{"id":1989,"date":"2020-08-17T20:27:44","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thornrun.com\/health-policy-report-8-17\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T21:25:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:25:22","slug":"health-policy-report-8-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thornrun.com\/health-policy-report-8-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Policy Report (8\/17)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Capitol Hill Update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is poised to call Members back to Washington for votes amid growing concerns about the state of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Lawmakers will likely come back later in the week to vote on House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney\u2019s Delivering for America Act<\/a>, which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020. The vote comes following a series of USPS letters<\/a> to 46 states and the District of Columbia warning that it could not guarantee all ballots cast by mail will arrive to elections officials in time to be counted, raising the possibility that the pace of its delivery could disenfranchise voters. While the measure is likely to pass the lower chamber, it faces a cloudy future in the GOP-controlled Senate as President Donald Trump has publicly opposed additional funding for the USPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In the upper chamber, Senators have officially adjourned for\ntheir August district work period after remaining in a holding pattern last\nweek in anticipation of a deal on COVID-19 relief legislation. With talks at a\nstandstill after President Trump issued a series of executive orders on\npandemic-related priorities last weekend, the Senate will resume legislative\nbusiness on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer\n(D-MD) is expected to issue an updated schedule for this week that could, in\naddition to Chairwoman Maloney\u2019s postal bill, include additional\npandemic-related legislation. Lawmakers in both chambers will receive at least\n24 hours\u2019 notice of any scheduled votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamala Harris Hews Close to Biden on Drug Pricing, Insurance\nReform<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden announced his\nVice-Presidential pick last Tuesday: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), a relative\nmoderate within the Democratic caucus who is expected to support the ticket\u2019s\npositions on drug pricing and health insurance reform. Even though former Vice\nPresident Biden\u2019s and Harris\u2019 plans to implement a public option and base drug\nprices in the United States off prices overseas would dramatically reshape the\nAmerican health care system, the proposals stop short of those backed by the\nmore progressive wing of the Democratic party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On drug pricing, when Sen. Harris was a candidate for the\nDemocratic nomination, she vowed to tie prices in the United States to prices\nabroad. Similar to Vice President Biden, her proposal directed the Department\nof Health and Human Services (HHS) to set prices for drugs when prices are\ncheaper in comparable, economically-developed countries or when U.S. prices\nincrease faster than inflation. The reference countries would include Canada,\nBritain, France, Germany, Japan and Australia. In turn, drug companies would\nhave to pay back all profits when they sell a drug above the fair price and those\nrefunds would be paid to insurers, so that insurers then pass that money to\ntheir customers. Sen. Harris also supports allowing Medicare to directly\nnegotiate drug prices, something that is also part of Biden\u2019s drug pricing\nplatform. President Trump does not support this policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With respect to health insurance, Sen. Harris was criticized for\nher indecisiveness on whether she wants to completely eliminate private health\ninsurance, but she eventually settled on a 10-year Medicare for All transition\nplan that closely resembles Vice President Biden\u2019s. For his part, Vice\nPresident Biden\u2019s plan relies on a federal public option that would function\nalongside private insurance and would be available to all, including those who\nwant to switch from employer-sponsored coverage. He also wants to lower the\nMedicare eligibility age to 60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For additional details on Sen. Harris\u2019 record on health care in\nthe Senate and her presidential campaign, click here<\/a> to view TRP\u2019s\nrecent slide deck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FDA Creates COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and biologics center director\nPeter Marks announced they are convening a vaccine advisory committee to review\nCOVID-19 vaccines and decide on emergency use authorization or licensure. The\nimpact of the logistical planning around the committee is unclear, but it is a\ntime-consuming endeavor. FDA leaders, lawmakers, and stakeholders have been\npushing for this public review panel, as public anxiety over a possible vaccine\nis becoming more apparent. FDA clinical deputy director for vaccines, Doran\nFink, has expressed concern that this review process\u2019 timeframe of eight to\ntwelve months wastes precious time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the White House and drug companies expect a much faster\nreview process by the committee. Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, is confident that\nFDA review of their company\u2019s vaccine will go quickly. \u201cFrom my perspective, by\nOctober\u2026 there is a highly likelihood that we will know if it works, and we\nwill have enough product to start distribution,\u201d Bourla said, \u201cWe will go for\nregulatory approvals in October.\u201d President Trump forecasted that a vaccine\ncould be ready by November 3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CMS Hints at Audio-Only Telehealth Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said last week that the agency\nplans to release a new regulation addressing audio-only telehealth coverage for\nphysician supervision. \u201cOne of the things I\u2019m really excited about with\ntelehealth is around supervision through telehealth. We\u2019re not doing it for\neverything, in terms of residents and all that, but I think it has a real\nopportunity especially in rural areas,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll see more of that in\nrules and some of the stuff that is upcoming.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed rule<\/a> would be\nespecially useful in rural areas. CMS Innovation Director, Brad Smith, recently\nhosted a round table with rural health providers at which stakeholders and\nrural healthcare providers voiced concerns about broadband capacity, making\naudio-only calls a necessity. While the proposed rule does not include codes\nfor Medicare audio-only visits, the comment period is expected to increase\ntraction for this medium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

White House Announces Deal with Moderna for 100 Million Doses of\nPotential Vaccine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the White House said that it entered an agreement\nwith Moderna, Inc. to acquire 100 million doses of a promising COVID-19 vaccine\nas part of Operation Warp Speed. This mRNA-1273 vaccine is in the final stage\nof testing and is on track for completion by September. Its deal with the U.S.\nis contingent on specific timing benchmarks, and the dosage cost comes to about\n$30.50 per person for a two-dose regimen. The cost breakdown means that the\ngovernment is paying about $15 per dose, and it will be given to patients for\nfree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. is reportedly pursuing similar purchase agreements with\nJohnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech, Sanofi, and GlaxoSmithKline.\nOther countries, including Japan, the U.K., and Canada are forging similar\ndeals. President Trump\u2019s recent White House press briefing highlighted progress\non a vaccine, where he said that there is \u201ctremendous promise\u201d in every vaccine\nthat the U.S. chooses to acquire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump Administration Steps in Amongst Fear of COVID \u2018Death\nPanels\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some hospitals are reaching a grave impasse in deciding how to allocate resources for COVID patients. Disability rights groups are targeting certain states that are allowing doctors to \u201ccut off treatment for some of the sickest patients in hot zones and revive the specter of so-called death panels.\u201d Guidelines in Texas and Arizona allow doctors to base treatment off of survival odds and if the patient is predicted to live another five years. A specific case in Austin, Texas involved a quadriplegic patient who was moved to hospice care after contracting the virus. The case garnered national attention in addition to 11 complaints lodged with HHS\u2019 Office of Civil Rights since May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some states defend their decisions, disability rights advocates are forging ahead, demanding guidance that would discourage withholding services based on a doctor\u2019s beliefs about a patient\u2019s quality of life or longevity. They also want individuals with disabilities to be treated with necessary accommodations and follow-up care, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The American Medical Association and American College of Physicians rejected measures that discriminate against groups that are \u201cnot ethically defensible.\u201d The White House point person on the issue, Roger Severino, said that \u201cit sends a message on who we are as a nation, it\u2019s a reflection of our national character \u2014 how we treat the vulnerable.\u201d He added that the lack of clear guidance in some states “puts an unfair burden on medical professionals and opens the door to discrimination.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Capitol Hill Update House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is poised to call Members back to Washington for votes amid growing concerns about the state of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Lawmakers will likely come back later in the week to vote on House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney\u2019s Delivering for America Act, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHealth Policy Report (8\/17) - thornrun<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thornrun.com\/health-policy-report-8-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Health Policy Report (8\/17) - thornrun\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Capitol Hill Update House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is poised to call Members back to Washington for votes amid growing concerns about the state of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). 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