The scramble to educate America about abortion pills

Presented by PhRMA: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy.

Apr 25, 2022 View in browser   By Krista Mahr and Sarah Owermohle Presented by With help from Alice Miranda Olstein and Adam Cancryn  Editor's Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories.  Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. QUICK FIX — Advocates say abortion pills could be an option if Roe v. Wade is overturned, but patients and doctors have a lot to learn about the treatment. — Covid-19 aid and Title 42 will be front and center this week as lawmakers head back to the Hill. — Biden wants to make it easier for more pharmacies to get antiviral treatments as U.S. Covid-19 case numbers rise. WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE — If you were wondering about turnout at the National Cannabis Festival this weekend, this Capitol Hill resident drove by the affair at RFK Stadium on Saturday, scarcely avoiding a major traffic jam. Pro-weed sentiment in the District is strong. Send news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and sowermohle@politico.com.   A message from PhRMA: New data show that 35% of insured Americans spent more on out-of-pocket costs than they could afford in the past month. Read more about how insurance is leaving patients exposed to deepening inequities.   Driving the Day Only one in five adults in the U.S. has heard of a medication abortion. | Charlie Neibergall, file/AP Photo THE ABORTION PILL INFO GAP — Advocates preparing for the overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer say mail-order abortion pills could be an alternative for people seeking to terminate their pregnancies but add that most patients and many doctors have insufficient information about how to find or use them, report Alice and Megan Messerly. Though more people have used the pills during the pandemic than in the past, only one in five adults has heard of a medication abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nonprofits and activist groups are posting online guides on how to obtain the pills, holding pro-pill demonstrations, buying ads on New York City subways and driving mobile billboards around Texas to educate the public about the availability of the FDA-approved pills, which can be ordered online. At the same time, anti-abortion groups have zeroed in on the option, successfully lobbying dozens of states to enact bans and creating websites , ads and films to deter people from using the pills. In the last few weeks, restrictions on the pills have passed in Kentucky, Georgia and South Dakota. COVID AID, TITLE 42 BACK IN FOCUS — Congress returns from recess this week to decide on the fate (maybe) of two big-ticket health items: Covid-19 funding and the CDC-enforced border policy Title 42. Before lawmakers departed, Republicans had scuttled an attempt to pass some $10 billion in Covid-19 aid for testing, treatment, vaccines and more by demanding a vote on reinstating Title 42, which the CDC said will end in May. A growing number of Democrats have come out against the decision to end the order, saying the administration is sending mixed messages over the state of the pandemic as cases rise and doesn't have a plan in place to deal with a potential surge in migrants at the southern border. Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer may throw Ukraine aid into that heady mix. On Saturday, a White House official told Adam: "As Congress returns from recess, the administration will be focused on working with lawmakers to secure funds to keep aid flowing to the Ukrainian people and continue protecting the American people from Covid-19. Congressional inaction" the official said, "is already taking its toll — from uninsured Americans suddenly having to foot the bill for tests, treatments and vaccines to states receiving fewer monoclonal antibodies to keep people out of the hospital." BIDEN TO RAMP UP ANTIVIRAL AVAILABILITY — The Biden administration wants to expand the availability of antiviral treatments like Pfizer's Paxlovid and Merck's molnupiravir and plans to allow more pharmacies to order the pills, POLITICO's David Lim and Adam report. Paxlovid use has more than doubled since the beginning of April, a senior administration official said, as new average daily cases have risen from around 25,000 to more than 42,000, according to the CDC. The administration currently sends the pills to a group of large pharmacies, states and community centers. The new plan would expand direct ordering to all pharmacies that want to stock it. It's not immediately clear how much more supply would be made available through the widened distribution, but the administration has reached out to pharmacies to gauge their interest. "There's plenty of supply of Paxlovid available," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said last week. "We're working to make sure providers and patients know that. And we're working to make it easier to access."   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.     In Congress Warren wants Biden to act on drug pricing. | AP FIRST IN PULSE: WARREN PRESSES BIDEN ADMIN TO ACT ON DRUG PRICING AMID HILL STALEMATE — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra today outlining a set of executive actions the Biden administration can take without Congressional approval to lower drug prices and pushing for action given the current impasse on the issue on Capitol Hill. The letter, shared first with Alice, joins a growing chorus of progressive lawmakers frustrated with the inability of Democrats' narrow majority to pass any major health policies they campaigned on and want President Joe Biden to circumvent Congress. Warren, outlining a list of executive actions suggested by a group of experts from Yale Law School, Harvard Medical School and Columbia Law School, urges Becerra to "move swiftly to use your existing authorities to give sorely needed relief to the millions of Americans paying far too much for their prescription drugs." They include: Exercising the "government patent use power" to purchase patented drugs in bulk or have the federal government manufacture drugs and pay royalties to the copyright holder, which could encourage patent holders to offer more competitive prices  Using the government's right to "march in" on a patent to ensure the resulting products are "available to the public on reasonable terms" when government research led to the patent in the first place   Invoking royalty-free licenses that allow the government to manufacture drugs for its own use or license production on the government's behalf   A message from PhRMA:   Lobby Watch CHIPPENDALES SEEKS PANDEMIC AID — The male dance troupe Chippendales has hired lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig to lobby on their behalf for access to a pandemic-era program designed to help the live events industry, POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko reports. Like others in the entertainment industry, Chippendales had to adapt during the pandemic by posting workout videos and doing live events via various hangout platforms. We'll leave it at that. Happily, the Chippendales performers have returned to the stage. The K Street hire comes as lawmakers on the Hill weigh a final round of Covid assistance for small businesses that would include additional money for venues. Good luck, fellas! In the States CMS NOT MESSIN' WITH TEXAS' MEDICAID — The Biden administration has dropped litigation against a Texas Medicaid waiver, POLITICO's Rachael Levy reports. Last spring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revoked a 10-year waiver for the state's Medicaid program that the Trump administration approved on Jan. 15, 2021, without requiring a public comment period. Texas sued the administration, and a federal district court judge reinstated the waiver in August. With CMS' decision to not challenge the ruling, the provision will continue through 2030. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country and is one of a dozen states that haven't expanded Medicaid under Obamacare. NYC TEACHERS FIGHT UNPAID LEAVE OVER FAKE VACCINE CARDS — The United Federation of Teachers plans to sue the New York City Board of Education for putting more than 80 members on unpaid leave for allegedly submitting fake vaccination cards, POLITICO's Madina Touré writes. The union argued the employees were placed on leave without pay "based on unproven allegations that their proof of COVID-19 vaccination was fraudulent." The union also said some members got notice "in error." Mayor Eric Adams said earlier Friday he was disappointed to learn that some education workers had used fake vaccination cards. He has been criticized for lifting the private sector vaccine mandate for some industries, like performers and athletes, but not other industries.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     Around the Agencies CMS PROPOSES TO EXPAND MEDICARE COVERAGE — CMS issued a proposed rule Friday that it says would simplify and expand coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, Rachael reports. The proposed rule would allow Medicare enrollees to access coverage in the month after signing up for the insurance program, reducing their uninsured period. In addition, by expanding the special enrollment period, CMS says Americans would more easily be able to enroll in Medicare, which already covers more than 55 million people. The proposal also includes a provision for kidney transplant recipients, closing a gap in access to the immunosuppressive drugs they take, CMS said. What We're Reading Well, in this case, watching: Here's a grim glimpse at the fencing around buildings hit with Covid-19 in Shanghai, where the lockdown in the Chinese city intensifies, Reuters reports. Thirty years ago, the biggest health risks adolescents faced were binge drinking, drunk driving and smoking. Today, experts are worried about their soaring rates of mental health disorders, The New York Times reports.   A message from PhRMA: According to data just released, insurance isn't working for too many patients. Despite paying premiums each month, Americans continue to face insurmountable affordability and access issues: Roughly half (49%) of insured patients who take prescription medicines report facing insurance barriers like prior authorization and "fail first" when trying to access their medicines. More than a third (35%) of insured Americans report spending more in out-of-pocket costs in the last 30 days than they could afford. Americans need better coverage that puts patients first. Read more in PhRMA's latest Patient Experience Survey.     Follow us on Twitter Tucker Doherty @tucker_doherty Dan Goldberg @dancgoldberg Erin Banco @ErinBanco Katherine Ellen Foley @katherineefoley Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ Rachael Levy @rachael_levy David Lim @davidalim Megan Messerly @meganmesserly Alice Miranda Ollstein @aliceollstein Sarah Owermohle @owermohle Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Megan R. Wilson @misswilson   Follow us

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