| Good morning, y'all. It's a busy week for Congress. Send news, tips and your fave coffees to rachel.roubein@washpost.com. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. Today's edition: Iowa lawmakers could pass a new abortion ban as soon as today. The Biden administration releases a plan aimed at combating the deadly combination of fentanyl and xylazine. But first … | Lawmakers are pushing a handful of contentious abortion amendments to the NDAA |  Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) chairs the House Rules Committee, which will meet today to consider the annual defense policy bill. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) | | | The high-profile fight over abortion access for military personnel could move to the House this week. For months, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has single-handedly stalled scores of senior military nominations over his objection to the Pentagon's abortion policy — a controversial strategy even among leaders of his own party. After the Supreme Court struck Roe v. Wade last year, the Biden administration granted paid time off and travel reimbursement for servicewomen and dependents traveling out of state for an abortion. But in the House, a showdown over abortion policy could come as the chamber takes up the annual defense policy bill this week. Rank-and-file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing several policies that divide the two parties, and are filing these proposals in the form of amendments to the bill. For instance: One Republican amendment would prohibit the secretary of defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses related to most abortion services. Meanwhile, a measure from Democrats would allow the Defense Department to use available funds and facilities to perform abortions — with one key lawmaker vowing to draw attention to the issue. It's not clear what will wind up included in the sweeping legislation, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), or even get a debate on the chamber's floor. But whether to shore up abortion access for military personnel — particularly for women stationed in red states with abortion bans — has become a major political flash point since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022. | | The House Rules Committee is slated to meet at noon today to sift through the proposals and determine which amendments will get votes before the full House. More than 1,500 amendments have been filed, including ones dealing with diversity programs, the origins of the coronavirus, guns and more. | | | | | | | | 24/7/365. Hospitals care for patients and keep communities healthy. But access to care is at risk. Support caregivers and tell Congress to reject proposals that would reduce patient access and services.
| | | | | | | | As our colleagues at The Early 202 pointed out yesterday, not all of these amendments will get a vote, but Republican leaders will be under pressure to allow votes on some of the contentious offerings. We should know more later today, but vulnerable Republicans are bracing for the impact of any tough vote, including some of the abortion ones. One GOP abortion-related amendment would strike at the heart of the new Defense Department policy outlined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in October — and the measure at the center of Tuberville's Senate gambit. | - The proposal from Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) would repeal Austin's memorandum and prohibit the Pentagon from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services except to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.
| | Here are the other Republican amendments on abortion we spotted: | - A measure led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) would bar delaying, halting or reconsidering where to put a military base — such as the location or the relocation of a unit — due to the state's regulations on abortions.
- An amendment offered by Rep. Eric Burlison (Mo.) prohibits the General Services Administration from considering the legality or availability of abortion in a state when selecting federal site locations.
| | It's virtually impossible to see Democrats' abortion amendments getting attached to the bill. But that doesn't mean they won't use the moment to pitch plans to expand abortion access for servicewomen. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an Air Force veteran who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, recently proposed legislation to strike the ban on military treatment facilities performing abortions in most cases and the prohibition on using Defense Department funds to perform most abortions. She filed the same policy as an amendment to the NDAA. | - "I'm certain that we will be able to have a conversation about this on the floor one way or the other," even if the amendment isn't put up for a vote, Houlahan said in an interview.
| | Another measure from Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) — who will testify before the rules panel today — is aimed at establishing leave policies related to abortion and codifying requiring reimbursement for travel and transportation when an abortion isn't available nearby. | | But will the inclusion or exclusion of such policies dictate how either lawmaker votes on the broader defense policy bill? A spokesperson for Sherrill said "the Congresswoman will be making her vote based on her assessment of the bill in its totality." As for Houlahan, she says she's going to be "watching very, very closely what happens on the floor and what gets voted through" on abortion. | | |  | Daybook | | | On tap today: Iowa lawmakers will return to the state Capitol for a special one-day session, where Republicans are aiming to pass a ban on most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected at roughly six weeks. The GOP-controlled legislature has laid out a timeline for how it expects the special session to proceed as lawmakers race to pass the legislation by the end of the day. The ban is similar to a measure Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) approved in 2018, and that the state Supreme Court deadlocked on last month. Reynolds called the legislature back for the "sole purpose" of enacting new abortion restrictions. The timeline: The House is set to kick off the legislative sprint with a public hearing on the legislation at 10:30 a.m. EST, followed by a meeting of the Senate's State Government Committee at noon. Floor debate will ensue in both chambers, and several advocates told The Health 202 that a final vote is expected to occur by midnight EST. | | |  | White House prescriptions | | The White House looks to tackle fentanyl-xylazine mix |  A rapidly growing share of Americans have died of xylazine-related overdoses in recent years. (Matt Rourke/AP) | | | New this a.m.: The White House has released its plan to address the deadly combination of fentanyl and xylazine — a potent animal tranquilizer known as "tranq" that's become notorious for causing rotting flesh wounds that can sometimes lead to amputations. | | The effort includes policies aimed at streamlining xylazine testing and data collection practices, creating a standard framework for treating patients exposed to the drug and curbing its illicit supply chain. It directs federal agencies to develop and submit an implementation report to the White House within 60 days. Key context: The White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy labeled fentanyl mixed with xylazine an "emerging threat" in the United States earlier this year amid its proliferation on the streets and a recent surge in overdose deaths linked to the sedative. | | Rahul Gupta, White House drug czar: |  | | | | | |  | Agency alert | | Biden's new CDC director begins her tenure |  Mandy Cohen, a physician with leadership in federal and stat government, officially stepped into the role yesterday. (Travis Long/News & Observer/AP) | | | Mandy Cohen was officially sworn in as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday, ushering in a new era of leadership for the agency as it seeks to remake itself in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The former North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services secretary is replacing Rochelle Walensky, who, before her departure last month, launched an effort to make the 13,000-person Atlanta-based agency more nimble and accountable. What we're watching: Shepherding the CDC through the sweeping revamp represents just one challenge that will inevitably help shape Cohen's tenure. We've also got our eye on how she'll navigate House Republicans' probes into the agency and if she'll be able to convince skeptics on Capitol Hill to provide the CDC with new powers and funding. For details on why the president tapped Cohen for the job, read our colleague Dan Diamond's recent piece in The Health 202. | | FDA Commissioner Robert Califf: |  | | | | | |  | Industry Rx | | Study: Private equity firms are raising U.S. medical prices | | Private equity firms are rapidly acquiring physician practices, gaining significant market share in cities across the United States and boosting prices in a variety of medical specialties, The Post's Peter Whoriskey writes, citing the results of an academic study released yesterday. What researchers found: The number of physician practices purchased by private equity investors jumped from 75 deals in 2012 to 484 in 2021, a more than sixfold increase in roughly a decade, according to the study from the University of California at Berkeley, Washington Center for Equitable Growth and the American Antitrust Institute. | - Such purchases were linked to rising prices in 8 of 10 specialties that researchers analyzed, ranging from a 4 percent increase in primary care and dermatology to a 16 percent increase in oncology.
- The price hikes were particularly high in areas where a private equity firm controls a large share of the market.
| | The view from the industry: Private equity firms contend their investments in physician practices lead to more efficient systems of billing and medical records, in turn letting doctors focus on patients. | | |  | In other health news | | - On the move: The Federation of American Hospitals has tapped Charlene MacDonald to serve as its new executive vice president of public affairs. MacDonald, who was chief government affairs officer for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield most recently, will start on Aug. 1, the trade group announced yesterday.
- HCA Healthcare confirmed yesterday that the personal information of an estimated 11 million patients across 20 states had been hacked, in what is likely the largest data security breach ever reported by a health-care provider, per Stat's Tara Bannow.
- ICYMI: The Biden administration is urging providers to place their final orders for coronavirus vaccines purchased by the federal government before Aug. 3, at which point the mechanism for requesting the shots will close as the country begins its shift to a mostly commercial market for future doses, according to a recent statement from the CDC.
| | |  | Health reads | | By Andy Miller and Markian Hawryluk l KFF Health News ● Read more » | | | | | By Melanie Evans | The Wall Street Journal ● Read more » | | | | | |  | Sugar rush | | | Thanks for reading! See y'all tomorrow. | |
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