KHN's 'How Healthy?': Big Week for Biden

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Health policy is the most important piece of legislation Congress rushed to pass before the summer break. President Joe Biden signed a bill this week that would provide health benefits for veterans who fall ill from exposure to toxic burn pits and may soon sign a measure that would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and expand support for passing Subsidies for those who purchase insurance in the following ways. Marketplace for the Affordable Care Act.

Meanwhile, the abortion debate continues to rage across the country, with Indiana becoming the first state to pass a new ban since the Supreme Court overturned it Roe v. Wade June.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Carlin-Smith of Pink List and Ray of Statistics Cher Coles

Highlights from this week’s episodes include:

• Senate members determine whether provisions in special budget legislation known as the Settlement Act meet the requirements of unhindered and impartial advertising to qualify by a simple majority vote. Last week, she passed the Reducing Inflation Act to force Democrats to drop some drug pricing rules that would have applied to consumers in the private health insurance market. That includes a program that requires drugmakers to keep price increases for certain drugs at an inflation rate.

Democrats are also disappointed that lawmakers deny they pass prices for insulin patients not covered by Medicare Efforts to pass the cap, and Republicans have failed to support efforts to pass the measure. Several other bills aimed at helping keep the cost of lifesaving drugs affordable have stalled in Congress and are unlikely to get a vote in the Senate this year.

• But the bill still provides key protections for Medicare beneficiaries and is a major change in the way the government interacts with drugmakers. Getting such legislation — which has been met with strong industry opposition — is an impressive feat for Democrats in a Senate that is evenly divided. If the bill passes the House on Friday, as expected, some changes to Medicare, including price negotiations, do not will take effect immediately. So consumers will have to wait for all the benefits of the new law.

Indiana’s new abortion law goes into effect next month. But legislative debate exposes tensions among anti-abortion groups , i.e. how strict abortion access is for people at risk of rape. In the end, Indiana lawmakers opted to leave with exceptions for rape and incest.

• However, the new Indiana abortion law sparked a statement from state-based drugmaker Lilly, which said, The restrictions could hurt the company’s efforts to recruit workers, and the company will help employees who need to travel abroad for abortion care.

The Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency last week, and HHS Secretary Xavier Bay Sierra this week authorized the FDA to grant emergency use authorization for monkeypox suffer from long-term health problems. 19. However, Capitol Hill appears to have no interest in funding research or programs to help these people.

Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommended something they think you should also read Favorite health policy story of the week:

Julie Rovner: Washington Post, “For Sleep Apnea Patients Recalling CPAP Machine, Restless Night,” by Laurie McGinley

Rachel Cohrs: The Washington Post’s ‘Sceptical about the coronavirus vaccine battle’ Conservatives of “Leading a Hospital,” Tim Craig