How Clinton's health platform now includes Sanders' ideas Presented by

Ruth Bader Ginsburg opens up on the Court — and Donald Trump's campaign — and Congress gets ready to fight over Zika again. But first: Hillary Clinton offers an olive branch to Bernie Sanders.

SEEKING PARTY UNITY, DEMS SETTLE ON PLATFORM — Ahead of this month's convention, the Democrats' presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton hammered out her campaign document this weekend, with a slew of health care proposals backed by Bernie Sanders adopted into the party's official platform.

What's in the platform: Democrats are calling for

— Medicare buy-in for adults 55 and older

— Expanded insurance access for undocumented Americans

— Measures to lower out-of-pocket costs.

In a new proposal, Clinton would give community health centers $40 billion in new funding over a decade — a compromise with the Sanders campaign, according to Sanders delegate Michael Lighty, policy director of National Nurses United.

Sanders praises platform. “Together, these steps will get us closer to the day where everyone in this country has access to quality, affordable health care,” he told reporters after Clinton released the plan. More.

But how new are these ideas, really? In February, Clinton signaled her support for the public option — as POLITICO first reported — and many of the other provisions are long-time policy positions of hers, too.

One difference: the language is more robust, in a symbolic olive branch to the Sanders campaign. For instance, "the new Clinton language is stronger in saying she will pursue efforts for a public option in every state," Kaiser Family Foundation's Larry Levitt points out.

WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE — Where forget statehood; we're still waiting to hear which candidate's platform declares a state of emergency for WMATA. Tips and travel workarounds to [email protected] or @ddiamond on Twitter.

With help from Paul Demko (@PaulDemko) and Brett Norman (@BrettNorman)

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ZIKA VIRUS

Congress sprints to address Zika funding, gun control. There's only one week left before Congress leaves for a nearly two-month summer break, which means a flurry of last-minute activity this week on high-priority legislation … although there's little expectation of much getting resolved.

— What to expect from the GOP: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will again call for a vote on the $1.1 billion Zika funding measure hammered out in conference with the House and strongly opposed by Democrats, who already blocked the measure last month, arguing that it's a no-go. (More on that below.)

It's one of McConnell's favorite parliamentary maneuvers, POLITICO's congressional reporters point out: forcing repeated votes on failed measures that are likely to fall short again, triggering another round of headlines and blame for Senate Democrats blocking those measures.

— How Democrats will likely respond: Party leaders insist that the package is a non-starter, given that it strips funding from Obamacare while imposing new restrictions on Planned Parenthood. More.

— NARAL attacks Republican tactics. A new video out this morning from the abortion-rights group blasts the GOP for linking the Zika funding package to limits on Planned Parenthood.

"Women's health clinics are vital in the fight against Zika," a narrator says. "Any serious response to the Zika public health crisis can't restrict funding for family planning," NARAL says in an accompanying release. See the video: https://youtu.be/DjGfLYdl8Ag

Grassley wants to know why White House hasn't spent more on Zika. Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley is asking the Obama administration to explain why it has only distributed about a fifth of the $589 million it announced for the Zika response in April, according to a news release.

In letters to CDC Director Tom Frieden and Nicole Lurie, the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Grassley appeared to be responding to a POLITICO report that just $112 million of the funds had been distributed. More for Pros.

Could borrowing Ebola dollars now lead to a crisis later? That's what experts tell Pro's Arthur Allen, noting that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa took more than a year to control and put global public health at risk.

“You can’t just say, ‘Ebola’s not a problem today,’” said UCLA professor Jonathan Fielding. “You have to think in a broader context. We want to avoid another terrible episode where 11,000 people die.” More.

First Zika-related death reported in continental United States. A Utah resident infected with the Zika virus appears to be the first Zika-related death in the continental United States. The elderly resident may have contracted the disease while traveling abroad.

A message from PhRMA: Today, there are several promising vaccine candidates in stage three clinical trials. These trials have tens of thousands of participants, from every walk of life. From development to robust clinical trials, and throughout manufacturing, these vaccine candidates follow the same rigorous process of other vaccines that have saved millions of lives. More.

ON THE TRAIL

Why Paul Ryan won't accept — or dismiss — Donald Trump. The House Speaker has spent the past six weeks overseeing a six-part plan, called “A Better Way,” that touches on everything from taxes to health care reform to defense spending.

Why that matters: If Trump wins the White House, he’ll likely have a Republican Congress waiting to pass legislation for him to sign into law. Much of that legislation will likely be found in the GOP platform, making this week a decisive moment for Ryan and his big ideas, Danny Vinik and Darren Samuelson write for POLITICO's Agenda. More: http://politi.co/29qmbNz

Potential Trump VP pick supports abortion rights. Retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn appeared on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, where he veered away from traditional conservative positions, including abortion rights.

“I think women have to be able to choose … sort of, the right of choice.” said Flynn, adding, “They are the ones that have to make the decision because they're the ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not.” See video.

TRACKING THE ADMINISTRATION

The cancer 'moon shot' won't bring down drug prices. That's according to intellectual property and industry experts, who tell Pro's Sarah-Karlin Smith that the new government and private sector partnerships may only reinforce the status quo.

But it doesn't have to be this way. “The government has an enormous amount of flexibility that it could exercise,” says Washington University in St. Louis law professor Rachel Sachs. More for Pros.

IN CONGRESS

Lawmakers opposing Medicare drug demo took more pharma cash. A new analysis from Public Citizen finds that lawmakers opposing a Medicare proposal to test new ways to pay for physician-administered drugs received much larger campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry compared to other lawmakers. More for Pros.

EYE ON EMPLOYERS

FIRST IN PULSE: CSRxP launches battleground state drive. The group that’s been shining a spotlight on high drug prices since Gilead’s Sovaldi hit the market is launching a campaign effort to engage voters and candidates in six battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“The whole idea is to lay the groundwork for meaningful action in the Congress and the administration next year,” John Rother, CEO of the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, told our colleagues at Prescription PULSE. “We want commitment to action, first, and second we want to build momentum for our agenda.”

CSRxP, backed mainly by insurers and employers, has released a slate of what Rother calls “market-based solutions” to high drug prices designed to increase transparency in pricing and to promote competition. Pharma is not a fan. Details on the agenda here: http://bit.ly/1SuBpMm

The cost of the sickest. A new American Health Policy Institute study investigates "high cost claimants," the most expensive members of health plans who represent an outsize portion of health costs.

Among AHPI's findings, based on a study of 26 large employers' claims data:

- 1.2 percent of all plan members are high cost claimants

- The average high cost claimant costs $122,382 annually

- High cost claimants represent 31 percent of total health spending

See the study: http://bit.ly/29wzI1R

43 percent of working adults say their job hurts their stress levels. That’s according to a new NPR, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey out this morning. About half of respondents said their workplaces didn't have employee wellness or health-improvement programs. http://n.pr/29seIsO

IN THE COURTS

Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks out on abortion. The justice said that this spring's abortion case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt — which the court struck down in a 5-3 vote — presented significant risks to women's health.

“I wanted to highlight the point that it was perverse to portray this as protecting women’s health,” she said, referencing her concurring opinion. “Desperate women then would be driven to unsafe abortions.”

Ginsburg also commended her colleague, Justice Anthony Kennedy, for voting with the majority in the Texas abortion case. "I was pleased, but not entirely surprised," she says. "I know abortion cases are very hard for him, but he was part of the troika in Casey."

Ginsburg also bashes Trump. “I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she said, the first member of the sitting court to comment on the election. “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”

More: http://nyti.ms/29BwP2D

NEWS FROM THE VALLEY

Theranos's stabs at damage control. CEO Elizabeth Holmes has stifled internal communication about the company's legal and technical problems, WSJ's John Carreyrou reports — but she's negotiating with the producer who created HBO's "The Jinx" to do a documentary about her life and career.

The WSJ also detailed Holmes' heavy security detail, and at least one reader wasn't impressed: controversial investor Martin Shkreli.

"Their code name for her is 'Eagle 1,' current and former employees say," Shkreli tweeted on Sunday. "COME ON." More in the WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/2a1fhvi

AROUND THE NATION

Arkansas state legislature to consider governor’s Medicaid expansion plan. Last Friday, lawmakers approved the framework of the plan. Now they will vote on a budget that funds the measure, which requires a 75 percent super-majority to pass in both the House and Senate. More in State Week, including news from Alabama, California, Iowa and Oklahoma: http://politico.pro/29smId9

Montana negotiates reference pricing with area hospitals. The state's employee insurance plan has struck deals with 9 of the 10 largest hospitals and most smaller hospitals, too, to base treatment for patients on a multiple of Medicare prices. (The only holdout: Benefis Health System.) According to Gov. Steve Bullock, the deal could save Montana $25 million. More: http://bit.ly/29rzYyQ

'Pokemon Go' causing accidental exercise. The augmented reality mobile game — which has been the most popular item in Apple's App Store since its release last week and is about to surpass Twitter in daily users — has led to anecdotal reports of surprise exercise, as players find themselves chasing Pokemon characters. (Note: The game also encourages sedentary behavior, too; your author has noticed players parked for extended periods at the local "Pokemon gym" in his neighborhood.)

"It took Michelle Obama 8 years to convince people to run outside and be active," one user tweeted. "Nintendo did it in 24 hours."

WHAT WE'RE READING

Why are major diseases in decline? Gina Kolata explores this happy medical mystery: http://nyti.ms/29qRjwg

Aetna and Humana are facing an uphill battle to win merger approval from the Justice Department, sources tell the WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/29yugNc

"Convergence science" — where researchers team up with engineers, technologists and clinicians — is on the rise, Zhai Yun Tan writes for Kaiser Health News: http://bit.ly/29Ib544

At Modern Healthcare, Dave Barkholz explores how payment reform uncertainty is driving physicians to hospital employment: http://bit.ly/29qO9c3

A shocking Los Angeles Times investigation suggests that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, sat on sales data that showed organized crime was involved in distributing the drug: http://lat.ms/29Gu2G8

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