 Health Care |
Health Care |
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PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS |
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Schumer outlines Dems' summer health priorities
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With Congress back for three weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants Democrats to hone in on potentially bipartisan bills on insulin and broader prescription drug pricing, as well as combating the opioid epidemic.
| In a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated Sunday, Schumer said Democrats will work with Republicans to "lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs," as well as respond to the nation's ongoing fentanyl crisis and "promote community health."
"Passing these bills will not be easy, and we will depend on cooperation of our Republican colleagues to get any of them done," he wrote.
Both the House and Senate appear to be coalescing around efforts to reform pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), though there are multiple bills from committees addressing different parts of the industry that will need to be coordinated.
Experts say PBMs are far from the sole reason for high drug prices but are part of a larger system that makes medicine unaffordable and deserve just as much scrutiny as manufacturers.
What's less clear is what lawmakers will be able to accomplish regarding insulin pricing.
There are competing bipartisan bills in the Senate, as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are competing against Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Kennedy (R-La.). The common theme is a $35 monthly cap for people on private insurance, but the bills differ widely after that.
Neither Schumer nor Senate Health Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have committed to either package.
Major insulin manufacturers reduced the prices of several of their more popular insulin products earlier this year, though these reductions won't go into effect immediately.
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Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is opening the way for more cancer drugs from China as the U.S. continues to deal with an ongoing shortage in key chemotherapy treatments. A spokesperson for the FDA confirmed on Monday that the agency is permitting 10 additional lots of the common cancer drug cisplatin to be distributed by the Chinese company Qilu Pharmaceutical. Cisplatin is currently under shortage along with another … |
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| A Kansas judge issued an order Monday that prohibits the state from allowing transgender drivers to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses. The order comes as part of a lawsuit filed three days earlier by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), who sued two members of the Democratic administration for what he claimed were violations of a new law that took effect July 1. The new law mandates that a person's … |
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The head Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee says he is worried about a flurry of “extreme right-wing amendments” attached to the House version of the annual defense bill as lawmakers prepare to debate and vote on the legislation this month. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told The Washington Post he was concerned about GOP measures on “abortion, guns, the border, and social policy and equity issues.” … |
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Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
- The Senate HELP Committee is holding a hearing Tuesday on superbugs and the issue of microbial resistance.
- The House select subcommittee on the COVID-19 pandemic will hold a hearing Tuesday on the possible lab origins of the outbreak and discuss a study Republicans claim was used for a cover up.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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James Lewis, the suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed 7 in the Chicago area, has died |
The suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area, triggered a nationwide panic, and led to an overhaul in the safety of over-the-counter medication packaging, has died, police said on Monday. Officers, firefighters and EMTs responding to a report of an unresponsive person at about 4 p.m. Sunday found … |
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A MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS |
July marks 1 year of 988—the nationwide number for people to contact during a mental health or suicide crisis. But the work continues. Congress must continue investing in the mental health crisis response that we deserve. |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Meet the people deciding how to spend $50 billion in opioid settlement cash (KFF Health News)
- Murphy signs prescription drug reforms (NJ Spotlight News)
- West Nile virus found in Cincinnati area (WKRC)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- HCA Healthcare data leak appears to be theft (The Wall Street Journal)
- EU investigates Ozempic, weight-loss drug Saxenda after suicidal thoughts reported (Reuters)
- More than 1 billion people are projected to have diabetes by 2050 (The Washington Post)
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Dialing Into Mental Health: One Year of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — July 13, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m. July is the one-year anniversary of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline becoming available to everyone in the U.S. to call, text or chat to access a national network of local and state-funded crisis centers. Join The Hill at The National Press Club or via online streaming as we bring together lawmakers, mental health experts and advocates to mark this milestone anniversary and discuss the progress still to be made. Featured speakers: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Co-Sponsor of the Behavioral Health Crisis Services Expansion Act; state Rep. Tina Orwall, from Washington state; Adrienne Breidenstine, Vice President of Policy & Communications at Behavioral Health System Baltimore; Laurel Stine, Executive Vice President & Chief Policy Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; and Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer at NAMI. |
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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The blockade from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on about 250 of the Pentagon’s general and flag officers has left the Marine Corps without a … Read more |
| Former Vice President Mike Pence Monday chided former President Trump over his assertion that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, arguing … Read more |
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Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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