| | | |   | Happy Thursday, D.C. Diagnosis readers! We are fully immersed in the election-year summer sprint, so I’ve got plenty of updates from the Hill for you this morning. But before that, enjoy an amusing and somewhat depressing TikTok explanation of the No Surprises Act from the Planet Money crew. If you have any tips or health care-related TikTok suggestions (a la Dr. Glaucomflecken), ping me as usual at rachel.cohrs@statnews.com. | | | The GOP’s insulin conundrum Democrats are salivating at the chance to cap insulin costs at $35 per month, a policy practically designed for campaign ads. But ultimately, the fate of the proposal lies in Republicans’ hands. Democrats would need to pick up at least nine votes to pass an insulin package led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). I spent time on Capitol Hill this week talking to moderate Republicans who might side with reform efforts. They were entirely noncommittal, and cited a variety of reasons for their indecision. Here’s a sampling: -
Sen. Chuck Grassley said he’s waiting on a CBO score before he decides. -
Sen. John Thune said he hasn’t seen details of the bill yet. (Tthe text has been released.) -
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she is looking at it, and has talked with Collins, but hasn’t made a “full commitment.” -
Sen. Roy Blunt said he’s normally not in favor of the government setting prices, but he’ll look at the bill if it goes to the floor. -
Sen. Bill Cassidy says he’s withholding judgment until he sees what Democrats do in their reconciliation package. There are other headwinds, too. Several conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, oppose the policy. And there are a bunch of Medicare policies that will need to be extended in the latter half of the year that will need to be paid for, a Republican Senate aide pointed out.
It’s unclear what the outcome of this bill will be, but it’s obvious that the Republican party hasn’t figured out a strategy forward on the enormously politically popular policy. | It’s hard to walk and chew gum at the same time Democrats’ reconciliation negotiations are picking up, as we’ve been reporting. But as they do, the Senate Finance Committee’s mental health talks have slowed down somewhat, Senate aides said. Leadership had hoped to mark up a mental health package before the Senate leaves for recess in August, but that goal is looking less realistic with each passing day.
Part of it is because Republicans are upset about being sidelined while Democrats try to use reconciliation for major policies. But there are also practical slowdowns — reconciliation is taking up most of the bandwidth for aides and analysts, so it’s harder to get budget estimates, for example, three Senate aides said.
The mental health package under discussion would crack down on insurers, solidify telehealth benefits for mental health services, and improve the mental health workforce. Some portions of the package have been released already, and some related provisions were included in the gun safety law that Congress passed recently. | Pharmaceutical continuous manufacturing: How USP standards and related programs support quality, innovation & supply chain resilience To help strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain and guard against potential shortages that can impact patient care, it’s clear that more quality medicines need to be made in more places. As pharmaceutical continuous manufacturing (PCM) technology captures increasing stakeholder interest as one way to help achieve this goal, USP public quality standards and related programs will remain an essential part of the solution to support quality and innovation and bolster supply chain resilience. Find out how. | A moonshot to cure cancer … literally  (NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via AP) An unlikely new collaborator is joining the constellation of agencies supporting President Biden’s cancer moonshot: NASA. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced on Wednesday that the famous space agency will use the microgravity environment on the International Space Station to conduct cutting-edge cancer research with partners like the Mayo Clinic. The so-called “Cancer Cabinet” also outlined its priority list, including catching up on screening after the pandemic, understanding how environmental toxins are a risk factor for cancer, mitigating preventable cancers through promoting HPV vaccines and colonoscopies, ensuring patients see the benefits of research, and supporting patients and caregivers. | Sign up for these, STAT! There are exciting things on the horizon for our D.C. Bureau here at STAT — I can barely keep up with them all, and I work here. Here’s a handy cheat sheet of items of interest for our D.C. Diagnosis readers: -
Next Wednesday, July 20, I’ll be hosting a virtual fireside chat with Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to talk drug pricing, followed by an all-star panel of experts including Drs. Stacie Dusetzina, Rena Conti, and Richard Frank. It’s free for all, so sign up now to save your spot! -
My colleague Bob Herman is launching a new weekly newsletter that will be full of fresh, revelatory reporting on how money shapes health care. Sign up to get the first edition of Health Care, Inc. in your inbox on Monday. -
We’re hiring for an exciting new addition to our team in Washington. If you’re an enterprising, energetic health policy nerd who loves to break news, send me an email and I’d be happy to chat! | What we’re reading - Durbin, Collins blast FDA for failure to ban certain synthetic e-cigarettes, STAT
- Democrats race to reach deal to prevent spike in health premiums, Washington Post
- Citing risk from Omicron variant BA.5, White House urges Americans to get Covid-19 boosters, STAT
- Could the midterms be tighter than expected? The New York Times
- FDA authorizes Novavax Covid vaccine, in hopes the traditional shot will convince holdouts, STAT
| Thanks for reading! More next week,  | | | |
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