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WHY STUDENTS FOR LIFE IS BACKING PAID LEAVE: Advocates for the anti-abortion organization Students for Life of America met with lawmakers this week to make the case for Republicans backing paid leave as part of their goal to eliminate abortions.
“We brought in students from across the country to lobby on this issue of paid family leave,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of SFLA. “I really wanted the leadership to hear from young, pro-life millenials on this issue… This is really a no-brainer for millenial pro-lifers. This is not a controversial issue at all for us.”
The organization met with the White House Tuesday and met Thursday with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Support for paid leave is already gaining momentum in Congress, but it’s not yet clear whether other anti-abortion groups will lobby specific paid leave proposals.
SFLA hasn’t taken a specific position on the existing Republican proposals for paid leave, which would allow new parents to take out their Social Security early in exchange for delaying retirement, but they want to see more Republicans back paid leave.
“I don’t know what the final result will be, but I do think it’s the GOP that needs to take the lead on this issue,” Hawkins said.
She added, “The Left is already starting to push the ‘war on women’ messaging. This is a good way to show America’s women that the GOP isn’t at war with their moms and their daughters, and that we may have different ideas about abortion, but we value them.”
Pro-life groups often get accused by critics of being focused only on eliminating abortion, and SFLA says this is one example of their broader mission. Previously, anti-abortion groups spoke up in opposition when Republicans considered eliminating an adoption tax credit while drafting the GOP tax overhaul. SFLA also has been pushing an initiative on colleges to make changes that make motherhood easier for students, including by having campuses add diaper decks in the bathrooms, setting up lactation rooms, and pushing for flexible class schedules.
Hawkins said the younger generation of anti-abortion advocates gets fired up about having the organization represent a range of different causes, from sex trafficking to drug abuse and opposition to capital punishment. She stressed, however, that the group remains committed to the main goal.
“Of course you can be an advocate against all these other wrongs and injustices,” she said, “but we tell students, ‘Remain focused on this. Abortion is a big enough problem that it deserves its own damn club on your campus.’”
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Daily on Healthcare won’t be publishing a newsletter on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27. We will return to your inboxes on Tuesday, May 28.
TRUMP HHS MOVES TO ROLL BACK OBAMACARE PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER PATIENTS: The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday proposed to remove gender identity from the class of protected persons in federal nondiscrimination protections in healthcare, rolling back Obama-era protections for transgender patients.
Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, declined to say directly whether the new proposed rule would allow providers to deny care to transgender patients. He said the agency’s tradition of protecting all groups against discrimination and substandard healthcare was “unwavering.”
GROUPS SUE AGAINST ALABAMA ABORTION BAN: The ACLU and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Friday against the Alabama abortion ban, saying it is unconstitutional. The law bans abortions with exceptions only in cases where a pregnant woman’s health would be in danger.
HEARING SET FOR LAWSUIT SEEKING TO INVALIDATE OBAMACARE: Oral arguments are set for July 9 in New Orleans in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
NAVIGATOR FUNDING TO REMAIN AT SAME LEVEL: Funding for navigators who help people sign up for Obamacare will stay at $10 million heading into the next open enrollment, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday.
Democrats have accused the administration of working to “sabotage” Obamacare through lower navigator funding because it isn’t spending nearly the $100 million the Obama administration spent during the last open enrollment. The Trump administration, in defending itself, has pointed to data showing that many navigators who had been receiving grants signed up few people, while various nonprofits who run them counter that their work extended to other areas such as informing people about the law or telling them how to enroll on their own.
COMMITTEES ASK LAWMAKERS TO WEIGH IN ON DRUG PRICING DRAFT: A draft released Thursday from the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee asks lawmakers to weigh in on proposed changes to Medicare Part D, the portion of the program that pays for prescription drugs. The draft does not call for the government to directly negotiate the price of drugs, but instead would cap what seniors pay for drugs and reduce how much the government pays for catastrophic coverage. Read the draft.
ALEXANDER AND MURRAY RELEASE WIDE-RANGING BIPARTISAN PLAN TO LOWER HEALTHCARE COSTS: Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced a draft legislative package Thursday to lower healthcare costs by ending surprise medical billing, enhancing transparency for the pricing of health services, and lowering prescription drug costs. Some of the ideas they’ve proposed:
*Setting a rate on what providers in a particular area can charge, or allowing an arbitration process where an independent third-party decides the price;
*Making sure that pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who negotiate drug prices, are passing on savings to patients;
*Having HHS launch an education campaign letting the public know vaccines are safe and that they work.
They hope to get a bill out of committee by July: Both are often able to lead bipartisan compromise through their leadership in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
ANOTHER BIPARTISAN BILL IS INTRODUCED TO END SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS: Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and Phil Roe, R-Tenn., introduced a bill Thursday, called the Protecting People from Surprise Medical Bills Act, that would use the arbitration model to resolve medical bills and require health insurers to be clearer in telling patients which providers are in their network. It would ban “balance billing,” when a patient gets a charge in the mail for what the insurer didn’t cover.
The influx of legislation in both chambers is a signal that lawmakers are eager to clock in a legislative, bipartisan victory on healthcare this year.
CONNECTICUT MOVES AHEAD WITH PUBLIC OPTION: State lawmakers have reached a consensus with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont to create a public option that would compete with private insurance plans. The plan is to open state health plans to nonprofits and small businesses and then have an advisory council craft a public option. Backers say that the plans will reduce premiums by 20%.
RARE AIR TRAVEL BAN COULD RETURN TO COMBAT MEASLES: People with measles or who aren’t vaccinated for the virus may want to change their travel plans. Five state health officials have enacted a measure to deter people infected with measles or who are not vaccinated from boarding planes, according to the Washington Post. Eight individuals were told they could be added to a Do Not Board List managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because they were not vaccinated, and they rearranged their travel plans.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES A RISING THREAT AMONG MIGRANTS AT SOUTHERN BORDER: Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases could spread among migrants clustered just south of the U.S.-Mexico border if the immigration crisis isn’t settled soon, says former top Department of Homeland Security official Ronald Vitiello. More than half-million people have been detained at the border this fiscal year. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, cited respiratory infections, diarrheal infections, and bacterial infections as some of the health concerns medical staff working on the border would have to constantly be on the look-out for.
VETERANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST RAISING THE AGE OF TOBACCO USE TO 21: If a new bill proposed in the Senate becomes law, service members younger than 21 would lose access to their cigarettes and cans of dip.
“It is incredible to think you can get smoked by a terrorist but won’t be able to smoke a Marlboro Red if this passes,” said Marine Corps veteran Kyle Gunn, a nonsmoker.
The bill to raise was introduced by two tobacco-state senators: Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia. It does not have an exemption for members in the military.
FDA LOOKS TO SWAP OUT ‘SELL BY’ DATES FOR ‘BEST IF USED BY’: The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it will work with food manufacturers to use the label “best if used by” to refer to food quality, rather than the phrase “sell by,” which can create the impression the product is not safe by a certain date. The agency hopes the new labeling will curb food waste. With the exception of infant formula, which has an FDA-regulated expiration date, the initiative to include a “best if used by” quality label is voluntary, though many food manufacturers have begun using it.
The Rundown
U.S. News & World Report The hidden harms of racial bullying
Reuters Exclusive: JPMorgan cuts ties with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma – sources
The Denver Post Colorado becomes first state in nation to cap price of insulin
The Hill Los Angeles County votes to ban travel to Alabama over abortion law
The Associated Press Indianapolis 500 officials to offer measles vaccine at race
Calendar
FRIDAY | May 24
May 20-28. Geneva. World Health Assembly. Agenda.
MONDAY | May 27
Memorial Day holiday.
House and Senate not in session all week.
FRIDAY | May 31
8 a.m.-6 p.m. Food and Drug Administration public hearing on “Scientific Data and Information about Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-Derived Compounds. Details.
