He’s introduced legislation that would exempt small molecule drugs from negotiations for more time after coming to market. Such drugs make up about 90 percent of all medications.

Medicaid: Republicans are eyeing changes to Medicaid to help pay for a reconciliation package. Guthrie told POLITICO last month he hadn’t heard of Medicaid cuts being on the table but has raised concerns about the pace of health care spending, including in Medicaid.

His record suggests he’d be open to changes. Guthrie voted to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017, saying the move would bolster Medicaid by preserving it for those who need it most. The legislation would have significantly reduced Medicaid payments.

Public health agencies: Amid Republican calls for a broad overhaul of the NIH, Guthrie said in 2022 that he supports more transparency at the agency but backs its role in basic research.

“The NIH can and should remain a primary vessel for fundamental scientific research,” Guthrie said. “We can ultimately unleash the agency’s full potential without stifling future research if we effectively increase transparency on how these research dollars are spent.”

Medicare Advantage: Guthrie supports the Medicare-approved private option, saying private insurers offer better care and value. But he’s suggested that Congress might have to step in if prior authorization requirements, which require approval for certain treatments, continue to annoy doctors and patients.

Pro subscribers can read more about Guthrie’s record.

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In Congress

Rep. Brian Mast speaks during a House subcommittee hearing

Rep. Brian Mast, a critic of the World Health Organization, is expected to be the incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

MAST AGAINST THE WHO — Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), the likely chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the next Congress, could elevate Republicans’ criticism of the World Health Organization. He could also add to the voices calling for a withdrawal from the global health body when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month, Carmen reports.

Mast co-sponsored a bill calling for a halt in U.S. funding for the WHO, referring to unproven reports that the WHO worked with China’s Communist Party to cover up the pandemic’s origin. The bill, introduced a year ago by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), hasn’t advanced in the committee.

INSIDE THE CR — The Older Americans Act, which funds a range of services for older adults — including meals and medical services such as health screenings and transportation to doctors’ offices — could ride on the continuing resolution lawmakers are considering to avert a government shutdown, POLITICO’s Daniella Diaz reports.

The legislation has sign-off by the top four committee leaders, a person familiar with the negotiations told POLITICO.

Congress will likely pass a stopgap government funding measure before Dec. 20 and fund the government until March at its current levels. But considering House Speaker Mike Johnson’s razor-thin margin and a notable conservative faction of his conference that doesn’t generally support stopgap spending bills, known as continuing resolutions, House Democrats will likely be the ones to get the legislation over the finish line.

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HEALTH INSURANCE

CEO SHOOTING ARREST — The suspect in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week in Manhattan was charged with murder late Monday in New York City after being arraigned with gun charges in Pennsylvania, according to court documents.

Twenty-six-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested earlier on Monday on firearm charges in Altoona, Pennsylvania, a small city that’s a four-hour drive west of Philadelphia, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press briefing at the time. Mangione is being held without bail.

After Altoona police detained him, they found a gun similar to the one used in the slaying of Thompson.

Mangione was carrying multiple fake IDs, including a fake New Jersey identification that matched the one the suspect used to check into a hostel before the shooting, Tisch said. He also had “a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset,” she said.

“It does seem he has some ill will toward corporate America,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny at the briefing.

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.

In the Courts

DACA INSURANCE RULE BLOCKED — A federal judge sided with a coalition of state attorneys Monday in blocking a Biden administration rule to provide marketplace health insurance to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

North Dakota District Judge Daniel Traynor granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the administration from offering eligibility for ACA plans to more than 200,000 DACA recipients.

Context: The White House finalized the rule in May. However, a group of 19 attorneys general, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, challenged the rule, citing a 1996 law prohibiting undocumented immigrants from receiving federal benefits. In his decision, Traynor agreed with that argument.

“This decision is a big win for the rule of law. Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obamacare benefits. Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits. The Biden administration tried to break those laws. But we fought back and defeated the Biden Justice Department,” Kobach said in a statement.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

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AROUND THE AGENCIES

DOCS ASK SENATE TO VET MAKARY, OTHERS — Members of the FDA Task Force from patient advocacy group Doctors for America met Monday with the offices of Senate committee leaders about the impending confirmation hearings for HHS nominees, urging the panels to thoroughly vet them for conflicts of interest and their plans to fulfill their agencies’ missions, Lauren reports.

Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a primary care physician and Yale Medicine professor who is on the task force, said the group especially wants senators to press Dr. Marty Makary, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, on where he stands concerning the agency’s mission of ensuring both safety and effectiveness of drugs. Trump’s choice to be HHS’ No. 2, Jim O’Neill, argued a decade ago that the FDA should approve medicines once their safety is affirmed instead of requiring effectiveness data.

Political independence: The group, which focused on the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Finance and Health committees, also wants the panels to press Makary on how he’ll insulate the FDA from political interference.

Ramachandran noted that much of the federal statute vests authority in the HHS secretary and not the FDA commissioner specifically, a point some policy experts fear could be used by political appointees to upend longstanding public health initiatives like federal advisory committees.

Names in the News

Jennifer Valdes has joined biotech company Cellevate as its vice president of sales and marketing for the North American market. She most recently served as OEM sales manager for Western U.S. at SaniSure.

The Federation of American Hospitals has promoted Don May from SVP of policy to EVP of Policy. Tilithia McBride, current VP of policy, has also been promoted from VP of policy to SVP of policy, overseeing quality, patient safety and public health. Alyssa Keefe is joining FAH as SVP of policy, overseeing entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

WHAT WE'RE READING

POLITICO’s Daniel Payne reports that the Supreme Court won’t hear a challenge to a school district’s transgender student policy.

STAT reports that a study shows that early intervention may prevent or delay multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, in some patients.

The New York Times reports on a group of 75 Nobel Laureates urging the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary.

A message from CVS Health:

CVS Health is improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people every day, simplifying their health care journey and reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Our patients have an average out-of-pocket cost of less than $8 for a 30-day supply of medication, and last year nearly 70% of members spent less than $100 out-of-pocket on prescriptions. We’re actively working to bring down costs for plan sponsors and their members, all while ensuring access to critical medications for millions of Americans.

Learn more about how we’re making medicine more affordable for all Americans.