| | | | |  | | By Shawn Zeller, Daniel Payne, Ruth Reader and Erin Schumaker | | Presented by |  | | | | | | |  The WHO's Tedros is pushing for a pandemic deal. | POOL/AFP via Getty Images | Health advocacy groups are feeling glum about the prospects for a global agreement that would improve nations’ response when the next pandemic comes. The World Health Organization’s self-imposed deadline for countries to reach a deal — more than two years in the making — is next month, and diplomats negotiating in Geneva are trying to meet it. But more than 130 advocacy groups have urged WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to “refrain from advocating or pressuring” countries to accept the latest draft, our European colleagues report. The groups, from developing countries worldwide, say the current draft “perpetuates the status quo” and lacks meaningful provisions to force pharmaceutical companies to share their intellectual property. The negotiating process, they added, is “egregiously unfair.” Countries have to choose between accepting a deal that fails to address developing countries’ concerns or rejecting the agreement, the groups said. Hard line: The U.S. has joined wealthy European countries in opposing any language that would obligate them to share the formulas for vaccines and drugs with the developing world. The Biden administration and European governments have pledged aid, as they provided during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and want developing nations to share more information about pathogens they find in their populations. Still unresolved: Beyond intellectual property issues, wealthy nations are at odds with many low-income countries over how to pay for pandemic preparation and response initiatives an agreement could include. The developed countries see the Pandemic Fund that the World Bank is raising from wealthy nations as the ideal vehicle. Many developing countries, however, worry the fund will answer to its sponsors and would prefer to establish a new fund accountable to those signing a new agreement. The draft statement approved by negotiators over the weekend called for an international financing mechanism that is accountable to the countries signing the pact.
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Savannah, Ga. | Daniel Payne/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Walmart is ending a five-year foray into primary care, closing its 51 health centers as well as its telehealth service. The company said a “challenging reimbursement environment” and high operating costs made the business unsustainable. What do you think went wrong? Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
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Many home health workers will gain overtime pay under a Biden administration rule. | AP Photo/Darron Cummings | Health care employees are among those who’ll benefit most from a new Labor Department regulation that increases the number of workers eligible for overtime pay. How so? Starting in July, workers earning just under $44,000 a year will be entitled to time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week, our Nick Niedzwiadek reports. That number will increase to $58,656 at the beginning of 2025. The Labor Department periodically raises the threshold. The last time was in 2019, when it went up to $35,568 under former President Donald Trump. The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank with ties to labor unions, projects workers in health care and social services will benefit in large numbers. Even so: Some health care firms, particularly those providing at-home care for people who are elderly or disabled, expect the change will hurt them and eliminate jobs. In the run-up to the decision, Kentucky-based BrightSpring Health Services urged the Labor Department to move more slowly toward lifting the wage level. Other community-based care providers, such as ANCOR; nursing home operators, such as LeadingAge; and organizations that serve people with substance and mental health disorders, such as Horizon Health Services, all voiced concern that the rule could be financially devastating to them. They asked the department to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to set higher reimbursement rates. The Labor Department said it would work with CMS but added that the eight-month lead time it had given employers to prepare for the rule was sufficient.
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Rounds doesn't expect Congress to legislate on AI any time soon. | Getty Images | Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is part of the chamber’s bipartisan AI working group but he says lawmakers are still in the learning stage and unlikely to pass any significant legislation during the current session. “The fact that we're talking about [it] is a step in the right direction,” Rounds said at a Punchbowl News event. “We don't want to do damage. We don't want to have a regulatory impact that slows down our development.” Why it matters: Unlike in Europe, which is racing ahead with AI regulation for fear the technology could do harm, Congress is more likely to steer clear of legislating until it’s sure rules won’t impede innovation. Why’s that? Lawmakers like Rounds are enthralled with the possibility that AI will do good. “If we properly incorporate AI into our health care, and to the laboratories, we can cure the vast majority of cancers within a five-year period of time," he said.
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