Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Chamber Of Commerce Joins Efforts To Halt Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its subsidiaries asked a federal court on Wednesday to grant a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act鈥檚 drug pricing provisions. The new motion 鈥渇ocuses solely on the due process clause鈥 and asks the court to 鈥減reserve the status quo鈥 while further litigation plays out. CMS plans to publish a list of the first up to 10 drugs selected for negotiations by Sept. 1 鈥 an action the Chamber of Commerce argues has already harmed the manufacturers of drugs expected to be selected. (Lim, 7/12)
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeking timely relief before the government can further implement its illegal and arbitrary price control scheme. If allowed to go into effect, the scheme would harm not only U.S. businesses but U.S. patients 鈥 limiting access to medicine, deterring needed investment, and stifling innovation,鈥 Andrew Varcoe, deputy chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, said in a statement. (Choi, 7/12)
The House Education and the Workforce Committee advanced four health care bills focused on transparency for hospitals and pharmacy benefit managers with bipartisan support Wednesday. Some of the package seeks to bolster the No Surprises Act, a 2020 law aimed at protecting patients from receiving surprise medical bills, Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said, and lower health care costs. (Leonard and Wilson, 7/12)
In other developments 鈥
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on key COVID-19 findings and recommendations, with the aim of helping federal agencies better prepare for future emergencies, according to a GAO press release. The report is a continuation of the GAO's series on the accountability and effectiveness of the federal government's $4.7 trillion pandemic response since 2020. (Soucheray, 7/12)
Vice President Kamala Harris convened a roundtable discussion with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and over a dozen disability advocates Tuesday in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, with a focus on air travel for wheelchair users.聽Every year, airlines damage thousands of wheelchairs. Currently, wheelchair users on flights must be transferred from their chairs to smaller chairs designed for airplane aisles, and their chairs are stowed away. Buttigieg announced last summer that the Department of Transportation would work toward a new rule that would allow disabled travelers to stay in their own wheelchairs when they fly. That rule has not yet been announced.聽(Luterman, 7/12)
An FDA program intended to incentivize development of new drugs to prevent or treat biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear threats is likely to lapse in early October despite support from some Republicans and the pharmaceutical industry. A House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee package to reauthorize the nation鈥檚 pandemic preparedness law set to be marked up Thursday did not include the FDA program, which is implemented through vouchers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Lim, 7/12)
The House Appropriations Committee approved legislation on party lines Wednesday cutting all funding to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund, while slashing off a fifth of the $600 million the Biden administration requested for reproductive health and family planning. (Paun, 7/12)
On a review of an energy drink 鈥
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the most powerful person in the U.S. Senate, wants the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the increasingly popular energy drink brand Prime. But it鈥檚 unclear what grounds the FDA would have to single out the company in the near future, or what the agency could really do on its own if it wanted to take serious actions against its co-founder, social media star and professional wrestler Logan Paul. (Florko, 7/13)
鈥淭he聽FDA聽has received the聽letter,聽is聽reviewing the concerns outlined in the letter, and will respond to the Senator directly,鈥 the statement read.聽Schumer called for an investigation into Prime, a beverage brand that makes a caffeinated energy drink as well as a hydration drink without caffeine. Schumer claimed that Prime, founded by YouTube stars聽Logan Paul and KSI, was marketing the energy drink to children on social media.聽(Fortinsky, 7/12)