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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 Daniel Payne and Krista Mahr | | | With David Lim
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A bipartisan solution to the health care worker shortage is being discussed in Congress. | John Minchillo/AP Photo | FIRST IN PULSE — Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) will ask health leaders today for input on the root problems and solutions for the health workforce shortage. In a letter to stakeholders, the committee leaders say they plan to use the input from providers to create bipartisan legislation to boost the workforce capacity. Sanders and Cassidy have separately told Pulse they’ve been planning legislation to address the health care worker shortage, and the letter demonstrates an intent to move together on legislation. Workforce legislation has been a bipartisan focus for many on the Hill since last Congress, with some policymakers saying they see it as an issue that could produce more ambitious plans this year. Still, the details of a proposal to address the issue are unclear, though an earlier hearing could offer some clues. The letter asks for responses by March 20. Also ahead today: a hearing about the economics and public health role of community health centers. Community health advocates, industry leaders and academics are expected to testify — along with a representative from the Government Accountability Office. Wednesday, Cassidy sent a letter to the GAO requesting updated information on how community health centers, specifically government funding through pandemic relief efforts. The letter points to Cassidy’s desire to understand the effectiveness of the Community Health Center Fund while considering its reauthorization. A staffer in Cassidy’s office said that question would be a theme in his remarks tomorrow. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Do you know what’s coming in a future hearing? Have a tip or health news? We want to hear from you. Drop us a line at dpayne@politico.com and kmahr@politico.com. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Ruth Reader talks with Alice Miranda Ollstein about the new Covid-19 lab leak reports and the spectrum of responses, including how Republicans are eager to use the reports to lash out at the ruling Chinese Communist Party and paint President Joe Biden’s administration as soft on Beijing — even though they've reached little consensus on how exactly to do that.
| | | | | | | A message from PhRMA: Insurers and PBMs don’t pay full price for your medicines. So why do you? Insurers and PBMs get discounts on medicines. Surprised? These savings can reduce the cost of some brand medicines by 50% or more, but insurers and PBMs aren’t required to share these savings with you. What else don’t they want you to know? | | | | | | | 
GOP lawmakers want to ensure that the president can’t cede U.S. health policy decisions to the WHO. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | WHO CAN MAKE A WHO DEAL — Republicans introduced a resolution Wednesday that would “ensure the president does not cede U.S. sovereignty to entities like the World Health Organization,” according to an announcement about the move. Sens. Cassidy and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) are joined by several other Republicans in introducing the measure, which emphasizes the Senate’s role in approving international agreements — including health policy decisions. The sentiment comes after long-standing fears among conservatives that the U.S. will give its power over to the WHO — a narrative the organization has disputed. “Sovereignty remains squarely with the countries which are responsible for setting health policies for their citizens,” a WHO spokesperson told Pulse in a statement pointing to the need for international action to stop global health threats. “Member States will decide the terms of the accord, including whether any of its provisions will be legally binding on Member States as a matter of international law.” PBM INVESTIGATION BEGINS — The House Oversight and Accountability Committee opened an investigation on Wednesday into the business practices of pharmaceutical middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, to examine their effect on patients — the latest in a series of actions targeting the industry, POLITICO’s Megan R. Wilson reports. PBMs, like CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, are in the hot seat on the Hill this year, congressional staffers have told Pulse, saying the investigation is an effort to reduce the cost of health care.
| | | FIRST IN PULSE (II) — Democrat-aligned health group Protect Our Care is starting a six-figure ad campaign about Medicare Advantage, saying it pushes back on narratives from Republicans and insurance companies. It’s meant to counter the messaging that accuses the Biden administration of planning to cut Medicare funding through Medicare Advantage. “In reality, the administration is proposing to increase spending on Medicare Advantage by approximately $4 billion while protecting the program from fraud and abuse by insurance companies,” the group said in a statement announcing the TV campaign.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | | SELF-IMPOSED INSULIN CAP — Insulin manufacturer Eli Lilly said Wednesday it will cut the list price of Humulin, its most commonly prescribed insulin product, by 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, David reports. The move reflects pressure from emerging biosimilar manufacturers that will put downward pressure on prices, lawmakers looking to regulate insulin costs and efforts by California and generic drugmaker Civica Rx to make cheaper insulin, said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the KFF. The company’s CEO said about 7 in 10 Americans don’t use insulin from their company, though, arguing other companies need to take similar action. RSV SHOT ENDORSED — A panel of outside experts recommended the FDA approve GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for the prevention of lower respiratory disease in people 60 years and older, David reports. The FDA generally listens to the advice of its outside experts but isn’t obligated to. The 12-person panel unanimously voted that the data for the vaccine candidate, which would have the trade name Arexvy if approved, shows its effectiveness.
| | | DRUGMAKERS ASK FDA TO AUTHORIZE KID’S BIVALENT BOOSTER — On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech asked the FDA to authorize emergency use of the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 bivalent Covid-19 vaccine in children as young as 6 months as a fourth shot at least two months after completion of the primary series, David reports. The bivalent vaccine is already authorized as a third dose for the population. FREE DELIVERY OF HIV MEDS — People who have a prescription for HIV antiretroviral therapy or pre-exposure prophylaxis and live within 15 minutes of a Walgreens store can sign up for free same-day delivery under a new program being launched by the retail pharmacy, DoorDash and Uber, David reports. The program builds on a similar one developed for the delivery of Covid-19 antiviral Paxlovid. The program’s goal is to reduce transportation barriers that prevent patients from obtaining drugs that can prevent or treat HIV. BOOSTERS FOR ALL — Top FDA officials took to the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday to push back against vaccine expert Paul Offit’s contention that updated Covid-19 booster shots are best reserved for older adults and those with conditions that put them at high risk for serious illness rather than for young healthy people, David reports. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and top vaccine regulator Peter Marks argue Offit’s perspective does not take into account “key available evidence” that supports vaccinating all eligible people with the bivalent booster shot that targets Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 as well as the original strain. The exchange comes as public health agencies weigh approaches for the future of Covid vaccination.
| | | HAVANA SYNDROME SCIENCE — The intelligence community has determined that unexplained health incidents referred to as “Havana Syndrome,” which have afflicted hundreds of government officials in recent years, weren’t caused by a foreign adversary, knocking down a main theory among victims and experts, POLITICO’s Lara Seligman and Erin Banco report. The CIA and six intelligence agencies compiled the assessment, which said the U.S. found no evidence the symptoms that intelligence officers, diplomats and other government employees experienced resulted from an intentional weaponized attack. The finding undercuts a yearslong narrative, propped up by more than a thousand reports from government employees, that a foreign adversary used pulsed electromagnetic energy waves to sicken Americans.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   | | | | | | THE TRUMP EFFECT — Donald Trump is making the thorny issue of the future of Medicare and Social Security even thornier for Republicans, POLITICO’s Burgess Everett And Caitlin Emma report. The former president’s attacks on potential GOP primary opponents, and his warning to party leaders to stay away from the popular entitlement programs in their push to cut spending, are cleaving Republicans at every level. Lawmakers who once backed entitlement overhauls are now openly at odds with colleagues who’d prefer to soften their positions before they face voters in 2024. And a GOP presidential race that’s a referendum on Trump himself is also becoming one on Medicare and Social Security. It’s the latest political edge to the health care programs that have become major talking points, from the White House to Congress.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | The Associated Press reports that Covid conspiracies are on the rise in the wake of reports about the virus’ origins. CBS and Kaiser Health News report that a dental device meant to adjust patients’ jaws is ending up in court, with patients alleging it wrecked their teeth.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Insurers and their PBMs don’t want you to see that you could be paying more than they are for your medicines. Rebates and discounts can significantly lower what insurers and PBMs pay for medicines. These savings can reduce the cost of some brand medicines by 50% or more. But insurers and PBMs aren’t required to share those savings with you.
They don’t want you to see that they use deductibles, coinsurance and other tactics to shift more costs on to you. Or that the three largest PBMs control 80% of the prescription drug market and, last year blocked access to more than 1,150 medicines. Including medicines with lower prices that could have lowered costs for you at the pharmacy.
PBMs and insurance practices are shrouded in secrecy, they need to be held accountable. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
