The brewing fight over liquor labels

Presented by the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy.

Feb 08, 2024 View in browser   By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard Presented by With Daniel Payne Driving the Day For decades, consumer groups have been pushing for mandatory labeling on alcohol products that disclose allergens and nutrition facts. | Wilfredo Lee/AP ALCOHOL AND PUBLIC HEALTH — Beer, wine and liquor makers aren’t required to disclose allergen and nutrition information like food manufacturers are, a situation that’s spurred a decades-long fight over labeling, Ben reports. Consumer groups and the alcohol industry lobby will face off on Feb. 28 in listening sessions held by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. This marks the battle’s latest stage as the Biden administration weighs mandates that alcohol manufacturers disclose allergens and nutrition facts. Still waiting: A lawsuit from consumer groups over a 2003 petition for such rules led the Biden administration to set a goal to issue regulations by the end of 2023 — but no rules have been proposed yet. Some consumer groups argue that listening sessions aren’t a strong enough response to what can be a life-threatening issue. “The idea that after 20 years, they need to hold public meetings on this topic is pretty exasperating,” Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, told Pulse. The industry's take: Groups representing alcohol manufacturers argue the labels could cause more confusion among consumers and burden companies and point to the industry's voluntary labeling efforts, which they say already meet consumers’ needs. “The spirits industry’s objective is to ensure that we meet consumer demand for information while also ensuring that regulations are not unduly burdensome,” said Lisa Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. What’s at stake: Tens of millions of American adults and nearly 1 in 10 children have food allergies, and those numbers are on the rise. Reactions lead to 30,000 emergency room visits and thousands of hospitalizations every year, according to federal estimates, though it’s not clear how many are due to alcohol. A move to mandate labeling would force the industry to make significant investments to expand testing to comply, industry groups say. Hawkins added that allergen labeling is a “complex issue” for liquor and different than for other alcoholic beverages because many ingredients used in manufacturing don’t end up in the final product, the required labels could confuse consumers. What’s next: A Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau spokesperson said the listening sessions will ensure “comprehensive participation.” The formal rulemaking process can take years, meaning that a final rule might not be in place by the end of 2024, when the administration could change. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Dozens of cheese products from the California-based Rizo Lopez Foods have been recalled after the company was linked to a decadelong listeria outbreak. Yes, I did run immediately to my fridge to check all my cheese. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_.   A message from the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: Corporate Insurers Are Focused On Banking Record Profits at Patients’ Expense. https://protecthealthcare.org/latest/who-cares-for-you   In Congress The CEOs of Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb are set to testify in the Senate today. | Mel Evans/AP PHARMA’S DAY ON THE HILL — The CEOs of three major drug companies will testify today before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on the high cost of prescription drugs. How we got here: Merck CEO Robert Davis and Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato relented to a subpoena threat by Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) last month, agreeing to testify alongside Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner, who had already agreed to come to the Hill as long as at least one other pharma executive showed up. What to expect: Sanders will likely grill the CEOs on what he calls “incredible price discrepancies” in the drugs they sell, which go for lower prices in other countries. “Due to the high cost of prescription drugs, one out of four Americans cannot afford the medicine their doctors prescribe,” Sanders’ office wrote in a hearing notice. Committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is expected to take aim at Sanders in his opening remarks, accusing Democrats of not being serious about finding solutions to high drug costs. March-in rights: The hearing comes after more than 70 House and Senate Democrats, including Sanders and other members of his committee, wrote to federal officials Tuesday supporting the Biden administration’s proposal to assert the government’s right to seize patents of certain high-priced drugs using taxpayer funds, an action called march-in rights. The FTC this week also backed the proposal, which has been lambasted by Cassidy, other Republicans and the pharmaceutical industry. PANDEMIC LESSON, MADE PERMANENT? Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) announced new legislation today to keep extending and expanding at-home care for patients who would otherwise be in a hospital by creating a CMS pilot program for acute care at home, including common observation services, Daniel reports. The Covid-19 public health emergency allowed hospitals to treat patients in their homes. The policy, which freed up beds and protected patients from Covid and other risks that come with hospital stays, was extended into mid-2025 by Congress last year. Lawmakers are trying to move the policy quickly, perhaps in the coming weeks as Congress again faces a funding deadline. A Hill staffer, granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy for the policy, said discussions are underway to consider it for inclusion in the coming must-pass package. SENATE OK UNLIKELY ON QALY BAN — A bill to ban a metric that assesses a drug’s impact on health outcomes and quality of life faces long odds in the Senate without changes. The legislation passed out of the House along party lines Wednesday but faces Democrat and White House opposition, Ben reports. It would ban the use of quality-adjusted life years and similar measures in Medicaid, the VA and other programs. The Affordable Care Act banned such metrics in Medicare “as a threshold to determine coverage.” Bill supporters, led by House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), say QALYs discriminate against people with disabilities by underestimating how much treatments would benefit them. But Democrats didn’t bite. E&C ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has said that despite having “no problem” banning measures like QALYs, the bill’s language is vague enough that it could allow legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry and companies to charge more for drugs. IN OTHER CAPITOL HILL NEWS — The federal budget gap is expected to grow by another $1 trillion over the next decade, largely driven by an aging population as well as federal spending on programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The deficit, or the difference between how much money the government spends and takes in, is expected to top $1.6 trillion this year, reports POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma.   CONGRESS OVERDRIVE: Since day one, POLITICO has been laser-focused on Capitol Hill, serving up the juiciest Congress coverage. Now, we’re upping our game to ensure you’re up to speed and in the know on every tasty morsel and newsy nugget from inside the Capitol Dome, around the clock. Wake up, read Playbook AM, get up to speed at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report, and fuel your nightly conversations with Inside Congress in the evening. Plus, never miss a beat with buzzy, real-time updates throughout the day via our Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.     Abortion FLORIDA COURT SKEPTICAL OF ABORTION RIGHTS — Florida Supreme Court justices echoed some talking points of anti-abortion groups Wednesday during oral arguments in a case surrounding a ballot initiative to enshrine abortion protections in the state Constitution, POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian and Alice Miranda Ollstein report. How we got here: Florida’s attorney general asked the state Supreme Court, mainly conservatives handpicked by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, to intervene to block the proposed amendment, arguing that its language protecting abortion access until viability would confuse voters since it’s not always clear when a fetus is viable outside the womb. Several justices seemed on board with doing so, referring to fetuses as “unborn children” and claiming the measure would greenlight abortions “through all nine months.” But they were also skeptical of the state’s argument that voters would be misled by the amendment language.   A message from the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care:   Names in the News Dr. Ateev Mehrotra will join Brown University’s School of Public Health as its chair in the department of health services, policy and practice later this year. He is currently a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S GOVERNORS SUMMIT: Join POLITICO on Feb. 22 to dive into how Governors are wielding immense power. While Washington remains gridlocked, governors are at the center of landmark decisions in AI and tech, economic development, infrastructure, housing, reproductive health and energy. How are they setting the stage for the future of American politics, policies and priorities? How are they confronting major challenges? Explore these questions and more at the 2024 Governors Summit. REGISTER HERE.     WHAT WE'RE READING STAT reports on how federal officials are trying to clarify policy on the use of AI by Medicare Advantage plans. The Washington Post reports on the effectiveness of free STI testing machines in British cities amid a global rise in cases. The 19th News reports that many barriers to health care remained or worsened for transgender people in the last 10 years, according to preliminary survey results by the National Center for Transgender Equality.   A message from the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: A new infographic from the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care lays out the facts about who puts patients first and who pursues profits by limiting access to care. See the head-to-head comparison: https://protecthealthcare.org/latest/who-cares-for-you     Follow us on Twitter Dan Goldberg @dancgoldberg Chelsea Cirruzzo @chelseacirruzzo Katherine Ellen Foley @katherineefoley Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM Kelly Hooper @kelhoops Robert King @rking_19 Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ David Lim @davidalim Megan Messerly @meganmesserly Alice Miranda Ollstein @aliceollstein Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker Megan R. Wilson @misswilson   Follow us

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