Health topics to watch with Biden and Trump

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What we’re searching for on the talk stage tonight

President Biden and former President Trump face off tonight for the primary time this election cycle. Whereas there’s a lengthy listing of potential debate matters earlier than them, right here are some things we at D.C. Analysis are hoping to listen to extra about this night:

Biden notches one other SCOTUS win or two

A win? The Supreme Court docket seems set to enable emergency abortions in Idaho, delivering the Biden administration one other, albeit slender, win for abortion rights after the mifepristone choice earlier this month. However the courtroom’s inadvertently posted 6-3 choice basically dismisses Idaho’s lawsuit with out tackling the thornier dilemma of state and federal clashes over abortion coverage (although it’s not clear if that is the ultimate model).

A win: In a a lot clearer-cut (and purposely printed) choice Wednesday morning, the courtroom additionally delivered Biden officers a victory on efforts to restrict Covid-19 misinformation on social media platforms. Six justices led by Amy Coney Barrett mentioned the plaintiffs — together with two state attorneys common and two docs who promoted the herd immunity concept — didn’t show that federal officers’ in depth dialogues with social media platforms truly harmed them or restricted their social media use.

The Murthy v. Missouri choice leaves respiration room for White Home and HHS officers to speak with social media corporations about moderating misinformation, so long as they don’t drive coverage. However its detractors say the combat is much from over, portray the case as a free speech battle.

“The Supreme Court docket received it mistaken – and has didn’t uphold its duty to the Structure,” presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy wrote on X. He’s introduced the same swimsuit, Kennedy v. Biden, that’s nonetheless in a decrease courtroom. “I’ll proceed to combat without cost speech within the courts and on the marketing campaign path.”

On the Home

Summer time slowdown the place? Home committees are scrambling to mark up well being care payments at this time earlier than lawmakers absolutely shift into election mode.

Methods & Means is gearing up for a markup that might get spicy. As John Wilkerson and I scooped Friday, the panel is contemplating scaled-back payments to increase Medicare protection of weight reduction medication and most cancers screening blood checks.

The small print of the weight reduction protection invoice particularly caught my consideration, because it’s very narrowly tailor-made to assist be certain sufferers taking weight reduction medication don’t get kicked off of them once they enter Medicare. If Democrats go together with the plan, it might be an vital step towards broader protection of weight problems medication that’s inexpensive sufficient to extend its probabilities of passage.

Vitality & Commerce is lastly getting round to marking up a two-year extension of telehealth flexibilities in Medicare within the full committee. We’ll be watching to see how the committee’s planning to pay for the invoice.

Classes from an HHS secretary who ran a hen flu response

There aren’t many individuals who’ve run federal authorities responses to a hen flu outbreak. Mike Leavitt is considered one of them.

As HHS Secretary through the George W. Bush administration, his alarm over a hen flu outbreak in Asia prompted him to ask for billions of {dollars} from Congress, oversee the creation of a brand new pandemic preparedness division, mount a nationwide pandemic preparedness tour, and proactively have interaction with international governments.

In an interview with STAT, Leavitt mirrored on his response in 2005 to an outbreak that didn’t turn out to be a pandemic, and about how these investments have paid off virtually 20 years later.

What we’re studying

• Three months into hen flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, specialists see deep-rooted issues in response, STAT
• Conservative teams push to roll again drug worth regulation, Axios
• Hear: Rep. Diana DeGette on why reproductive freedom have to be protected, STAT
• Democratic senator calls on HHS to research PBMs blocking entry to generic most cancers drug, The Hill