Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Demands Sweeping Changes For Supreme Court
The Wall Street Journal: Biden Calls For Supreme Court Reforms, Constitutional Amendment To Limit Presidential Immunity
President Biden called Monday for a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s recent decision awarding former presidents immunity for crimes they commit while in office—and endorsed proposals for a mandatory ethics code and 18-year term limit for justices. “In recent years, extreme opinions that the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long-established civil rights principles and protections,” Biden said, speaking at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. He cited decisions that the court’s right-leaning majority views as landmark achievements, including rulings that limited federal voting-rights protections, overturned Roe v. Wade and ended affirmative action in college admissions. (Bravin, 7/29)
The New York Times: How The Current Supreme Court Would Look Under Biden’s Term-Limit Plan
Under Mr. Biden’s term-limit plan, presidents would appoint a new Supreme Court justice every two years. If that rule had already been in effect over the past two decades and each justice had served the full 18-year term, the court’s ideological split would be flipped, as this chart shows. (Shao, 7/29)
In other Supreme Court updates —
Modern Healthcare: Chevron Ruling Could Boost Rural Hospital Medicare Pay
A small hospital in Washington state and 800 other so-called “tweener” hospitals could gain an important label and more financial security in a post-Chevron world. The 67-bed Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, Washington, is too large to be considered a critical access hospital and too small to be a rural referral center. Critical access hospitals with no more than 25 beds are paid 101% of their costs for many Medicare services. (Kacik, 7/29)
The Washington Post: Medical Worker On Trial In Leak Of Justice Ginsburg’s Health Records
As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sought to privately battle cancer, federal prosecutors said Monday, her health records reached a dark corner of the internet where users floated antisemitic conspiracy theories. Her information, according to prosecutors and court testimony from an FBI agent, was accessed by a former organ transplant coordinator while she was under the care of George Washington University Hospital in 2019 and then posted to the online message board 4chan, which is known for salacious and conspiracy-themed discussions. (Rizzo, 7/29)
In news from Congress —
AP: Senate Set To Pass Bill Designed To Protect Kids From Dangerous Online Content
The Senate is expected to pass legislation Tuesday that is designed to protect children from dangerous online content, pushing forward with what would be the first major effort by Congress in decades to hold tech companies more accountable for the harm that they cause. The bill has sweeping bipartisan support and has been pushed by parents of children who died by suicide after online bullying. It would force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm on online platforms frequently used by minors, requiring them to exercise “duty of care” and ensure that they generally default to the safest settings possible. (Jalonick, 7/30)
PoliticoPro: MultiPlan Makes Its Case To Congress
MultiPlan CEO Travis Dalton, whose data analytics company is under fire from providers and lawmakers amid allegations that it is colluding with health insurers, said his recent meetings on Capitol Hill couldn’t have gone better. Following demands from Congress for the DOJ and FTC to open investigations into MultiPlan’s business practices, Dalton held several meetings with Senate staffers over the past few weeks, during which he defended his company and showed how it uses publicly available data to recommend how much providers should be paid for out-of-network care. (Hooper, 7/30)
Stat: LGBTQ Dating App Grindr Hires Washington Lobbying Firm
LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr is tapping into the Washington lobbying world amid legislative battles over reproductive health care access. The “Global Gayborhood” has hired The Daschle Group, founded by former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, to lobby on “HIV prevention; LGTBQ family formation challenges including surrogacy and IVF,” according to federal disclosures filed last week. (Florko and Owermohle, 7/29)
