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SENATORS TO SIGNAL WHERE THEY STAND ON PAID LEAVE: Senators will go on the record Wednesday over a provision that would allow federal workers to get paid leave, just as a handful of Republicans have warmed up to the idea.
Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii has a motion to include the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act in the National Defense Authorization Act. The provision, which was included in the House legislation, would extend to the 2 million employees who work for the federal government, allowing them to get paid when they take 12 weeks of sick or family leave.
How will Republicans who have supported parental leave vote? We’ll be watching the handful of Republicans who have introduced their own ideas on paid leave. They include Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Lee of Utah, and Joni Ernst of Iowa, who have introduced bills to allow new parents to dig into Social Security early to fund time off. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has put out a bipartisan proposal alongside Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona that would allow parents claim future child tax credits early to help pay for childcare or replace wages. None of these proposals would expand to sick leave.
There’s a second motion to study the issue. A motion by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would have the conference “consider potential commonsense solutions regarding family and medical leave, including voluntary compensatory time programs and incentives through the tax code.” That would include the ideas Republicans have put forward, and Lee’s office said that’s what he intends to support. Other GOP offices were still working on replies to our inquiry ahead of our newsletter send-off.
Both votes are non-binding, but will allow the public to gauge were senators are on paid leave, a policy priority for first daughter and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
PELOSI’S DRUG PRICING BILL GETS SWIFT HEARING: The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee is looking at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to reduce drug prices on Wednesday morning. They’re also considering other bills to give the government more power to set prices. We know Republicans oppose the ideas, but we’ll be watching for any divisions among Democrats. Tune in here. House Democrats hope the bill will get a floor vote by the end of October.
OFFICIALS EXPECT HUNDREDS MORE VAPING ILLNESSES: That’s according to the testimony from Dr. Anne Schuchat, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who appeared before the Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Tuesday. During the hearing, Republicans tried to get more information about what exactly was causing the illnesses, but the CDC is sticking to its blanket warning of telling the public not to use e-cigarettes at all. The next House hearing, in the Energy and Commerce’s Oversight Subcommittee, is underway now. Tune in.
Latest news this morning: Embattled e-cigarette manufacturer Juul announced its CEO, Kevin Burns, left the company in an unexpected staff shakeup. He will be replaced by K.C. Crosthwaite, an official at the tobacco giant Altria Group.
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR ISSUES MOST STRINGENT VAPING BAN YET: Republican Governor Charlie Baker has issued a sweeping ban on all vaping product sales in Massachusetts, to last four months, while also declaring e-cigarettes a public health emergency. The ban applies to nicotine vaping products as well as THC products, which are legal for Massachusetts residents over 21 years of age.
Dr. Alicia Casey, a pediatric pulmonologist at Boston Children’s Hospital who has treated teens with vaping-related lung injuries, stood alongside Baker when he made his announcement: “I can assure you that these products are not safe,” she said. “This ban is a critical and necessary step to combating this epidemic of youth vaping.”
Massachusetts officials reported 61 illnesses that may be linked to vaping Tuesday, an increase from 38 just last week. “The use of e-cigarettes and marijuana vaping products is exploding, and we are seeing reports of serious lung illnesses, particularly in our young people,” Baker said. Baker said his administration will work with public health officials during the four-month ban to figure out exactly what is causing the 530 reported lung diseases.
INDIANA REPUBLICANS WANT DISCOVERED FETAL REMAINS BURIED OR CREMATED: Republican members of Congress representing Indiana have sent a letter to the state attorney general, Curtis Hill, to urge him to have the 2,246 fetal remains discovered in the Illinois garage of the late Dr. Ulrich Klopfer buried or cremated. The 20-year-old remains discovered in the home of Klopfer, a former abortion provider, are believed to come from his clinics that operated in Indiana. The state has a law, which became enforceable this month, that requires the burial or cremation of fetal tissue after abortion.
VERMA SLAMS OBAMACARE AS UNAFFORDABLE: Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma again blasted the Affordable Care Act for being too expensive for the middle class, this time at the America’s Health Insurance Plan’s 2019 National Conference on Medicare Tuesday. Obamacare, Verma said, is “one more failed government program” which “just threw taxpayer money at a problem and created new ones.”
Verma warns insurers that doctors are unhappy with the nation’s healthcare system: Verma told the crowd that physicians are just as dissatisfied as patients are about the current healthcare system. Providers, she said, are frustrated at the number of administrative hurdles they have to overcome, spending more time on paperwork than with patients who need their care. She added that the recent American Medical Association’s annual meeting at which members narrowly avoided a vote to endorse Medicare for All was “the canary in the coal mine, warning of very real danger to the health insurance industry,” as if to say that doctors believe they are running out of options to improve care.
FDA APPROVES A VACCINE FOR SMALLPOX AND MONKEYPOX JUST IN CASE THE VIRUS IS USED AS A BIOWEAPON: The Food and Drug Administration approved the first live vaccine to protect against smallpox and monkeypox despite smallpox being eradicated in 1980. Monkeypox is caused in part by the same virus that causes smallpox. Because the World Health Organization announced that naturally-occurring smallpox had been eradicated 39 years ago, and routine vaccinations for the virus ended in 1972, the FDA concluded that the population is now too vulnerable to the virus and thus a new vaccine is necessary.
“Although naturally occurring smallpox disease is no longer a global threat, the intentional release of this highly contagious virus could have a devastating effect,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Today’s approval reflects the U.S. government’s commitment to preparedness through support for the development of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and other medical countermeasures.”
The Rundown
CNBC Nicotine patch pioneer says vaping needs to come through the FDA ‘front door’ like we did
The Associated Press China planning controls on e-cigarettes amid health concern
The Wall Street Journal A big biotech bet hiding in plain sight
The Verge Amazon is now offering virtual health care to its employees
The Washington Post A closer look at infant mortality in two of the most impoverished U.S. regions
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Sept. 25
Sept. 22-26. AHIP National Conference on Medicare, Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles. Agenda.
Sept. 24-26. Atlantic Festival. Agenda.
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on “Sounding the Alarm: The Public Health Threats of E-cigarettes.” Details.
10:30 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health hearing on “Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: Legislation to Negotiate a Better Deal for Americans.” Details.
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 562. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on “Promoting Healthy Aging: Living Your Best Life Long Into Your Golden Years.” Details.
THURSDAY | Sept. 26
2 p.m. 2175 Rayburn. House Committee on Energy and Labor’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing on “Making Health Care More Affordable: Lowering Drug Prices and Increasing Transparency.” Details.
FRIDAY | Sept. 27
Noon. Hart 216. Alliance for Health Policy event on “Unpacking Policy Options to Promote Prescription Drug Affordability.” Details.
