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What we’re looking for on the debate stage tonight
President Biden and former President Trump face off tonight for the first time this election cycle. While there is a long list of potential debate topics before them, here are a few things we at D.C. Diagnosis are hoping to hear more about this evening:
Biden notches another SCOTUS win or two
A win? The Supreme Court appears set to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, delivering the Biden administration another, albeit narrow, win for abortion rights after the mifepristone decision earlier this month. But the court’s inadvertently posted 6-3 decision essentially dismisses Idaho’s lawsuit without tackling the thornier dilemma of state and federal clashes over abortion policy (though it’s not clear if this is the final version).
A win: In a much clearer-cut (and purposely published) decision Wednesday morning, the court also delivered Biden officials a victory on efforts to limit Covid-19 misinformation on social media platforms. Six justices led by Amy Coney Barrett said the plaintiffs — including two state attorneys general and two doctors who promoted the herd immunity theory — didn’t prove that federal officials’ extensive dialogues with social media platforms actually harmed them or limited their social media use.
The Murthy v. Missouri decision leaves breathing room for White House and HHS officials to talk with social media companies about moderating misinformation, as long as they don’t force policy. But its detractors say the fight is far from over, painting the case as a free speech battle.
“The Supreme Court got it wrong – and has failed to uphold its responsibility to the Constitution,” presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy wrote on X. He’s brought a similar suit, Kennedy v. Biden, that is still in a lower court. “I will continue to fight for free speech in the courts and on the campaign trail.”
On the House
Summer slowdown where? House committees are scrambling to mark up health care bills today before lawmakers fully shift into election mode.
Ways & Means is gearing up for a markup that could get spicy. As John Wilkerson and I scooped Friday, the panel is considering scaled-back bills to expand Medicare coverage of weight loss drugs and cancer screening blood tests.
The details of the weight loss coverage bill in particular caught my attention, as it’s very narrowly tailored to help make sure patients taking weight loss drugs don’t get kicked off of them when they enter Medicare. If Democrats go along with the plan, it could be an important step toward broader coverage of obesity drugs that is affordable enough to increase its chances of passage.
Energy & Commerce is finally getting around to marking up a two-year extension of telehealth flexibilities in Medicare in the full committee. We’ll be watching to see how the committee’s planning to pay for the bill.
Lessons from an HHS secretary who ran a bird flu response
There aren’t many people who have run federal government responses to a bird flu outbreak. Mike Leavitt is one of them.
As HHS Secretary during the George W. Bush administration, his alarm over a bird flu outbreak in Asia prompted him to ask for billions of dollars from Congress, oversee the creation of a new pandemic preparedness division, mount a nationwide pandemic preparedness tour, and proactively engage with foreign governments.
In an interview with STAT, Leavitt reflected on his response in 2005 to an outbreak that didn’t become a pandemic, and about how those investments have paid off almost two decades later.
What we’re reading
- Three months into bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, experts see deep-rooted problems in response, STAT
- Conservative groups push to roll back drug price law, Axios
- Listen: Rep. Diana DeGette on why reproductive freedom must be protected, STAT
- Democratic senator calls on HHS to investigate PBMs blocking access to generic cancer drug, The Hill