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GOP Sen. Cory Gardner: ‘We can’t just walk away from healthcare.’ As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., is charged with making sure that Republicans maintain their majority in the upper chamber this year. In a visit to the Washington Examiner Wednesday, we asked him what Republicans would want to do on the policy front if they maintained power, given that they already passed a tax bill, they failed to repeal Obamacare, and have struggled to find consensus on other issues such as immigration and infrastructure. What’s left? “We can’t just walk away from healthcare,” Gardner said. “The Affordable Care Act is a mess.” Gardner said that while Republicans repealed the individual mandate penalties in the tax bill, “there are so many pieces that we’ve seen of this that you have to go in, and do our job.” Legislating on healthcare is effectively dead for this year, as Republicans haven’t passed a budget with reconciliation instructions that would allow them to pass a healthcare bill with a simple majority, and since last year’s effort fizzled, they are down one vote because of Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama. And by next year, even if they manage to hang onto the House, they’re likely to have significantly fewer seats.

Welcome to Philip Klein’s Daily on Healthcare, compiled by Washington Examiner Managing Editor Philip Klein (@philipaklein), Senior Healthcare Writer Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and Healthcare Reporter Robert King (@rking_19).  Email [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list.

House panel maps out moves for opioid bills. A House panel is ironing out how many bills to advance to the full House to combat the opioid epidemic. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled next week to mark up legislation to tackle the opioid epidemic. Committee leaders are now determining how many of the 60 bills that have been introduced it plans to consider during the markup scheduled for April 25. The bills considered during the legislative hearings focus on various facets aimed at curbing opioid abuse. Some legislation introduces changes to Medicare and Medicaid, while others seek to bolster enforcement tools to target sales of illegal opioids. Democrats are likely to support the bipartisan effort. “There is so much support, and we all recognize that we need to address it,” said Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who is the top Democrat on the health subcommittee. “No matter how we get there. But I would like to have bipartisanship because we share the same goals.”

HHS provides second round of opioid grants. The Trump administration released $485 million worth of grants to states and territories to combat the opioid epidemic, the second round of grants aimed at curbing abuse. The funding is authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 and will be distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS said states used the first round of grants, distributed last year, to create programs to expand medication-assisted treatment, promote the use of overdose antidote naloxone and build sustainable recovery strategies. HHS also is expected to release details in the next few months on a separate $1 billion grant for states hit hardest by the crisis. The funding is expected to be awarded in September, HHS said.

Iowa to allow residents to continue to use grandmothered plans in 2019​. ​Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said people who have “grandmothered” plans, meaning those bought between 2010 and 2013, could keep them through 2019. The plans have been allowed since 201​4​, under the Obama administration, although states have different rules. The Trump administration has said it will allow grandmothered plans to continue to be sold. For people who don’t receive subsidies from the federal government, the plans are less expensive, but they don’t have some of the consumer ​protections Obamacare offered, such as the guarantee of coverage for pre-existing illnesses or coverage for a range of services that included maternity care and mental health. They also do not allow new customers to enroll.

Justice Department to review Cigna-Express Scripts merger. The Department of Justice will review a $54 billion deal between health insurer Cigna and drug middleman Express Scripts. The review comes amid concerns about increasing consolidation in healthcare. The Justice Department has moved to stop healthcare deals before because of antitrust concerns, most notably suing to block a deal between insurers Cigna and Anthem and another between Humana and Aetna. Both deals fell apart after DOJ opposition.

Azar nominates senior adviser to lower cost and availability of insurance. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar nominated James Parker, a former CEO of Medicaid managed care organization MDwise Inc., as senior adviser to the secretary for health reform and as director of the Office of Health Reform at HHS. Parker led a provider-sponsored health insurance and population health management at Indiana University Health and was co-chairman of Indiana University Health Population Health Management Services Organization. He also spent two decades at Anthem Inc. “His knowledge and expertise will be vital to our work at HHS to ensure that Americans have access to insurance that meets their needs,” Azar said. He has said that tackling rising premiums, particularly for Obamacare customers, is a top priority for the agency.

Democrats move to allow more people to buy Medicare. Two Democrats have introduced a bill that would allow businesses and Obamacare customers to buy into Medicare. The bill, the Choose Medicare Act, is a type of “public option” that would be sold alongside the option to buy private health insurance. It would be known as “Medicare Part E.” The proposal offers Medicare plans not only to individuals who don’t get coverage through a job, but to employers. Medicare covers adults 65 and older as well as people with disabilities. Under the Choose Medicare Act, the same benefits would be offered, but the government would be allowed to negotiate drug prices. The bill has no Republican sponsors and 10 Democratic co-sponsors.

Time for opioid executives to face the music: Ron Wyden. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants to grill the executives of companies that make opioids. Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said during a hearing Thursday that he was a member of the House when tobacco company executives faced a congressional grilling and he wants the same treatment for opioid executives. It’s time to “hold them accountable for creating a public health calamity that is killing tens of thousands of Americans each year,” he said.

Infants now permitted on Senate floor. The Senate unanimously approved Wednesday a new rule to permit infants under the age of 1 to enter the Senate floor. The change was made to assist senators with newborn children and was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who recently became the first senator to give birth while in office.

Tougher work requirements for food stamps approved by House committee. The House Agriculture Committee passed legislation Wednesday that would significantly reform the nation’s food stamp program by strengthening the requirement that able-bodied recipients work or receive job training in exchange for benefits. The panel voted 26-20 to pass the 2018 Agriculture and Nutrition Act out of committee, which sends the legislation to the House floor.

House Farm Bill aims to ban eating cats and dogs. Lawmakers agreed to a ban on the consumption of dogs and cats in the House 2018 Farm Bill, which was approved by the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday in a 26-20 vote. The provision amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the slaughter, trade, import, or export of dogs and cats for human consumption in the U.S., which is legal in 44 states.

Ohio law that cut Planned Parenthood funding blocked by federal court. A federal appeals court blocked an Ohio law that stripped Planned Parenthood affiliates of taxpayer funding it received for non-abortion services. In its ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from a lower court judge that enjoined the law, which targets entities that perform or promote abortions. Signed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich in February 2016, the measure was supposed to be enacted in May 2016. But Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio Region sued the state and called for the law to be blocked.

Senators want to train more doctors to prescribe addiction treatments. A bipartisan duo of senators introduced legislation to train more new doctors to prescribe medication-assisted treatment to combat opioid abuse. The bill would help medical schools and residency programs train students and medical school residents in addiction medicine, according to a release on the bill. Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, sponsored the legislation.

RUNDOWN

The HIll Maternal deaths keep rising in the U.S., raising scrutiny

STAT News NIH abruptly changes course on industry opioids partnership after ethics flags raised

Huffington Post GOP spending against Obamacare plummets in 2018 elections

Axios GOP will tout individual mandate repeal, but it could backfire

Wall Street Journal Gene therapy shows promise in patients with blood disorder

NBC News Kentucky sues Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries over the opioid epidemic

Kaiser Health News In a Puerto Rican mountain town, hope ebbs and health suffers