Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Administration's New Tariffs Include Chinese Medical Supplies
Stat: The White House Hikes Tariffs On Chinese Medical Products
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it’s raising taxes on a range of imported products from China, including syringes, needles, and surgical gloves. Pitched as a plan to support American workers, the tariffs are meant to protect domestic manufacturers from China’s “unfair trade practices” and “artificially low-priced exports.” (Lawrence, 5/14)
Axios: What The China Biotech Crackdown Means For U.S. Drug Supply
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday are expected to set in motion a massive reordering of how U.S. pharmaceuticals are developed and made, by advancing a contracting ban on five key Chinese research firms. (Goldman, 5/15)
Also —
The Hill: President Joe Biden Reelection Campaign Launches Spanglish Health Care Ad
President Biden’s reelection campaign is launching a new health care ad Tuesday, delivered in Spanglish. ... “For Latino communities already facing health care disparities, this election isn’t just about politics — it’s about survival. Latinos deserve a president who is fighting to make health care better and more affordable — and that’s exactly what President Biden has focused on in his first term,” said Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. (Bernal, 5/14)
Politico: Congress Considers Deadline For VA To Fix Beleaguered Health Record System
Congress is poised to set a hard two-year deadline for the VA and contractor Oracle Cerner to hit quality metrics for the agency’s beleaguered project to modernize its electronic health record system or terminate the contract. Lawmakers have repeatedly threatened to rein in the project, which the agency has told POLITICO is tied to at least four veterans’ deaths and estimated to cost more than $50 billion after initial estimates put it at $10 billion. (Leonard, 5/14)
The 19th: Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s Use Of A Voice App On The House Floor Sparks Larger Disability Conversation
Last week, Rep. Jennifer Wexton made disability history by becoming the first member of Congress to deliver a speech using an assistive and augmentative communication device on the House floor. Wexton has a rare degenerative condition called progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP. However, some in the disability community feel that the news coverage has missed the point, focusing on novelty without acknowledging Wexton’s actions in the deeper historical and social context of a world that is not built for people like them. (Luterman, 5/14)
Politico: Social Media Bills Aim To Protect Kids’ Health
The Kids Online Safety Act, which Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sponsored, would require social media platforms to prevent the spread of harmful content, such as material related to suicide or eating disorders, on their sites. Why it matters: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned that social media might be contributing to an increase in mental illness among youth. (Payne, Reader and Schumaker, 5/14)
Politico: Judge Throws Out FTC Case Against Private Equity Firm In Texas Anesthesia Antitrust Case
A Texas federal district court threw out the Federal Trade Commission's suit against a private equity firm the agency accused last September of conspiring to corner the Texas market for anesthesia through a series of under-the-radar acquisitions. In a Monday ruling, Judge Kenneth Hoyt in Houston dismissed the case against Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. But Hoyt declined to dismiss the FTC's case against U.S. Anesthesia Partners, a group of doctors Welsh Carson created in 2012 that now dominates the anesthesia market in Houston and Dallas. (Sisco, 5/14)
Axios: Private Equity Escapes Major Antitrust Lawsuit
Private equity is breathing easier this morning, after a federal judge in Texas dismissed what could have been a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe. The Federal Trade Commission last year sued both WCAS and one of its portfolio companies for suppressing competition and driving up prices of anesthesiology services in Texas. (Primack, 5/14)
In bird flu news —
NBC News: Bird Flu Virus Possibly Found In A Handful Of Wastewater Sites, CDC Says
There’s no solid evidence that bird flu is spreading among people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday amid an outbreak of the virus in dairy cows. New data from 189 of the agency’s wastewater sampling sites showed that as of May 4, an influenza A virus had been detected at higher-than-average levels in a handful of sites across the country, including in Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois and Kansas. (Edwards, 5/14)
Reuters: US Relaxes Regulations For Labs Handling Bird Flu Samples To Ease Virus Response
U.S. government officials have temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on how public health laboratories and healthcare facilities handle, store and transport H5N1 bird flu samples, which are considered high-risk pathogens, in response to the recent spread of the virus to dairy cattle. The revised guidance, which has not been previously reported, came at the request of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), which represents state and local labs that monitor and detect public health threats. (Steenhuysen, 5/14)
