Judge: Admin’s tinkering with Covid posts is ‘Orwellian’

Jul 05, 2023

Driving the day

A Louisiana judge’s decision cites a wide range of health topics that he says “were suppressed” on social media at the urging of administration officials | Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

KEEPING IT ONLINE — A federal judge in Louisiana ruled Tuesday that the Biden administration’s efforts to influence social media posts about Covid-19 likely violated the first amendment, POLITICO’s Matt Berg and Josh Gerstein report.

The Trump-appointed U.S. District Court judge, Terry Doughty, called the administration’s efforts “Orwellian,” issuing a sweeping preliminary injunction that bars a number of federal officials from having any contact with social media firms to discourage or remove First Amendment-protected speech.

The injunction includes health officials such as Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

The judge’s decision cites a wide range of health topics that he says “were suppressed” on social media at the urging of administration officials, including opposition to Covid vaccines, masking and lockdowns — as well as the lab-leak theory.

“This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech,” Doughty wrote. “American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country … the evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario.”

The decision comes at a critical moment for communicating health care issues to the public.

Federal officials and public health experts are trying to take lessons learned about mis- and disinformation from the pandemic and turn them into actionable policy — including faster communication and more targeted messaging.

The ruling is a blow to the administration’s efforts to implement those policies — as it is for its approach through the pandemic, which it defended as putting Americans’ health and safety first.

The ruling might also be seen by Republicans as validating their attacks on the administration’s efforts to sway the public’s discourse on Covid. Several GOP lawmakers have homed in on the issue when questioning officials in hearings.

WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. A new public health battle is again heating up across the country — over raw milk. The interest in drinking unpasteurized, raw milk grew through the pandemic, despite health experts warning about risks of bacteria like E. coli, salmonella and listeria.

Which post-Covid trend have we missed? Let me know — and include a tip about the next big health story — at dpayne@politico.com.

TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Kelly Hooper talks with Robert King, who explains how CMS negotiations with manufacturers over drug prices for Medicare patients will proceed now that the agency’s final guidance has been unveiled.

Listen to today’s Pulse Check podcast

At the Agencies

A doctor speaks to a patient as a blood pressure meter lies on his desk.

CMS is ignoring recommendations from a panel of doctors chosen to help set Medicare payment policy, say Republicans in Congress. | Adam Berry/Getty Images

GOP PRESSES CMS ON DOC PANEL — Congressional Republicans are angry that CMS has ignored recommendations from a panel of unelected doctors in setting Medicare payment policy, POLITICO’s Robert King reports.

While this may seem unorthodox for conservatives, it speaks to longstanding concerns over a sluggish transition to value-based care that pays doctors on the quality delivered instead of the volume of each item or service.

The panel in question is the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee, added to the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 . It was created to give doctors a voice in crafting new alternative payment models that changed how Medicare paid practices.

“It was created as an advisory group, but CMS has completely ignored it,” said Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.).

The criticism is the latest levied by Republicans on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. They have complained that savings from the center’s payment models are sparse and the process for model approval not transparent.

Congress could introduce reforms to CMMI as part of an overhaul of MACRA. A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the issue in June, but prospects for action this year are dim.

CMS did not return a request for comment.

SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

In Congress

AN AGREEMENT … OF SORTS — Leaders on both sides of the Senate HELP Committee’s dais came to a staff-level agreement to reauthorize a key pandemic preparedness bill, POLITICO’s David Lim and Megan R. Wilson report.

But outside of the agreement, HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) disagree on how the bill should affect drug pricing and development.

Committee members released the discussion draft on Monday, asking for feedback on their plan to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, as well as their partisan policies still being negotiated.

Sanders wants to cap the U.S. cost of any product supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or the CDC “at the lowest price among G7 countries” — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. — “at a reasonable price.”

Cassidy wants a reauthorization and expansion of an FDA policy meant to incentivize the development of medical countermeasures known as the priority review voucher programs.

Committee leaders are still hashing out competing ideas about the legislation, but they’re looking to move quickly — asking for comments on their draft to be returned by Monday.

They hope to reauthorize the program, set to expire at the end of September, sometime this month.

Meanwhile … The House Energy and Commerce Committee has released its draft of a reauthorization bill. The Republicans have indicated they plan to move forward with a markup despite continuing negotiations about whether to include drug shortage policies.

At the White House

IN BIDEN’S EAR ON TRANS RIGHTS — A relatively obscure Delaware state senator, Sarah McBride, has been a major force in forming President Joe Biden’s views on the rights of transgender individuals, POLITICO’s Myah Ward reports.

McBride, a Democrat who’s the first openly transgender state legislator in U.S. history and who recently announced her bid for Congress, has influenced the president’s political and personal evolution on transgender issues. And those issues — including gender-affirming care — are becoming increasingly important in 2024 campaigns for Republicans and Democrats.

“We’ve talked about how scared people are around the country, and I’ve shared with him just how much it means to people when they see him speak up and act out to protect LGBTQ rights and LGBTQ people,” McBride told Myah, recalling conversations with Biden.

It comes as Republicans have seized on the issue and several states have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors.

IN THE STATES

ANOTHER DRUG-PRICING PROVISION — New Jersey lawmakers have sent three drug bills to the governor’s desk, yet another legislative attempt to control prescription drug pricing, POLITICO’s Daniel Han reports.

One bill would create a new Drug Affordability Council, which would have access to a breadth of data from entities across the prescription-drug supply chain. It could then send recommendations to the Legislature on how to lower prescription-drug costs.

The governor’s office initially declined to throw support behind an earlier iteration of the measure — which would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board — but later reached the deal with legislative Democrats.

The bill package would also cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin, EpiPens and asthma inhalers on state-regulated health plans. Additionally, it would add regulations and transparency measures for pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen that manage prescription drugs for health insurers.

What We're Reading

Reuters reports on the U.S. district courts overturning bans on gender-affirming care.

The New York Times reports on a new blood test that predicts pre-eclampsia, or high blood pressure, in pregnant women.

LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.