|
Presented by PhRMA: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. | | | | | |  | | By Adam Cancryn | Presented by |  | | | with Rachel Roubein, Susannah Luthi, Alice Miranda Ollstein 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 has struggled to lay out a clear timetable for when Covid-19 vaccines will become widely accessible. — HHS has tapped an Obama-era State Department official to run its Office of Refugee Resettlement. — A provision subsidizing health insurance coverage for laid-off workers will remain in Democrats' Covid relief package. WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — where Twisted Sister roadie to vaccine site coordinator is a career path only a pandemic could make possible. Tips to acancryn@politico.com. | | | | A message from PhRMA: As we usher in a new Congress and new administration, we can all agree that people need quality, affordable health coverage that works when they need it. We are focused on solutions that help patients better afford their medicines and protect access to innovation today and in the future. | | | | | | UNTANGLING BIDEN’s VACCINE TIMELINE — Biden has made three different vaccine forecasts in his first six weeks in office, as his White House grapples with how to manage the inoculation campaign that will determine the future of the pandemic. His shifting timeline for when Americans will have broad access to Covid shots risks sowing confusion — and will test the administration’s ability to overcome pockets of deeply-rooted vaccine skepticism across the country, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn reports. | 
President Joe Biden speaks during an event commemorating the 50 millionth Covid-19 vaccine on February 25, 2021. | Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images | — As it tries to sort out its messaging, the White House is on the verge of a vaccine influx. Hundreds of millions of doses will pour into the country over the next few weeks, including the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, which the administration views as critical to the Covid response. Yet the vaccine has been shown to be less effective in trials than those from Pfizer and Moderna (though it’s still extremely good at preventing Covid cases severe enough to cause hospitalization or death). Those numbers have raised fears inside the administration that consumers will reject it, and have prompted a concerted federal effort to sell the public on the J&J shot’s merits. — A pro-vaccine ad blitz is on the way. The government is planning a new campaign an ad blitz to coincide with wider access to the shots, as officials have begun coordinating with community groups across the country. — But the administration remains wary of being too optimistic about the vaccination effort, amid concerns it will overpromise. That’s made it difficult to get a fix on what the feds believe the next several months will look like, frustrating health experts who believe Biden’s Covid team should be more straightforward. FIRST IN PULSE: HHS NAMES REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT CHIEF — Obama-era alum Cindy Huang will head HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, an appointment that comes as the Biden administration grapples with a surge of unaccompanied immigrant minors at the southern border. Huang spent five years at the State Department during the Obama administration, including as policy director in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. She was most recently vice president of strategic outreach at the nonprofit Refugees International. Among other previously unreported hires, per a list shared with PULSE: — Loyce Pace is the new director of HHS’ global affairs office. She was president of the Global Health Council and a member of the Biden transition’s Covid advisory board. — Beth Lynk has joined the HHS press office. She played a central role in Planned Parenthood’s 2017 campaign against Obamacare repeal. — Andi Fristedt , a longtime Senate HELP Committee staffer, will be FDA's deputy commissioner for policy. — Sarah Boateng and Adam Beckman are joining the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health as chief of staff and special adviser to the surgeon general, respectively. — Sherice Perry, an Obama HHS alum who ran communications for first lady Jill Biden during Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, is the department’s new senior adviser for its Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force. ON THE MEDICAID FRONT: Multiple sources told PULSE that Vikki Wachino is a top contender to lead the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, though no final decisions have been made. Wachino, now the CEO of Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, previously held that same role during the Obama administration. (HHS declined comment, and CMS referred PULSE to the White House. Neither the White House nor Wachino returned requests for comment.) | | | | DON'T MISS "THE RECAST": Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new, twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy, and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops and dispatches from across the country, and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | | COVID BILL’s COBRA BOOST CAN STAY — The Senate parliamentarian has said a provision temporarily subsidizing job-based health insurance for laid-off workers can stay in Democrats’ Covid relief package, POLITICO’s Susanah Luthi reports. The provision would fund 85 percent of COBRA premiums for out-of-work Americans through September. It’s up to the parliamentarian to decide whether each part of the relief package complies with the budget rules that will allow Senate Democrats to pass the legislation with just 51 Senate votes, and not every decision she’s made so far has made the caucus happy; language to increase the minimum wage to $15 was ruled out under those same budget rules, effectively killing its chances of being included in the final legislation. — The Senate could start its Covid sprint to pass the $1.9 trillion package as soon as Wednesday, before unemployment benefits expire on March 14. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is predicting “some late nights” ahead this week, POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine reports. BECERRA’s COMMITTEE VOTE SET — The Senate Finance Committee will vote Wednesday on advancing California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s nomination for health secretary, POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein writes. Becerra is expected to have enough votes to make it out of committee, despite facing GOP criticism during his confirmation hearings last week over his record on abortion rights and support for “Medicare for All.” — Also on deck: The Senate HELP Committee is likely to announce votes soon for top Biden health nominees Vivek Murthy and Rachel Levine. | | | |   | | | | | | BIDEN PUMPS $2.3M INTO ACA NAVIGATOR PROGRAM — The Biden administration is setting aside $2.3 million to finance Obamacare navigators’ efforts to sign up more Americans during the three-month special enrollment period that started Feb. 15, Susannah reports. But the new funding is short of what some in Washington policy circles hoped for, especially after the Trump administration slashed the navigator budget to $10 million — a cut of roughly $52 million from the Obama years. An HHS spokesperson said the department was limited in how much money it could funnel into the program, though CMS is planning to invest “significantly” during its next funding round. | | Inside the Humphrey Building | | BIDEN TEAM REVIEWING CMMI’s GEOGRAPHIC CONTRACTING MODEL — The CMS Innovation Center is reviewing a Trump-era Medicare payment model rolled out in December that was meant to test whether providers can improve care by managing it by geographic region, according to a notice quietly posted on CMS’ website. The model — which was slated to begin in January 2022 — had faced criticism over its structure and its potential impact on existing accountable care organizations from organizations like the National Association of ACOs, POLITICO’s Rachel Roubein reports. New CMMI chief Liz Fowler also co-authored a December blog post that attempted to explain how the new model would operate and said it would represent one of the “most significant changes” to Medicare in decades. | | | MEDICAL GROUPS TO BIDEN: LOOSEN ABORTION PILL RULES — More than 20 medical groups are urging Biden to lift new pandemic-related rules for dispensing a drug, mifepristone, designed to terminate a pregnancy or treat a miscarriage, Alice reports. In a letter dated Monday, the groups called the rules, which require patients to travel to a clinic to pick up mifepristone, even though it can be legally taken at home, “arbitrary and unscientific” and warned they would put patients “at serious risk for unwarranted exposure” to Covid. Biden has not yet taken a position on whether to keep the requirements in place — though his administration may soon be forced to, as part of the Justice Department’s involvement in an ongoing lawsuit over them. — Among the letter’s signatories: Planned Parenthood, the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. | | | | A message from PhRMA: Despite our divisions, there are many things on which Americans agree. The biopharmaceutical industry is committed to working with Congress and the new administration to:
• End the pandemic. The industry remains committed to getting COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to patients, and we are working closely with governments, insurers and others to make sure they are accessible and affordable.
• Make health care better and more affordable. People want quality, affordable health coverage that works when they need it. We support solutions that will help patients better afford their medicines and protect access to innovation today and in the future.
• Build a more just, equitable society. We must address systemic racism, as has been made clear by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others and the outsized impact of the pandemic on Black and Brown communities. We remain committed to this important issue on behalf of our communities, the patients we serve and our employees. | | | | | | Former Trump CMMI head BRAD SMITH launches Russell Street Ventures. The Nashville-based firm will aid health care companies focused on serving vulnerable patient populations. Former Trump administration staffers Eric Hargarten, Rachael Baitel and Kara Pitts are also joining Russell Street. | | | | For regulatory affairs professionals: AgencyIQ FDA Forecast 2021. In its inaugural year, AgencyIQ’s FDA Forecast predicts the FDA regulatory changes coming in 2021 and how they will impact the life sciences industry. Follow this link to learn more and download the summary. | | | | |
| | | Covid vaccinations can enlarge the lymph nodes in patients’ armpits or near their collarbones – side effects that are being mistaken for signs of cancer, The New York Times’ Denise Grady reports. The U.S. should help speed global vaccinations by sharing the information and resources needed to ramp up manufacturing around the world, Tom Frieden and Marine Buissonniére argue in POLITICO. Anthony Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, is rejecting calls to delay second doses of Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines in an effort to inoculate more people, The Washington Post's Dan Diamond reports.
| | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
