|
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 Megan R. Wilson and Daniel Lippman 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.
| | | — President Joe Biden will outline new plans to defeat Covid-19, in a speech aimed at getting his pandemic response back on track. — Biden is expected to call for a global summit focused on better coordinating the global pandemic fight. — The nation's testing apparatus remains ill-prepared to head off fresh surges in Covid-19 cases. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE — where we have questions, and lots of them, about the Elizabeth Holmes fans. We stan for tips only; send them to acancryn@politico.com and sowermohle@politico.com. | | | | A message from PhRMA: Proponents of government price setting often misrepresent voter opinion on support for allowing the federal government to “negotiate” drug prices. While nine out of 10 Americans said in a recent KFF poll that they support drug price negotiation, opposition to the approach soared to 65 percent when respondents were told negotiation could limit access to medicines or result in fewer new treatments and cures. | | | | | | BIDEN HITS RESET — Two months after declaring America — and his presidency — independent at last from the coronavirus, Joe Biden is mired in the most difficult stretch of his term. And as a disappointing summer gives way to an ominous fall, he’s reaching for the reset button. Biden is slated to present a new plan this afternoon for vanquishing Covid-19, with initiatives spanning six components of the pandemic fight. The speech is likely to include fresh pitches for boosting vaccination rates, ideas for ramping up testing availability, and a redoubling of efforts to keep kids in classrooms and fight the virus around the world. The specifics of those policies have remained tightly held — a sign of the importance with which the White House views the proposal (More on what we do know below). But the broader purpose of Biden’s speech couldn’t be clearer: To reverse the course of the pandemic and take back control of the narrative. The remarks come amid a brutal stretch of mixed messages and rising anxiety that’s weighed on Biden’s approval rating and frustrated officials both inside and outside the administration. The nation’s top health officials have struggled to lay the implications of breakthrough infections. They’ve whipsawed the public on mask-wearing. And over a particularly damaging several days, the White House rolled out a pre-emptive plan for booster shots – only to have to walk it back, sparking fears of political interference in the scientific process. The result is a job-approval rating for Biden that now sits below 50 percent. The Covid-19 fight was once seen as the key to keeping full Democratic control of Washington in 2022; now it threatens to be instrumental in losing it. Still, it’s early – and administration allies argue a more successful fall can put both Biden’s presidency and the broader Covid response back on track. The White House needs to bring the Delta surge back under control. It has to help keep schools open and children in class. Most importantly, it needs to keep a far firmer grip on the message – one Biden will attempt to define again today. | | | | 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. | | | | | WHITE HOUSE WANTS GLOBAL COVID SUMMIT — Biden is expected to call for a global summit on the Covid-19 crisis, as part of the international component of his speech today, two people familiar with the matter tell Adam. The proposed summit would be timed alongside the United Nations General Assembly scheduled for the week of Sept. 20, with discussions focused on better coordinating the world’s pandemic response and vaccination campaign. Among the possible topics: improvements to vaccine manufacturing and distribution, a ramp-up of oxygen supplies and international cooperation on Covid-19 research and development. Global health experts have long pressed the administration for such a move, arguing that the U.S. should be more assertive in leading the response around the world – and especially in aiding developing countries still struggling to vaccinate their most vulnerable. Administration officials have also discussed committing to donating additional vaccine doses, one person familiar with the discussions said, though it was unclear whether that decision would be finalized in time for Biden’s speech. AMERICA’s TESTING SYSTEM IS FALTERING, AGAIN — The nation’s Covid-19 testing apparatus is failing once again to keep pace with a surge in cases, despite the administration’s efforts to encourage widespread adoption of rapid tests. Even as testing labs have spare capacity, the closure of mass-testing sites has made it more difficult for individuals to get a test, POLITICO’s David Lim reports. And despite a lull in demand earlier this summer, states and cities didn’t take advantage of that time to build out their testing regimes. That’s raised concerns that gains made during the pandemic’s first year could be erased, making it more difficult to detect and head off new outbreaks. Test-positivity rates have soared above 20 percent in some parts of the Southeast — a sign that testing is falling well behind the virus. And as more people seek out tests, the supply is struggling to keep up, with CVS recently forced to limit the number of rapid tests that customers can purchase at one time. Biden is expected to make testing a key part of his speech today, as he lays out a roadmap for reining in the virus. But beyond reopening mass-testing sites, health experts warn it could take weeks or months to implement the changes that could drive significant increases in test availability. | | | | A message from PhRMA:   | | | | | | POLL: PRIVATE-SECTOR VACCINE MANDATES ARE SPREADING — Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers are under orders from their company to get vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a new Gallup poll. That’s twice as many as those who faced a private-sector mandate just a month ago, in a sign that Biden’s efforts to encourage vaccine requirements are gaining some traction. Another 55 percent of those surveyed said their employers were encouraging workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Still, workers’ personal views on mandates haven’t changed much. Just more than half — 52 percent — say they support the requirements, while 38 percent are opposed, unchanged from the prior month. UNITED TIGHTENS STAFF VACCINE STANDARDS — United Airlines employees who were denied exemption from the company’s vaccine mandate must get their first shot by the end of the month or risk termination, POLITICO’s Oriana Pawlyk reports. The notice issued Wednesday is the latest hardline action taken by United, which was the first major U.S. airline to require Covid-19 vaccinations for all of its workers. That means that anyone who didn’t qualify for an exemption must be partially vaccinated by Sept. 27 or fully vaccinated within five weeks from the date of their denial. Those who did get exemptions, meanwhile, are being put on temporary leave in October until United can institute safety measures for unvaccinated employees. More than half of United workers who were unvaccinated when the company announced its mandate have now gotten a shot, though it’s unclear what percentage of the total workforce is vaccinated.
| | | | 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 . | | | | |
| | | PATIENT GROUP RAMPS UP DRUG PRICE PUSH — Nonprofit group Patients for Affordable Drugs is dropping a seven-figure digital and television ad buy and advocacy campaign to garner support for a congressional proposal that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, POLITICO's Megan R. Wilson reports. The spot, which will run this month in D.C., is aimed at countering pharmaceutical industry claims that the plan would result in less innovation and hinder access to prescriptions. Instead, the ad calls drug companies "desperate to protect their monopoly power" and argues that Medicare negotiation will ensure "the innovation we need at prices we can afford." The campaign comes as the Senate Finance Committee prepares to draft its drug pricing portion of the upcoming reconciliation package. Patients for Affordable Drugs has already spent more than $3.8 million on TV ads this summer, according to a POLITICO analysis of AdAnalytics data. | | | Varun Krovi now heads federal affairs for Guarding Against Pandemics. Krovi was a director at Invariant and is a Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) alum. The Apollo Pact, which advocates for medical research and education of the therapeutic effects of psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapies, has named former Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.) the chair of its board. Ali Amirhooshmand, a Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) alum and head of government and external relations at Magic Leap, will be chief operating officer. | | | For Insider, Allison DeAngelis profiles the legendary health care investment banker whose first private equity fund just raised a record-setting $3 billion. More Mississippi children have died of Covid-19 in the last six weeks than in the entire first 17 months of the pandemic, the Mississippi Free Press’ Ashton Pittman reports. Medicare is a hugely popular and critical safety net program, but it’s still full of holes, Vox’s Dylan Scott writes. | | | | A message from PhRMA: Proponents of government price setting often misrepresent voter opinion on support for allowing the federal government to “negotiate” drug prices. While nine out of 10 Americans said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll that they support drug price negotiation, opposition to the approach soared to 65% when respondents were told negotiation could limit people’s access to medicines or result in fewer new treatments and cures.
Non-partisan, independent public polls have repeatedly demonstrated that once Americans understand what government negotiation is, and what the tradeoffs are, support drops dramatically.
76% of Americans oppose H.R.3-style “negotiation” if it causes delays in access to new prescription drugs, and 72% oppose it if it results in fewer new medicines developed in the future.
62% agree we should keep the current law that prohibits government interference in Medicare plan negotiations because it protects seniors and people with disabilities from losing access to their medicines. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
