{"id":3023,"date":"2021-12-14T15:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T15:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiXWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBvbGl0aWNvLmNvbS9uZXdzbGV0dGVycy9wb2xpdGljby1wdWxzZS8yMDIxLzEyLzE0L2NhbGlmZi1nb2VzLXRvLWNvbmdyZXNzLTc5OTQ1NNIBAA"},"modified":"2021-12-14T15:00:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T15:00:07","slug":"califf-goes-to-congress-politico-politico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3023","title":{"rendered":"Califf goes to Congress &#8211; POLITICO &#8211; Politico"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With Alice Miranda Ollstein<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Editor\u2019s Note:<\/i><\/b><i> POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care&#8217;s morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day\u2019s biggest stories. <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politicopro.com\/act-on-the-news?cid=promkt_20q1_corenews_act_pulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Act on the news with POLITICO Pro<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span><b>\u2014 A Senate committee grills Biden\u2019s FDA nominee today<\/b><\/span><b>,<\/b> with questions on the table about the opioid epidemic and his profitable jobs since government work. <\/p>\n<p><span>\u2014 <b>The \u2018Byrd Bath\u2019 begins in earnest this week<\/b><\/span><b> <\/b>with senators sparring over drug pricing provisions.<\/p>\n<p><span><b>\u2014 Vaccine mandates are becoming a state patchwork<\/b><\/span> amid a jumble of different lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p><b>WELCOME TO <span>TUESDAY PULSE<\/span> \u2014 <\/b>There\u2019s always a health care angle \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/and-just-like-that-big-death-carrie-911-call.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even for Sex and the City<\/a>. Send tips and SATC health pitches (Miranda takes on surprise billing?) to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#cfbca0b8aabda2a0a7a3aa8fbfa0a3a6bba6aca0e1aca0a2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"b6c5d9c1d3c4dbd9dedad3f6c6d9dadfc2dfd5d998d5d9db\">[email&nbsp;protected]<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#7b1a181a15180902153b0b1417120f12181455181416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"9ffefcfef1fcede6f1dfeff0f3f6ebf6fcf0b1fcf0f2\">[email&nbsp;protected]<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"story-related cl-l db no-border\">\n<div class=\"intext-ad intext-ad--presented intext-ad--custom \">\n<p class=\"intext-ad__caption\">A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association:<\/p>\n<div class=\"intext-ad__copy-styles0\">\n<p>Ending the maternal health crisis in the United States requires action from all of us. That\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/ad.doubleclick.net\/ddm\/clk\/514944665;322849231;n\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies support the Momnibus package<\/a>. <b>Congress<\/b>: Passing the Momnibus will help save lives and fight maternal health inequities across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><b>CALIFF\u2019S <span>CONFIRMATION<\/span> KICKS OFF \u2014 <\/b>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration appears before the Senate HELP Committee this morning. And despite his popularity on the last go-around \u2014 he snagged 89 votes as then-President Barack Obama\u2019s nominee \u2014 Robert Califf isn\u2019t guaranteed an easy day.<\/p>\n<p>Of the four votes against Califf in 2016, three were Democrats. None of those three (all still in Congress: West Virginia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cd.politicopro.com\/member\/151825\" target=\"_blank\" data-person-id=\"151825\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe Manchin<\/a>, Massachusetts\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/cd.politicopro.com\/member\/51500\" target=\"_blank\" data-person-id=\"51500\" rel=\"noopener\">Ed Markey<\/a> and Connecticut\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cd.politicopro.com\/member\/151824\" target=\"_blank\" data-person-id=\"151824\" rel=\"noopener\">Richard Blumenthal<\/a>) are on the HELP Committee, but their old concerns remain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t fathom why we would confirm someone whose actions failed to swiftly curb the tide of the opioid epidemic and protect the public\u2019s health, especially someone who has already helmed FDA as its Commissioner,\u201d Manchin said in a statement this morning. \u201cFurthermore, Dr. Califf has indicated he plans to keep Dr. Janet Woodcock, who has led the FDA and directly overseen the approval of numerous highly addictive drugs to market, as part of FDA leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Califf is also likely to face questions about his most recent work leading health policy for Alphabet\u2019s Verily Life Sciences, where he made more than $2.7 million over the past year, according to disclosure forms.<\/p>\n<p>But Califf counts at least six former commissioners in his corner, including Trump\u2019s FDA chiefs Scott Gottlieb and Stephen Hahn, who both co-signed a letter to HELP leaders endorsing Biden\u2019s pick. Scores of patient groups have also backed the nominee, and he is largely expected to gather enough votes \u2014 even if several Democrats split with Biden.<\/p>\n<p><b>Throwback: <\/b>The last confirmation hearing for an FDA commissioner was in November 2019, when Trump\u2019s pick, oncologist Stephen Hahn, spent the most of his time <a href=\"https:\/\/subscriber.politicopro.com\/article\/2019\/11\/20\/trump-fda-pick-stops-short-of-committing-to-flavor-ban-072090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">responding to questions about vaping-linked illnesses<\/a> and tobacco regulation. Six weeks after his confirmation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/01\/31\/fda-coronavirus-outbreak-stephen-hahn-110114\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this happened<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>BBB <span>DRUG PROVISIONS<\/span> ON THE LINE \u2014 <\/b>Republican and Democratic senators are set to debate more than 20 different provisions of the $1.7 trillion <a href=\"https:\/\/legislation.politicopro.com\/bill\/US_117_HR_5376\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social spending bill<\/a> before the parliamentarian this week, Senate Finance Chair <a href=\"https:\/\/cd.politicopro.com\/member\/51247\" target=\"_blank\" data-person-id=\"51247\" rel=\"noopener\">Ron Wyden<\/a> (D-Ore.) told reporters at the Capitol Monday night. <\/p>\n<p>In the mix are provisions capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin and penalizing drugmakers for hiking prices faster than inflation in both Medicare and the private insurance market, Alice reports.<\/p>\n<p>Wyden vented about Republicans for challenging the insulin provision in particular, saying his GOP colleagues are \u201cout of step with the American people\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019t understand the intensity of feeling in this country\u201d about rising insulin costs.<\/p>\n<p><b>Timeline in jeopardy: <\/b>With so many provisions in the Byrd bath queue, final rulings on the health provisions might not land before the end of the week, an aide told Alice, further scrambling Democrats\u2019 efforts to pass the bill before the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p><b>COURT DENIES STAY ON <span>VAX MANDAT<\/span><span>E<\/span> RULING \u2014 <\/b>A federal appeals court Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.moed.191888\/gov.uscourts.moed.191888.37.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declined to lift a freeze<\/a> on Biden\u2019s vaccine mandate for health workers in 10 mostly conservative-led states.<\/p>\n<p>The 2-1 vote decision from a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit means the Justice Department could take their case \u2014 which <a href=\"https:\/\/subscriber.politicopro.com\/article\/2021\/11\/judge-freezes-biden-vaccine-requirements-on-health-workers-2097384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hinges on a rule through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration<\/a> \u2014 to the Supreme Court or a larger panel of judges in the eight circuit. <\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, the vaccine mandate will remain frozen in the states who challenged Biden\u2019s order: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Other litigation over the mandate, announced by Biden in September, is pending elsewhere. <\/p>\n<p><span><b>NY MANDATE<\/b><\/span><b> PRESERVED \u2014 <\/b>Elsewhere on Monday, the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/subscriber.politicopro.com\/article\/2021\/12\/13\/supreme-court-rejects-move-to-block-new-york-vaccine-mandate-1399691\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">denied a request to block New York\u2019s vaccination mandate<\/a> for health care workers, rejecting the argument that it should have a religious exemption.<\/p>\n<p>The court announced its ruling Monday afternoon in a brief, unsigned order, POLITICO NY\u2019s Shannon Young writes. Three of the court\u2019s six conservative justices \u2014 Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch \u2014 dissented, saying they would grant relief.<\/p>\n<p>More than a dozen medical professionals and We the Patriots USA, Inc., sued Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s administration over the mandate, which covers patient-facing staff in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. They asked the court last month to block the state from requiring those who were previously granted religious exemptions to get vaccinated or show proof of a medical exemption. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"story-related cl-l db \">\n<div class=\"intext-ad intext-ad--img-only ad-slot\">\n<p class=\"intext-ad__caption\">A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association:<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"intext-ad__img-container\" href=\"https:\/\/ad.doubleclick.net\/ddm\/clk\/514944650;322849216;k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"intext-ad__img\" align=\"ad-slot\" width=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/static.politico.com\/68\/ff\/106dee294454808dcd0d870b8791\/maternal-health-crisis-500x500.jpg\" title=\"Advertisement Image\" alt=\"Advertisement Image\"><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span><b>CANNABIS GROUP<\/b><\/span><b> PRESSES BECERRA FOR REGULATIONS \u2014 <\/b>The Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation wants to meet with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra <a href=\"https:\/\/subscriber.politicopro.com\/article\/2021\/12\/council-for-federal-cannabis-regulation-presses-hhs-secretary-on-unregulated-products-3992911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to discuss a \u201cpublic health crisis\u201d<\/a> stemming from the proliferation of largely unregulated low-THC cannabis products.<\/p>\n<p>The group is pushing for the FDA to address the burgeoning market for unregulated hemp-derived goods, including CBD and Delta-8 THC products, POLITICO\u2019s Paul Demko reports.<\/p>\n<p><b>Background: <\/b>The FDA\u2019s hands-off approach to hemp-derived products has sparked sharp criticism from many industry officials, who argue that ambiguity about those items\u2019 legality has hamstrung the market, Paul writes.<\/p>\n<p><span><b>MENTAL HEALTH<\/b><\/span><b> NONPROFITS MOUNT CAMPAIGN \u2014 <\/b>Mental health advocacy groups<b> <\/b>Inseparable and Fountain House today launched a grassroots campaign aimed at pushing Congress to pass the Behavioral Health Crisis Services Expansion Act (<a target=\"_blank\" data-bill-id=\"US_117_S_1902\" href=\"https:\/\/legislation.politicopro.com\/bill\/US_117_S_1902\" rel=\"noopener\">S. 1902 (117)<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" data-bill-id=\"US_117_HR_5611\" href=\"https:\/\/legislation.politicopro.com\/bill\/US_117_HR_5611\" rel=\"noopener\">H.R. 5611 (117)<\/a>). The bill would build out local systems to respond to mental health crises.<\/p>\n<p>The six-month campaign, dubbed \u201cA Better Response\u201d comes a week after Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a public health advisory warning that young people in particular are struggling with mental health issues amid the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"story-related cl-l db\"> <\/aside>\n<p><b>CALIFORNIA REQUIRES <span>INDOOR MASKING<\/span> \u2014 <\/b>California residents will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/states\/california\/whiteboard\/2021\/12\/13\/california-to-require-indoor-statewide-masking-1399864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">required to wear facial coverings in all indoor public spaces<\/a> from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15 to help fend off a rise in Covid-19 cases as the holidays approach.<\/p>\n<p><b>The rule will affect about 50 percent of the state<\/b> that doesn\u2019t have a similar mandate, Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health &amp; Human Services Agency, said. Many parts of the state, including the Bay Area, already have indoor mask rules, but case rates are increasing particularly in areas where masks aren\u2019t required, POLITICO California\u2019s Victoria Colliver reports.<\/p>\n<p>The state is also speeding up the testing window requirement for indoor events with more than 1,000 attendees and recommending, but not requiring, that people traveling outside the state get tested within three to five days of their return.<\/p>\n<p>California has experienced a 47 percent increase in Covid cases since Thanksgiving, Ghaly said. Daily case rates have jumped from 9.6 cases per 100,000 people to more than 14 cases per 100,000 during that period. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"story-related cl-l db\"> <\/aside>\n<p>Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in a candid interview with Colorado Public Radio, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/2021\/12\/10\/interview-gov-jared-polis-mask-mandates-covid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">defended his decision<\/a> to leave mask mandates to localities, telling the station that \u201cat this point, if you haven&#8217;t been vaccinated, it&#8217;s really your own darn fault.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia at the start of the year will <a href=\"https:\/\/6abc.com\/covid-19-vaccination-philadelphia-restaurants-indoor-dining-philly-vaccine-mandate\/11334019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">require proof of vaccination<\/a> for indoor dining, after infection and hospitalization rates doubled in recent weeks, Philadelphia\u2019s ABC affiliate reports. <\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/2021\/12\/13\/35-dollar-cap-insulin-build-back-better-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">potential Senate battle over caps on patents\u2019 insulin payments<\/a> could leave diabetes patients without cost relief and Democrats without a fix they promised to deliver, The Washington Post\u2019s Dan Diamond reports. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"story-related cl-l db no-border\">\n<div class=\"intext-ad intext-ad--presented intext-ad--custom \">\n<p class=\"intext-ad__caption\">A message from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association:<\/p>\n<div class=\"intext-ad__copy-styles2\">\n<p>Millions more Americans could gain access to high-quality health insurance coverage by expanding Medicaid. Let\u2019s <b>close the low-income coverage gap<\/b> and create a more equitable health care system that works better for everyone. <a href=\"https:\/\/ad.doubleclick.net\/ddm\/clk\/514944635;322849201;h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn how<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<ul class=\"twitter-authors\">\n<div class=\"twitter-authors__content\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.politico.com\/hosted\/icon-twitter-circle-blue%402x.png\" class=\"twitter-authors__icon\"> <\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"story-supplement\">\n<nav class=\"content-nav\" role=\"navigation\">\n<div class=\"contextual\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/politico-pulse\/archive\" class=\"button\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00ab View Archives<\/a><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Alice Miranda Ollstein Editor\u2019s Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care&#8217;s morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day\u2019s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. \u2014 A Senate committee grills Biden\u2019s FDA nominee today, with questions on the table about the opioid epidemic and his profitable jobs since government work. \u2014 The \u2018Byrd Bath\u2019 begins in earnest this week with senators sparring over drug pricing provisions&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut-cbd-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}