POLITICO's Pulse Check

Clinical trials have long been plagued by inefficiency, lack of diversity and the inability to leverage data. The pandemic increased the need to modernize trials, which pushed many trials to lean on technology to conduct remote trials. Ben Leonard explains why money pouring into the space and why many clinical trials are still stuck in the previous century.

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The FDA may propose a rule banning menthol cigarettes as early as today, a decision 10 years in the making. The agency has long faced calls to act on menthol cigarettes, which are disproportionately smoked by Black Americans and teens just starting to use tobacco. Katherine Foley reports.

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The Biden administration is preparing to scrap a Trump-era rule that allows medical workers to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, people familiar with the deliberations told POLITICO. Alice Miranda Ollstein reports.

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Insulin is what economists would call a super inelastic product — no matter what the cost is, people are going to pay for it because it's a life saving medication. Two bills in Congress take aim at insulin prices — but one only targets co-pays for insured patients. Katherine Foley reports.

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Amazon has been pushing into health care for years, starting with wearable health devices and pharmacy services. But the nationwide expansion of its “Amazon Care” service is its biggest move in the rapidly growing telehealth industry, which could grow to a $20 billion sector over the next five years.

Most of Amazon’s telehealth and in-person offerings are likely covered by HIPAA, but some of Amazon’s other offerings, such as its partnership with Teladoc on the Alexa smart speaker, might fall into a gray area. Emily Birnbaum reports.

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POLITICO reporter Rachael Levy broke the story that some hospitals have been asking patients to remove their N95 masks — even though they offer better protection. That story spurred U.S. health officials to consider notifying Americans how to report facilities that they believe endanger them, and the CDC now says on its website that people should “use the most protective form” of masks. Rachael’s reporting changed a national policy in a matter of days — but the question remains why policymakers in the US are behind on mask guidance. Rachael Levy reports.

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Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. had sensitive personal health data breached in 2021, a threefold increase over the last three years, according to a POLITICO analysis of the latest HHS data.

Experts say the increase in hacking is in part due to the health care industry’s rapid move to digital records — particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, an increase in remote work leading to attacks on employees using personal devices, and financially lucrative health care data. Ben Leonard reports.

The White House asked for $22.5 billion for covid response funds. Last week, Congress put together a bipartisan $15 billion plan. But so far, exactly zero dollars have actually been agreed upon. And even as the administration warns it may need to cancel new orders of Covid-19 drugs as soon as next week and wind down access to testing soon after that, there appears to be no clear strategy from either the White House or Capitol Hill to secure the funds. The Biden administration insists it’s doing all it can to hammer home for lawmakers that failing to swiftly approve the funding will have serious consequences. Top appropriators on Capitol Hill point the finger back at the administration, saying the White House did not make a convincing enough case for the money to win over Republicans. Adam Cancryn reports.

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The White House has been reluctant to declare the end of the pandemic — especially after optimism last summer about "independence" from the virus was made moot by the Delta and Omicron variants. But officials have pointed to vaccine and test availability — and hope that revised CDC guidance and a new plan could ease political pressure for a path out of the pandemic. The plan will include streamlined “test-to-treat” programs at pharmacies and other health entities, which would antiviral drugs to people who test positive as the availability of those treatments increase.

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The FDA first received a report of a foodborne illness suspected to be linked to infant formula in September, four months before issuing a sweeping recall of three major brands after four babies were hospitalized and one died. When the FDA initiated an inspection of an Abbot facility making formula (after the death?), inspectors found Cronobacter sakazakii, a rare but serious foodborne pathogen that can cause life-threatening infections. Helena Bottemiller Evich reports.

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