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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 | Presented by |  | | | With Susannah Luthi and Joanne Kenen 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. | | | — The health department's inspector general is investigating the CDC over its difficulties compiling data on Covid-19 cases by race and ethnicity. — HHS will be responsible for implementing much of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid aid bill — without the help initially of key political appointees. — Rick Bright, a former Trump administration HHS whistleblower, will head a new initiative to identify and quickly respond to emerging disease outbreaks. WELCOME TO TUESDAY PULSE — where the next time something slips your mind, go easy on yourself and just blame the pandemic. Remind us what we're missing — send 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. | | | | | | CDC UNDER SCRUTINY OVER COVID DATA — The agency’s ongoing struggle to track the pandemic’s toll on communities of color has earned the scrutiny of HHS’ watchdog office , POLITICO’s Erin Banco and Darius Tahir scoop. The health department’s inspector general interviewed several officials over the past week who work with Covid data, with plans to continue meeting with the agency in the coming days, sources tell Erin and Darius. Those discussions, they said, suggested the IG is focusing on what the CDC should be doing to get more complete Covid-19 data. — The CDC’s data woes have persisted throughout the yearlong crisis, highlighting gaps between federal and state health agencies and making it difficult to quanitfy Covid’s disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. That missing information is critical to figuring out which communities need targeted interventions and could influence federal resource allocations. — The HHS IG first raised the potential for an investigation into federal Covid data in December, amid a surge in cases. The mass vaccination campaign has similarly lagged in collecting recipients’ race and ethnicity data, and progress in expanding data collection has been slow and faltering. — A Government Accountability Office report is also on the way. The GAO is studying CDC’s data collection methods and will likely recommend the agency and HHS condense their data work on the pandemic. HHS’ GROWING COVID AID TO-DO LIST — With the next Covid aid bill on track to reach Biden’s desk soon, the still-understaffed health department, along with the IRS, will be saddled with implementing many of its most significant provisions. Among them, per POLITICO’s Susannah Luthi: — Free health plans for the unemployed. Both HealthCare.gov and the other state Obamacare exchanges must ensure anyone who received at least a week of unemployment benefits last year gets a free benchmark silver Obamacare plan. And while there’s a simple way to do that — have people check a box when they enroll to attest they qualify — that’d also be easy to game. — No payback for extra Obamacare subsidies. The Covid relief bill would forgive any excess health care subsidies received last year by people who underestimated their income. But the tax filing season is well underway, meaning some taxpayers likely paid the government back already. It’s now up to HHS to work with the IRS to clarify how refunds will be issued. — Marketing the new subsidies. The administration will need to step up outreach about the expanded Obamacare subsidies available under the aid package — a provision that could make it more advantageous for some to switch their coverage from one plan to another. — And then there’s COBRA. The federal government is set to fully cover employer health care for laid-off workers once the bill is signed, which will mean funneling money straight to plan administrators and insurers. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST” TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION: Power dynamics are changing. “Influence” is changing. 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Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | WALENSKY DEFENDS CDC OVER TRAVEL GUIDANCE — CDC chief Rochelle Walensky dismissed criticism over the agency’s decision not to address whether fully vaccinated Americans can safely travel , arguing Monday night that there’s still a risk immunized people can transmit the disease. “We see that people can get infected once they’ve been vaccinated,” she told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, pointing to preliminary research out of Israel. “Those asymptomatic vaccinated people with a low amount of virus might still be able to give the disease to somebody else.” Walensky added that officials need more data to determine how newer Covid variants affect vaccinated individuals, and that the agency will continue to reevaluate and update its guidance. — The CDC chief also vowed to ensure all educators are vaccinated by the end of the month, telling Maddow that “I believe this is doable.” Biden had previously announced a push to vaccinate all teachers and staff in hopes of meeting his goal of reopening a majority of K-8 schools in his first 100 days — a target Walensky estimated at 5 to 7 million educators. | | | ROCKEFELLER ADDS RICK BRIGHT — The former federal vaccine expert is joining the Rockefeller Foundation as its senior vice president of pandemic prevention and response. Bright will head up the creation of an institute aimed at averting future pandemics by identifying disease outbreaks and stopping them within 100 days — a project envisioned as a collaboration between the foundation and other global public health emergency organizations. A longtime senior official at HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Bright gained national attention last year for his public criticism of the Trump administration’s Covid response. After leaving the department, he went on to join the Covid advisory board that Biden assembled during his transition. SOME FAMILY CAREGIVERS WOULD BLOCK COVID SHOTS — Nearly one-third of family caregivers in rural communities say they won’t take their older relatives to get a Covid vaccine, according to a new survey commissioned by SCAN Health Plan. That 31 percent is almost double the refusal rate of urban and suburban caregivers — a sign of the vaccine distrust in already isolated parts of the U.S. And that could slow the nation’s progress toward herd immunity, POLITICO’s Joanne Kenen writes. — This hesitance is rooted in safety concerns. More than a quarter of rural caregivers surveyed said they were “not at all” confident in the vaccine’s safety, versus just 9 percent in urban and suburban areas. Thirty-six percent of those rural caregivers said they won’t get vaccinated themselves. — ICYMI: How health officials plant to combat rural vaccine distrust. The coming expansion of vaccine supply will be critical for vaccinating rural, white and Republican populations, Joanne reports. | | | |   | | | | | | FIVE STATES PLAN COST REDUCTION PUSH — Connecticut, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington are joining an ambitious cost reduction program in partnership with the Milbank Memorial Fund and Peterson Center on Healthcare, Joanne reports. The initiative — which will also receive technical support from Bailit Health — comes as the pandemic has ratcheted up the burden of health costs on states. Inspired by cost containment efforts in Massachusetts, the five states will set and implement health care cost growth targets in hopes of increasing transparency and affordability. | | | POLL: WOMEN BEARING MORE OF BRUNT OF COVID’s MENTAL HEALTH TOLL — That’s according to a survey of 1,293 small business owners who are part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices community. According to the poll, 64 percent of women under 45 years old said they or their employees have dealt with mental health-related issues tied to the pandemic. Roughly 46 percent of women over 45 said they or their employees have faced mental health issues. That compares with 55 percent of men under 45 years old and 35 percent of men over 45. | | | | FIND OUT THE LATEST WHISPERS FROM THE WEST WING: Add Transition Playbook to your daily reads to find out what's really happening inside the West Wing, who really has the president's ear, and get the latest scoop from inside cabinet departments and agencies. Track the people, policies and emerging power centers of the Biden administration. Don’t miss out. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | JOHN MCGOWAN, the former deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has joined the consultancy Guidehouse. CAVAN JONES is the new manager of federal government affairs at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Caitlyn Oprysko reports for POLITICO Influence. He was previously the deputy finance director for former Rep. Gil Cisneros’ (D-Calif.) campaign. | | | | 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. | | | | | | Biden transition advisor Michael Osterholm is so convinced that the administration should delay second vaccine doses that he's decided not to get his own second shot on time, he told New York’s Melody Schreiber. Nearly one-third of Covid long-haulers had no symptoms from their initial infection through the 10 days they tested positive, The New York Times' Pam Belluck writes. NPR's Ari Shapiro and Farah Eltohamy chronicle the last year in the life of a traveling nurse. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
