Media outlets report on words from the Biden administration on reinforced anti-discrimination protections for people in the LGBTQ+ community in the Affordable Care Act. Separately, a federal lawsuit is challenging parts of the ACA related to coverage for contraception.
The New York Times: Biden Rule Would Strengthen Health Protections For Gay And Transgender People
The Biden administration said Monday that it intends to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in the Affordable Care Act — a proposal that would officially reverse a policy adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Donald J. Trump. (Gay Stolberg, 7/25)
Modern Healthcare: HHS To Restore, Strengthen ACA Nondiscrimination Rules
“We want to make sure that whoever you are, whatever you look like, wherever you live, however you wish to live your life, that you have access to the care that you need,” Becerra said during a call with reporters. (Goldman, 7/25)
Axios: Affordable Care Act Lawsuit Threatens Contraception Access And Other Preventive Services
The Affordable Care Act is once again being challenged in federal court, this time with big implications for the private insurance market that dovetail with concerns about contraception access in the post-Roe world. Why it matters: A pending federal case takes up whether part of the law requiring coverage of preventive services is unconstitutional. If the plaintiffs are successful, millions of people could lose access to free services like cancer screenings, immunizations and contraception. (Owens, 7/26)
On moves against the drug pricing bill —
The Hill: Manufacturers Knock Drug Pricing Bill In Ad Blitz
The National Association of Manufacturers launched a six-figure ad campaign over the weekend opposing Democrats’ proposal to regulate drug prices in their budget reconciliation package. The lobbying group, which represents Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and other top drugmakers, is airing ads arguing that price controls on popular drugs amount to a “hidden tax” that will hurt U.S. competitiveness. (Evers-Hillstrom, 7/25)
In news on other political, legal matters relating to health and health care —
Roll Call: House Democrats Add Child Nutrition To Legislative Menu
The House Education and Labor Committee is making a late-session push to renew child nutrition programs and incorporate changes made to cope with the pandemic, but disagreements could slow the reauthorization of a nutrition law that expired in 2015. (Ferguson, 7/25)
Modern Healthcare: 340B Supreme Court Ruling Fix Divides Providers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’s potential response to a Supreme Court decision that invalidated cuts to 340B payments spotlights the divide between providers that participate in the drug-discount program and those that don’t. While the informal policy proposal drew cheers from 340B hospitals for reversing payment cuts, some who don’t use the program described the agency’s road map as “irresponsible” and argue CMS would be justified paying even less for 340B drugs. (Goldman, 7/25)
Reuters: Pfizer Loses U.S. Appeal Over Co-Pays For Heart Failure Patients
A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) challenge to a U.S. anti-kickback law the drugmaker said prevented it from helping heart failure patients, many with low incomes, afford medicine that cost $225,000 per year. (Stempel, 7/25)
The New York Times: Biden’s Drug Czar Is Leading The Charge For A ‘Harm Reduction’ Approach
Support for supervised consumption from the Biden administration would be a major turning point in how the government addresses an epidemic of addiction and overdoses that has endured for decades and now claims more than 100,000 lives a year. Instead of discouraging drug use, such sites aim to keep users from dying, with trained personnel providing syringes and other sterile equipment for using drugs and working to reverse overdoses on the spot. (Weiland, 7/26)
This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
