The GOP’s new health care piggy bank, the future of California’s tobacco flavor ban, and a NIH oversight threat

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Good morning, and happy Thursday! We’d love to see you at our next STAT Locals event in D.C. (Free drinks! Networking galore!) a week from today at Present Company Public House. RSVP here, and as usual send your best lame duck news tips to rachel.cohrs@statnews.com.  The GOP’s new pay-for idea As usual, lawmakers are scrambling to find ways to pay for their year-end health care wish list, and Republicans are pushing a new proposal tied to how quickly states will kick ineligible people off of a Medicaid program tied to the Covid-19 public health emergency, two congressional aides and three lobbyists told me and my colleague John Wilkerson. Medicaid rolls across the country have swelled by nearly 20 million people under special, emergency-era pandemic rules that give states extra federal funding for their Medicaid programs — but only if they agree not to kick people out of the program, even if they don’t meet the requirements anymore.  Republicans are anxious to start up the process of re-evaluations as soon as possible. If Congress directs the process to start faster than the original timeline, that would save the federal government money, which could be used to help offset the costs of other programs. And Congress is already separately looking to avert Medicaid funding cuts for Puerto Rico and the other territories. Right now, Puerto Rico’s federal matching level is 76% and the other territories are at 83%, but all are currently set to fall to 55% on Dec. 16. However, the two issues aren’t necessarily tied together, one aide and one lobbyist said.  It’s worth keeping in mind that it’s unclear whether Congress will reach a comprehensive government funding deal at this time, which could affect how much extra policy gets tacked on. Will SCOTUS strike down the nation’s biggest flavor ban? (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Cigarette giant R.J. Reynolds is asking the Supreme Court to block implementation of California’s tobacco flavor ban less than a month after voters in the state overwhelmingly voted to support the policy.  The move is a last ditch effort from Reynolds after a federal appeals court declined earlier this week to block the ban from going into effect. Reynolds argues in its brief to the Supreme Court that the federal tobacco law prevents states from banning individual products.  The petition is a long shot, but there’s an early sign that the Supreme Court is taking the request seriously. The Supreme Court requested a response last night from the state of California, despite the fact that it could have outright denied the motion. That response is due next Tuesday.   If the Supreme Court blocks the law – even temporarily – it would be a major win for Reynolds and other tobacco companies. As Reynolds explains in its brief to the court, California is one of the largest tobacco markets in the country – and the ban would block tobacco companies from selling both flavored vapes and menthol cigarettes. An oversight warning shot from new House GOP health leaders The Republican leads on the House Energy & Commerce Committee are putting NIH on notice that they haven’t forgotten about 12 unanswered letters on topics including the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and NIH-supported gain-of-function research, per a letter sent on Wednesday.  The letter also highlights an inquiry prompted by a STAT report that found a committee tasked with oversight of the NIH hasn’t met since 2015. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who’s in line to be the new chair of the Energy & Commerce Committee in January, led the letter with Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), the Republican lead of the panel’s health subcommittee, and Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), who leads the panel’s oversight subcommittee. Sponsored insight by STAT+ In-depth analysis of biopharma and the life sciences Sign up for STAT+ to access in-depth analysis of biopharma, inside intelligence from Capitol Hill, the latest on medicine tech, and more. Subscribe today to start your free 30-day trial. Another day, another bill on Medicare coverage of Alzheimer’s drugs Wednesday brought another bill targeting Medicare’s handling of coverage for Alzheimer’s drugs. This one is bipartisan, and led by two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee: Reps. John Joyce (R-Pa.) and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.).  The language describing the bill is vague, but it would supposedly require Medicare “to weigh the practical use of innovative medical treatments after enough data is collected on a treatment’s effectiveness.” Some critics of Medicare’s discussion are upset that the agency’s unprecedented, restrictive decision on how to cover Biogen’s controversial drug Aduhelm could apply to other, more promising Alzheimer’s treatments.  One candidate to be the next chair of the House Ways & Means Committee next Congress, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced his own bill on the issue in October.  What we're reading Afraid of pharma pushback, a health data broker puts up a barrier to drug pricing information, STAT Vaccines are in short supply amid global cholera surge, Science Detailed data on Alzheimer’s therapy from Eisai, Biogen hold up to scientific scrutiny, STAT Top pharma group seeks postmortem on lobbying after drug pricing loss, Politico Pro Thanks for reading! More next week, @rachelcohrs Continue reading the latest health & science news with the STAT app Download on the App Store or get it on Google Play Thursday, December 1, 2022       1 Exchange Pl, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02109 ©2022, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Email Preferences | Contact Us | View In Browser