coverage
The ghost of elections past
There's been a firestorm over the Affordable Care Act (again) this week following video NBC obtained of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stating that health care reform will be "a very big part of the agenda" for the House GOP next year. The video also shows a confusing exchange between an event attendee and Johnson about whether changes to the Affordable Care Act would be on the table.
First, Johnson was asked some very wonky questions about HSAs and direct primary care. He said the desire for health care reform is not a secret, and that the GOP Doctors' Caucus has given him a laundry list of reform ideas. Spokespeople for the three co-chairs of that caucus didn't provide details of their proposals in response to inquiries from STAT. He talked about taking "a blowtorch to the regulatory state," and decried agencies being weaponized against people.
"No Obamacare?" one attendee then asked. "No Obamacare," Johnson said, rolling his eyes. "The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work."
Some news reports have characterized that exchange as an indication that Johnson wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act entirely. His office says he was trying to say the opposite.
"Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no such promise to end Obamacare, and in fact acknowledged that the policy is 'deeply ingrained' in our health care system. Still, House Republicans will always seek to reduce the costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans," Johnson said in a written statement.
Regardless of how you read these off-the-cuff comments, a few pieces of context to consider. Trump's campaign disavowed ACA repeal, and other Trumpworld figures have been clear that repeal and replace is not a top priority. Democrats are also always eager to say the Affordable Care Act in its entirety is under threat, as it's a winning political argument for them.
agencies
The FDA's shortage saga
All the dosages of Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes and obesity treatments are listed as available, which means they could be taken off the agency's drug shortages list, STAT's Elaine Chen reports.
If the drugs are pulled off the shortage list, it's unclear whether the FDA will ban compounders from continuing to make copies of the drug, given the agency got burned by an about-face in a similar situation with Eli Lilly drugs.
No comments