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| By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard |
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With Toni Odejimi
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 Hospitals are using artificial intelligence to help detect drug theft in their facilities. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images |
FIGHTING DRUG THEFT — Hospitals are increasingly employing artificial intelligence to crack down on drug thieves in their ranks, POLITICO’s Greg Svirnovskiy reports. The problem: Theft of addictive opioids from hospitals, doctors’ offices and other health care settings — either for personal use or profit — has become a more urgent problem amidst a rise in fatal drug overdoses of more than 50 percent during the pandemic. And health care executives say most of the thieves have been getting away with the pilfering. But federal officials and health care executives are expanding their use of AI tools to make that a lot more difficult. More than 700 hospitals nationwide use tech company Wolters Kluwer’s AI surveillance tool to uncover potential theft and monitor medication inventory. A medical intelligence firm, Invistics, built the machine-learning tool with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse before Wolters Kluwer bought it a year ago. It’s one in a burgeoning marketplace of machine-learning services health care facilities can choose from to safeguard their drug supply and protect against theft. The expanded use of the tools comes at a time when federal and industry data show an estimated 10 percent of health care workers abuse drugs; roughly 1 percent of the millions of doctors, nurses and support staff steal medicine; and 148 million controlled substance doses were lost in 2019 — a 215 percent increase from the year before. Meanwhile, fatal drug overdoses in the country remain near record highs at around 110,000 a year, according to the CDC. Existing systems to find and prevent theft “can be slow and prone to error and manipulation,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the NIDA, told POLITICO in a statement. Volkow said her agency is “committed to supporting … projects that tap into artificial intelligence and other new technologies to detect drug diversion from real-time data in a more effective way.” Already, the number of health care leaders who say they use AI to uncover drug diversion — when drugs are stolen from medical sources and used for unintended purposes — has nearly doubled from 29 percent to 56 percent since 2019, according to a 2023 survey by Wolters Kluwer. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. It’s about to get hot, hot, hot in Washington. Spring was nice while it lasted. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_.
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| A message from HCA Healthcare: At HCA Healthcare, we dig deeper to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. In partnership with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, University of California, Irvine (UCI) Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are proud to have conducted a multi-state study in 82 hospitals that helps prevent the transmission of infection through rapid detection via algorithm-driven technology. Learn more about how our research improves care for patients. |
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House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers looks over papers as the House Rules Committee prepares to advance the fiscal 2024 NDDA on Tuesday. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP |
BIOSECURE FALLS OUT OF NDAA — Legislation that would effectively prevent Chinese biotech firms from doing business in the U.S. didn’t make it through a procedural process to receive a vote to be attached to the House version of an annual must-pass spending bill, Ben reports. A proposed amendment from Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) that would have set up a vote to tack the legislation onto the National Defense Authorization Act didn’t make it through the House Rules Committee’s amendment process. The committee teed up votes on 350 amendments to the defense policy bill out of more than 1,300 proposed, but the BIOSECURE Act wasn’t among them. The legislation would essentially prohibit Chinese “companies of concern” from operating in the U.S. by preventing them and businesses using their products from getting federal contracts, grants or loans. It comes as intelligence agencies and Congress express increasing concern about China’s involvement in biotechnology and its ability to access Americans’ genomic data. It’s a blow to lawmakers’ efforts to get it signed into law after it advanced out of the House Oversight Committee in a 40-1 vote last month and out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee 11-1 earlier this year.
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| THE GOLD STANDARD OF HEALTHCARE POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries, like healthcare, equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced and better sourced than any other. Our healthcare reporting team—including Alice Miranda Ollstein, Megan Messerly and Robert King—is embedded with the market-moving legislative committees and agencies in Washington and across states, delivering unparalleled coverage of health policy and the healthcare industry. We bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. |
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Mental health groups are pushing the DEA to finalize regulations that would allow certain Schedule IIN drugs to be prescribed to patients via telehealth visits. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images |
DEA’S CLOCK WINDS DOWN — The Drug Enforcement Administration is running out of time to meet its fall goal of finalizing new regulations for prescribing controlled substances virtually without an in-person visit, Ben reports. The details: Pandemic-era rules allowing telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances are set to expire at the end of the year after the DEA extended them last year. When it did so, the DEA said it intended to issue new “standards or safeguards” by fall 2024. It hasn’t issued a proposed rule yet. In early 2023, the DEA proposed curtailing the pandemic-era regulations but received backlash and reversed course. Mental health push: Mental health groups are pushing the agency to allow Schedule IIN non-narcotic drugs to be prescribed without an in-person visit. Those include stimulants used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A coalition of mental health groups, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Kennedy Forum, wrote to the DEA on Tuesday, saying that not allowing such drugs to be prescribed without an in-person visit as it previously proposed would be a mistake. View from Arlington: The DEA didn’t respond to a request for comment. It has investigated companies for allegedly overprescribing ADHD drugs and raised concerns about startups using targeted advertising to get patients to ask for prescriptions.
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ANOTHER SWING AT PRIOR AUTH — A bipartisan group of lawmakers is expected to introduce a new version of prior authorization legislation this morning, POLITICO’s Daniel Payne reports. This version has a better chance at passage, lawmakers and staffers believe, because it eliminates the steep price tag that came with an earlier version. The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act would create standards for Medicare Advantage plans’ use of prior authorization, including transparency and technology requirements for payers. The issue is a major priority for health providers. “I think we’re going to have a breakthrough,” Dr. Bruce Scott, the American Medical Association’s new president, said at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago.
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| A message from HCA Healthcare:   |
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DEBT RELIEF — The Biden administration announced a rule Tuesday that would erase medical debt from credit reports, making it easier for millions of Americans to buy a new home or finance a car, Toni reports. The proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would also block new medical debt from appearing on credit reports and raise credit scores by around 20 points. “Medical debt makes it more difficult for millions of Americans to be approved for a car loan, a home loan or a small business loan,” Vice President Kamala Harris said on a call with reporters. “All in turn makes it difficult to just get by, let alone get ahead.” Under the rule, credit reporting agencies can no longer use patients’ medical devices as collateral or repossess them. The proposal would work alongside the American Rescue Plan, a Covid 19-era law that allows local governments to partly cancel debt for their constituents. The effort would relieve up to $7 billion in loans for around 3 million Americans by 2026, according to a White House press release. Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, said during Tuesday’s call that medical debt is “less predictive on future payments” for borrowers compared to other debts. Why it matters: Medical debt is part of the administration’s election-year push to ameliorate Americans’ economic anxieties. The administration has also targeted hidden airline fees and shrinkflation.
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JOIN US: TRANSFORMING HEALTH CARE — As lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the Biden administration try to lower health care costs and improve access, they’re weighing new technologies and treatments. POLITICO is convening a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at AutoShop in Washington to discuss potential policies to bolster access to new technologies and therapies. You can learn more about the event and register here.
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1557 SUITS PILE UP — A third lawsuit has been filed against HHS for a rule it finalized in April that strengthened nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ patients. The attorneys general in Montana and Texas sued the Biden administration Tuesday, claiming the rule forces states to provide gender-affirming care even if they have a state law against such care. It follows a similar suit by the state of Florida and the Catholic Medical Association and another by a Mississippi children’s clinic. All three suits argue that the rule, which modifies a provision in the Affordable Care Act called Section 1557, would penalize doctors who refuse to provide gender-affirming care. HHS wouldn’t comment on pending litigation, but the agency has maintained the rule is critical in ensuring that LGBTQ+ patients have access to equitable care.
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| JOIN US ON 6/13 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE: As Congress and the White House work to strengthen health care affordability and access, innovative technologies and treatments are increasingly important for patient health and lower costs. What barriers are appearing as new tech emerges? Is the Medicare payment process keeping up with new technologies and procedures? Join us on June 13 as POLITICO convenes a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts to discuss what policy solutions could expand access to innovative therapies and tech. REGISTER HERE. |
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| Laurie Huotari has joined Lathrop GPM as a partner in the Minneapolis office. She previously was the Minneapolis managing partner at Stoel Rives. James “Jay” Hawkins has retired from the Alpine Group. Hawkins came to the Alpine Group after serving as a congressional health policy adviser. Courtney Johnson will lead the health care practice at Alpine.
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POLITICO’s Carmen Paun reports on mounting congressional pressure on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. CBS News reports on difficulties in some states to crack down on raw milk amid an avian flu outbreak in cattle. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Planned Parenthood has quietly lobbied state officials to oppose telehealth abortion shield laws.
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| A message from HCA Healthcare: HCA Healthcare is creating healthier tomorrows through advanced research and impactful partnerships. With Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, University of California, Irvine (UCI) Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we conducted a multi-state study in 82 hospitals that helps prevent the transmission of infection through rapid detection via algorithm-driven technology.
At HCA Healthcare, we are proud to participate in real-world, evidence-based research that advances science, improves patient care and saves lives. Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
Read more about our clinical trials here. |
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