WHAT TO LOOK FOR ON CAPITOL HILL – Congress’s sprint to fund the government and preserve various health programs has officially begun.
Lawmakers must fund the government by September 30 to avoid a shutdown that could hurt the fall vaccination campaigns and force federal agencies to lay off large parts of their workforces.
As lawmakers eliminate spending gaps, they will also grapple with a sweeping health care package that Republicans in the House of Representatives are expected to push this fall, and an eventual health care package from the Senate Majority Leader. Chuck Schumer. Government funding will take priority over these proposals.
The House of Representatives legislation focuses on transparency measures, especially regarding hospitals, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, who negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers.
It has earned some compliments from key Democrats, although some want it to go further.
Chairman of the Senate for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, told Ben that the House legislation is a “step in the right direction” but wants it to do “much more,” urging lawmakers to address healthcare workforce issues.
Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has his own PBM proposals with a ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), told Ben he needed to review the differences between the two proposals. A spokesperson for Senator. Frank Pallone (DN.J.), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, has said he welcomes provisions that give more money to federal programs but is disappointed that some transparency provisions are “weaker than existing regulations.”
Additionally, several provisions may expire at the end of the month without reauthorization, including:
— PEPFAR: Chairman of the Senate for Foreign Relations Bob Menendez (DN.J.) is seeking an extension of the global HIV/AIDS program for at least three years instead of the usual five years, and lobbying Republicans, including Sen. Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.). Menendez told Ben on Thursday that he has not spoken to any member of the committee Jim Risch (R-Idaho) about it ‘lately’. When asked if three years was OK, Graham told Ben: “We’ll see.”
— The SUPPORT Act: The package would continue several programs related to the opioid epidemic, including funding for comprehensive opioid recovery centers.
ALSO ON THE SENATE AGENDA — Schumer is moving forward with a procedural vote on President Joe Biden’s nominee for the VA’s No. 2 position despite a retained senator. Chuck Grassley has been around since July.
Schumer has scheduled a vote Monday — one to end debate — on the nomination of Tanya Bradsher as deputy secretary of the VA. That means he’s using valuable speaking time instead of the chamber approving the nomination by unanimous consent, which Grassley’s hold prevents him from doing.
Schumer’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. It’s Chelsea and I plan to spend my weekend dealing with the most pressing news of the week: Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s breakup. Oh, and reading Bunny by Mona Awad. Follow me on Goodreads!
Send your non-famous gossip tips, scoops and feedback to [email protected] And [email protected] and follow along @_BenLeonard_ And @Chelsea Cirruzzo.
TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCASTHost Alice Miranda Ollstein speaks with POLITICO Deputy Healthcare Editor Dan Goldberg about the alarming personal medical debt in the U.S. and what some state lawmakers are doing about the growing crisis.
CDC WARNS OF DEADLY BACTERIA – After multiple reports of Americans infected with rare flesh-eating bacteria this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned health care providers to watch for the infection and public health officials to warn the public about the risks.
Five things to know:
1. The bacterium Vibrio thrives in warm coastal waters, including salty and brackish waters. One species, Vibrio vulnificus, infects 150 to 200 people annually in the U.S. and kills 1 in 5 people, usually within a day or two.
2. The infection, called vibriosis, is mainly transmitted when someone with an open wound comes into contact with water containing the bacteria, but occasionally people can become infected by eating undercooked or raw seafood such as oysters.
3. This year, infections, including fatal ones, have been reported in states along the East Coast, including Connecticut, New York and North Carolina.
4. Extreme climate and rising water temperatures can play a role in increasing the risk of the infection. For example, Hurricane Ian pushed coastal waters into inland Florida in 2022, resulting in a notable increase in vibriosis cases.
5. Between 1988 and 2018, infections from Vibrio vulnificus increased eightfold, according to the CDC, with the geographic reach of infections creeping further into northern waters each year.
ATA ABOUT EHI – Executives for Health Innovation, which announced in May that it would shut down and donate its assets to others, has chosen the American Telemedicine Association to receive its assets, Ben reports.
The advocacy group that has promoted health technology adoption for more than two decades will transition its members to the telemedicine group. EHI’s board members included executives from Google, UnitedHealth Group, athenahealth and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of ATA, told Pulse that it is important to keep as many organizations as possible under the same tent for the benefit of the telehealth policy advocacy community. She said it would provide a “glide path” for the assets EHI has put together, including reports, recordings and interviews.
Seventeen percent of EHI’s leadership council was also part of ATA, she added.
HEALTH FALLS IN THE HOUSE ARE NOT REPORTED – Home health agencies report no more than half of Medicare patients’ falls that result in serious injuries, the HHS Office of Inspector General said in a new report this week.
Background: Since 2019, home care agencies have been required to report falls with serious injuries in their patient assessments to CMS. Fall rates were later included in quality measures for Care Compare, which allows consumers to assess the quality of home care agencies.
Now the OIG says these quality measures are not accurate because 55 percent of Medicare claims related to falls are not reported on CMS home health assessments.
The report also found that reporting was lower among for-profit home health agencies, patients younger than 65, and black, Hispanic or Asian patients. In addition, many patients hospitalized for a fall did not have a record of their hospitalization in CMS’s patient assessments.
CMS said it will crack down on the completion and accuracy of patient assessments, use other data sources to improve quality measures related to falls and require home health agencies to submit patient assessments when a patient is admitted to the hospital.
REVIEW OF DISCRIMINATION BY DISABLED PEOPLE – HHS’s Office for Civil Rights is pushing to update a 50-year-old law to prevent disability-based discrimination in federally funded programs, Chelsea reports.
The department proposed Thursday to update Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in such programs, to prevent bias based on disability.
Under the Biden administration, HHS’s civil rights division has focused on reducing discrimination against people with disabilities—reversing revisions made by the previous administration under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act—enabling the broader protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability is restored.
It is also because the office is experiencing an increase in complaints. Last year, the office received 51,000 complaints, the most ever received, HHS OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer told reporters Thursday. Rainer also said the office has a backlog.
The proposed rule clarifies certain aspects of Section 504 in health care and human services, including:
– Clarify that federally funded medical providers may not discriminate on the basis of disability when making medical decisions
— Defining accessibility for web and mobile applications used by federally funded health programs and services
— Establishing enforceable standards for accessible medical equipment, including adjustable exam tables and weight scales suitable for wheelchairs, with a two-year implementation timeline
The American Society for Human Genetics has chosen Sarah Tishkoff, a professor of genetics and biology at the University of Pennsylvania, as president from 2024. Dr. Christine Eng, professor at Baylor College of Medicine; Scott Williams, professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Crystal Tsosie, assistant professor at Arizona State University; And Rebecca Meyer-Schuman, a postdoctoral associate, have also been elected to serve on the board of directors.
Barbara Kowalcyk joins the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University as the inaugural director of the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition Security. Previously, she was director of the Center of Foodborne Illness Research at Prevention at The Ohio State University.
Julie Simon Miller has been appointed interim CEO at AHIP, the leading trade association for health insurers, reports Megan R. Wilson. Miller, the group’s general counsel, takes over the mantle from Matt Eyles, who told Megan earlier this year that he would retire in October.
POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian writes about the future of abortion access in Florida as the state Supreme Court considers whether to uphold Florida’s 15-week abortion ban.
The Washington Post reports on masking, eating out and other habits of Covid-19 experts.
STAT news reports on how patients access ketamine treatment for suicidal thoughts.