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ABORTION GETS ONLY A BRIEF NOD IN DEBATES: The issue of abortion rights received almost no attention during the second round of debates Tuesday and Wednesday, even as Democrats have shifted to the left on abortion ahead of the election.
Though a couple of candidates on stage identified as “pro-choice,” the moderators did not ask questions about abortion rights, and only in one instance did candidates redirect answers to address the topic.
On Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris of California attacked former Vice President Joe Biden over his past support of the Hyde Amendment, which is a provision added to spending bills that prevents government funding from paying for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or if a woman’s pregnancy threatens her life.
Biden said closer to the start of his campaign that he supported maintaining the ban, but quickly reversed himself after pressure from outside groups and others vying for the nomination. Harris asked him to explain the switch, and he briefly responded that women used to have more ways to access abortion. He said that because his healthcare proposal would allow everyone the option to participate in a government plan, then the plan should also cover abortions.
He also noted that other Democrats who had worked in Congress and were running for president have voted for spending bills that contain the Hyde Amendment.
Abortion rights weren’t raised during Tuesday’s debate, causing Planned Parenthood to blast the “deafening silence” on the issue. The organization said the debate should have included a discussion about how to “protect and expand access to abortion.” On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood said voters “deserve more than a mere five minutes touching on this critical issue.”
Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion organization that is influential with the Trump administration, called out Biden specifically in a statement and said the the position was “extremist” and would be “forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand.”
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
VETERINARIANS LOBBY CONGRESS TO ALLOW ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS: The American Veterinary Medical Association is sending 170 members to Capitol Hill Thursday, with many of them pushing for broadening access to association health plans under the Association Health Plans Act of 2019. The plans would allow people with similar jobs to band together for the purpose of purchasing insurance. The group already allows veterinarians in nine states to enroll in a plan.
QUICK DEBATE RECAP ON HEALTHCARE: A SPAT OVER HOW TO PAY FOR PLANS: Biden hit left-leaning Democrats Harris and Mayor Bill de Blasio during the second round of debates Wednesday over the cost of their proposals to uproot private health insurance in favor of a singular government plan.
“I don’t know what math you do in New York, I don’t know what math you do in California, but I tell ya that’s a lot of money,” Biden said of the cost of their “Medicare for all” plans. He oscillated between claiming that their plans would cost, over a decade, $3 trillion and $30 trillion.
Biden said that people who liked their coverage should be able to keep it. He accused Harris of “double talk” on her plan because she has gone back and forth about whether she would allow private health insurers to stay in business if elected. Biden reminded the audience of her wavering, warning that “you can’t beat President Trump with double talk on this plan.”
WAYS AND MEANS PUSHES TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH COMMITTEE FOR AIR AMBULANCES: The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Transportation are eight months overdue under the FAA Reauthorization Act to form an advisory committee that would recommend ways to improve the disclosure of charges and fees from air ambulances.
This week, the heads of the Ways and Means Committee wrote to the Department of Transportation to alert the agency that it was time to form the committee. The move comes as Congress weighs surprise billing legislation. There’s a big push by the air ambulance industry to get the committee formed rather than curtail the issue of high charges through legislation.
ONE TO WATCH: NEW RICK SCOTT-CHRIS VAN HOLLEN BILL WOULD LIMIT PRICES OF DRUGS DEVELOPED USING TAXPAYER-FUNDED RESEARCH: Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Republican Rick Scott of Florida introduced legislation Wednesday to put constraints on the prices of new drugs that were developed using taxpayer-funded research. The measure would work by setting up a new federal committee to judge “reasonable” prices, which drugmakers using taxpayer-funded research would have to follow.
The bill could affect a lot of the market — 20% to 25% of all new prescription drugs would be affected, according to the senators. It would work by setting up a new federal committee to judge “reasonable” prices, which drugmakers using taxpayer-funded research would have to follow.
PhRMA CEO SAYS TRUMP’S IMPORTATION PLAN ‘FAR TOO DANGEROUS’: Stephen Ubl, the CEO of PhRMA, a trade group that represents pharmaceutical companies, slammed the Trump administration’s plans to begin importing prescription drugs from foreign countries. Ubl said Wednesday that the Trump administration’s proposed plans to import prescription drugs is a “scheme is far too dangerous for American patients.” Even though Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had previously pointed to pitfalls of importation plans, calling the idea a “gimmick” at one point, he and Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless announced plans Wednesday morning to begin importing drugs from foreign countries as long as they abide by FDA standards.
DEMOCRATS TO FORCE SENATE REPUBLICANS TO VOTE ON PROTECTING PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: Senate Democrats introduced a resolution Wednesday to put pressure on Senate Republicans to demonstrate their support for Obamacare’s protections for pre-existing conditions. The resolution will advance through the Congressional Review Act, which would allow a floor vote without the input from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The resolution would reverse the Trump administration guidance on “innovation waivers,” which allow states to alter healthcare in their states. Democrats take issue with one of the options the Trump administration gave states that would allow people to use Obamacare subsidies to buy short-term plans, which don’t include protections for pre-existing conditions. On the same day Democrats announced their plans, the Trump administration approved reinsurance plans in Colorado and North Dakota.
ACTING PLANNED PARENTHOOD CEO AIMS TO MOBILIZE VOTERS WHO WANT THE ‘ABILITY TO BE FREE’: Planned Parenthood’s new acting president, Alexis McGill Johnson, spoke with Time Magazine about Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the presidential election. She said a focal point of the organization will encourage voter participation by connecting voters “to the issues that they care about,” including reproductive rights, and, more broadly, “their ability to be free.” When it comes to the 2020 election, Johnson said the organization can learn a lot from 2016. “When I look at the 10,000 votes in Michigan that were left on the table, those are the sorts of things that I think have to be in the back of our minds,” Johnson said. “Can we ensure that our supporters are out in every single state in order to vote on access to women’s healthcare?”
The Rundown
The Washington Post White House races to come up with health-care wins for Trump’s campaign
The Denver Channel Colorado reinsurance program that could cut health care premiums gets federal approval, Polis says
Kaiser Health News The talk seniors need to have with doctors before surgery
New Hampshire Public Radio Research: Majority of people in Nashua drug court have suffered childhood trauma
Stat DeepMind AI predicts acute loss of kidney function two days in advance, study shows
Calendar
THURSDAY | Aug. 1
Senate in session. House in recess.
FRIDAY | Aug. 2
Aug. 2-6. Walter E. Washington Convention Center. American Veterinary Medical Association annual meeting. Details.
MONDAY | Aug. 5
Congress in August recess.
