Lobbying against Medicaid cuts

There comes a time in any effort to make significant cuts to a large government program that those who benefit from the program push back. That time has arrived, according to Daniel Payne.

There are oh-so-many entities that benefit from Medicaid beyond those whom we typically call “beneficiaries.” More than 800 leaders of community health centers and primary care groups representing every state are asking Republicans to protect the program. Nearly 1,100 hospital leaders are in Washington for an American Hospital Association meeting, and many of them have meetings on the Hill Monday and Tuesday.

House Republicans are currently debating Medicaid cuts, but hospitals also are lobbying Republican senators in the hopes that they’ll undermine any cuts. Others groups are pressuring governors to fight the cuts. Read more from Daniel about the lobbying tactics.

congress

GOP coming together on some Medicaid policies

Republicans have “broad consensus” over some policies to reduce Medicaid spending, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) said at the AHA conference on Monday, according to Daniel, who was in the room.

Miller-Meeks said policies with consensus support in her party include: work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries (with some exemptions), new checks to remove people who aren’t eligible for the program, and removing the Biden administration’s staffing requirement for long-term care facilities. Other policies are also being discussed.

A recent report by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid work requirements could result in about $260 billion in savings over a decade, and leave 2.5 million without insurance. Allowing more frequent verifications of eligibility could cut about $160 billion from Medicaid, according to House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas).

Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) said eligibility has been expanded in recent years, and argued that Republicans should reevaluate policies so that Medicaid covers the people who need it.

“That’s not cutting Medicaid to the point that I think is being projected out in America,” he said.

drug pricing

Foreign drug reference pricing rears its 'big, beautiful' head

As House Republicans work out a “big, beautiful bill” to enact President Trump’s tax cuts, the White House is urging the party to tie Medicaid payment for drugs to prices abroad. The idea is to wring some savings from the pharma industry, taking pressure off of Medicaid.

Progress was made over the weekend, according to three sources. It’s more than a mere trial balloon, but the policy is still in the early stages of development and as of last week congressional Republicans hadn’t warmed to the idea.

Moderate Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) said he would consider it, but warned it would need to be done “with a scalpel and make sure that we don't affect the medical supply chain.” Conservative Republican Rep. Chip Roy (Texas) said he’d need to see the proposal before taking a firm stance, but that his inclination is to oppose “price fixing on drugs.”

The pharmaceutical industry is already warning it wouldn’t save much money and would instead benefit hospitals via the 340B drug discount program.

clinical research

NIH clinical trial center in crisis

The National Institutes of Health’s storied Clinical Center is struggling to carry out its mission of running clinical trials for the hardest-to-treat diseases amid growing disruptions from the Trump administration, Jonathan Wosen and Jason Mast report.

It’s been a fast turn of events for a facility that has long been known as the nation’s largest hospital devoted solely to medical research.

Fewer patients are being treated, and some trials are lagging months behind due to reduced staffing and uncertainty, according to STAT interviews with 11 staff members and researchers affiliated with the center. Read more from Jonathan and Jason.

nih

Overseas NIH grants are also in doubt

The NIH said last week that it will no longer let U.S. researchers give foreign collaborators funding to help with projects. It turns out that the new policy is far more sweeping than originally thought, Megan Molteni reports.

Privately, NIH leadership is making it clear that the moves are part of a broader America First agenda that seeks to dramatically reduce U.S. participation in international science.

Megan obtained an email from principal deputy director Matthew Memoli in which he says the NIH’s entire “foreign component” portfolio “needs to undergo review.”

vaccines

NIH spends big on an old-fashioned technology for a universal flu vaccine

Even when NIH does commit money for a big project, scientists question whether it’s wise, Helen Branswell reports.

NIH is investing $500 million to develop a vaccine platform for pathogens that could trigger pandemics, but that research will use technology first developed decades ago.

“There is incredible work going on,” said a scientist familiar with the scope of research that is being done to try to develop a so-called universal flu vaccine. “This is not it.”

What we’re reading

5 food experts making sense of MAHA’s vision for a new way of eating, STAT
Senators unveil bipartisan plan to lower drug costs, Politico
At AACR, leading cancer researchers urge colleagues to ‘fight for your science’, STAT
U.S. delays hospital payments as Medicaid scrutiny intensifies, WSJ
20 attorneys general ask federal judge to reverse deep cuts to HHS, AP