Biden’s got a taker for one of his gun safety proposals: California

California answers Biden’s call for tougher gun storage rules

California could give President Biden a political win this year on gun violence.

State senators passed sweeping legislation in January that would toughen gun storage requirements, embracing a White House priority that has languished in Congress.

Many states, including California, have laws in place requiring gun owners to securely store their firearms when children are present. The Biden administration wants to go further by requiring gun owners to secure firearms most of the time.

The idea is to make it harder for anybody, not just children, to find and use a gun to commit crimes, or kill or accidentally harm themselves — and therefore save lives.

Firearms were the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 17 in 2020, 2021 and 2022, according to analyses of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data by KFF. In 2022, an average of seven children a day died of gunshots.

The Justice Department unveiled model gun storage legislation in December, as part of the Biden administration’s multipronged strategy to encourage states to lead on gun safety. It’s also a tacit acknowledgment that Congress, where Republicans control the House and can block most bills from moving through the Senate, isn’t going to act.

Lawmakers in Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey and Utah have introduced measures similar to California’s gun storage bill, but they have yet to advance. A South Dakota lawmaker did, too, but the GOP-controlled legislature killed it almost immediately in mid-February. Oregon and Massachusetts already have implemented comparable regulations.

“If you’re from a red state, it’s almost virtually impossible to get anything passed,” said South Dakota state Rep. Linda Duba, a Democrat, who called her GOP colleagues beholden to the National Rifle Association. “They are so worried about the NRA rating and their reelection that they can't see beyond it.”

California Republicans and the NRA describe California’s bill as excessive, saying it would infringe upon Second Amendment rights.

The NRA supports “empowering individuals to make responsible choices, rather than eroding their freedoms with typical California-style gun control,” said Daniel Reid of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

Even if it passes, California’s measure is likely to be vulnerable to legal challenges.

The bill would extend gun storage rules to all residences, a mandate similar to the Biden administration’s proposal, and require owners to secure firearms in a lockbox or a safe. The White House proposal gives gun owners the option of using a trigger lock. California state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D), who spoke about his bill at a White House event in January via videoconference, told me he believes the measure stands a better chance at passing in California’s Democratic-controlled legislature than in Congress.

It’s unclear whether California Gov. Gavin Newsom would sign it. The Democrat, often mentioned as a future presidential hopeful, has signed several gun-safety laws, but he declined, through a spokesperson, to comment on this one.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

On the Hill

Congress releases six funding bills ahead of Friday shutdown deadline

Congressional appropriators on Sunday released half a dozen bills that, if passed, this week, would keep six federal agencies funded for the rest of the fiscal year, The Post’s Mariana Alfaro and Jacob Bogage report. 

A closer look: The sweeping minibus totals about $460 billion. It provides $6.72 billion for the Food and Drug Administration, including $7 million to conduct oversight of cosmetics for the first time and $50 million for the 21st Century Cures Act. The package also:

• Fully funds veterans’ health care and benefits.
• Partially offsets a cut to physicians’ Medicare pay and boosts funding for community health centers. 
• Increases funds to the Drug Enforcement Administration and earmarks additional dollars to combat fentanyl trafficking, among other provisions.

Next steps: Congress is expected to easily pass the legislation ahead of a March 8 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will probably have to rely on Democrats to overcome opposition from conservative Republicans, who will protest the level of government spending and lack of policy wins on social issues such as restrictions for abortion funds.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.):

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.):

In the courts

ACA preventive services requirement gets its day in court

On tap today: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will hear oral arguments in a case with sweeping implications for the Affordable Care Act mandate that private health insurers cover certain preventive services at no cost to patients. 

The New Orleans-based panel previously paused a lower court’s ruling that invalidated the popular provision. Now, the appeals court will weigh the Justice Department’s request to reverse it entirely.

A closer look: U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor made waves last March when he struck down the policy, finding that the task force responsible for dictating the benefits insurers must cover without cost-sharing lacks the constitutional authority to do so because its recommendations don’t get sign-off from presidential appointees. 

The federal government has countered these claims in court filings, asserting that the mandate remains valid because task force members are under the supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services, which also ratifies their recommendations.

Meanwhile …

A federal judge on Friday rejected AstraZeneca’s lawsuit challenging Medicare’s new drug price negotiation powers. 

In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly said the company lacked standing to challenge the lawfulness of the government drug price-setting program. He also said AstraZeneca failed to identify a constitutionally protected property interest that price negotiations would put at risk.

The decision marks the third time the Biden administration’s signature initiative has successfully withstood a legal challenge. 

Industry Rx

Walgreens, CVS to begin selling abortion pill mifepristone in some states

Walgreens and CVS will start filling prescriptions this month for a key abortion drug in states where it is legal, The Post’s Daniel Gilbert reports. 

The retail pharmacy giants announced Friday that they had completed the Food and Drug Administration’s certification process to sell mifepristone, which was previously available only at clinics, directly from doctors or by mail until a regulatory change last year. 

• Walgreens expects to begin dispensing the pills this week in select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.
• CVS plans to make the medication available in the “weeks ahead” in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and will expand to additional states on a rolling basis. 

The bigger picture: The move promises to expand access to mifepristone, which is the subject of one of the highest-stakes and closest-watched Supreme Court cases of the term. The justices are slated to hear arguments on how patients can access the drug later this month. 

President Biden:

In other health news

• The CDC officially dropped its five-day isolation guidelines for the coronavirus, saying people can return to work or school if they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of medication and their overall symptoms are improving, The Post’s Lena H. Sun and Fenit Nirappil report. 
• A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order shielding an LGBTQ+ nonprofit from Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s demands for information related to the group’s work with the families of young people seeking gender-affirming care, The Post’s María Luisa Paúl reports. 
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to make accelerated payments to hospitals, pharmacies and other providers that have been impacted by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare. 

Daybook

📅 Welcome back! The House and Senate are both in session starting tomorrow. 

What we’re watching this week: House lawmakers are slated to consider several health-related bills under suspension of the rules, including one that would allow state Medicaid plans to pay providers a fixed fee for a defined set of primary care services and another aimed at preventing maternal deaths. 

On tap today: The White House will host a roundtable discussion on reforming the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers. 

On Tuesday: Independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will make recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for the 2024-2025 season. 

On Wednesday: The Senate Budget Committee will discuss how primary care can impact health-care efficiency; the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic will examine the White House’s role in pandemic preparedness and response. 

On Thursday: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will review the Older Americans Act, which supports programs aimed at helping seniors stay in their homes as they age. 

Health reads

Louisiana’s ban on destruction of IVF embryos strips patients’ options (By Anumita Kaur | The Washington Post)

Health-care hack spreads pain across hospitals and doctors nationwide (By Daniel Gilbert, Dan Diamond, Christopher Rowland and Kim Bellware | The Washington Post)

‘I’m Matt.’ For some politicians, addiction battles drive policymaking. (By Heather Knight | The New York Times)

Sugar rush