Two years post-Roe

The end of this month will mark two years since the Supreme Court's historic Dobbs decision, and Democrats don't want you to forget it. Senate HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is convening a hearing this morning titled "The Assault on Women's Freedoms" to hear from both providers and patients about abortion access and barriers since 14 states effectively banned the procedure.

The hearing is timely for other reasons, too: The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, which Biden officials greenlit for mail-order deliveries. The court will also issue its decision on whether administration efforts to enshrine abortion care as part of obligated emergency care are legal.

Senators will hear from six witnesses, four invited by Democrats and two by Republicans. Sanders and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) plan to highlight the cases of women leaving their state or experiencing life-threatening conditions before they receive abortions, and also the burden on less restrictive states that become havens for care.

Ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) will take a different tack, arguing Democrats are "fearmongering" on this topic, according to excerpts of remarks shared with STAT. He'll also seemingly nod to the debate heading into elections, saying that "although [codifying Roe] makes a good rallying cry [it] is far too conservative for the fringes that now define the Democrat party.

post-covid

Fauci fights 'distorted' narrative

Former NIAID director Anthony Fauci arrived at a familiar scene Monday: a packed congressional hearing room. As was the case many times over the past four years, he was there to talk about the coronavirus, its origins, and still-controversial shutdown policies.

Fauci pushed back forcefully on Republicans' accusations that he sought to downplay the lab leak theory or push certain narratives. But even more sympathetic GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic were critical of Fauci. Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) said that Americans were "bullied, shamed, and silenced" when questioning social distancing, masks, vaccines, and Covid's origins.

The retired infectious disease expert told the committee that while there is no way the virus came from NIH-funded research, a lab leak cannot be ruled out. Republicans, in turn, indicated they were gearing up for more scrutiny of the agency and the possible return of gain-of-function research bans. Highlights from the hearing.

lobbying wars

Throw your hands in the air like you want transparently priced care

The nonprofit group Power to the Patients is known for unorthodox lobbying. This week, instead of holding a hip-hop show to press its case for hospital price transparency, it's using a strategy familiar to Beltway insiders: meeting with White House budget wonks to discuss a proposed hospital-payment rule.

Federal law has required hospitals to post their prices since 2021, but compliance has been lackluster. This year, a new Medicare rule is supposed to help improve compliance by streamlining hospital price reporting.

My colleague John Wilkerson noticed that this year's version of that hospital-payment rule is the subject of a meeting on Wednesday between Power to the Patients and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Asked about the meeting, the lobbying group said: "Our message is simple: consumers need all real upfront prices, not estimates, paired with robust enforcement. We look forward to a productive meeting."

coverage analysis

Your obesity coverage cheat sheet

A pharma-backed coalition promoting access to anti-obesity medications partnered up with a coalition of stakeholders at George Washington University to put together a very handy analysis of how Medicaid programs across the country are covering — or largely not covering — weight loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound.

The analysis found that only 14 states cover weight loss drugs at all, and all applied various restrictions to their coverage. The analysis also includes state-by-state downloadable data with more details about exactly what's covered, my co-author Rachel Cohrs Zhang writes.

It's a tough situation for Medicaid programs, as many Medicaid enrollees could potentially benefit, but the programs generally have to work within fixed budgets.

long covid

Inside the slow start for long Covid research

A lack of visible progress from the NIH's $1.6 billion RECOVER initiative to understand and treat long Covid has drawn months of criticism from patient advocates, researchers, and lawmakers — including at a recent Senate budget hearing.

Now, budget and other project documents obtained by The Sick Times, MuckRock, and STAT show how decisions made early in this process likely contributed to RECOVER's faltering beginnings.

The Sick Times' Betsy Ladyzhets writes that experts who reviewed the contracts and project documents say the agency set itself up for failure. But some also say there's time to turn it around with the additional $515 million allotted to the program this year. NIH has defended its progress and said that early steps have researchers poised for a slew of trials to better understand the disease. Read more.

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