Health care work begins as Congress returns

Apr 09, 2024

Presented by the Healthcare Distribution Alliance

Driving The Day

Ted Cruz Maria Cantwell converse during a hearing.

Sen. Ted Cruz said he wouldn't support some provisions in a data privacy bill by Sen. Maria Cantwell, right, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

THEY’RE BAAACK — Congress returns this week after a two-week recess — with plenty of health care issues on its agenda.

Data privacy legislation has been revived … but has hit a snag.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, has reservations about the bill that could tank the legislation before it’s formally introduced. The legislation would preempt many state data privacy laws — with exceptions for certain health laws — and enable people to sue firms for privacy violations of health data not covered under federal laws.

Cruz said Monday he’d review the bill but wouldn't support provisions that would allow people to sue for privacy violations or give more power to the Federal Trade Commission.

That’s a key part of the legislation by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). Cruz’s opposition could be a major obstacle to getting a deal done.

Congress is set to lay the groundwork for legislative action, which we’ll be watching closely:

Telemedicine: Lawmakers are teeing up discussions on the future of telehealth, with an E&C subcommittee set to consider several virtual care bills on Wednesday. Eased Medicare and commercial market telehealth rules expire at the end of the year.

In a recent House Ways and Means Committee hearing, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle raised concerns about fraud — drawing pushback from industry groups. Some have raised concerns that there is insufficient data on patient outcomes to inform policymaking.

If those concerns persist, it could increase the likelihood of another temporary extension of pandemic-era rules instead of the permanent expansion pushed by telehealth advocates.

Doc pay: A Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday will provide a window into key lawmakers’ thinking on Medicare doctor payment reform. Lawmakers are increasingly looking for ways to avoid the ritual of a mandated formula imposing cuts that Congress then has to address.

Appropriations: House Republicans plan to take the first step today toward picking a new top appropriator after Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) said she’d be leaving the post early.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) is expected to take the mantle, but Alabama’s Robert Aderholt, who chairs the Appropriations Committee’s Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee, has called for a delay in the election to reform the appropriations process. Aderholt hasn’t said whether he’s running for the chair.

And then there’s the funding itself: The chances of avoiding a stopgap funding bill at the end of the fiscal year are slim. Expect plenty of health care legislation after the November elections.

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The healthcare distribution industry leverages its expertise and partnerships throughout the supply chain to solve some of the toughest healthcare challenges. Distributors deliver 10 million medicines across the country each day — from the biggest cities to the smallest towns – supporting providers and pharmacists and ensuring medicines are available to patients. Learn more.

Abortion

A woman holds a pro-life Trump 2024 sign at a convention.

Pro-life groups are disappointed that former President Donald Trump didn't endorse a national abortion restriction, but they continue to support him. | Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images

TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP’S ABORTION MOVE — Former President Donald Trump attempted to appease differing factions in the GOP with his position on abortion Monday, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly reports.

It’s part of a bid to neutralize an issue on which President Joe Biden is intensely focused. Trump didn’t rule out a national abortion ban or mention executive actions he could take but said abortion access is up to the states.

Some takeaways from the announcement include:

— Despite abortion opponents’ wishes, Trump didn’t endorse national restrictions.

— Trump backed in vitro fertilization but left many other issues unresolved, including whether he would vote in favor of Florida’s six-week abortion ban in November.

— Trump’s statement gives cover to Republicans down the ballot to punt on abortion.

You can read more takeaways here.

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In Congress

HEALTH CENTER REVENUE ON THE RISE — Revenue for community health centers has grown substantially in recent years, according to a new GAO report.

Revenue for health centers grew from more than $12 billion in 2010 to over $26 billion in 2017, and by 2022, it spiked to $42.9 billion, according to the GAO. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the ranking member of the HELP Committee, and E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) requested the report in light of lawmakers’ bid to reauthorize community health center funding that runs through the end of the year.

The report didn’t delve into the health centers’ expenses. It said Medicaid was the largest source of revenue, followed by “other grants.”

“This information is crucial for us to more fully understand where funding shortfalls may be and what other means of funding CHCs are able to access,” Rodgers said in a statement.

The National Association of Community Health Centers didn’t respond to a request for comment about expenses.

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Health Costs

START ‘FURTHER UPSTREAM’? As Americans’ medical debt piles up, new research found that some ways of easing the burden aren’t necessarily effective.

Researchers from universities including Stanford and UCLA examined reams of data from RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that purchases people’s medical debt so they don’t have to pay it, and found no average impact of debt relief on credit scores, care usage, mental health and “financial distress” and a “moderate” reduction in payment of existing health care bills.

"Based on our findings, the intervention needs to happen further upstream,” said Raymond Kluender, a co-author and Harvard Business School assistant professor. “The really important thing is to try and prevent people from accumulating these burdensome bills in the first place.” He suggested financial assistance programs, including debt relief and reduced cost-sharing, as a potential intervention, and more comprehensive health insurance.

RIP Medical Debt president Allison Sesso said in a statement to Pulse that during the study period, key medical debt stopped being reported to credit bureaus and made the findings less relevant to the present. Kluender acknowledged these limitations.

“Further research is required to understand the nuances of our work today, which is why we are exploring additional evaluations of our impact with potential academic partners,” Sesso said. “We hear every day from constituents that we have changed their lives.”

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DIGITAL HEALTH

A NEW NORMAL FOR HEALTH TECH? After the pandemic fueled explosive growth in funding for digital health companies, financing remains at lower levels but above pre-pandemic figures, according to the latest data from investment firm Rock Health.

In the first three months of 2024, venture funding was $2.7 billion, according to the analysis. That’s the lowest first-quarter funding in the past five years, which Rock Health said was “noteworthy” given that the first quarters of 2022 and 2023 were the highest funded of the year.

Digital health funding maintains its slow pace

“Expectations are resetting for digital health players both private and public, pushing them to align to different paradigms of success (strong outcomes and healthy margins instead of high projected growth rates) and change their practices (structuring deals differently, forecasting conservatively),” Rock Health analysts Adriana Krasniansky and Mihir Somaiya wrote.

The pace so far is roughly in line with 2023’s overall funding figures, which were at $10.7 billion — a far cry from 2021’s peak of $29.2 billion. Still, 2023’s numbers were up from pre-pandemic levels, even when adjusting for inflation.

The bigger picture: Venture capitalists have held back on funding after a 2021 boon due to recession fears and rising interest rates, imperiling growth in medical innovation. There has been little Washington can do to address the issue.

Also of note: The share of funding for companies in the sector that use artificial intelligence is rising. In this year’s first quarter, 40 percent of funding went to such companies, up from 33 percent in 2023 overall and 29 percent of 2022's total.

Names in the News

Stephen Holland is joining Crowell & Moring as senior counsel in the firm’s government affairs group. He previously worked for Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Kriti Korula is now a legislative fellow for Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), handling health care. She previously was a legislative correspondent for Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas).

WHAT WE'RE READING

POLITICO’s Katherine Tully-McManus examines the lawmakers who will determine House Speaker Mike Johnson’s future.

The Associated Press reports on virtual care firm Teladoc’s CEO departing.

POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna reports on Trump hitting back at Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) stance on abortion.

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Healthcare distributors work hard to ensure patients have the medicines they need. As the vital link in healthcare, distributors deliver medicines safely and reliably each day to nearly 330,000 frontline providers, pharmacies, hospitals and other sites of care across the country — from the biggest cities to the smallest towns.

When a supply chain disruption occurs, healthcare distributors are there to help lessen the impact. We're problem solvers: focused on collaborative solutions to reduce negative outcomes on patients and ensure a more resilient pharmaceutical supply chain. Learn more.