Axios

The Chinese government's efforts to suppress the ongoing, unprecedented public protests over the country's zero-COVID policies are a "sign of weakness," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday.

Driving the news: Chinese censors have hastened to delete social media posts and articles about the protests, even as internet users race to screenshot and repost content related to the protests.

Researchers have at last found a drug that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to clinical trial data presented last night. But regulators now have to weigh its relatively modest efficacy against safety risks.

What we're watching: The FDA will soon decide whether to approve Eisai's experimental drug lecanemab — and if so, for the general public or only certain patient populations.

Within hours, the world will have a better idea about the prospects of a new Alzheimer's treatment when Japanese drugmaker Eisai releases late-stage clinical trial results.

The big picture: News of a second patient death linked to the drug has dampened expectations and potentially created a more complicated path for the drug hitting the market.

Twitter will no longer enforce its COVID-19 misinformation policy, according to a note posted to its website.

Why it matters: This is the latest in a series of changes to the platform that have accompanied Elon Musk's takeover.

Patient advocates are pressing Congress to use the lame duck session to give standalone Medicare drug coverage to some senior citizens who qualify for nursing-level care.

Why it matters: The "fix" would make up for how the Inflation Reduction Act's drug price controls stopped short of applying to the PACE Program, a comprehensive care alternative to nursing homes.

• The IRA capped out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 annually for seniors using Medicare Part D, but in PACE, all costs are built into one set premium with no copays or deductibles.

Driving the news: A plan from Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) which would enable Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in PACE to access the Part D drug plans and benefit from the price controls in the IRA.

• "They shouldn't have to choose between the benefits of the PACE program and being able to afford prescription coverage," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who's co-sponsoring a House companion bill.

What they're saying: The lawmakers and patient advocates argue the status quo will leave frail seniors less incentivized to participate in a PACE program and lead to hundreds of dollars more in monthly drug costs.

• "It's a cost disincentive to enroll in PACE," Peter Fitzgerald, vice president of policy at the National PACE Association, told Axios.

Be smart: The vast majority of PACE participants are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, and an October Bipartisan Policy Center report estimates that just 1% of the nearly 62,000 participants in programs around the country are Medicare-only beneficiaries.

• PACE covers a wider range of services than traditional Medicare, including adult day care, transportation and dental health. PACE organizations serve as both providers and payers for enrollees.
• Its origins trace back to 1970s San Francisco, when community leaders created a community-based system for elder care. Congress permanently recognized PACE as a provider type in 1997, and 147 organizations operate PACE programs in 32 states as of August 2022.

Yes, but: The proposed bipartisan fix joins a long list of health care policy changes that are in play during the lame duck and may test lawmakers' willingness to tinker with Medicare law.

Former Vice President Mike Pence's recent support for fertility treatments like IVF as well as a national abortion ban surfaced what could become a dilemma for 2024 Republican hopefuls staking out reproductive health platforms.

The big picture: Republicans have largely insisted that fertility treatments aren't at risk from the proliferation of new state abortion restrictions. But anti-abortion groups remain deeply concerned with the use of embryos in IVF and back tighter regulations on providers.

The federal health department is trying to harmonize privacy protections covering the records of patients being treated for substance use disorder.

Why it matters: Syncing the landmark 1996 privacy law HIPAA with tougher standards Congress passed in the CARES Act more than two years ago could prevent instances in which providers unknowingly prescribe opioids as treatment for someone with a history of addiction.

Catch up quick: The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday put forward a rule aimed at aligning privacy protections known as 42 CFR Part 2 with HIPAA — a change behavioral health advocates have said it a critical step to confronting the opioid crisis.

• The issue became a focus in 2016, after the overdose death of a patient who was prescribed oxycodone after a hip surgery by doctors who didn’t know she was in recovery for a substance use disorder.
• A 2017 report based on interviews with more than 100 health care providers in Oregon found Part 2 inhibited information sharing and was “poorly understood” and “a source of legal confusion.”
• But Congress didn’t address this until a provision was folded into the CARES Act.
• More than 100,000 people in the U.S. died from overdose deaths in the first year of the pandemic, per provisional CDC data.

Details: To facilitate information sharing between providers, HHS on Monday proposed requiring one-time patient consent for disclosure of treatment and allowing HIPAA-covered entities to access those records.

• The HHS rule would also give patients the right to know where and when their information was disclosed and to request restrictions on what providers are allowed to know.
• It would further prohibit courts from using Part 2 records against the patient in civil or criminal proceedings.
• Violations would be subject to HIPAA fines and criminal penalties, with a complaint process established to provide oversight when the law is broken. There are no such provisions in the Part 2 regulations.

What they’re saying: The suggested changes would address the fragmented coordination of care and discourage negative stereotypes and slow treatment people with substance use disorders face, said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement.

• Aligning the law with HIPAA doesn’t mean providers will just “open up and share records with the world,” Maeghan Gilmore, vice president of government affairs for the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, told Axios.
• “It’s really about, ‘How can health care providers and health care teams provide the best care for individuals and not treat substance use disorder differently than mental health or other medical issues?’”

Where it stands: The proposed rule will be published on Friday and be open to public comment for 60 days.