Daily on Healthcare: Republicans pressure House Democrats over ‘born alive’ abortion bill

REPUBLICANS TO PRESSURE DEMOCRATS OVER ‘BORN ALIVE’ ABORTION BILL: Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and other Republicans on Tuesday are starting a discharge petition to demand a House floor vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which clarifies that doctors must provide medical care to babies that have survived abortion procedures or face criminal charges.

A simple majority of 218 signatures are needed for a discharge petition to be successful. Three Democrats — Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, Dan Lipinski of Illinois, and Henry Cuellar of Texas — have already co-sponsored the bill, meaning 18 more Democrats must join Republicans for it to advance to the floor for a vote

Scalise, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., are holding a press conference outside the Capitol about the petition at 11:30 a.m. alongside three adult women who survived abortions and a nurse who said she has witnessed babies born alive and left to die. The bill failed in the Senate 53-44 when it was brought for a vote in February.

Republicans and anti-abortion advocates have been pushing for a vote the bill so they could put individual lawmakers on the spot regarding the issue of third-trimester abortion given that polling shows public support for later abortions is low, and given controversial comments by state lawmaker such as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia.

Democrats have objected to the “born alive” legislation because they say that it is unnecessary given that infanticide is already illegal. Supporters of looser restrictions on later abortions say they are meant to address circumstances in which fetuses have severe medical conditions that would cause them not to survive birth, or that would result in short, painful lives.

As Republicans look to spotlight the issue, Democratic leaders have focused instead on extending abortion access to low-income women through supporting a plan to undo a ban on using federal funds to pay for abortions, known as the Hyde Amendment. They also have pushed for contraception access as the Trump administration has rolled back Obama-era rules.

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.

TRUMP’S MEDICARE PROPOSAL IS DUE: President Trump has to submit a legislative proposal to Congress by Tuesday that addresses Medicare’s financial shortfall. The deadline is triggered by the 2018 Medicare Board of Trustees report, which says the proposal is due no later than 15 days after the administration submits its budget. The trustees expect that the trust fund will be depleted by 2026.

DEMS TO FORCE VOTE ON OBAMACARE RESOLUTION: House Democrats are expected to vote Tuesday on a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s legal argument that the courts need to throw out all of Obamacare. The resolution, which is also being introduced on the Senate side, was debated in the Rules Committee Monday and Democrats are rallying Tuesday morning against the Trump administration’s decision. Tune in.

TRUMP SAYS NO OBAMACARE VOTE UNTIL AFTER 2020 ELECTION: President Trump said in a series of tweets Monday night that Congress won’t vote on an Obamacare replacement until after the 2020 election, pushing an issue which has surged back into the forefront and that Democrats were eager to make a campaign issue into the distant future.

Even as he punted in the short term, Trump predicted that making next year’s general election a referendum of sorts on Obamacare, without the risk of yet another failed healthcare reform vote in Congress, will help Republicans pick up additional seats in the House and Senate.

GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL ASK COURT TO THROW OUT OBAMACARE RULING: Montana’s and Ohio’s attorneys general, both Republicans, filed a brief Monday with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals siding with Democratic states in arguing that District Court Judge Reed O’Connor overstepped his authority when he ruled Obamacare unconstitutional. Neither Montana nor Ohio were part of the original lawsuit to have the law thrown out as a response to the tax law that zeroed out the fine on the uninsured.

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE RATES: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is boosting rates to Medicare Advantage, the program 20 million seniors use that is run by private plans, by 2.53 percent for 2020. That’s more than the 1.59 percent that had been proposed in February. CMS said the increase reflected the expected growth in medical costs.

The plans are allowing more coverage for social determinants of health: The administration already has allowed plans to offer coverage for adult day care and in-home services, but will be expanding in 2020 to offer reimbursement for more meals being delivered, or for transportation to non-medical locations such as the grocery store. The plans will reimburse for air conditioners and carpet shampooing, which ease symptoms for patients with asthma, and for healthier food for patients with heart disease. Coverage will expand to patients with disabilities through adding ramps or widening doorways.

FDA STRUGGLES WITH LIMITED POWERS ON E-CIGARETTES: The U.K. government snuffed out vaping almost before it began, a lesson for U.S. lawmakers who want to curb the sharp increase in teen use of e-cigarettes.

The Trump administration, led by outgoing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, is struggling with authority only recently given to it by Congress. The U.K. avoided a similar rise in vaping by quickly enacting sweeping laws limiting the production and sale of vaping products. In some ways, U.S. regulations also make it harder to sell products that would ensure people don’t get hooked on tobacco. If an e-cigarette manufacturer wanted to introduce a lower-level nicotine liquid into the U.S. markets, the company would have to submit a new application, including numerous clinical trials, to the FDA to be reviewed for approval.

Read Cassidy’s magazine piece, now available to non-subscribers, here.

NEBRASKA OFFICIALS DELAY VOTER-APPROVED OBAMACARE MEDICAID EXPANSION: The Nebraska legislature announced Monday that the Obamacare Medicaid expansion that voters approved through a ballot measure will have to wait until October 2020. This expansion was on the ballot in November, but the plan unveiled Monday is different than what people expected. People eligible under the new plan will have different benefits from those people on the traditional Medicaid plan. It is a two-tiered system and includes a work requirement.

LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL INTRODUCES BILL TO PROTECT PEOPLE WITH PREEXISTING CONDITIONS: Louisiana Republican Sen. Fred Mills and Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry held a press conference Monday about legislation to protect patients with pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act is ruled unconstitutional. Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, criticized the bill and Landry for once filing suit to take Louisiana out of the ACA and to take away protections for preexisting conditions. When the bill was announced, Edwards said that in 2018 Landry “endangered the health coverage of almost 850,000 people in Louisiana with pre-existing conditions because he was more concerned with politics than with real people.”

CHINA ISSUES WIDE BAN ON FENTANYL: Chinese public health officials announced a blanket ban on all kinds of the powerful opioid fentanyl Monday, fulfilling a promise President Xi Jinping made to Trump in December. China already treats many types of fentanyl as controlled substances but only bans them one-by-one. The regulation, which goes into effect May 1, will close loopholes that manufacturers in China have used before, including changing the fentanyl product just enough so it is no longer illegal.

CDC FEATURES SUSAN NIMOY IN NEW TIPS FROM FORMER SMOKERS AD CAMPAIGN: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaunched an ad campaign to educate Americans on the long-term health effects of smoking. The new ads will run for 27 weeks and feature emotional stories from smokers and their families, including one from Susan Nimoy, wife of Leonard Nimoy AKA Spock, who died in 2015 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST MISSOURI DEATH ROW INMATE WITH RARE MEDICAL CONDITION: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled against a Missouri death row inmate with a rare medical condition. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority, and he was joined by the four other conservative justices, clearing the way for the inmate, Russell Bucklew’s execution by lethal injection. Bucklew’s lawyers said his disease would cause him to experience “the excruciating pain of prolonged suffocation” while undergoing Missouri’s lethal injection protocol, violating the Eighth Amendment.

IOWA SAYS UNITEDHEALTHCARE IS UNWILLING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR SERVICE QUALITY: Iowa legislators are accusing UnitedHealthcare of pulling out of the state Medicaid plan because the insurer does not want to be held accountable for the quality of its services. UnitedHealthcare Vice President Bror Hultgren said the issue came down to underfunding, and said it has already lost more than $250 million in Iowa since the state made the controversial shift to private Medicaid management in 2016. An official said that the state contributed an increased amount of money to fund the program, but UnitedHealthcare presented a list of unreasonable demands and wanted to be paid more money with zero accountability.

MORE THAN 16K INMATES GETTING ADDICTION TREATMENT THANKS TO FIRST STEP ACT: Trump announced that thousands of inmates have already been enrolled in substance abuse treatment programs as part of the First Step Act he signed into law. “And my administration intends to fully fund and implement this historic law,” Trump told the crowd.

EDITORIAL: OBAMACARE HAS US ON THE ROAD TO SOCIALIZED HEALTH INSURANCE

OPINION: THE FILIBUSTER PROBABLY DIDN’T PREVENT OBAMACARE REPEAL

The Rundown

The New York Times Americans borrowed $88 billion to pay for healthcare last year, survey finds

The Associated Press Guatemala: 2nd child dead in US custody had flu, infection

The Wall Street Journal Baltimore mayor takes leave of absence amid criticism over ‘healthy holly’ books

San Francisco Chronicle Shaheen introduces health care affordability package

The Hill Bernie Sanders spokeswoman: Americans are ‘tired of dealing with’ health care ‘uncertainty’

Calendar

TUESDAY | April 2

April 1-2. Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel. AIDSWatch meeting. Details.

House and Senate in session.

9:30 a.m. Dirksen 106. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on “Alzheimer’s: New Directions in Biomedical Research and Caregiving.” Tune in.

10:15 a.m. 2175 Rayburn. House Education and Labor Committee Health Subcommittee to hold hearing on surprise medical bills. Details.

10:30 a.m. 2358-C Rayburn. House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the president’s budget request for the National Institutes of Health. Details.

10:30 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee to hold hearing on the rising cost of insulin. Details.

WEDNESDAY | April 3

8 a.m. AJAX. Axios event on the future of the Affordable Care Act and healthcare in America. Details.

9 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave NW. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., discusses paid family leave with the American Enterprise Institute. Details.

9 a.m. House Appriation’s Committee’s Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the president’s budget request for the Food and Drug Administration. Details.

9:30 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce markup of healthcare bills.

3 p.m. 2359 Rayburn. House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee hearing on defense health programs. Details.

FRIDAY | APRIL 5

Scott Gottlieb’s final day as Food and Drug Administration commissioner.