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Presented by PhRMA: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. | | | | | |  | | By Adam Cancryn and Sarah Owermohle | | | With Dan Goldberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein Editor’s Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | — Several GOP-led states imposed new restrictions on local health officials, which are now hampering their response to rising Covid-19 caseloads. — The White House is struggling to fight a flood of vaccine misinformation that’s complicated efforts to vaccinate the U.S. out of its Covid crisis. — Progressives are laying the groundwork for an even bigger partisan spending package if negotiations on a separate infrastructure bill fail. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE — where Mare of Easttown is over, but one of its mysteries remains unsolved. If either of our names ever pop up in a TV show, we’re demanding royalties. Send tips and other eerie fictional likenesses to acancryn@politico.com and sowermohle@politico.com. | | | | A message from PhRMA: In Washington, there’s often a big difference between what politicians say and what they mean. Politicians are saying they’ll negotiate medicine prices in Medicare. But it really means the government could stand between you and your medicines. There’s a better way to help patients. See how. | | | | | | THE DELTA SURGE HITS STATES AT THEIR WEAKEST — In pockets of the U.S., the scenes bear a troubling resemblance to this time last year: Hospital ICUs are at their limits in parts of the South and Southwest. New Covid-19 cases are rising fast. And, in a fresh twist, vaccination rates are stagnating across the board. But across several GOP-led states, conservative lawmakers and governors spent the last several months passing legislation and issuing orders barring local governments from imposing mask laws, vaccine requirements or other protective measures — leaving those areas distinctly vulnerable to the Delta-driven resurgence, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein and Dan Goldberg report. The list is long: Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Utah have all recently enacted new limits on local authorities’ power over the Covid response or any future health emergency. In Texas, where Covid-19 hospitalizations are up 30 percent and deaths have risen 10 percent in just the last week, Gov. Greg Abbott is banning counties, cities and school districts from requiring masks. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — whose state accounts for one in five new U.S. infections — asserted the power to nullify local health orders if he decided they infringe on individual rights. Public health officials warn the reverberations could outlast the current pandemic. Under the new restrictions, local governments would have a tougher time carrying out basic responsibilities, like shutting down restaurants spreading foodborne illnesses and making sure children are vaccinated against all manner of diseases. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | HOW BIDEN’s VACCINE MISINFO PROBLEM MUSHROOMED — Late last year, activists and congressional Democrats recommended that President Joe Biden put someone in charge of countering falsehoods about the Covid-19 vaccines. The incoming White House decided against it — and now it’s struggling to combat the waves of misinformation stalling its vaccination campaign, POLITICO’s Alexandra S. Levine reports. On Facebook and other social media platforms and across Fox News, anti-vaccine rhetoric risks hardening opposition to the shots even as Covid-19 cases are on the rise again. The developments have particularly frustrated those who advocated early on for a czar or task force that could focus on tamping down misinformation. The group — which included House and Senate Democrats — pointed at the time to polling showing vaccine skepticism, and worried about how quickly false information could spread throughout the internet. Several Biden officials, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, have since been in touch with Facebook about combating misinformation. And the administration contends it’s been aggressive in pushing back on conspiracy theories and promoting accurate information. Murthy recently put out a lengthy advisory on health misinformation, though its recommendations for “what governments can do” weren’t much different from steps advocates proposed back in December. But the administration has resisted taking a concentrated approach on the issue — and there’s little indication that social media companies can police all the falsehoods spreading across their platforms. “We want to be careful about not seeming like we’re the content police,” a senior administration official said of the White House’s tentative dealings with Facebook. “That’s not our role.” DEMS’ PARTY-LINE SPENDING PACKAGE COULD GROW — A planned $3.5 trillion bill that would expand Medicare benefits could get even bigger if negotiations over a smaller, bipartisan infrastructure deal fall apart, POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine, Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle report. Progressives on Wednesday signaled that the bill’s topline number would need to grow to accommodate provisions from a failed infrastructure package, with the price tag going as high as $4.1 trillion. It’s an early backup plan that liberal Democrats already impatient with the drawn-out infrastructure talks are lining up behind. “The $600 billion in physical infrastructure, you can do it in the bipartisan bill, or you can combine it with one bill,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said. “One way or another, it’s going to happen.” But it’s a plan that’s sure to rankle the party’s centrist wing, which is already skeptical of spending so much on a bill that Democrats plan to pass along party lines. The White House has also warned lawmakers that if the infrastructure talks break down, they may have to make painful decisions about what to cut. It could be days before Democrats reach that point, though. After Republicans on Wednesday blocked a procedural vote on the initial bipartisan package, senators are now aiming to strike a deal by early next week. And even if all goes smoothly, lawmakers acknowledge it could be mid-August before they get moving on their bigger party-line bill. | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | | | | MAJOR HOSPITAL GROUPS BACK VAX MANDATE FOR HEALTH WORKERS — The American Hospital Association and America’s Essential Hospitals are throwing their support behind providers that require their workers to get vaccinated. AEH, which represents safety-net hospitals, went as far Wednesday as to urge their members to impose mandates, calling the shots the “surest way” to protect patients. “Health care professionals and other dedicated essential hospital staff have led the nation’s response to COVID-19, and they can lead the way to recovery by making a strong and unequivocal statement on the value of vaccination,” the organization said. The AHA, the nation's largest hospital association, in a separate statement voiced support for health systems that have decided to mandate the vaccine, while also encouraging them to offer certain exemptions and follow state and local laws. | | | |   | | | | | | ARKANSAS TRANS YOUTH TREATMENT LAW BLOCKED — A federal judge has temporarily halted the state’s law banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors, Dan reports. The decision came a week before the first-in-the-nation prohibition was set to take effect, and has split Republican leaders in the state. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge vowed an immediate appeal, while Gov. Asa Hutchinson — who vetoed the ban only to be overridden by his legislature — said the ruling vindicated his belief the measure was unconstitutional. The law would open providers up to disciplinary action if they offer or refer minors to care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies or transition-related surgeries. The ACLU of Arkansas had filed the challenge to the ban on behalf of four transgender children, their families and two doctors. | | | STATES TO GET $26B IN OPIOID SETTLEMENT — Four drug companies will pay states a collective $26 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits over their roles in the opioid crisis, in a deal that took more than two years to negotiate. The settlement money must be spent on social services that address the fallout from the opioid epidemic, such as treatment programs and greater funding for first responders. Three drug distributors — McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health — would pay up to $21 billion total over the next 18 years as part of the agreement. The fourth company, Johnson & Johnson, would chip in $5 billion over nine years. J&J also agreed not to sell opioids for the next decade, and the three drug distributors will take a range of steps to better monitor where their drugs are going. States must still join the settlement, and it only goes so far to resolving the raft of lawsuits filed over the opioid crisis. Several are still ongoing, including trials already underway against other drug companies. But state officials hailed the deal as a major step that would funnel much-needed cash to state and local governments still trying to beat back the addiction crisis. | | | POLL: MOST PATIENTS STILL FAVOR IN-PERSON DOC VISITS — Roughly eight in 10 Americans still want to travel to an office for their doctors’ visits — even after the pandemic spurred widespread adoption of telehealth services, according to a new Harris poll out today. The survey — commissioned by drug company Neurocrine Biosciences — found that a similar percentage agreed telehealth appointments were sufficient alternatives, even if they preferred in-person appointments. And 72 percent said it’s important to continue to have the option to do either. But gaps remain in Americans’ trust that they’ll get quality care from afar, with 69 percent saying they were confident in the telehealth care they received versus 91 percent who were confident in their in-person care. | | | | A message from PhRMA: Under Medicare Part D, seniors and people with disabilities have coverage for a vast number of prescription medicines they pick up at the pharmacy. Wide choice of plans and robust coverage of medicines is possible, in part, because of a protection in the Medicare statute known as the non-interference clause. Now, some want to repeal this provision, saying the government will “negotiate” lower medicine prices. What they really mean is they want to repeal the part that protects robust coverage and choice of plans for seniors and people with disabilities. People want choice, access and affordability when it comes to their medicines in Medicare, not barriers. There’s a better way to help patients. See how. | | | | | | For AL.com, Dennis Pillion profiles an Alabama doctor facing a surge of unvaccinated patients who are now critically ill from Covid-19. In STAT, Joanne Silberner highlights the checkered history of the accelerated pathway that Biogen used to get its controversial Alzheimer’s drug approved by the FDA. Biden administration officials are weighing whether to tell vaccinated Americans they should wear masks again, The Washington Post’s Annie Linskey, Dan Diamond, Tyler Pager and Lena Sun report. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
