| | | | |  | | By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard | With Robert King
| | |  | MAPPING IT OUT — The Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow abortion rights on the November ballot is giving Democrats a jolt of hope that it could put former President Donald Trump’s home state, which he won twice, in play. The court’s simultaneous ruling effectively allowing a six-week near-total abortion ban on May 1 lets Democrats frame Florida’s upcoming contest as crucial for reproductive rights — not just in Florida but across the Southeast. And, they hope, it gives Democratic-leaning voters, perhaps unenthused by the top of the ticket, motivation to head to the polls. Spreading the message: A Biden campaign memo declared the state “winnable,” and on Tuesday, campaign surrogates sought to remind voters of the stakes, POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian and Kimberly Leonard report. “With Florida’s six-week ban, women across the entire Southeastern region of this country will soon have very few places to go to get the reproductive health care they need,” Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said on a call with reporters. “It is unacceptable that the millions of women living here have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.” More than Florida: Democrats hope that abortion-rights measures drive turnout in New York and Maryland — where it’s already on the ballot — and several other states, including swing states like Arizona where efforts are underway to get the issue on the ballot. The problem for Democrats is that abortion-rights voters don’t always vote “D” down the ballot, according to a POLITICO analysis. Four more: Another four states — Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Pennsylvania — could have measures on their ballots that would amend their state constitutions to say there is no right, or a limited right, to abortion. It’s unclear whether those measures will receive the required number of signatures or legislative approval needed to qualify for the ballot. Meanwhile: Some local pols in Florida would rather the Biden campaign have a lighter touch, POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian and Kimberly Leonard report. All the attention could push away GOP voters crucial to passing the initiative to protect abortion. “I wish they hadn’t,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat who previously worked for Planned Parenthood, said of the various efforts the Biden campaign was putting into Florida. “I would expect them to support the initiative, but letting locals lead on this is smart.” WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. An AI company says it can detect STIs from a single picture of one’s genitals with a non-FDA-approved tech — it’s just one example of unproven ground in artificial intelligence. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_.
| | |  HHS proposes cracking down on drug shortages by penalizing hospitals that fail to maintain adequate stockpiles. | Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images | AVERTING SHORTAGES — HHS is proposing a program that would penalize hospitals for not refreshing their drug stockpiles to curb shortages, Robert reports. On Tuesday, the agency outlined programs that give incentives to hospitals that meet good purchasing practices and penalize those that don’t. Another program would grade drugmakers on their manufacturing process’ resiliency. Drug shortages have roiled the industry for decades and worsened during the pandemic. However, buy-in from Congress is needed to make the programs a reality. “We want members of Congress and all actors in the supply chain to consider and act on the policy options presented in today’s white paper,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. Under the Hospital Resilient Supply Program, HHS would boost or cut facilities’ Medicare payments to facilities based partly on their grade on a scorecard. The grades could be based on the number of drugs a hospital purchases from reliable sources, such as domestically manufactured products. A separate program would also give manufacturers a reliability score based on prior performance and redundancy. HHS estimates the hospital program could cost the federal government between $2.5 billion and $3.4 billion over the next decade. The manufacturing program would cost $750 million over the same period. MORE TIME TO ENROLL — CMS finalized a rule Tuesday that will create a special enrollment period for low-income customers starting next year, Robert reports. The final rule ensures that customers with an income at or below 150 percent of the poverty level can sign up for an Affordable Care Act plan during any month. Previously, the special enrollment period applied only when enhanced subsidies passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act were available. The subsidies expire after 2025. The move comes as HHS decided late last month to extend until Nov. 30 a special enrollment period for low-income Americans who lost Medicaid coverage to sign up for an ACA plan. The previous deadline for the enrollment period was July 31.
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | | | | | ‘BETTER THAN THE DRUG DEALERS’ — A federal official says more prevention work and targeted interventions can help overcome the drug overdose crisis that killed nearly 110,000 Americans last year, POLITICO’s Carmen Paun reports. “We are much better than fentanyl, we are much, much better than the drug dealers,” Dr. Nora Volkow, who has led the National Institute on Drug Abuse for more than two decades, told participants at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit on Tuesday in Atlanta. Decreasing substance use risk, such as by addressing early aggressive behavior and poor social skills, and supporting positive relationships and antidrug use policies could help reduce overdoses, according to data Volkow presented at the conference. Volkow said NIDA has asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to provide recommendations and policies for drug-use prevention. Volkow also warned that some racial and ethnic groups aren’t yet experiencing a drop in the number of overdose deaths. While the number of white Americans dying from overdose is decreasing, it’s increasing for American Indians and Alaskan Natives and Black Americans. The overdose death rate among American Indians and Alaskan Natives is double that of the U.S. average, she said. In Black American communities, the death from overdoses is 50 percent higher than in the rest of the country, Volkow said.
| | CASHING IN ON TRANSPLANTS — A law passed last year means organ transplant technology could make companies a lot of money, POLITICO's Erin Schumaker reports. The market opportunity for innovations like transplant diagnostics, organ transport and artificial intelligence-based transplant matching is estimated to be at least $7 billion globally, according to a new report from industry analyst PitchBook. Bird’s-eye view: The opportunity is fueled partly by legislation President Joe Biden signed into law in September. The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act is meant to bolster the nation’s organ donation system by putting its management up for bid. The Senate report recommended removing barriers to competition and breaking up the existing contract that’s been held by one organization since the system was established. An upcoming review of that contract “may lead to additional disruption with opportunity for transplant startups to gain a foothold as technology partners,” according to the report. Why it matters: More than 100,000 people are on the national waitlist for an organ transplant, and federal officials say 6,000 people die each year waiting for a transplant.
| | BIRD FLU BRIEF — Top federal health officials told congressional leaders and committees Tuesday that, while risk to the general public is low, people with prolonged exposure to infected birds or livestock might be more vulnerable to the avian flu, POLITICO’s David Lim reports. The briefing, which included officials from the FDA, the CDC, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was largely a regurgitation of publicly available material, according to one of two congressional aides who confirmed the call and were granted anonymity to discuss the confidential briefing. It comes a day after the CDC confirmed that a Texas dairy worker had tested positive for bird flu — only the second human case in the U.S. Genetic sequencing appears to suggest that wild birds in the Texas panhandle region infected cows, a USDA official said on the call. No human-to-human transmission of the virus has been detected. The FDA didn’t comment when asked about the briefing. House and Senate leadership offices, USDA, the CDC and ASPR didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
| | | | Samira Burns is now principal deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS. She previously was deputy assistant secretary for public affairs for human services.
| | POLITICO’s Joseph Gedeon reports on cybersecurity concerns regarding HHS information on migrant children. The New York Times reports on a growing technique that keeps organs alive outside the body longer as they’re readied for transplant. KFF Health News is tracking where opioid settlement money goes.
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