Health Care highlights

politicopro.com

July 22, 2024 4:31 pm

Here’s what was — and wasn’t — said at the Republican National Convention, how Chevron’send is already showing up in health care-related court cases and Covid-19 hits some politicians.

At the RNC in Milwaukee

— JD Vance: Donald Trump announced on Monday that JD Vance would be his running mate. A first-term senator from Ohio, Vance has historically had a harsher stance on abortion than the Trump campaign’s current leave-it-to-the-states position. In 2022, Vance pushed against abortion exceptions for rape and incest. POLITICO’s Ben Leonard and Dan Goldberg have a breakdown on Vance’s previous health care positions.

— Right to Try: During his convention speech, Trump touted the Right to Try law, which he signed in 2018 and which was meant to expand access to experimental treatments for the terminally ill. But takeup has been very slow, POLITICO’s David Lim reports. The law was only used for four drugs last year.

— Abortion: Trump often brags about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, but talk of abortion was largely absent from the RNC, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly reports. GOP delegates, whose values are indicative of the party’s shifting mores, were fine with abortion not taking center stage, saying they had little interest in divisive social issues that could challenge Trump, who is now leading in the polls.

The end of Chevron looms large over health policy

The end of Chevron Deference — doctrine that meant courts had to defer to an agency when legislation was unclear, as long as the agency interpretation was reasonable — is already starting to reshape health care litigation, POLITICO’s Robert King, Lauren Gardner and Chelsea Cirruzzo report. The common thread: The cases revolve around federal funding with potentially millions of dollars at stake.

High-profile officials test positive for Covid

President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 this week, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). The high-profile Covid infections come as the case count is rising nationwide — in a summer surge that’s typical of the virus. POLITICO’s Lauren Gardner and Erin Shumaker detail some things you need to know about Biden’s second infection.