Overnight Health Care: Conservatives brace for ObamaCare payments in funding bill | FDA chief blames 'rigged' system for drug costs | Ellison replaces Conyers on Dem single-payer bill — Presented by UnitedHealth Group

View in your browser     House conservatives brace for ObamaCare payments in funding bill House conservatives are bracing for ObamaCare payments to be included in a coming government funding bill, despite their opposition. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Wednesday that he expects the controversial ObamaCare payments aimed at stabilizing markets to be included in the omnibus government funding bill, which must pass by March 23 to avoid a shutdown. While conservatives have long objected to the payments, the omnibus is expected to pass with significant Democratic support, limiting their ability to stop them. Meadows on Wednesday seemed almost resigned to the payments being included. Asked if he had concerns, Meadows told reporters, "Well, I don't think that they're counting on our votes to pass the omnibus." Some members of both parties argue that making the ObamaCare payments would help bring down premiums and stabilize the market. Many electorally vulnerable House Republicans are supporting the payments, and some observers note that without the money, Republicans could be blamed for premium increases announced in October, a month before the midterm elections. Read more here.         SPONSORED CONTENT   Millions of people we serve will be eligible for direct, out-of-pocket savings from the rebates we negotiate with brand drug manufacturers. It’s a step toward more affordable prescription drugs. Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com.         FDA chief blames 'rigged' system for high drug costs Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Wednesday criticized what he called a "rigged" system that keeps some generic drugs off the market and leaves patients paying high costs. Complex and secret deals between drug distributors, pharmacies, insurers and other key players have kept less expensive drugs off the market, he argued during a speech at a conference Wednesday for major health insurance companies. "The rigged payment scheme might quite literally scare competition out of the market altogether," Gottlieb said. "I fear that's already happening." Read more here.   Ellison replaces Conyers on Dem single-payer bill Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) has replaced former Rep. John Conyers Jr. as the main sponsor of the House Democrats' single-payer health-care bill. Ellison on Wednesday received unanimous consent from the House to assume leadership of H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, which has the support of a majority of the House Democratic Caucus. Conyers had introduced a version of the single-payer bill every year since 2003, but he resigned in December over sexual misconduct allegations, leaving no obvious candidates to take over stewardship of the bill. In a floor speech Wednesday, Ellison said he has the support of his former colleague "for picking up the mantle where he left off." Ellison also received the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a pioneer of "Medicare for All" in the Senate. His legislation has 16 Democratic co-sponsors; the House bill has 121. Read more here.   Opioid crisis spurs push for Medicaid funds Doctors, governors and health-care advocates are pressing Congress to lift a decades-old rule that greatly restricts Medicaid from being used to fund care for opioid addiction. Lifting the limits could help thousands of people -- but could cost as much as tens of billions of dollars over a decade, a daunting sum to try to pay for. Lawmakers are nonetheless talking about including at least a partial lifting of the limits in broader opioid legislation that could come to the House floor by Memorial Day. While conservatives are not dismissing the idea, saying they recognize the need to fight the opioid epidemic, any discussion of ways to pay for the expensive change would be challenging. "We're always concerned with additional spending," said Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. But he did not slam the door on the idea either. Read more here.   Oklahoma exploring plan for Medicaid work requirement Oklahoma will develop a plan within the next six months on how to add work requirements into its Medicaid program. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) on Tuesday issued an executive order requiring the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which manages the state's Medicaid program, to file the plans to her and the state legislature. Oklahoma joins a list of more than 10 states that have expressed interest in adding the requirement -- or have already received federal approval -- that people who are getting Medicaid benefits work or participate in other activities, such as job training and volunteering. The Trump administration has approved work requirements in three states: Indiana, Kentucky and Arkansas. Each state expanded Medicaid to more people under ObamaCare; Oklahoma has not chosen to participate in the law's Medicaid expansion. Read more here.   Dem AGs rip Trump proposal on association health plans A coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general is blasting a proposed Trump administration rule to allow health plans to circumvent certain ObamaCare rules. The group, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, said the proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the health-care law. The proposal "is nothing more than an unlawful end run around the consumer protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act, part of President Trump's continued efforts to sabotage the ACA," Schneiderman said in a statement. In a formal comment letter, the group called on the Labor Department to hold public hearings on the impact of the proposal before finalizing any changes. Under the proposal released in January, small businesses and self-employed individuals would be allowed to join together in what are known as "association health plans" (AHPs). Read more here.         SPONSORED CONTENT   Starting January 1, 2019, all UnitedHealthcare members in fully insured group health plans will be eligible for discounts resulting from the rebates we negotiate with drug manufacturers. To ensure members pay the lowest out-of-pocket costs possible under their plans, UnitedHealthcare will apply the savings at the point of sale, when members fill prescriptions for brand drugs that have rebates. Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com.         What we're reading: Male doctors are disappearing from gynecology. Not everybody is thrilled about it (Los Angeles Times) FDA receives new reports of issues with Essure birth control device (Reuters) How the 'right-to-try' movement muscled its way into Washington (Stat)   State by state: Florida's governor will sign bill expanding workers' comp benefits for first responders (ProPublica) Massaschusetts endorses hospital merger (Becker's Hospital Review) One state forces opioid abusers to get help. Will others follow? (Stateline)   From The Hill's opinion page: White House opioid summit failed to deliver any real solution     Send tips and comments to Jessie Hellmann, jhellmann@thehill.com; Peter Sullivan, psullivan@thehill.com; Rachel Roubein, rroubein@thehill.com; and Nathaniel Weixel, nweixel@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @jessiehellmann, @PeterSullivan4, @rachel_roubein, and @NateWeixel.         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Healthcare Newsletters     Forward Healthcare Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Tech: Dem bill would let news outlets team up against Facebook, Google | Broadcom teases $1.5B innovation fund to regulators | SEC wants crypto exchanges to register | GOP senator offers net neutrality bill

View in your browser     AN ANTITRUST BREAK?: A House Democrat introduced a bill on Wednesday that would allow media outlets to band together to negotiate for better terms with giant tech platforms that have been dominating the market for online ad revenue. Rep. David Cicilline's (D-R.I.) Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would grant a temporary antitrust waiver for news publishers to collectively negotiate with companies like Facebook and Google. "Our democracy is strongest when we have a free, open press that informs citizens, holds public officials accountable, and roots out corruption," Cicilline, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, said in a statement. "This bill empowers local newspapers to negotiate collectively with the biggest technology platforms to ensure consumers have access to the best journalism possible."   Cicilline, the top Democrat on antitrust matters in the House is only the latest high-profile figure to weigh in on the tension between publishers and Facebook and Google which have a stronghold on how their content is disseminated. Here's where other prominent figures have come down in the debate: CNN President Jeff Zucker: In Feburary, Zucker said that regulators should focus on "monopolies" (his words) like Facebook and Google, which he said are the "biggest issue facing the growth of journalism in the years ahead." Rupert Murdoch: The News Corp. owner said in January that Facebook and Google should pay carriage fees to media outlets for their content, similar to how broadcasters pay news outlets. Stephen Bannon: Before his departure from the White House, Bannon reportedly floated the idea of regulating Google and Facebook as public utilities. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.): Warren jumped in early on talk of tougher regulation on Facebook and Google. Since at least 2016, she's been warning about potential harms of consolidation among such large tech companies. Fun context: New York Times technology columnist Farhad Manjoo tried to get his news without Facebook, Twitter, Google or any other technology for two months.     Please send your tips, comments and your entire 68 team s-curve projection for March Madness to Ali Breland (abreland@thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland and @hneidig. We're also on Signal and WhatsApp. Email or DM us for our numbers.   BROADCOM PROMISES REGULATORS $1.5 BILLION INNOVATION FUND: Broadcom, the Singapore-based tech firm that has been aggressively trying to take over Qualcomm, is promising to start a new $1.5 billion U.S. innovation fund amid a federal investigation into the national security implications of its bid for the U.S. chip manufacturer. The announcement comes a day after the U.S. put the hostile takeover on hold, saying that Broadcom could jeopardize national security by threatening Qualcomm's technological leadership. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) said in a letter to Qualcomm's attorneys on Monday that it was worried Broadcom would cut back on Qualcomm's investment in emerging technologies like 5G components in favor of short-term projects, thus opening the door for foreign firms to take the lead. On Wednesday, Broadcom tried to assure regulators that it is emphasizing investments in research and development. Read more here.   R/RUSSIAN INFLUENCE: Reddit has not turned over any documents to congressional investigators regarding Russian influence on its platform despite saying that it is cooperating on the matter, The Daily Beast reported Wednesday. Sources told the news outlet that Reddit has yet to hand over any documents to the House and Senate panels responsible for investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. The report comes after Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said his company was "cooperating with congressional inquiries" in a public post Monday. Read more here.   GOP SENATOR INTRODUCES NET NEUTRALITY BILL: A Republican senator being courted by Democrats as a possible tie-breaking vote for a bill that would overturn the FCC's net neutrality repeal has offered his own legislation to replace the Obama-era rules on internet service providers. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would prohibit companies like Comcast and Verizon from blocking or throttling web content. But it's unlikely to satisfy Democrats and net neutrality activists who also want the government to ban providers from creating internet fast lanes, which they say would upend the internet's level playing field. "Does this bill resolve every issue in the net neutrality debate?" Kennedy said in a statement. "No, it doesn't. It's not a silver bullet. But it's a good start." Read more here.   SEC ANNOUNCES CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES MUST REGISTER: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday announced that all platforms used for exchanging crypto assets, such as bitcoin and ethereum, must register. "If a platform offers trading of digital assets that are securities and operates as an 'exchange,' as defined by the federal securities laws, then the platform must register with the SEC as a national securities exchange or be exempt from registration," the SEC said in a statement. The SEC also warned in its statement that many places where cryptocurrencies are currently being exchanged aren't SEC-registered despite their appearances and are actually "potentially unlawful." Read more here.   SNAP LAYING OFF ABOUT 100 ENGINEERS: Snap Inc., the company behind the popular photo-sharing app Snapchat, is laying off about 100 of its engineers. The layoffs amount to nearly 10 percent of Snap's engineering staff and the company's largest round of cuts yet. The business news website Cheddar reported the staffing cuts earlier Wednesday. The layoffs are expected to be announced internally this week, according to Cheddar. The news outlet said the company declined to comment. Read more here.   GRAPH OF THE DAY:  The senior employees at venture capital firms are overwhelmingly men. This isn't new, but a graph from Axios illustrates what that looks like.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The New York Times' Farhad Manjoo writes about only getting news from print for two months. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy touts its achievements since inauguration. Russia's influence campaign also mined Americans' personal data, according to The Wall Street Journal. Peter Thiel dishes on Trump, tech regulation and Gawker in his latest interview with the Times. Amazon working on a fix for random Alexa laughter     Join The Hill on Wednesday, March 21, for Leadership in Action: The Hill's Newsmaker Series featuring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). RSVP Here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Court won’t stop kids’ climate lawsuit | GOP blocks Dem attempt to make Pruitt fly coach | House delays pollution rules for brickmakers

View in your browser     COURT LETS KIDS' CLIMATE SUIT CONTINUE: A federal appeals court Wednesday rejected the Trump administration's attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a group of kids who want to force the government to do more to fight climate change. The San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that it would be premature to dismiss the case based on how burdensome the Trump administration believes the process of searching for documents and questioning people, known as discovery, will be. "The defendants' argument fails because the district court has not issued a single discovery order, nor have the plaintiffs filed a single motion seeking to compel discovery. Rather, the parties have employed the usual meet-and-confer process of resolving discovery disputes," the three-judge panel wrote in their Wednesday decision. "The defendants rely on informal communications as to the scope of discovery -- in particular, the plaintiffs' litigation hold and demand letter -- but the plaintiffs have clarified that these communications were not discovery requests." Filed in 2015 in Oregon federal court by 21 youths and an environmental group against numerous federal agencies, the lawsuit argues that since the federal government knows reasonably well about the consequences of climate change, it has a constitutional duty to take stronger actions to protect the children's futures. Read more here.     DEMS TRY TO BLOCK PRUITT'S FIRST-CLASS FLIGHTS: House Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats Wednesday to force Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt to fly economy class. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) forced a vote on the matter as a "motion to recommit" on a GOP-backed bill to delay air pollution standards for brick kilns and wood-fired heaters. The action was destined to fail. But it nonetheless forced Republicans to go on the record on the issue, which has attracted widespread scorn from environmentalists, Democrats and even some Republicans. Pruitt in recent weeks has been found to have flown first- or business-class frequently on the taxpayer's dime, costing thousands of dollars. "There's no adequate justification for this wasteful spending and abuse of power by Scott Pruitt," Castor said on the House floor. "And if he enjoys flying first-class and staying in luxury hotels, then he should pay for it himself and not ask taxpayers to foot the bill." Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on environment, criticized the move as a distraction from the policy at hand. "I don't think we build and use bricks to make our airplanes, and I don't think we power our planes with wood heaters," he responded on the floor. "It's just purely politics, and it's not surprising. Why? Democrats want to distort us from the economic success of the Republican agenda." Read more here.   House votes to delay emissions rules: The underlying bill to Castor's proposal passed 234-180, mainly along party lines. The Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns (BRICK) Act would push off compliance with the 2015 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule for brick and tile kilns until ongoing litigation from the industry is resolved. House leaders also attached provisions to push off emissions standards for residential wood-fired heaters by three years to 2023. The GOP said the delays are justified. Brick kilns should not have to comply with a rule that might be overturned in court, while wood heater makers and users need more time to meet stringent new rules, Republicans argued. Democrats said the regulations at issue are reasonable, and delaying them would unnecessarily contribute to increases in pollutants like mercury and particulate matter. Read more here.   More news on Pruitt's first class travel: Pruitt flew first class on only a small handful of occasions while serving as attorney general of Oklahoma, according to documents obtained by The Oklahoman Wednesday. Between 2012 and 2017, when he was serving as the state's attorney general, Pruitt flew first class on four out of 80 trips, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. The number is notably smaller than the number of times he has flown first class as the head of EPA. The Washington Post first reported in February that Pruitt had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in travel costs while serving in the Trump administration. Following the Post's report, Pruitt defended his first-class travel, citing security concerns in the current "toxic" political environment. Read more here.   GREEN GROUPS LIKE DEM INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR NATIONAL PARKS: Environmental groups are hailing Senate Democrats' newly released infrastructure plan for how it proposes to fix a multibillion-dollar backlog of projects on national park land. The plan proposed by Democrats on Wednesday would undo some of the tax cuts in the law President Trump signed in December in order to pay for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, which would invest $5 billion in repairs at national park sites.   The National Park Service is currently sitting on an $11.6 billion repair backlog. "Today's Senate blueprint demonstrates we can fix our parks without compromising what makes them great. It's proof that taking care of America's parks doesn't have to mean rolling back environmental protections or encouraging damaging drilling on public lands," said Theresa Pierno, president of National Parks Conservation Association, in a statement Wednesday. The Democrats' plan varies from one proposed in February's White House 2019 budget and praised by Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke, which would instead completely fund the backlogged projects by drilling leases on public lands. The infrastructure needs range from building new park roads to repairing ranger stations. The Democratic proposal came as another group of senators announced bipartisan legislation that would essentially codify Zinke's proposal into law. The National Park Restoration Act would take half of the money that the federal government gets from energy production that is above 2018 forecasts and not dedicated for another use. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the bill's lead sponsor, said tackling a maintenance backlog would bring visitors and create jobs for people in his state. "We must continue to work together to find solutions to the many challenges facing our public lands, and this legislation takes an important step toward doing that." Read more here.   AROUND THE WEB: Pennsylvania regulators are moving to possibly shut down a natural gas liquids pipeline after sinkholes appeared at a construction site for a parallel pipeline, StateImpact Pennsylvania reports. Exxon Mobil Corp.'s XTO Energy capped a methane leak in Ohio that had been leaking since mid-February, the Wheeling News-Intelligencer reports. Mexico is working to upgrade its sewage system to cut down on cross-border leaks into California, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.   FROM THE HILL'S OPINION SECTION: -Rauf Mammadov, a resident scholar on energy policy at The Middle East Institute, says that a dispute over Lebanon's offshore drilling plan could also mean a calming of the waters in the region.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Wednesday's stories ... -Pruitt rarely flew first class as Oklahoma attorney general: report -GOP rejects Dems' attempt to stop Pruitt's first-class travel -House votes to delay EPA air pollution rules for brickmakers, wood heaters -Perry 'not sure' Trump has made up mind on tariffs -Court denies Trump admin's plea to stop kids' climate lawsuit -Green groups: Dem infrastructure plan better for our national parks -Lawmakers propose boosting park funding with oil money -Biofuel groups send letter to Trump defending ethanol credits -EPA floats plan for reducing animal testing -Wildlife groups fear what comes next on elephant trophies     Join The Hill on Wednesday, March 21, for Leadership in Action: The Hill's Newsmaker Series featuring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). RSVP Here     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.