DC Review: Why is Kamala Harris headed to Texas?

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MAHA’s moment has been canceled – the race is on

President Trump canceled his plan on Tuesday to meet with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on chronic diseases and their causes under the banner of “Make America Healthy Again”. A spokesperson told STAT that it was due to scheduling conflicts. (Trump met Tuesday night in Greensboro, NC; a town hall with RFK was scheduled for the afternoon).

But that doesn’t mean that Trump is abandoning the distance between himself and the MAHA world, to the chagrin of some ex-pats. The former president will record an interview with Joe Rogan, host of the popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, on Friday. Rogan this month also spoke with Calley Means, the second half of the siblings who have risen as the public voices of the MAHA movement.

At the HLTH conference in Las Vegas, Nicholas St. STAT’s Fleur managed a longevity panel with the other half of the duo, Casey Means. I am the founder of the health tracking company Metabolic Levels. When he was on stage, St. Fleur asked Means about his relationships with Kennedy, Trump, and the MAHA.

“I’m very happy and I have a big heart that at the level of the president – I don’t care who’s talking about it, Bobby Kennedy, Trump or Kamala – that these conversations are now making it into normal people,” said Means, praising Kennedy in particular. comments on renewable agriculture, environmental toxins, PFAS, and phthalates.

After Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and moved to Trump’s team, he said Casey and Calley Means were the kind of people he would recommend to run public health agencies. . Asked if he would take a position in the Trump administration, Casey said: “My biggest hope is that … And if I can play a small part in that I’d love to.”

Harris is headed to Texas. Why?

Vice President Harris will take the stage in Houston tomorrow night with Texas Senate candidate Colin Allred. It is a position that is expected to lose him, even if Allred does not meet with Sen. Incumbent Ted Cruz. But it’s also a reminder of the concerns he wants to keep in front of voters: Abortion restrictions and their impact on health.

This is not a last-ditch effort to turn Texas blue, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ but it is an effort to rush to power in the states that he could swing, said his former owners. (“We’re getting off the battlefield because we think it’s going to help us on the battlefield,” senior campaign adviser David Plouffe told the AP).

There are already questions about how much the Democrats’ reproductive rights arguments resonate with voters who straddle Harris’ and Trump’s political platforms. While most Americans seem to support abortion rights, they don’t always vote for Democrats who advocate for them. Harris clearly hopes to change that: Ahead of his visit to Houston, he released an ad Wednesday telling the story of a Texas couple who lost their pregnancy at 16 weeks but were denied abortion care.

What to expect from a Harris presidency

So, what would a Harris presidency look like? DCD co-author Rachel Cohrs Zhang joins in on her platform breakdown of high drug costs, strengthening the ACA, and expanding Medicaid coverage, to name a few.

In many ways, these are goals that Democrats were unable to accomplish during President Biden’s administration. But others — like clearing medical debt — are new goals. Rachel expands on what Harris said and how can he do it here. (And expect a Trump edition soon!)

Health issues to watch on Election Day

With less than two weeks before Election Day, it’s no surprise that Vice President Harris and the state of President Trump’s policy are dominating the headlines. But there’s a long list of health care proposals and lower-income races that could affect health policy in the coming years.

More than a dozen states vote in health care elections and key races for congressional control. I’ve written a list of important ballot measures and races that could change federal and state health care and ignite new debates, from what’s happening in 340B to other legal psychedelics.

A lame duck sheet

Much of what happens with health care policy during the lame duck and the next Congress depends on the results of the election. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare now by reading John Wilkerson’s cheating on health care policies to watch after the election.

Health care policies that may come into play during the lame duck include telehealth, restrictions on Chinese technology, Medicare payments for hospitals, and PBM changes.

Regardless of what happens, or doesn’t happen, before the newly elected officials take office in January, expect a the next big battler than the Affordable Care Act’s extended subsidies and Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, both of which expire at the end of 2025.

State Medicaid programs are coming to GLP-1s

Most federal Medicaid programs don’t cover the new class of drugs for obesity — but half of the holdouts are considering it, according to a new KFF report.

The opportunity to provide expanded coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound under Medicaid comes as private plans are beginning to aggressively cover obesity medications. Medicare restricts drug coverage for that indication, Tara Bannow writes.

Currently, only 13 federal Medicaid programs cover GLP-1 for obesity; many others mention the high price of drugs. The report says it has increased spending in the drug category starting in 2021. Immerse yourself in it found.

Meet the new director of CDR

Legal: Michelle Tarver will be the new leader of the FDA’s medical device agency, STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence found out this week.

Tarver has served on an interim basis since longtime equipment manager Jeffrey Shuren announced his departure in July. The agency conducted a nationwide search for Shuren’s location, but Tarver quickly proved to be the best, hiding Shuren at meetings and town halls, Lizzy writes.

Tarver joined the agency in 2009, eventually becoming director of the Office of Change and helping start the patient engagement advisory committee. Read more.

Jill Biden is asking the industry to support women’s health

Speaking to a packed auditorium on the final day of the HLTH conference, Jill Biden spoke about her husband’s record on women’s health — and called on the industry to investigate and fund critical medical knowledge gaps in women’s health care.

“The potential of this area is too great to ignore,” Biden said.

As of Wednesday, the health center founded by Joe Biden ARPA-H has given 110 million dollars – more than it promised – in several projects, the White House announced together with HLTH.

What we read

• Frustrated by Change Healthcare breach, senators propose lifting HIPAA penalty limits, STAT.
• “Not Medically Necessary”: Inside the company that helps America’s largest health insurers deny coverage for care, ProPublica
• Opinion: Primary care physicians should receive abortion training, STAT
• The CDC notified McDonald’s of a possible E. coli outbreak last week, CNBC