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Presented by HCA Healthcare: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. | | | | | |  | | By Sarah Owermohle and Adam Cancryn | | | 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. | | | — Moderna and the U.S. government are closing in on an agreement that could provide hundreds of millions of additional Covid-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. — Cures 2.0 is here, with House lawmakers proposing billions of dollars in new medical research, telehealth coverage and drug development. — Medicare says it’s cutting down on errors that cost billions of dollars. WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — Where this tune has been stuck in your writers’ heads for hours and will be in yours as you read this edition. Send other songs (please) and tips to sowermohle@poltico.com and acancryn@politico.com. | | A message from HCA Healthcare: At HCA Healthcare , we believe excellence in healthcare starts with a foundation of inclusion, compassion and respect for our patients and each other. We are committed to meeting the social, cultural, linguistic and spiritual needs of our patients, their families and the communities we serve.
One of the ways we do this is through our Equity of Care program, which provides innovative, pragmatic, compassionate, patient-focused solutions and resources across our organization. | | | | | | MODERNA NEARS DEAL TO SUPPLY MORE GLOBAL DOSES — The company is closing in on an agreement to pledge many millions more coronavirus shots to low- and middle-income countries over the next year, two people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. The deal with chief vaccine equity initiative COVAX would provide a boost to a global vaccination campaign that has suffered from delays and difficulties in securing sufficient doses from drugmakers. It comes amid escalating pressure on Moderna — which has benefited from U.S. taxpayer-funded vaccine technology without a requirement to share it with poorer nations — to step up its aid to the developing world, we write with Erin Banco. The details are still being finalized but could total hundreds of millions of doses, according to the two people. Under the tentative agreement, Moderna would sell its vaccine to COVAX at roughly $7 per dose — a lower price than it has charged the U.S. and other individual countries. Officials are pressing Moderna to deliver those Covid-19 shots to COVAX through September 2022, a target that would dovetail with the White House's goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the world by the end of that month. A Moderna spokesperson confirmed the company “has been in direct discussion with Gavi [the Vaccine Alliance, leading COVAX] concerning this amendment to our current agreement,” but didn’t offer specifics. The White House declined to comment, and Gavi didn’t respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile: More than 90 organizations, including Public Citizen, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and global health advocacy groups, sent a letter to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel today demanding the company strike a deal with the World Health Organization for global vaccine supply. Among their questions: Does Moderna have the capacity to supply billions of doses through 2022? HOUSE LAWMAKERS LAUNCH CURES 2.0 — Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) are proposing a range of new drug research, a federal telehealth overhaul and $6.5 billion for President Joe Biden’s biomedical research agency vision, according to draft text of the sprawling health bill obtained by POLITICO. The Cures 2.0 bill, to be released later this morning, would also require a series of long Covid-19 studies and support programs, research into Covid health disparities and a push for more diversity and real-world evidence in clinical trials. Besides awarding billions to Biden’s envisioned Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health — recently booted from the social spending package — Cures 2.0 also squeezes in the Telehealth Modernization Act and a measure establishing subscription payments for new antimicrobial drugs in a bid to incentivize development of new antibiotics. Still, the long-anticipated bipartisan health package doesn’t have a clear road to passage. The legislative agenda is crowded in the weeks ahead as lawmakers hammer out the next year’s budget and divisive social spending priorities. Plus, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), chair of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, introduced a standalone bill for ARPA-H last month, plucking out a high-priority item for the president even as DeGette and Upton make it a key selling point for their bill. MEDICARE’S IMPROPER PAYMENTS STEADILY DECLINE — CMS estimates it reduced mistaken or incorrect fee-for-service payments since 2014 by as much as $20.72 billion, the agency said Monday. The drop has come from “aggressive correction actions,” CMS said in a statement noting that its improper payment rate was down to a historic low of 6.26 percent this year. Background: Payments fall into the “improper” category when the agency over- or underpays, or not enough information is available to distill whether it should have paid that cost. CMS says that usually happens because states or providers accidentally skipped a step, not necessarily because of fraud. So it may not be that spending overall fell, but that CMS cut down on errors. For example: The agency’s inpatient rehabilitation facility saw a $1.8 billion drop in improper payments since 2018, in part because it clarified a policy and started an education program for providers.
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STUDY: HEALTH JOBS SWELL IN OCTOBER — The sector gained more than 37,000 jobs last month, its strongest showing so far this year, according to Altarum’s latest Health Sector Economic Indicators.
The vast majority of new growth came in the ambulatory care field as employers increasingly return to pre-pandemic work in settings like dental offices, outpatient care centers and diagnostic labs, the nonprofit health research group said. Hospital employment hasn’t seen an uptick yet — The providers added only 1,100 jobs last month and are still behind by 87,000 compared to February 2020 levels. Nursing employment also lags significantly, with the field down by more than 400,000 jobs, or 12 percent, since then. That said, Altarum’s study tracks employed staff and not contract agencies that hospitals are increasingly turning to amid staffing shortages. | | | | A message from HCA Healthcare:   | | | | | | NIH KICKS OFF STUDY ON LONG-TERM COVID IN KIDS — The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases enrolled its first participant in a large, long-term study on Covid-19’s impact on children’s, teens’ and young adults’ physical and mental health, the agency announced Monday. The NIH is recruiting recruit kids and young adults from birth to 21 years old who previously tested positive for Covid. Besides tracking long-term health effects and risks, researchers will also try to understand kids’ immune response and whether immunological factors influence long-term implications. | | | PENTAGON INSISTS ON VAX MANDATE FOR NAT’L GUARD — The Pentagon's top spokesperson Monday insisted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to require National Guard members to get vaccinated against Covid-19, despite new resistance from Oklahoma’s highest-ranking military official . Defense Department press secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday he wasn’t aware of other states resisting the vaccine mandate but “it is a lawful order.” “If there's a snowball effect,” Kirby said, “we haven't seen it yet.” Background: Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, the adjutant general for Oklahoma, recently told the state’s National Guard soldiers and airmen they wouldn’t be required to get their shots. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican and the first governor to test positive for Covid-19 last summer, appointed Mancino to the post last week after ousting the previous adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Michael C. Thompson, who supported vaccinations for Guard members. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | Matthew Hepburn is now a senior adviser to the Office of Science and Technology Policy director on pandemic preparedness. He most recently was vaccine development lead for Operation Warp Speed/Countermeasures Acceleration Group and is a retired Army infectious diseases physician. eHealth Initiative is rebranding at Executives for Health Innovation in a move the industry coalition says better reflects its priorities today. | | | Biogen’s R&D head Alfred Sandrock is abruptly leaving the biotech after two decades that saw him most recently lead the company’s development of a controversial new Alzheimer’s disease drug, Stat News’ Damian Garde, Adam Feuerstein and Matthew Herper write. A second person in history may have eliminated HIV naturally, a case that could offer clues about curing the disease in other patients, Liz Highleyman writes for POZ. The CDC hasn’t updated its data on breakthrough cases of Covid-19 for two months, even as breakthroughs become more common and Americans weigh the risks of holiday travel, MedPage Today’s Sophie Putka writes. | | A message from HCA Healthcare: At HCA Healthcare, we believe excellence in healthcare starts with a foundation of inclusion, compassion and respect for all. Amidst the fight against COVID-19, HCA Healthcare’s commitment to addressing critical environmental, social and governance issues has not wavered, and our dedication to the communities we serve extends beyond our facilities.
In addition to our commitment to providing equitable care for patients, our robust diversity, equity and inclusion strategy supports colleagues in the work they do every day, creating opportunities for connection and dialogue and enabling us to better attract, engage and develop diverse talent.
We also invest in healthier tomorrows for the communities we serve through strategic community partnerships focused on addressing key issues tied to education, workforce development, civic and economic advancement, veterans, health equity and well-being. This includes a new $75 million community impact fund which addresses high-priority community needs and health equity. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
