Health topics to watch with Biden and Trump

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What we’re looking for on the debate stage tonight

President Biden and former President Trump face off tonight for the first time in this election cycle. While there is a long list of possible debate topics ahead of them, here are a few things we at DC Diagnosis hope to hear more about tonight:

Biden scores another SCOTUS victory or two

A victory? The Supreme Court appears poised to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, giving the Biden administration another, albeit limited, victory on abortion rights after the mifepristone decision earlier this month. But the court’s inadvertently placed 6-3 decision essentially dismisses Idaho’s lawsuit without addressing the thorny dilemma of state and federal clashes over abortion policy (although it is not clear whether this is the final version).

A victory: In a much clearer (and purposefully publicized) decision, the court also handed Biden officials a victory on Wednesday morning over efforts to limit Covid-19 misinformation on social media platforms. Six justices led by Amy Coney Barrett said the plaintiffs — including two attorneys general and two doctors who promoted the herd immunity theory — did not prove that federal officials’ extensive dialogues with social media platforms actually harmed them or impaired their use of social limited media.

The Murthy v. Missouri decision leaves breathing room for White House and HHS officials to talk to social media companies about moderating misinformation, as long as they don’t enforce the policy. But opponents say the fight is far from over, portraying the case as a fight over freedom of expression.

“The Supreme Court got it wrong – and failed to uphold its responsibility to the Constitution,” presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy wrote on X. He filed a similar lawsuit, Kennedy v. Biden, which is still ongoing before a lower court. “I will continue to fight for freedom of speech in the courts and on the campaign trail.”

On the House

Summer delay true? House committees are trying to increase health care bills today before lawmakers go into full election mode.

Ways & Means is preparing for a price increase that could be significant. As John Wilkerson and I noted Friday, the panel is considering scaled-back bills to expand Medicare coverage of weight-loss drugs and blood tests for cancer screening.

The details of the weight loss coverage law in particular caught my attention because it is very specifically tailored to ensure that patients taking weight loss medications are not kicked out when they enter Medicare. If Democrats agree to the plan, it could be an important step toward broader coverage of obesity medications that are affordable enough to increase its chances of passage.

Energy & Commerce is finally getting around to endorsing a two-year extension of telehealth flexibility in Medicare in the full committee. We’ll see how the committee plans to pay the bill.

Lessons from an HHS secretary who conducted a bird flu response

Not many people have conducted federal government responses to an avian flu outbreak. Mike Leavitt is one of them.

As HHS secretary during the George W. Bush administration, his concern about an outbreak of bird flu in Asia led him to request billions of dollars from Congress, oversee the creation of a new pandemic preparedness division, a organize a national pandemic preparedness tour and work proactively. dealing with foreign governments.

In an interview with STAT, Leavitt reflected on his 2005 response to an outbreak that didn’t become a pandemic, and how those investments have paid off nearly two decades later.

What we read

• Three months after the bird flu outbreak in American dairy cows, experts see deep-seated problems in response, STAT
• Conservative groups are pushing for a rollback of the drug price law Axios
• Listen: Rep. Diana DeGette on why reproductive freedom must be protected, STAT
• Democratic senator calls on HHS to investigate PBMs blocking access to generic cancer drugs The hill