Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sanders Urges Dems To Target Drug Prices Through Medicare Changes
Politico: Sanders Pushes Medicare Expansion In Dems’ Next Big Bill
Bernie Sanders wants to make sweeping changes to Medicare and prescription drug policy — and evade the filibuster to do it. The Vermont Independent is urging Democrats to force Medicare to enter into negotiations with drug companies and use that revenue to pay for a huge expansion of the entitlement program. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, is aiming to lower Medicare's eligibility age from 65 to 55 or 60 years old and expand the program to cover dental work, glasses and eye surgeries as well as hearing aids. (Everett, 3/26)
The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders Wants To Remind You The Pharmaceutical Industry Is Still Ripping Americans Off
The pharmaceutical industry is enjoying a moment. It has gone in mere months from being one of the most despised industries in the United States to a reputational high, a regular recipient of celebratory headlines for the rapid development of vaccines that will end the covid-19 pandemic. But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would like you to know the American pharmaceutical industry is still ripping people off — and he plans to do something about that. This week, Sanders introduced a trio of bills designed to help the United States get a grip on the price we pay for prescription drugs. (Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is the lead sponsor in the House.) These bills would, if enacted, put an end to the gouging of the American public by permitting Medicare to negotiate drug prices, by pegging the price of pharmaceuticals to the median price in five comparable countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Japan — and by allowing Americans to import drugs legally from Canada and other major countries. (Helaine Olen, 3/24)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
Modern Healthcare: Congressional Action On Maternal Mortality Likely This Year
With the pandemic highlighting health disparities in the U.S., maternal health advocates think this will be the year Congress takes bold action to end preventable, pregnancy-related deaths that disproportionately impact people of color. Black women are three times more likely to die pregnancy-related deaths than white women, and Black people are two times more likely to die of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those issues are likely compounding each other, experts say. "Maternal health should be a part of the COVID response because it is a problem that's been exacerbated by the pandemic," said Jamille Fields Allsbrook, director of the women's initiative at the Center for American Progress. (Hellmann, 3/26)
Politico: High Anxiety Over Federal Weed Loophole
When Congress passed the 2018 farm bill legalizing hemp, it was eager to distinguish the crop from marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant, cannabis sativa L., but hemp can’t contain more than 0.3 percent THC. The distinction is legal, not scientific. "It's not clear whether [Delta-8 THC products] are illegal under the 2018 farm bill," said Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. "It is clear that it violates the spirit of the law." Hemp proponents in Congress like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "support hemp but do not support intoxicating products," Miller said. (Zhang, 3/27)
KHN: Fact Check: In His Continued Sparring With Fauci, Sen. Rand Paul Oversimplified The Science
That Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky often disagrees with infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is well known. Recently, the pair clashed at a Senate hearing when Paul, a Republican, argued against mask recommendations for people who have had covid-19 or have been vaccinated against it. (Appleby, 3/29)
