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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 Ben Leonard and Daniel Payne | | | With Carmen Paun and Megan R. Wilson
| | |  The House E&C Committee, led by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), will preside over the markup of 15 health care bills today. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | BIG E&C MARKUP ON TAP — The House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to mark up 15 health care bills today. The bills include legislation that would permanently allow telehealth to be a standalone benefit, a sweeping pandemic preparedness package and the reauthorization of the SUPPORT Act, which tackles the opioid epidemic. Lawmakers will also consider a measure that would require the CDC director to be Senate confirmed sooner than is currently required — lawmakers passed legislation last year requiring confirmation in 2025. The markup comes after Senate HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) reached a deal to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act ahead of a Thursday markup, as POLITICO’s David Lim reported. The agreement includes provisions aimed at preventing drug shortages and a five-year reauthorization of the FDA’s priority review voucher program, which rewards companies that develop a drug for an identified biological, chemical, radiologic or nuclear threat. E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has argued PAHPA isn’t the right place to address drug shortages. But Democrats want such provisions included. She’s issued a request for information on how to address the shortages. E&C ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) lambasted Republicans for moving the bill in partisan fashion in prepared remarks obtained by Pulse. “This is … an abdication of our important responsibility to reauthorize this law to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies and threats,” Pallone will say Wednesday. Rodgers, in prepared remarks obtained by Pulse, said she’s working on legislation to address the shortages. She added it’s her “top priority” to get PAPHA reauthorized on time. Here’s what to expect on other key legislation: Telehealth: The bill would permanently allow employers to offer telehealth as a tax-free benefit separate from their group health insurance plans. One Democrat joined Republicans in advancing it to the full committee last week, but many Democrats are concerned the legislation would undermine comprehensive coverage. Expect another vote largely on party lines. CDC: If the bill is signed into law, CDC Director Mandy Cohen would serve in an acting capacity until she is confirmed by the Senate. In a subcommittee hearing last week, the legislation faced staunch Democratic opposition but advanced 14-12. Expect that opposition to remain. Opioids: The SUPPORT Act reauthorization bill would continue several programs that will run out of funding by the end of September, including funding for comprehensive opioid recovery centers. Pallone said he was disappointed the markup didn’t include legislation to expand Medicaid access to people who were recently released from prison. The bill moved out of the subcommittee last week. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. When might telehealth legislation see the House floor? Let me know at bleonard@politico.com. And don’t forget to send tips to Daniel Payne, your regular Pulse host, at dpayne@politico.com.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Research and development of cancer medicines after their initial FDA approval can help expand treatment populations, find new ways of treating a cancer or help patients earlier in their cancer battle. Unfortunately, provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act put this progress in jeopardy by selecting medicines for price setting before many of these critical advancements can be fully realized. Read the new report. | | | | | POLITICO is hosting a health care event, The Next Generation of Health Care Therapies, on Thursday starting at 4 p.m. ET. Join POLITICO to dive deep into the landscape of future health care treatments like gene therapy and how they could reshape our current health care system. | | | TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Kelly Hooper talks with Alice Miranda Ollstein, who explains why the Biden administration’s plan to expand HIPAA to protect abortion rights is facing dual criticism from Republicans, who say it overreaches, and Democrats, who say it doesn’t go far enough.
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Several bills that would boost veterans' health care moved from a House Veterans' Affairs Committee health subcommittee to the full committee Tuesday. | Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo | VETERANS HEALTH BILLS ADVANCE — The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s health subcommittee advanced several bills Tuesday aimed at boosting veterans’ health care, including one that would expand their access to assisted living. Two of those bills were also discussed at a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing last week: — The Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act, which moved forward on a voice vote, would create a three-year pilot program to offer assisted living to veterans who need the services but aren't eligible for nursing home care. The VA doesn’t directly cover assisted living room and board. The agency supports the Senate version, with some caveats, as do veterans groups. — The VA Zero Suicide Demonstration Project Act would establish pilot programs at five VA sites. The VA didn’t support the Senate companion, arguing that “existing suicide prevention efforts and strategies are more robust.” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) called the legislation “redundant” on Tuesday. Other pieces of legislation that moved included: — The Veteran Care Improvement Act, sponsored by subcommittee Chair Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), facilitates access to community care outside the VA and mandates more care-option transparency. Subcommittee ranking member Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) raised concerns that it could stifle telehealth use by not requiring the VA to notify veterans about telehealth options. — The VA Emergency Transportation Act is a measure that would mandate the VA reimburse veterans for emergency transportation by non-VA providers. What’s next: The legislation moves to the full committee. Senate lawmakers are working on a bipartisan veterans’ health care package, though it’s unclear how the two chambers’ approaches will differ.
| | | | UNLEASH THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE WITH POLITICO, A 7/20 INTERACTIVE EVENT: Imagine a future where rare genetic diseases are not only treatable, but potentially curable. Where our approach to chronic illness takes a monumental leap forward. That future is already taking shape in the form of next-generation health care treatments such as gene therapy. Join POLITICO on Thursday, July 20 and delve into the burgeoning field of gene therapies, which hold the power to redefine our health care landscape. Are you ready to explore this new frontier in health care? Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | | J&J JOINS IRA LAWSUIT CHORUS — Johnson & Johnson is the latest drugmaker to sue the Biden administration over the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug negotiation program, Megan R. Wilson reports. Janssen, the company’s pharmaceutical unit, filed suit in New Jersey on Tuesday, mirroring other industry lawsuits that argue the program violates the Fifth Amendment by forcing the company to “provide its innovative, patented medicines on pricing terms that by law must be significantly below market prices.” Also akin to some other suits, the drug giant claims the guidelines involved in Medicare negotiation violate the First Amendment. The other suits: Astellas Pharma filed a suit with similar claims on July 14 in Illinois. It follows Merck, which sued HHS and CMS in the District of Columbia; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which filed a complaint in federal court in Dayton, Ohio; Bristol Myers Squibb sued in Trenton, N.J.; and industry group PhRMA filed in Texas. What's next: The courts are based in the 7th, 4th, 6th, 3rd and 5th U.S. circuits, respectively, which sets up the potential for differing rulings that could push the issue to the Supreme Court.
| | TOO MUCH COVID CASH FOR HOSPITALS? Hospitals might have received more Covid-19 relief funds than they needed, new research in JAMA Health Forum says. Researchers from RAND Corporation and UCLA studied more than 4,400 hospitals and found that three-quarters had positive net operating income in 2020 and 2021 and just 16 percent suffered “new financial distress.” “That COVID-19 relief funding aided in operating margins reaching all-time highs indicates funding amounts may have been larger than was necessary for many hospitals,” the researchers wrote. The substantial funding might have been distributed via the CARES Act and other legislation. The findings come as lawmakers look to reduce health care costs and scrutinize pandemic programs.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   | | | | | NEW CYBER LABELING — The Biden administration is creating a new cybersecurity labeling system to help boost cybersecurity in common household items, including fitness trackers. Under the proposal, announced Tuesday, products would get a “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” if they meet certain cybersecurity criteria. The administration expects the system to be operational in 2024. The program has gotten buy-in from Amazon, Google, Samsung, Best Buy and other manufacturers and retailers. The White House effort is similar to a previous attempt by the American Health Information Management Association to establish a health data certification program for devices collecting health data but not covered by the privacy law HIPAA. Why it matters: As technology and smart devices move the sector increasingly online, more data is becoming vulnerable to hackers, who could use it for nefarious purposes. Health data breaches are surging.
| | MORE MONEY ON THE WAY FOR SUBSTANCE-USE TREATMENT — Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the administration will allocate an additional $50 million toward substance use and treatment, Carmen reports. The money, which will come as grants, will be awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Wednesday, the White House said.
In a meeting with eight attorneys general on illicit fentanyl, Harris stressed the importance of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, in saving lives nationwide as overdose deaths remain at record levels, driven mainly by illicit fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. “Part of the conversation we’re having today is how can we increase access and affordability to a lifesaving treatment, understanding that it is one of the most clear ways to prevent deaths,” she said at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting.
| | | | JOIN 7/27 FOR A TALK ON WOMEN LEADERS IN THE NEW WORKPLACE: In the wake of the pandemic, U.S. lawmakers saw a unique opportunity to address the current childcare system, which has become increasingly unaffordable for millions of Americans, but the initial proposals went nowhere. With the launch of the Congressional Bipartisan Affordable Childcare Caucus in May, there may be a path to make childcare more affordable in the U.S. Join Women Rule on July 27 to hear from featured speakers Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First and Founder of Girls Who Code, on ways to reach a bipartisan solution on this timely issue for women in the workplace. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | Stuart Goldblatt is the new CEO of CenExel. He was previously CEO of Cliantha Research North America.
| | Healthcare Dive reports on hospitals’ frustration with the FTC’s latest antitrust move. STAT reports on a study showing how Medicaid coverage impacts maternal health disparities.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: A new report showcases the vital role of post-approval R&D in nine critical oncology treatments. This research can help expand treatment populations, find new ways of treating a cancer or help patients earlier in their cancer battle. Unfortunately, provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act put this progress in jeopardy by selecting medicines for price setting before many of these critical advancements can be fully realized. See how post-approval R&D in cancer is at risk. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
