Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pandemic-Era Telehealth Prescribing Powers Will Stay In Place A Bit Longer
Axios: DEA Seeks To Temporarily Extend COVID Telehealth Prescribing Rules
The Drug Enforcement Administration has asked the White House for more time to finalize draft rules that proposed reinstating stricter limits requiring doctors to evaluate patients in-person before prescribing certain drugs — like Adderall and opioid use disorder treatment — via telehealth. (Moreno, 5/3)
Politico: DEA Backs Off Plan To End Telehealth Access To Common Medications, For Now
The Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to allow doctors to prescribe controlled substances by telehealth while the agency finalizes rules on prescribing now that the Covid public health emergency is ending, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The agency’s announcement may signal it’s rethinking regulations it proposed in February that would have restricted telehealth access once the Biden administration ends the emergency on May 11. (Leonard, 5/3)
KFF Health News: Biden Administration Issues New Warning About Medical Credit Cards
The Biden administration on Thursday cautioned Americans about the growing risks of medical credit cards and other loans for medical bills, warning in a new report that high interest rates can deepen patients’ debts and threaten their financial security. In its report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that people in the U.S. paid $1 billion in deferred interest on medical credit cards and other medical financing in just three years, from 2018 to 2020. (Levey, 5/4)
On other political, legal developments —
Politico: Senate Democrats Slam Medicare Advantage ‘Ghost Networks’
Medicare Advantage plans faced renewed scrutiny from senators on Wednesday who complained of woefully inaccurate mental health provider directories, which some lawmakers said amounted to fraud. Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee bashed so-called ghost networks run by Medicare Advantage plans, saying inaccurate directories amounted to false advertising to seniors who may pick a Medicare Advantage plan based on the robustness of the network. (King, 5/3)
FactCheck.Org: Republicans Push Back On Democratic Claims Of Veterans' Health Care Cuts In GOP Debt Limit Bill
House Republicans narrowly passed a bill late last month that would temporarily suspend or raise the federal debt limit while significantly reducing caps on discretionary spending for the next 10 years. The legislation does not identify which discretionary programs would or would not see future spending cuts under the proposal. However, some Democrats have claimed that the bill would lead to deep cuts in several areas, including health benefits for military veterans. (Gore 5/3)
Stat: Juul Execs Shower House Oversight Chair With Campaign Cash
Juul executives wrote personal checks to the head of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), right as he launched a critical probe of the FDA’s regulation of e-cigarettes. On March 28, Comer sent a sharply worded letter to FDA commissioner Robert Califf questioning whether the agency’s decisions on authorizing certain vapes “have been influenced by political concerns rather than scientific evidence.” He also requested a slew of documents detailing the FDA’s regulatory decisions. (Florko, 5/4)
From the states —
Crain's Chicago Business: Gov. Pritzker, Illinois Aims To Build Own ACA Obamacare Marketplace
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is supporting new state legislation that would establish an Illinois health care insurance exchange, an effort to protect an important Affordable Care Act provision in Illinois in the event future federal leaders ever look to roll back parts of the landmark law. (Davis, 5/3)
NPR: Anti-Vaccine Activists Are Building A Legal Network
Steve Kirsch is a tech entrepreneur who made hundreds of millions of dollars after founding an early search engine and helping invent the optical computer mouse. Recently, he stood before a gathering of more than 250 lawyers in Atlanta while wearing a custom black T-shirt designed like a dictionary entry for the phrase "misinformation superspreader." (Hagen, 5/4)
In news from Michelle Obama —
The Wall Street Journal: Michelle Obama Starts Food-And-Drinks Company Aimed At Fighting Childhood Obesity
“If you want to change the game, you can’t just work from the outside. You’ve got to get inside,” Mrs. Obama said in a speech at the festival. “You’ve got to find ways to change the food-and-beverage industry itself.” (Petersen, 5/3)
