A looming Covid 'double whammy'

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Oct 19, 2022 View in browser   By Krista Mahr and Daniel Payne Presented by With Carmen Paun Driving The Day The days of federally subsidized vaccines are numbered. | Morry Gash/Getty Images THAT PHE WON'T LAST FOREVER — A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation looks at how two events could come together to act as a "double whammy" that dramatically reduces millions of Americans' access to Covid-19 countermeasures: The administration will deplete the supply of vaccines, treatments and tests it's purchased — and have no money to buy more — and the public health emergency will, eventually, end. Once federally subsidized supplies run out, the shift to the commercial market could impact access in a few important ways, the researchers wrote. First, consumers will bear some of the cost. Second, the lack of a guaranteed supply might mean manufacturers don't keep an adequate supply on hand to meet a sudden demand. And last, physical access to supplies could get patchier as small, local pharmacies choose not to stock up. Vaccines and boosters will likely continue to be covered by public and private health insurance without the subsidized supply or the PHE, the researchers found, but Covid-19 treatments and tests won't be, and their costs will be passed onto patients. That means the uninsured and underinsured will be hit hardest. They might have some access to free vaccines and boosters but no coverage for tests and treatments. The Biden administration has asked Congress for about $9 billion to buy new vaccines and treatments and continue testing programs. But Congress has declined to approve any additional funding for the federal government's pandemic response, with some lawmakers questioning why more money should go to a crisis that President Joe Biden said was over . WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE — Surprise! The paleo diet bears very little resemblance to how real paleoliths ate . We knew eating that much avocado and bacon felt fraudulent. Send your favorite diet fad of yore, news and tips to kmahr@politico.com and dpayne@politico.com . TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, Erin Banco talks with Ben Leonard about the Biden administration's new national security memo on biodefense and pandemic preparedness. Plus, Micky Tripathi, the national coordinator for Health IT, speaks about HHS' deadline this month requiring health care organizations to share all electronic health care data.   A message from PhRMA: The 340B program may be driving up costs for some patients. A new analysis finds average costs per prescription for a patient is more than 150% greater at 340B hospitals than at non-340B hospitals. It's time to fix the 340B program. Learn more.   Listen to today's Pulse Check podcast At the White House A NEW PLAN FOR BIODEFENSE — Biden signed a national security memorandum on Tuesday aiming to ensure the U.S. is ready to detect and respond to the next large-scale viral or biological threat, POLITICO's Erin Banco reports . What's the plan? The memo will direct officials across 20 agencies to prioritize biodefense and pandemic preparedness. The new U.S. plan prioritizes training and expanding a specialized health care workforce that can help contain the spread of potentially dangerous pathogens and "equitably protect the health of Americans and people around the world," a senior administration official said. It also lays out a strategy for preventing pandemics and biological incidents that come from accidental and deliberate sources, such as a lab leak. The U.S. is also completing an interagency review of efforts to strengthen responsible conduct for biological research. But back to the money. In his 2023 budget, Biden asked Congress for $88 billion over five years to help combat pandemics and biological threats. The funding has yet to be approved, but the administration is moving forward with its expansive plan, assuming that Congress will sign off on the money to help the country prepare for another virus like Covid-19. Biden promised that the first bill he'll send to the next Congress will be legislation to reinstate the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo … AND ANOTHER BIDEN PLEDGE — Biden also promised on Tuesday that the first bill he'll send to the next Congress will be legislation to reinstate the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade, POLITICO's Christopher Cadelago and Alice Miranda Ollstein report . The pledge appears to be aimed squarely at energizing Democrats to turn out in force for the midterm elections so Democrats can hold onto the House and increase their majority in the Senate. Polls show early outrage over the fall of Roe this June has been outstripped by Americans' economic concerns. "I want you to remember that the final say does not rest in the court now. It does not rest with extremist Republicans in Congress," Biden said in a speech at a Democratic National Committee event in Washington, D.C. "Your right to choose rests with you, and if you do your part and vote, Democratic leaders of Congress, I promise you, will do our part. I will do my part."   TUNE IN TO THE PULSE CHECK PODCAST: Keep your finger on the pulse of the biggest stories in health care by listening to our daily Pulse Check podcast. POLITICO's must-listen briefing decodes healthcare policy and politics, and delivers reality checks from health professionals on the front lines. SUBSCRIBE NOW AND START LISTENING .     Global Health A VACCINE FOR UGANDA? The U.S. has developed an experimental Ebola vaccine aimed at stopping the current outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever in Uganda, Carmen reports. An effective vaccine for the Sudan strain of Ebola would be a major breakthrough. Vaccines and treatments for Ebola were successfully developed for the Zaire strain of the disease, which caused a massive outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016 and more recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But to this point, there's no vaccine for the Sudan strain in the outbreak that's so far killed 44 people in Uganda. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni imposed a three-week lockdown on Saturday in two districts most affected by the outbreak. Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services are awaiting approval from the World Health Organization and the Ugandan government to begin testing the vaccine in the central African country. The vaccine candidate, developed by the Vaccine Research Center, is thought to be the most advanced in testing after completing Phase I clinical trials. The shot, based on a chimpanzee adenovirus, was licensed to the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that promotes vaccine development. WHO HIT BY MORE SEXUAL ASSAULT ACCUSATIONS — An investigation is underway after a participant at the World Health Summit in Berlin accused an unnamed World Health Organization staffer of sexually assaulting her at the event. Gabby Stern, the WHO director of communications, said the organization was providing support to the victim . This is not the first time WHO staffers have been accused of such misconduct. Dozens of women were promised and given local WHO jobs in exchange for sex during the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report by an independent commission released last year. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has apologized to the victims. The WHO is still working to overhaul its emergency response to ensure similar situations don't occur. Tedros responded to the latest accusation , promising the WHO will do everything it can to help the victim. GLOBAL POLIO ERADICATION MISSES GOAL — Governments and foundations committed just over half of the money sought by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to fight poliovirus at a pledging event in Berlin on Tuesday, Carmen reports. The initiative, a partnership that includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and other global organizations and foundations, received $2.57 billion in commitments toward its polio eradication strategy over the next five years. It had calculated a need for $4.8 billion between 2022 and 2026 to overcome the last hurdles preventing eradication of the disease.   A message from PhRMA:   Public Health MORE MONEY FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS — HHS plans to provide $1 million grants to 15 states early next year to develop a plan for more behavioral health clinics, POLITICO's Grace Scullion reports. After developing a plan, states will be eligible to apply for a four-year demonstration grant to get the clinics up and running to combat a national mental health and opioid crisis. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress passed in June to tighten gun controls and improve mental health services following the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and builds on $300 million in grants the Biden administration issued earlier this year. In Congress PUSH FOR AUDIO OUD TREATMENT — Reps. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) have asked the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to request the extension of temporary telehealth flexibilities for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine treatment for OUD can be started using audio-only telehealth services under the Covid-19 public health emergency declaration, but that could end with the PHE. In a letter to the agencies , the members wrote: "The current unpredictable future of coverage for audio-only telehealth for buprenorphine creates additional barriers for patients and uncertainty for health care professionals in an already underserved workforce as the need for addiction specialists with clinical knowledge of MAT continues to grow."   STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Our Future Pulse newsletter will continue to bring you the biggest stories at the intersection of technology and healthcare, but now five times a week. Want to know what's next in health care? Sign up for our Future Pulse newsletter. If you aren't already subscribed, follow this link to start receiving Future Pulse .     What We're Reading Science writes about the heart risks and data gaps spurring debate over the new Covid-19 booster for children. The Washington Pos t writes about the physicist penning hundreds of Wikipedia pages for overlooked female scientists. The Los Angeles Times reports how the Covid-19 logjam at local ports has caused a dangerous spike in harmful emissions.   A message from PhRMA: The 340B program grew, yet again, hitting a whopping $43.9 billion in sales at the discounted 340B price in 2021. But there has not been evidence of corresponding growth in care provided to vulnerable patients at 340B covered entities. And making matters worse, fresh data show that 340B may actually be driving up costs for some patients and our health care system as whole. The program of today is having the opposite effect of what Congress intended when they created 340B. That's a problem. It's time to fix the 340B program. Learn more.     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_ David Lim @davidalim Krista Mahr @kristamahr Megan Messerly @meganmesserly Alice Miranda Ollstein @aliceollstein Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Megan R. Wilson @misswilson Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader   Follow us

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