POLITICO's Pulse Check

Silicon Valley Bank had many health care and biotech startups among its client base. Now, the bank’s failure last Friday is raising questions about how much this could hurt emerging health companies. Host Ruth Reader talks with Michael Yang, a managing partner with OMERS Ventures, a global early-stage technology venture firm, to get the industry’s read.

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The Senate passed Marco Rubio’s bill making daylight saving time permanent unanimously last year, but it's since stalled in the House. Erin Schumaker talks with Katherine Ellen Foley about past efforts to make daylight saving time permanent and why many scientists oppose it.

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Quality-adjusted life years — or QALYs — is a tool designed to help measure the cost effectiveness of drugs and other medical treatments. But detractors say the statistic discriminates against people with disabilities by undervaluing how much treatments help them. Ben Leonard talks with host Carmen Paun about the debate over the use of the statistic.

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President Joe Biden is not expected to seek significant new Covid funding as part of his forthcoming budget proposal, the latest sign that the White House is preparing to wind down its emergency response operation later this year. Adam Cancryn talks with host Ruth Reader about the most notable health care priorities in the budget.

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During the first year and a half of the pandemic, a handful of small companies developing next-generation Covid-19 vaccines hired lobbyists in hopes of winning contracts to fund research, manufacturing and testing. Megan R. Wilson talks with host Ben Leonard about why, nearly three years in, many have abandoned their Washington, D.C., footprint.

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The nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed last week that it will not sell an abortion pill in 20 states after threats of legal action — including several states where they remain legal. Alice Miranda Ollstein talks with host Megan Messerly about what influenced Walgreens' decision.

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The Biden administration is implementing a new law that makes it easier for doctors to prescribe a lifesaving drug — buprenorphine — to treat opioid use disorder, but one of its agencies, the Drug Enforcement Administration, subjects the drug to such strict regulation that many are reluctant to dispense it. Krista Mahr talks with host Katherine Ellen Foley about the paradox and what’s ahead.

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The Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with online therapy company BetterHelp over allegations it shared customers’ sensitive health data with third parties. Ruth Reader talks to host Krista Mahr about what we know about the deal and why it's another health data warning shot from the FTC.

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Congressional Republicans are anxious to use new Covid-19 lab leak reports to lash out at the ruling Chinese Communist Party and paint President Joe Biden’s administration as soft on Beijing. But they have reached little consensus on how exactly to do that. Alice Miranda Ollstein talks with host Ruth Reader about the spectrum of responses we've seen and what's next.

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The “medical freedom” movement, mostly known for its opposition to vaccine requirements, was long consigned to the fringes of libertarian and left-wing politics. Then came Ron DeSantis. Krista Mahr and host Megan Messerly talk about how the Florida governor is influencing GOP lawmakers across the country.

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