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THE DERMATOLOGIST IN CONGRESS: A year ago, Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., was a full-time dermatologist alongside his wife in his hometown of Altoona. Becoming a politician was never his plan, but when a congressional seat opened up in 2018, Joyce threw his hat into the ring because, in his opinion, none of the other candidates adequately addressed healthcare.
For Joyce, 62, it was an abrupt transition from medicine to politics. He and his wife Alice had worked in their Pennsylvania hometown for years, raising their three kids and working side by side at their own dermatology practice.
Though Joyce had never held public office, he said he “always wanted to serve” and knew he “had the ability to do that through being a doctor to many patients.”
“People in my district would ask me things like, ‘Why do my prescriptions cost so much?’ ‘Why does my copay go from $20 to $50 every time I go see a physician?'” he told Cassidy Morrison. “It encouraged me to continue with this pursuit.”
Just five months after being sworn into office, he sponsored his first bill, which is meant to lower drug prices.
The legislation aims to speed up the process of approving generics and putting them on the market. It would require the Food and Drug Administration to check that countless requests pouring in from individuals and health organizations to renew brand-name patents actually come from the citizens, rather than from drug manufacturers seeking to protect exclusivity for their drugs.
Joyce teamed up with Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., to draft the bill, the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act of 2019.
Joyce says small changes are really all a freshman representative in the minority party can ask for. His mentors in the GOP Doctors Caucus told him early on that he will have to “make small cuts into the apple, you’re not going to get the whole apple,” but that even incremental change is change.
Read more of Cassidy’s profile of Joyce, from our latest magazine issue.
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.
CHRISTIAN ANTI-ABORTION CHAIN SUES OVER TITLE X RULES: Obria Medical Clinics in California, a chain of anti-abortion pregnancy centers that bills itself as an alternative to Planned Parenthood, sued the Trump administration Monday because it says it will be forced to refer patients for abortions in exchange for accepting federal family planning funds.
At the heart of the challenge is a stayed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that would have barred doctors who work for facilities receiving the funds, known as Title X grants, from directly referring their patients for abortions. Obria agreed with the rule, but in April, a federal judge blocked it from taking effect, and Obria says that means it will be forced to follow old rules that require grant recipients to offer counseling for abortions and directly refer patients somewhere they can get one.
The Christian organization filed suit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, saying it faced discrimination over its sincere, faith-based objection to abortion and that the Title X issue was unlikely to be resolved for years. The organization says the rules violate its First Amendment right to free speech, as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and is requesting declaratory and injunctive relief.
JUDGE TO HEAR CHALLENGE OVER MISSISSIPPI 6-WEEK BAN: U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves will hear arguments on Tuesday in a preliminary injunction hearing challenging Mississippi’s six-week abortion ban. Reeves previously struck down a 15-week ban in the state. If he doesn’t strike down this one, then the law would take effect in July.
JUDGE TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO SHORT-TERM PLANS: D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday will hear a challenge to the short-term health insurance plans that the Trump administration is allowing people to have for up to three years. The plaintiffs say the plans, which they call “junk plans” because they don’t have to cover pre-existing illnesses, are being marketed in a way that’s deceptive and damaging to consumers. Seven health groups brought the lawsuit in September.
MORE SENATORS GET BEHIND BILL TO END SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., announced Monday that six additional senators are cosponsoring a bipartisan bill to stop surprise medical billing, a practice that holds patients responsible for covering the costs of health services not paid for by their insurance providers once patients have met their deductibles. The bill now has 14 co-sponsors.
The newest cosponsors are Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Todd Young, R-Ind., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Tom Carper, D-Del., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ben Cardin, D-Md., John Kennedy, R-La., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
CLARENCE THOMAS REBUKES SUPREME COURT REFUSAL TO HEAR CASE ON MILITARY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas rebuked his fellow justices for declining to hear a case challenging a rule that blocks service members from suing the government for medical malpractice, known as the Feres doctrine.
The case was brought forward after Rebekah “Moani” Daniel, a labor and delivery nurse in the Navy, bled to death in 2014 after giving birth at a Naval Hospital in Washington state. Her husband, a Coast Guard veteran, filed a wrongful death lawsuit. “Such unfortunate repercussions … will continue to ripple through our jurisprudence as long as the court refuses to consider Feres,” Thomas wrote in a dissent of the high court’s decision Monday.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD TO LEAD #STOPTHEBANS RALLY IN D.C.: Planned Parenthood Action Fund and other abortion rights advocates will hold a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court Tuesday to protest “draconian bans on abortion.” Additional rallies are being held in cities across the country, including St. Louis, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. The rally comes amid a number of state-level legislative actions to restrict access to abortions.
McCONNELL AND KAINE TEAM UP ON BILL RAISING TOBACCO AND VAPING AGE TO 21: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced legislation Monday to raise the nationwide age for purchasing cigarettes, vaping devices, and other tobacco products from 18 to 21. McConnell, in announcing the bill, referenced the youth “vaping crisis” cited by educators and parents who have seen young people gravitate toward the products, which contain addictive nicotine and can scar the lungs.
AZAR CALLS FOR MORE VACCINES TO BATTLE EBOLA CRISIS IN CONGO: HHS Secretary Alex Azar urged donors to purchase more vaccines to battle the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In his address at the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly Monday, Azar said, “The administration of investigational vaccines under the auspices of the DRC has helped mitigate the outbreak and save lives — but the outbreak is not under control.” As of Sunday, the Ebola virus has killed about 1,200 Congolese.
BALDWIN, ERNST REINTRODUCE TAX CREDIT FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS: Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, have reintroduced legislation to provide family caregivers a $3,000 tax credit to assist with out-of-pocket expenses. AARP has endorsed the legislation.
TEENAGE MIGRANT DIES IN US CUSTODY: A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died Monday in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities after he was apprehended near Hidalgo, Texas, on Sunday. Border Patrol agents brought the boy to a processing center, and he was due to be placed with the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement. During a Monday welfare check, officials found the boy unresponsive. The cause of death is not known.
TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSES SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLING MEASURE: The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill Monday to prevent surprise medical billing for Texans in state-regulated plans. The bill keeps patients out of disputes between insurance companies and providers when out-of-network costs pile on the patients, and would enact an arbitration process to prevent out-of-pocket costs for Texans who see providers not covered by their plans in emergency situations. The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
OPINION: MITCH MCCONNELL’S PATERNALISTIC CRUSADE TO RAISE SMOKING AGE TO 21 IS WRONGHEADED
The Rundown
Associated Press ‘Medicare for All’s’ rich benefits ‘leapfrog’ other nations
The Hill Health care tops list of Americans’ top issues in new poll
The Dallas Morning News A guide to getting real about health care costs in retirement
The Philadelphia Inquirer Abortion debate revives question: Are the unborn being favored over children born into poverty?
Stat Generic drug price-fixing suit is akin to earlier case, but ‘on steroids,’ Conn. prosecutor says
New Hampshire Public Radio Sununu calls for change to federal Medicaid rules on disability services
Calendar
TUESDAY | May 21
May 20-28. Geneva. World Health Assembly. Agenda.
10 a.m. Philadelphia. Oral argument in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump. Details.
10:30 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee hearing on “Improving Drug Pricing Transparency and Lowering Prices for American Consumers.” Details.
2 p.m. 1100 Longworth. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on “Protecting Patients from Surprise Medical Bills.” Details.
WEDNESDAY | May 22
8 a.m. Newseum. The Atlantic event on “Children and Cancer.” Agenda.
9:30 a.m. Dirksen 562. Senate Aging Committee hearing on “Aging and Disability in the 21st Century: How Technology Can Help Maintain Health and Quality of Life.” Details.
10 a.m. 210 Cannon. Budget Committee hearing on “Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System.” Details.
