Biden’s $12 billion women’s health plan

Presented by Kidney Care Access: The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Mar 08, 2024 View in browser   By Erin Schumaker, Carmen Paun, Daniel Payne and Ruth Reader Presented by DISRUPTORS Biden touted the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research led by his wife, first lady Jill Biden. | Andrew Harnik/AP President Joe Biden wants $12 billion to fund a research initiative on women’s health he touted in last night’s State of the Union address. According to the White House, the money would: — Create a new fund at the National Institutes of Health to advance interdisciplinary research on women's health — Launch a nationwide network of centers of excellence for women's health — Bring together private and philanthropic funding to further women's health research The request comes on the heels of a program announcement last month by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which Biden created to take on high-risk, high-reward research. ARPA-H's Sprint for Women's Health is putting $100 million toward "transformative research and development in women’s health" via advancements in science, technology or systems. Why it matters: Women, especially women of color, have long been underrepresented in clinical trials. The downstream effect of not being included means that many drugs and treatments aren't developed with women in mind. That can mean some drugs are less effective and safe for women. The problem runs deep. Even lab rats are overwhelmingly male. Being underrepresented in research makes it more likely that women will be misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed for some diseases and conditions. Reality check: Congress hasn't shown much appetite for funding health research this year. Health agencies, including NIH, are facing the prospect of flat budgets or budget cuts in fiscal 2024. Congress faces a funding deadline later this month.   A message from Kidney Care Access: Dialysis patients and their families are being harmed. Employer group health plans can discriminate against patients with kidney failure, disrupting coverage for the patient and their family. A new bipartisan bill will restore essential protections as Congress intended – for these patients and their families. Congress: pass H.R. 6860, the bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. Protect patients and their families. Learn more.   WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Washington, D.C. | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. A company founded by former Navy SEALs wants to use AI to prevent mass shootings. The AI is trained to detect firearms in images captured by security cameras, WFIN reports. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.    A message from Kidney Care Access:   DANGER ZONE A House lawmaker is worried about reports that China is trying to biologically enhance its soldiers. | Getty Images “If we lose, we face a bleak future of superhuman soldiers and designer babies.” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) Biotechnology experts and lawmakers stressed the stakes of staying on the cutting edge of research, and ahead of China, during a House hearing on “bioeconomy and national security” yesterday. “If we win, it will propel our nation light years ahead and improve the lives of countless Americans,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, warning that if we lose China will stretch the bounds of ethical research. Krishnamoorthi referred to reports that China is experimenting with biologically enhancing its troops. To beat the Chinese, the experts said to: — Build a large biological database that AI algorithms can be trained on The government could coordinate the collection of that data from pharma companies, said Jason Kelly, the CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, a U.S. biotech company, and chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology. — Expand biotech manufacturing to produce everything from weight-loss drugs to crops that don’t require fertilizers. “I think it's gonna allow us to make materials with new properties that we can't even dream of. We're gonna go way beyond Velcro,” said Dr. Tara O’Toole, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. — Do something flashy to attract the next generation of biotechnology experts “We could sequence all of the furry mammals in North America,” O’Toole said. Wide angle: The hearing came as the committee is considering legislation that would bar U.S. firms with federal funding from working with some Chinese biotech firms. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a version of the measure sponsored by its chair, Gary Peters (D-Mich.), on Wednesday in an 11-1 vote, with only Kentucky Republican Rand Paul opposed.   A message from Kidney Care Access: A recent Supreme Court ruling now allows employer group health plans to discriminate against patients with kidney failure and disrupt coverage for the entire family – spouse and kids. The Bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act reverses the negative, unintended consequences of the Supreme Court’s ruling by simply restoring long-standing protections put in place by Congress for patients and their families. Congress: restore what’s right. Pass H.R. 6860, the Bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. Learn more.     JOIN US ON 3/21 FOR A TALK ON FINANCIAL LITERACY: Americans from all communities should be able to save, build wealth, and escape generational poverty, but doing so requires financial literacy. How can government and industry ensure access to digital financial tools to help all Americans achieve this? Join POLITICO on March 21 as we explore how Congress, regulators, financial institutions and nonprofits are working to improve financial literacy education for all. REGISTER HERE.     THE NEXT CURES New weight loss drugs could transform business models across medicine. | Getty Images Companies across the health care industry are taking note — and looking to capitalize — on the meteoric rise of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic that are giving obese people new hope. Consider Labcorp, one of the largest medical testing companies in the world. It’s offering a new menu of tests for people who want to lose weight. Those tests, the company said in an announcement, capture health factors before, during and after a number of interventions, including the new drugs. The tests will measure metrics — from cholesterol and blood sugar levels to liver, kidney and thyroid function — and help patients and doctors make better sense of the care and its impacts, the company said. Why it matters: Labcorp is just one of many companies considering how a weight-loss revolution could change their businesses. What’s ahead? Labcorp sees big demand for the new services, noting that more than 40 percent of the U.S. population is obese.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The stakes are high as America's health care community strives to meet the evolving needs of patients and practitioners, adopt new technologies and navigate skeptical public attitudes toward science. Join POLITICO’s annual Health Care Summit on March 13 where we will discuss the future of medicine, including the latest in health tech, new drugs and brain treatments, diagnostics, health equity, workforce strains and more. REGISTER HERE.       Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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