Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Conservatives Leverage Biden's Covid To Spread Vaccine Misinformation
Newsweek: Joe Biden's Critics Use COVID News To Mislead People About Vaccines
Using examples of so-called breakthrough infections, in which people get infected with COVID despite vaccination, is a tactic that vaccine skeptics have used to question the effectiveness of vaccines or mandates. "Today he [Biden] should end his destructive vaccine mandate on our military," tweeted Republican Congressman Darrell Issa of California, referring to Biden's 2021 comment. (Browne, 7/22)
Politico: Harris Plots Her Next, More Aggressive, Volley In The Abortion Fights
Vice President Kamala Harris and her team plan to hit the campaign and fundraising circuit in an aggressive bid to elevate Democratic state legislators and governors on the abortion rights frontlines. The events reflect the vice president’s expanding work on abortion policy since the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. And, if executed, they would mark an aggressive push by the second highest Democrat in the land to get involved in races often overlooked by the national party. (Daniels, 7/25)
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill —
The Hill: Buttigieg Hits Rubio For Calling Same-Sex Marriage Bill ‘Waste Of Time’
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called out Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Sunday for his comments that a vote on a bill protecting same-sex marriage would be a “stupid waste of time.” “If he’s got time to fight against Disney, I don’t know why he wouldn’t have time to help safeguard marriages like mine,” Buttigieg told CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper. (Mueller, 7/24)
The Hill: GOP Plots Fauci Probe After Midterms
Congressional Republicans are eagerly floating investigations into Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic if they win back control of the House or Senate in the midterm elections. (Weixel, 7/25)
The Hill: Permanent Daylight Saving Time Hits Brick Wall In House
More than four months after the Senate unanimously passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent in the U.S., the measure has hit a brick wall in the House. The main impediments dimming the legislation’s chances of passing appear to be fundamental disagreements over its language and a general consensus that other matter take precedence as the House grapples with high inflation, gun massacres and fending off judicial threats on issues such as abortion and marriage equality. (Schnell, 7/25)
In news on CMS and state-funded home care programs —
Modern Healthcare: CMS Sets Quality Measures For State-Funded Home Care Programs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the release of voluntary quality measures for state Medicaid home and community-based service programs to assess patient health outcomes. While reporting on the measures is currently voluntary, CMS said it encourages states to incorporate the quality assessments into existing home and community-based service reporting requirements, evaluating their performance biannually, setting targets and developing a quality improvement plan. (Devereaux, 7/22)
Also —
KHN: Ad Targeting Manchin And AARP Mischaracterizes Medicare Drug-Price Negotiations
A snappy political advertisement from the conservative advocacy group American Commitment bluntly charges Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) with supporting a legislative plan that would drain “billions in funds” from Medicare. Specifically, the ad claims that Manchin and AARP, the well-known advocacy group for people 50 and older, “support government price-setting schemes that’ll give liberal politicians billions in funds meant for Medicare to spend on unrelated government programs or pad big insurers’ profits.” Here, “price-setting” is a reference to a policy proposal that its backers say would give Medicare the ability to rein in the prices it pays for some prescription drugs so they are more in line with prices in other industrialized countries. (Knight and DeGuzman, 7/25)
