| | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne, Carmen Paun, Ruth Reader, Erin Schumaker and Toni Odejimi | | | | | 
Rodgers has to convince fellow Republicans to back her privacy bill. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Republicans are squabbling about House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ plan to soon mark up her bill to set a national data privacy standard. Why it matters: The measure, by the Washington Republican, would have significant ramifications for companies that collect data related to customers’ health. It would restrict how firms can use the data and require them to get customers’ consent before sharing it. But our Olivia Beavers reports that GOP lawmakers are leaning on House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to put the kibosh on Rodgers’ plan, charging that her bill is overbroad because it would affect all companies and unduly burden smaller firms less able than tech giants to comply with new rules. A Republican aide that Beavers spoke with on condition of anonymity said the bill contained “no real conservative wins.” Republicans and the tech industry, in general, also oppose part of the deal that would give individuals the right to sue for privacy violations, the so-called private right of action. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has said he would oppose any bill with that provision, arguing it would spur frivolous suits. The backstory: Rodgers introduced the measure in April alongside her Senate Commerce Committee counterpart, Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). In a statement, they called it “the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to establish a national data privacy and security standard that gives people the right to control their personal information.” Cantwell has since worked to assuage the concerns of Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, who worried the bill didn’t offer strong enough protections for children. Rodgers announced in January that she would retire from Congress at the end of the year, and she sees the bill as part of her legacy.
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Vineyard Haven, Mass. | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Golfing with a llama carrying your clubs may be the hottest ticket in North Carolina, as Axios reports, but Carmen still feels it’s 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, Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com, or Toni Odejimi at aodejimi@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  Guthrie has questions for CHAI. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | A push by leading hospitals and tech and health care companies to develop a plan for regulating artificial intelligence is coming into focus. Google, Microsoft, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins are among the founders of the Coalition for Health AI, which has a close rapport with government regulators. Troy Tazbaz, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Digital Health Center of Excellence, is a liaison to the group. The game plan: Dr. Brian Anderson, CHAI’s CEO, told Daniel he sees a multilayered approach to ensuring that AI tools in health care serve patients and providers. The top layer is government regulations, such as the FDA’s authority over medical devices and legislative efforts from Congress that could change the AI landscape nationwide. In the middle, he sees AI tools being vetted by the coalition’s assurance labs, which the coalition hopes to have up and running later this year. The labs could test or even train the tools with an emphasis on ensuring the tools work in different regions and among diverse populations. Finally, he envisions individual health systems evaluating tools for their own use. Even so: CHAI’s ideas about how to regulate the emerging technology across health care aren’t shared by everyone. Some critics, including smaller startups developing health AI tools, worry it could give an advantage to the large firms and hospitals who lead it. Republicans in the House, including Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, recently wrote to the FDA to echo those concerns.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | |  The drug problem was bad before the pandemic. Now it's worse. | AFP via Getty Images | The world needs a global advocacy campaign to inform the public about the impact of substance use disorder on health, the World Health Organization said today. Why it matters: More than 3 million people, predominantly men, died as a result of alcohol or drug use in 2019, according to the WHO’s most recent data. About 2.6 million died as a result of alcohol consumption, a decrease from the 3 million the WHO reported in 2016 but still unacceptably high, the organization said in a new report. The global health body estimates that about half a million people worldwide died as a result of drug use, a slight increase when compared with 2010. In the U.S., fatal drug overdoses rose more than 50 percent between January 2020 and June 2023. Those figures suggest that the drug use so concerning to global health experts has likely increased. Treatment coverage across the nearly 150 countries that reported data remains incredibly low, the WHO said. The proportion of people in contact with substance use treatment services ranged from less than 1 percent to about 35 percent in those countries. However, most countries reported they had medication available to treat substance use disorders. What’s next? The WHO said the campaign should address: — The factors that trigger substance use disorders, such as social and commercial determinants — The nature of the disorder — The availability of effective prevention and treatment — The stigma and discrimination associated with substance use that hamper access to treatment and care The WHO also called for improving countries’ prevention and treatment capacity, accelerating substance-use disorder training for health professionals, and sharing knowledge internationally, among other measures. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
