Health Care — House passes sweeping bill with health measures

Parents, children and children-at-heart — prepare yourselves. We are officially getting a “Kung Fu Panda 4” in 2024.

Today in health, the House passed a massive legislative package with provisions included to lower the cost of prescription drugs, delivering a badly needed win for Democrats ahead of the midterms. 

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Subscribe here.

Dems push climate, health and tax bill over finish line

The House late Friday passed a sweeping bill from Democrats that would advance their climate, tax and health care agenda, sending the legislation to Biden’s desk and securing a huge win for the president and his party less than three months from the midterm elections. 

All 220 Democrats voted for the $740 billion bill, which includes provisions to increase taxes on corporations, address climate change, decrease the prices of prescription drugs and bring down the deficit.

More work to do: The legislation makes historic changes to the health care system, but Democrats acknowledged they wished they could have done more. 

• “It’s a great bill; it’s historic,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters this week in the Capitol. “I want more, of course — we always want more. But this is a great deal.”
• “People like me wanted a lot more, right? But the bottom line is you can only get done what’s possible within the reality you’re living,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).

The exclusions have prompted some grumbling from progressive lawmakers who’d fought for a more expansive package, but none of them opposed the bill.  

Read more on what’s in the bill here.

Polio found in NYC sewage suggests virus circulating

The virus that causes polio has been found in New York City’s wastewater in another sign that the disease, which hadn’t been seen in the U.S. in a decade, is quietly spreading among unvaccinated people, health officials said Friday. 

The presence of the poliovirus in the city’s wastewater suggests likely local circulation of the virus, health authorities from the city, New York state and the federal government said.

The authorities urged parents to get their children vaccinated against the potentially deadly disease. 

• “The risk to New Yorkers is real but the defense is so simple — get vaccinated against polio,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said. 
• “With polio circulating in our communities there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you’re an unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine. Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us.” 

In New York, one person suffered paralysis weeks ago because of a polio infection in Rockland County, north of the city. Wastewater samples collected in June in both Rockland and adjacent Orange County were found to contain the virus. 

CDC officials said…