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Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. | | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne and Krista Mahr | | | | |  In a win for Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida legislature voted on Thursday to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. | AP | A REFUGE NO MORE — The Florida legislature voted on Thursday to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian reports. The law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed late Thursday, will upend his state’s status as an abortion haven in the south, cutting off access for thousands who would otherwise travel from neighboring states each year for the procedure. Florida now joins at least 12 other states — including Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana — that have approved bans on abortions after six weeks, a point at which many people don’t know they’re pregnant. The Florida law provides exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking for up to 15 weeks, as long as they provide proof, like a police report. It’s a major policy win for DeSantis, who is banking on support from anti-abortion voters in his likely presidential bid next year. But it’s not without its political risks, write POLITICO’s Sally Goldenberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein. For many on the right — particularly those miffed at former President Donald Trump after he complained the party’s far-right position on abortion hurt the GOP in last year’s midterms — DeSantis’ support of a six-week ban is proof that he’s a more reliable ally in their fight to end the procedure nationwide. But Democrats, abortion-rights groups and fundraisers who oppose the measure are ready and eager to use it against the rising GOP star. And it could mean trouble for DeSantis among independents and suburban voters if he runs in the general election. It’s one of many stances on social issues that Democrats believe won’t sit well with swing voters, and though DeSantis hasn’t formally entered the race, the campaign to tie him to a six-week ban is already beginning. WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE — Studies conducted in five animals' cellular processes suggest how aging works — and maybe how to reverse it. We're looking at you, biohackers. Send your news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and dpayne@politico.com. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Ruth Reader talks with Megan R. Wilson, who reports on the simmering tensions at one of the nation’s leading trade organizations for generic drugmakers, which could threaten its lobbying clout at a crucial time for the industry.
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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling strictly limits how mifepristone can be dispensed. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | DECODING THE 5TH CIRCUIT RULING — The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling has allowed mifepristone to remain on the market — but only under strict conditions. POLITICO’s Dan Goldberg and Alice break down what the decision means and what happens next. What does this mean for abortion pills? Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the 5th Circuit’s decision means that starting Saturday, mifepristone will remain legal at the federal level but access will be much more restricted. The court decision cuts off — at least temporarily — many pathways patients have used to obtain the pill in the last few years, including telemedicine prescriptions and mail delivery, and moves the cutoff for prescriptions from the current 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven. Should the ruling stand, retail pharmacies will no longer be authorized to dispense the drug. What does the Biden administration do now? Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that the Justice Department will seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court “to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.” It would take five justices to put the 5th Circuit’s decision on hold. What does this mean for people who live in states where abortion is illegal after six weeks? Abortion pills, which could be ordered online and delivered through the mail, had been seen as a way for people who live in states with six-week bans — which now includes Florida — to terminate their pregnancies even after six weeks. Reining in the drug’s availability will likely dramatically diminish its usefulness in those states.
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President Joe Biden plans to expand federal health care to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. | Joshua Roberts/Getty Images | BETTER HEALTH CARE FOR DREAMERS — President Joe Biden plans to expand federal health care to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the U.S. as children but don’t qualify for government insurance plans because they lack legal status, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly reports. Under the proposed rule, nearly 580,000 people enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be able to obtain health coverage through Medicaid or the marketplace. The administration estimates that about a third of immigrants enrolled in the DACA program, who are also known as Dreamers, are uninsured. Key context: Then-President Barack Obama created the DACA program in 2012, shielding immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and allowing them to work legally in the United States. But DACA recipients have continued to lack access to key federal programs and benefits, such as health care coverage because they lack permanent legal status.
| | | FIRST IN PULSE: LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS ON GENERICS — Lawmakers want to know how the FDA is ensuring that generic medicine — which comprises the vast majority of prescriptions written in the U.S. — is safe. In a letter to FDA chief Robert Califf on Wednesday, Reps. Earl Carter","url":"https://cd.politicopro.com/member/190067","personId":"190067","linkText":"Buddy Carter","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[{"name":"data-person-id","value":"190067","_id":"00000187-8010-dfdf-af9f-c5b9f0d50008","_type":"f601356c-0e4b-3847-a646-21bd958d59ca"}],"url":"https://cd.politicopro.com/member/190067","_id":"00000187-8010-dfdf-af9f-c5b9f0d50009","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000187-7d7f-dc00-a3d7-7dff91730000","_type":"353fe80b-e1b5-3663-85ca-add066ecafc0"}">Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) and Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) noted that the U.S., which heavily depends on generics from China and India, has at times allowed drugs to be imported from overseas facilities with a history of FDA violations amidst drug shortages. The lawmakers asked the FDA to answer whether the agency tests imported drugs from facilities flagged by its inspectors and whether hospitals and pharmacies are alerted if they have purchased drugs from a facility with an FDA import ban that has been given an exception, among other questions.
| | ADAMS PUSHES AHEAD ON MENTAL HEALTH PILOT — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is forging ahead with a plan to extend citywide a pilot that sends emergency medics and social workers — not police — to respond to mental health–related 911 calls, POLITICO’s Maya Kaufman reports. But the pilot, called the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, or B-HEARD, is struggling to find enough staff, leading to lower than anticipated spending that prompted city officials to decrease its budget two years in a row. The city blames the problem on national shortages of mental health professionals and EMS workers, causing a delay in the program’s expansion efforts and limiting its bandwidth to serve New Yorkers in the areas where it already operates. After the de Blasio administration unveiled B-HEARD, officials said the teams would become the “primary” responder to mental health–related 911 calls, but available data shows the teams are far from hitting that benchmark. CALIFORNIA DEBATES HEALTH CARE WAGES — A divisive bill that would create a $25 minimum wage for health care workers in California cleared a key Senate hearing Wednesday, POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth reports. About the bill: Senate Bill 525 would set a $25 minimum wage for every worker in a hospital, including food service workers and custodians. Who’s on board? The health care union SEIU-UHW, the bill’s main sponsor, notes that large hospitals and health systems in California had a net revenue of $38 billion from 2020 to 2022. But health care institutions say they’re hurting financially. And the powerful California Nurses Association wants their members, mostly registered nurses, carved out of the bill, saying it lowers their wage floor.
| | | | Our colleagues at POLITICO Nightly write about the staffing crisis in nursing homes. Tradeoffs dives into why America’s hospice care services might be about to be overhauled. The New York Times reports on the online market for abortion pills from overseas. A neurosurgeon in San Diego writes about the physical toll of the border wall in the Los Angeles Times.
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