Health Care — September's funding battles

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  Lawmakers face long to-do list ahead of Sept. 30 deadline A slew of appropriations bills need to be passed to prevent a government shutdown at the end of this month, but stark differences in spending goals will make this a herculean task. © Greg Nash, The Hill While the Senate has already advanced bipartisan appropriations bills for both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the House still has to bring its HHS funding bill before the full Appropriations Committee.   Democrats on the committee are stuck on the GOP's aim to massively cut the agency's budget, with the appropriations bill also encompassing the Departments of Education and Labor.   Republicans are saying they're going after "wasteful bureaucracy" while Democrats blast them for proposing a spending level ($163 billion) that hasn't been that low in more than a decade.   On the reauthorization front, the House and Senate have both advanced bills to reauthorize the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act, considered a must-pass bill. A key difference is the Senate included a provision to give the FDA more authority to anticipate potential drug shortages while House Republicans left a similar measure out of their version.   Additionally, lawmakers are looking to tackle hospital price transparency and payment reforms in the pharmacy benefit manager industry. In the House, which returns to session next week, efforts are underway across multiple committees to combine various different pieces of legislation into a floor-friendly package.   Senators are still hoping to bring up legislation that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for people with private insurance, though with a looming appropriations battle, it may have to wait until the end of the year. 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. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: COVID surges heading into fall: What you need to know Rates of COVID-19 are rising as the summer ends, with new variants compounding concerns about the virus heading into the fall. Hospitalizations and deaths are rising by double-digit percentages, according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data, though rates remain far below pandemic-era levels. The change in season also means cooling temperatures, cold season and the return of children to schools around the country — all …  Full Story Researchers see surge in number of people under 50 diagnosed with cancer Researchers are seeing a surge in the number of people under 50 diagnosed with cancer, according to a recent study.  Globally, new cancer cases among people younger than 50 increased by 79.1 percent from 1990 to 2019, according to a new study published in BMJ Oncology. The number of early-onset cancer deaths also increased by 27.7 percent from 1990 to 2019.  Using data from the 2019 Global Burden Of Disease study, researchers …  Full Story New York state providing COVID tests, masks to schools New York state will provide COVID-19 tests and masks in school districts amid a recent spike in cases over the summer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced Tuesday. The announcement also comes after the recent discovery of the BA.2.86 subvariant in New York City’s sewage, according to city officials. Hochul's office Wednesday said the state will conduct outreach to the Education Department and Boards of Cooperative …  Full Story In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Mexico decriminalizes abortion, extending Latin American trend of widening access to procedure MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion Wednesday, ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women's rights in a sweeping decision that extended Latin American's trend of widening abortion access. The high court ordered that abortion be removed … Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: How a conservative, gun-toting doctor defended abortion access in Appalachia (Stat) Even in the most depressed county in America, stigma around mental illness persists (KFF Health News) Some of California best-paid employees will get bonuses of $40,000 or more in new contract (CalMatters) What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: CDC hopes new 'Wild to Mild' ad campaign will tame skepticism about flu vaccines (CNN) Astellas withdraws lawsuit challenging Medicare drug price negotiation plans (Reuters) Will a 'brick wall' against abortion restrictions fall? (The 19th News) What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: 5 takeaways from Peter Navarro's contempt trial Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for former Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro rested their case Wednesday in a trial involving charges … Read more Republicans just can't stop calling for civil war Ask a MAGA Republican what will happen if former President Donald Trump is convicted in any of his four criminal trials and the answer is almost always … Read more   You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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