Biden's moonshot science agency one step closer to reality

Mar 11, 2022

Presented by

With Alice Miranda Ollstein, Rachael Levy and Katherine Ellen Foley

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QUICK FIX

— Could Biden's ARPA-H moonshot finally be coming to fruition? The government spending bill, which includes funding for the science agency, heads to the president's desk.

— Anti-abortion groups are pushing back against Biden's SCOTUS nominee and pulling out all the stops in a campaign to put the heat on GOP senators.

— Flavored e-cigarettes are under the microscope as dozens of lawmakers urge FDA to deny them from the market.

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE — I'm Megan Wilson, the health care team's lobbying and advocacy guru, and I'm filling in for Sarah and Krista. Are you ready for the bomb cyclone this weekend? While you hunker down, send me any story ideas, tips, gossip or surprisingly delicious one-pan meal recipes at mwilson@politico.com.

A message from PhRMA:

ICYMI: A decisive majority of Americans (86%) agree Congress should crack down on abusive health insurance practices impacting patients' access to care. Voters overwhelmingly support policies that would lower out-of-pocket costs and bring greater transparency and accountability to the health insurance system. Read more in new poll.

Driving The Day

GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL HEADS TO BIDEN'S DESK — Late Thursday night, the Senate approved a $1.5 trillion spending bill that contains increased funding to tackle issues like fighting the opioid crisis, improving access to care and investing in mental health programs for young people in addition to extending many of the telehealth flexibilities established during the pandemic.

Although additional money requested by the White House to combat the coronavirus pandemic — focused mostly on testing and treatment — had been dropped from the legislation, a significant increase in funds was allotted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Strategic National Stockpile to help with pandemic preparedness. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority also saw a $148 billion boost to support further research and development of vaccines and therapeutics.

The massive spending bill also includes $1 billion to fund the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a long-time priority for President Joe Biden that would aim to tackle some of health care's biggest challenges.

BIDEN'S SCIENCE RESEARCH AGENCY GAINS MOMENTUM — Shortly before Congress passed the spending package, Sens. Patty Murray(D-Wash.) and Richard Burr(R-N.C.), who lead the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced legislation to create ARPA-H.

The bill would house the new agency within the National Institutes of Health as an independent entity, settling what had become a growing debate about where it would reside, as Sarah previously reported.

In a joint statement with Murray, Burr said the setup would "have the ability to identify and invest in the best new ideas and technologies coming from the private sector and academia."

The $1 billion represents a dramatic decline from the $6 billion the administration initially called for and less than the $3 billion in the Build Back Better plan before it was ultimately dropped from the package.

FIRST IN PULSE: ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS MOUNT EFFORT TO BLOCK KBJ CONFIRMATION — Anti-abortion groups are preparing a blitz of ads, calls, letters and in-person lobbying to try to scuttle the confirmation of Biden's Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The group Students for Life of America, which has active campus groups in every state pushing anti-abortion legislation, is sending a letter today to all U.S. senatorsurging them to vote against Jackson's confirmation later this month.

The letter, first shared with Alice, points to Jackson's record of ruling for and drafting amicus briefs that support abortion rights, arguing that she's "biased in favor of abortion."

Next week, the group plans to post digital ads that target Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who they worry could support Jackson — Sens. Thom Tillis(N.C.), Lindsey Graham(S.C.), Chuck Grassley(Iowa) and John Cornyn (Texas) — and also lobby them and other committee members in person. Students for Life of America will hold rallies on the days of her confirmation hearing, which starts March 21.

Another anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony List, will exhort its members to call senators to apply pressure on the nomination, and use senators' votes as a benchmark of whether to back their reelection campaigns in the future.

NEW FROM POLITICO: THE POWER LIST: Debuting this morning from POLITICO's The Recast is a list of the top 40 power players of 2021, which highlights figures who had an impact on the intersection of race, politics and policy.

The list includes some catalysts in the health care realm, such as Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Sha'Carri Richardson, who triggered a national debate about mental health in the U.S. when they made it a priority in their lives.

SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.

Eye on FDA

LAWMAKERS PRESSURE FDA TO TAKE FLAVORED E-CIGS OFF THE MARKET — Reps. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) (D-Fla.) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) (D-Colo.) spearheaded a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf on Thursday, requesting the agency deny all e-cigarette applications for non-tobacco flavored vapes, Katherine reports.

The letter, signed by more than 50 lawmakers, pointed out that it's been more than six months since the FDA's court-ordered deadline to complete pre-market tobacco reviews for e-cigarettes. Products from some of the most popular brands among kids, including Vuse Alto, SMOK and Juul, are still on the market while they await the FDA's decision.

IT COMES ON THE SAME DAY the CDC released its annual survey of tobacco use among young people in the U.S. In 2021, roughly one in 10 middle and high school students had used a tobacco product during the preceding 30 days. The study showed that certain groups reported greater use of tobacco products — and therefore are at greater risk of their negative impacts — including students who identified as LGBT. E-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among young people, the study found.

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Public Health

WHITE HOUSE TOUTS OBAMACARE GAINS — The Biden administration said its American Rescue Plan resulted in 21 percent more people signing up for Obamacare over the previous year, a big jump after the prior administration undercut the program, Rachael reports.

The White House said subsidies from the legislation helped enroll more people, with 5.8 million new consumers enrolled during the 2021 special enrollment and open enrollment periods. According to U.S. health data, 3.6 million Americans lost coverage between 2016 and 2019.

ADVOCATES SOUND ALARM ABOUT SAVING EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM — Led by the National Home Visiting Coalition, a group of more than 600 organizations wrote to congressional leadership , urging them to renew and increase funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which is set to expire in September.

The program allocates money to states, territories and tribal entities to connect new or expecting parents with trained professionals who can help in several areas, such as providing breastfeeding and safe-sleeping guidance, screening children for developmental delays, helping to identify postpartum depression and referring mothers for treatment who need it.

AN ARM AND A LEG: The Kaiser Family Foundation issued a set of reports Thursday that examined U.S. medical debt based on pre-pandemic 2019 government data. Roughly 23 million people, or one in 10 adults, are in medical debt — including 3 million people who owe more than $10,000.

The organization also looked at how the affordability of employer coverage varies and the number of households able to cover cost-sharing under private plans. For example, more than one-third of single-person households with private insurance couldn't pay a $2,000 bill, and half couldn't pay a $6,000 bill.

Names in the News

Biden has nominated Navajo Area Indian Health Services Director Roselyn Tso to be director of the Indian Health Service, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Justice Department has appointed Associate Deputy Attorney General Kevin Chambers to serve as the director for Covid-19 fraud enforcement to fight an alleged $8 billion in fraud related to federal pandemic relief funds.

DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE.

What We're Reading

Oh, FFS. A new variant? The World Health Organization has acknowledged the existence of "deltacron," and Becker's Hospital Review has a rundown of what we know so far.

A judge approved a $6 billion settlement against the makers of OxyContin. The New York Times reported what those close to the victims had to say to the Sackler family.

"This is child abuse": ProPublica has published a long read about a secret, high-security juvenile detention facility in Louisiana.

A message from PhRMA:

According to a new poll, voters overwhelmingly support policies that would lower out-of-pocket costs and bring greater transparency and accountability to the health insurance system.

We need to make the cost of medicine more predictable and affordable. Government price setting is the wrong way. The right way means covering more medicines from day one, making out-of-pocket costs more predictable and sharing negotiated savings with patients at the pharmacy counter.

Learn more.