| | | | |  | | By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard | Presented by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health | | | |  Rep. Brad Wenstrup wants to reduce China's role in medical supply chains. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | ANGLING FOR A DOMESTIC BOOST — Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want China to be less involved in medical supply chains. The health care industry says it needs more incentives to boost domestic production, Ben reports. Many lawmakers, including Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), have made the case that relying too heavily on China presents national security risks. They’re pushing the BIOSECURE Act, which would effectively bar Chinese biotech companies from doing business in the U.S. The companies named in the legislation argue they’ve been unfairly targeted. In a call for public feedback , Wenstrup and Reps. Blake Moore (R-Utah), August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said the legislation is an “important first step” but added that Congress must take a broader approach to boost domestic manufacturing and keep foreign adversaries’ “manipulation” out of U.S. supply chains. The deadline for public comment closed recently, and Pulse obtained responses from across the sector. Here are some key takeaways: Challenges to onshoring remain: Several groups, including Biotechnology Innovation Organization, an advocacy group; the Association for Accessible Medicines, which represents the generic drug industry; and Premier Inc., a major health care supply-chain company, said environmental regulations are a barrier to onshoring — moving supply chains back domestically. U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit group working to bolster supply chains, said a lack of “clarity” in the field has hindered the understanding of potential risks. BIO said that costs related to manufacturing and supply chains are higher in the U.S. than in other nations. More needed to boost production at home: Industry groups suggested a broad range of carrots to facilitate onshoring. AAM said U.S. government incentives aren’t sufficient to produce generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients in the country. The group called for new tax incentives for bringing manufacturing to the U.S., guaranteed purchases for essential medicines and expanding the Strategic National Stockpile. BIO said the federal government could offer grants and subsidies to encourage construction and increased funding for manufacturing and stockpiling essential medicines and active ingredients. Megan Van Etten, deputy vice president of public affairs at trade group PhRMA, said in a statement to Pulse that pharmaceutical companies will work “with Congress to help protect national and economic interests and make sure patients are not unintentionally impacted with potential drug shortages or disruptions to medicine R&D.” Concerns about innovators: Incubate, a life sciences venture capital group, said onshoring efforts must not “disproportionately increase costs for small biotech companies that are responsible for early-stage drug development.” WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Happy Halloween! I’m spending it handing out candy and telling ghost stories with friends. Have any health policy-related scary stories for me? Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @_BenLeonard_.
| | | | A message from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health: Drug prices, mental health, abortion — all health care topics the presidential candidates are debating. But neither is focused on the topic that has support from both parties: extending dental care to millions in the US who lack insurance. A new national poll commissioned by CareQuest Institute and the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN) shows voters want better dental coverage in Medicare. Learn more and take action to improve the oral health system. | | | | | | | 
A pig in Oregon has tested positive for bird flu, raising concerns about potential viral mutations since pigs can host both avian and human viruses. | AP | A ‘MIXING BOWL’ IN BIRD FLU — The discovery of avian flu in a pig in Oregon has many public health experts concerned about the potential for a health threat to the public because pigs’ respiratory systems are similar to those of humans. The pig on a backyard farming operation in Oregon was confirmed to have the nation’s first detected case of bird flu in swine, the USDA said Wednesday, POLITICO’s Marcia Brown reports. Of the other four pigs on the farm, two tested negative for avian flu, while the results for the other two are pending. Poultry on the farm, which shared water sources and housing with other animals, first tested positive for H5N1 on Oct. 25. According to a statement, USDA officials maintain there’s no threat to “the safety of the nation’s pork supply.” Genomic sequencing of the virus from poultry infected on the Oregon farm didn’t detect any changes to the virus that would suggest it’s more transmissible to humans, the USDA said. Potential public health threat: Swine are often called a “mixing bowl” for disease and can be infected with both avian and human viruses, creating a possibility for viral “reassortment” where a novel virus could emerge. Such a combination could make avian flu vaccine candidates for humans ineffective and promote the virus’ spread among people. Context: The case comes as California, one of the nation’s largest dairy-producing states, is battling a widespread outbreak of avian influenza in its dairy herds. At least 193 dairy herds have been infected in the state, according to USDA’s most recent data.
| | | JOHNSON, HARRIS MELEE OVER ACA — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office is pushing back on Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign for how it’s characterizing remarks Johnson made to voters about the Affordable Care Act. In a video first obtained by NBC News, Johnson, while at a GOP House candidate campaign event in Louisiana, promised major, unspecified reforms to health care if former President Donald Trump is elected. He then responded to an audience member who asked, “No Obamacare?” “No Obamacare,” he repeated with an eye roll, adding that the ACA is “very ingrained” and major reforms are needed. Harris’ campaign has seized on Johnson’s comments, sharing the video on social media and asserting, “Mike Johnson says one of Trump’s top priorities will be to repeal the Affordable Care Act and rip away health care from tens of millions of Americans: ‘No Obamacare.’” Johnson’s office denied Wednesday that he promised a repeal of the ACA. “Harris’ desperation now has her lying about Speaker Johnson — when the audio, transcript, and even the NBC News article her campaign cites make clear that the Speaker made no such promise,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to Pulse. Sarafina Chitika, a Harris campaign spokesperson, defended the campaign’s characterization. “[V]oters heard it from his own mouth: If Trump wins there will be ‘no Obamacare,’ plain and simple. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves,” she wrote in an email. The bigger picture: Trump has renewed calls to replace the ACA with something he promises will be an improvement. He’s said he has “concepts of a plan” for what a replacement would entail and has yet to provide details. The Harris campaign, meanwhile, has capitalized on the success and growth of the ACA under the Biden administration while proposing to strengthen the law.
| | | | A message from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health:   | | | | | CMS DELAYS KIDNEY CARE MODEL — The implementation of a model to improve access to kidney transplants is being delayed, CMS said Wednesday, worrying some kidney transplant advocates who said the delay comes at a critical time. In a statement on its website, CMS said it continues to review comments on the proposed model and expects a start date later than the initially planned January launch. CMS didn’t respond to a request for further comment. How we got here: CMS proposed the mandatory payment model earlier this year to incentivize the nation’s transplant hospitals to increase the number of kidney transplants they perform. The six-year model would evaluate hospitals based on transplant volume, organ acceptance rates and post-transplant outcomes. Kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organ in the U.S. — and disparities are significant when it comes to which patients get transplants, with white patients getting more transplants than African American patients, who make up a larger portion of the waitlist. In a statement, the Kidney Transplant Collaborative, an advocacy group, said the model was a critical step toward increasing access to transplants. “For patients with kidney disease, waiting for a transplant is not just a matter of time — it is a matter of life or death. We strongly urge CMS to prioritize the implementation of the IOTA Model to address this urgent need and fulfill the promise of a more equitable, effective, and accessible transplant system for all,” the group said. The National Kidney Foundation had a more cautious take. “We haven’t seen the final Rule yet but from our perspective, delayed implementation is acceptable if it allows participants more time to prepare for participation in the model. If that is the case it will mean the transition to the new model can be done in a more seamless, patient focused, way,” Dr. Jesse Roach, senior vice president of government relations, told Pulse in an email. The bigger picture: The delay comes as federal officials overhaul the organ transplant system amid a massive waitlist of patients waiting for organs and congressional scrutiny of the single organization, the United Network for Organ Sharing, that’s managed the entire system since the 1980s.
| | Dr. Ashwin Vasan is now a James McCune Smith Distinguished Fellow for the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College. He most recently served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, managing the city’s Covid-19 response.
| | The New York Times reports on Kamala Harris’ stance on free health care for undocumented immigrants. Reuters reports on the lowest dose of Wegovy being listed as available on the FDA website. STAT reports that AstraZeneca’s China president is under investigation.
| | | | A message from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health: A national poll shows that adding dental benefits to Medicare is a top health issue for US voters, even over abortion and the ACA. More specifically:
· 9 out of 10 voters want a Medicare dental benefit.
· More than 4 out of 5 voters for Trump in 2016 and 2020 want a dental benefit added to Medicare.
· 99% of those who voted for the Democrat candidate in the last two elections want a dental benefit added to Medicare.
“Far too many people have discovered oral health care is too expensive and out of reach,” says Melissa Burroughs, CareQuest Institute director of public policy. “Yet this issue has been on the back burner when it comes to policy conversations and the political commitment to address it.”
It’s simple: the American people want dental care included in Medicare. It’s time to make this policy change a top priority — our health depends on it. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
