{"id":592,"date":"2023-01-12T21:08:20","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T21:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=592"},"modified":"2023-01-12T21:08:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T21:08:20","slug":"gop-house-opens-with-abortion-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=592","title":{"rendered":"GOP House Opens With Abortion Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-people block--people\">\n<h3 class=\"people-title\">\n\t\tThe Host\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"people-card-container single\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-people-card block--people-card\">\n<div class=\"author-image-container\">\n\t\t\t<img srcset=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg 600w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=500,500 500w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=480,480 480w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=170,170 170w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/khn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=315,315 315w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 150px\"\/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Having spent its entire first week choosing a speaker, the Republican-led U.S. House finally got down to legislative business, including passing two bills backed by anti-abortion groups. Neither is likely to become law, because they won\u2019t pass the Senate nor be signed by President Joe Biden. But the move highlights how abortion is sure to remain a high-visibility issue in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, as open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act nears its Jan. 15 close, a record number of people have signed up, taking advantage of renewed subsidies and other help with medical costs.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet.<\/p>\n<p>Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The House now has a speaker after 15 rounds of full-chamber roll call votes. That paved the way for members to be sworn in, committee assignments to be made, and new committee chairs to be named. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Jason Smith (R-Mo.) will be taking the helm of major health committees.<\/li>\n<li>McMorris Rodgers will lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Smith will be the chairman of Ways and Means. Unlike McMorris Rodgers, Smith has little background in health issues and has mostly focused on tax issues in his public talking points. But Medicare is likely to be on the agenda, which will require the input of the chairs of both committees.<\/li>\n<li>One thing is certain: The new GOP-controlled House will do a lot of investigations. Republicans have already reconstituted a committee to investigate covid-19, although, unlike the Democrats\u2019 panel, this one is likely to spend time trying to find the origin of the virus and track where federal dollars may have been misspent.<\/li>\n<li>The House this week began considering a series of abortion-related bills \u2014 \u201cstatement\u201d or \u201cmessaging\u201d bills \u2014 that are unlikely to see the light of day in the Senate. However, some in the caucus question the wisdom of holding votes on issues like these that could make their more moderate members more vulnerable. So far, bills have had mostly unanimous support from the GOP. Divisions are more likely to emerge on topics like a national abortion ban. Meanwhile, the Title X program, which pays for things like contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections, is becoming a hot topic at the state level and in some lawsuits. A case in Texas would restrict contraception availability for minors through this program.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s increasingly clear that abortion pills are going to become an even bigger part of the abortion debate. On one hand, the FDA has relaxed some of the risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) from the prescribing rules surrounding abortion pills. The FDA puts these extra restrictions or safeguards in place for certain drugs to add additional protection. Some advocates say these pills simply do not bring that level or risk.<\/li>\n<li>Anti-abortion groups are planning protests in early February at large pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens to try to get them to walk back plans to distribute abortion pills in states where they are legal.<\/li>\n<li>A growing number of states are pressuring the Department of Health and Human Services to allow them to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada \u2014 or, more accurately, importing Canada\u2019s price controls. While this has long been a bipartisan issue, it has also long been controversial. Officials at the FDA remain concerned about breaking the closed supply chain between drugs being manufactured and delivered to approved U.S. buyers. The policy is popular, however, because it promises lower prices on at least some drugs.<\/li>\n<li>Also in the news from the FDA: The agency granted accelerated approval for Leqembi for the treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Leqembi is another expensive drug that appears to work, but also carries big risks. However, it is generally viewed as an improvement over the even more controversial Alzheimer\u2019s drug Aduhelm. Still to be determined is whether Medicare \u2014 which provides insurance to most people with Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 will cover the drug.<\/li>\n<li>As the Affordable Care Act enrolls a record number of Americans, it is notable that repealing the law has not been mentioned as a priority for the new GOP majority in the House. Rather, the top health issue is likely to be how to reduce the price of Medicare and other health \u201centitlement\u201d programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week that they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Julie Rovner:<\/strong> The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/12\/27\/social-security-job-titles-disabled-applicants-obsolete\/\">Social Security Denies Disability Benefits Based on List With Jobs From 1977<\/a>,\u201d by Lisa Rein<\/p>\n<p><strong>Margot Sanger-Katz:<\/strong> Roll Call\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2023\/01\/04\/providers-say-medicare-advantage-hinders-new-methadone-benefit\/\">Providers Say Medicare Advantage Hinders New Methadone Benefit<\/a>,\u201d by Jessie Hellmann<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/01\/08\/opinion\/grant-wahl-celine-gounder-vaccine.html\">Grant Wahl Was a Loving Husband. I Will Always Protect His Legacy.<\/a>\u201d By C\u00e9line Gounder<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sarah Karlin-Smith:<\/strong> KHN\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/article\/hospital-volunteers-labor-laws\/\">Hospitals\u2019 Use of Volunteer Staff Runs Risk of Skirting Labor Laws, Experts Say<\/a>,\u201d by Lauren Sausser<\/p>\n<p>Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>To hear all our podcasts,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/tag\/podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And subscribe to KHN\u2019s What the Health? on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/kaiser-health-news\/what-the-health\">Stitcher<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.pocketcasts.com\/web\/podcasts\/a379e280-3f57-0135-9028-63f4b61a9224\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<section class=\"block--category-tag-list \">\n<div class=\"category-tag-list__content-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"block--category-tag-list__title\">\n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__contact-link\" href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/contact-us\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__tip-link\" href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/tips\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tSubmit a Story Tip\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Host Having spent its entire first week choosing a speaker, the Republican-led U.S. House finally got down to legislative business, including passing two bills backed by anti-abortion groups. Neither is likely to become law, because they won\u2019t pass the Senate nor be signed by President Joe Biden. But the move highlights how abortion is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-health-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":593,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions\/593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}