The Republicans distancing themselves from GOP post-Roe

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Oct 20, 2022 View in browser   By Daniel Payne and Krista Mahr Presented by With Ben Leonard, Carmen Paun and David Lim Driving the Day Some Republican candidates in Pennsylvania hope voters will take notice of their support for abortion rights. | Mark Makela/Getty Images FIGHTING FOR THEIR FUTURE — Republicans who support abortion rights are fighting for a political future by defending their records — and, incidentally, distancing themselves from their party, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein reports from Pennsylvania . A race for a seat in the state's legislature is testing whether the GOP's last abortion rights supporters can win after the fall of Roe v. Wade. Pennsylvania lawmaker Todd Stephens, a Republican who has long counted on Democrats to help get him into office, is finding that his party's opposition to abortion overshadows his support of abortion rights. It's another iteration of Democrats' midterm strategy of focusing on the loss of abortion rights to win elections — including elections against abortion rights-supporting Republicans. Abortion-rights groups that once supported candidates on both sides of the aisle expect more action and consistency on reproductive health issues, saying the stakes are higher now that some states are moving to outlaw the procedure. That's forcing Republicans to be more vocal about their stances on the issues, particularly when trying to prove their allegiance lies beyond party affiliation. The argument in Pennsylvania is similar to that across the country. Stephens is defending his personal record and, by definition, distancing himself from much of his party. "I vote my district, not my party," Stephens, a 12-year incumbent in a Philadelphia suburb, said. "And I hope my fellow Republicans will take a look at what's going on across Pennsylvania and around the country on this issue and recognize that some of the bills that they've introduced are extreme and dangerous for women." His challenger, former state legislative staffer Melissa Cerrato, dismissed this as "lip service." "We need someone who is going to step up, do the work and fight for the values of our community," she said. "Todd is too passive. We deserve better." WELCOME TO THURSDAY'S EDITION OF MORNING PULSE. Massachusetts lawmakers have been hard at work, passing a law Wednesday making podokesaurus holyokensis (a "swift-footed lizard") the state's official dinosaur. Does your state have an official dino — or coming legislation for one? Tell us (and include health news and tips) at dpayne@politico.com and kmahr@politico.com . TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST , Krista talks with Grace Scullion about the Biden administration's messaging strategy and whether it's working. Plus, William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, on the CDC's limitations.   A message from PhRMA: Fresh data show the 340B program may be driving up costs for some patients. How? A new analysis finds 340B hospitals prescribe patients more expensive medicines than non-340B hospitals on average. It's time to fix the 340B program. Learn more.   Listen to today's Pulse Check podcast Global Health The World Health Organization doesn't seem quite ready to end the Covid-19 global health emergency. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images EXIT STRATEGY — An advisory committee to the World Health Organization discussed ending the Covid-19 global health emergency for the first time at its meeting last week, according to a readout of the panel's discussion issued Wednesday. Ultimately, the panel decided to advise the WHO to maintain the state of emergency, citing the disease's continuing toll , Carmen reports. "There is still too much fear that termination of the [public health emergency] might aggravate existing inequalities in access to vaccines and therapeutics and might demobilize all the efforts engaged to prepare for future pandemics," said Didier Houssin, a French surgeon who chairs the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee. Houssin said the panel would evaluate how countries in the northern hemisphere fare during the coming winter. Some countries in Europe have already started seeing an uptick in infection cases. Ending the emergency too early, the WHO fears, could put the world at renewed risk since testing and surveillance have declined.   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 .     Covid ACIP VOTES TO ADD COVID SHOTS TO CHILD VACCINE PROGRAM — CDC advisers voted 15-0 Wednesday to add Covid-19 vaccines to the federal Vaccines for Children Program, paving the way for the shots to be provided to kids whose families may not be able to afford them, David reports. The vote doesn't mean the vaccines are mandated for children. The Vaccines for Children Program, created by the 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, purchases vaccines and distributes them to state and local health agencies, which then distribute them to providers and clinics. "This is not a policy change, nor is it a mandate for use of the vaccine," said José Romero, the CDC director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "It is a way to ensure access to this vaccine for those children that don't have insurance." Up next: The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will vote today on adding Covid-19 vaccines — including those under FDA emergency use authorization — to 2023 immunization schedules for adults and children, according to CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund. HEALTH TECH NEW TELEHEALTH-USE DATA — Telehealth isn't adding extra volume to Medicare usage that could drive up health care costs, says a new independent analysis by health policy analysis group Teus Health, Ben reports. The analysis was commissioned by the lobbying group Alliance for Connected Care. Background: Telehealth skeptics have long voiced concerns that telehealth expansion could cause patients to overuse care and thus balloon Medicare spending. The findings: Evaluation and management visits in Medicare remained below 2019 levels in 2021 despite expanded telehealth access, according to the report. It also didn't find evidence that patients using virtual care needed more revisits for the same issue than patients accessing care in person. The analysis also added to the growing body of evidence showing that treatment for mental health conditions, primary care and substance use disorder is particularly in demand via telehealth. "It's hard to break conventional wisdom in Washington," said Krista Drobac, executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care. "We finally have comprehensive telehealth utilization data in Medicare that should rectify the misconception that telehealth is somehow uniquely subject to over-use." KEEP IT OFF FACEBOOK — That's what Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine said Wednesday, urging people seeking an abortion to not do it on Facebook Messenger, POLITICO's Alfred Ng reports. The move escalated a battle over encrypted messaging by calling out the service by name, though other officials have also emphasized the upsides of using encrypted communication online to discuss abortions. It's a practice used by abortion rights advocates globally who try to ensure protection for people seeking — and providing — the procedure.   A message from PhRMA:   Around the Agencies FDA ADVISERS RECOMMEND PULLING PREGNANCY DRUG — Independent FDA advisers overwhelmingly recommended removing a preterm pregnancy drug from the market, POLITICO's Lauren Gardner reports. The Wednesday vote marks the second time the agency's advisory committee on obstetrics, reproductive and urologic drugs has signaled regulators should pull the drug, Makena. The injectable drug was approved in 2011 under an accelerated approval process designed to get potential life-altering treatments to patients faster while effectiveness is still being studied. But in 2019, the drug's confirmatory trial didn't verify a clinical benefit of the drug for babies or a reduced risk of preterm birth, the committee ruled. The drug's owner, Covis Pharma, acknowledged that its confirmatory study was flawed and that analyses of subsets of the trial data suggest the drug could benefit pregnant people with a narrower set of risk factors. The FDA isn't required to concur with its advisers, but it usually does — and is expected to make a final decision on Makena in the coming months. NOVAVAX GETS BOOSTER OK — The FDA announced Wednesday that the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine could be used as a first booster dose for those 18 and older. The announcement matters particularly for those who can't or won't get an mRNA vaccine. The CDC shortly followed the FDA announcement with a recommendation for the vaccine's use as a booster. Nearly half of U.S. adults have yet to get a single booster, according to CDC data.   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 Ezekiel J. Emanuel, David Michaels, Rick Bright and Michael T. Osterholm write for The New York Times opinion section that significant work is ahead to prepare for the next public health emergency. Kaiser Health News' Liz Szabo writes about researchers' efforts to develop an Epstein-Barr vaccine as the virus is more closely linked to multiple sclerosis than previously thought. STAT's Helen Branswell reports on the aftermath of monkeypox as cases seem to subside.   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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