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With Evan Peng

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE — In the wake of the most intense public health response in U.S. history, public health experts fear Washington doesn’t have a strategy expansive enough to implement the lessons learned, your host reports.

Dr. Georges Benjamin, president of the American Public Health Association, an advocacy group, told Pulse there’s “no real long-term vision” on the Hill for America’s public health systems.

“How do we establish the value that we’ve clearly just demonstrated?” Benjamin said. “There doesn’t seem to be a rational way to have a conversation to have an optimal solution.”

Benjamin recalled the creation of the national highway system, pointing to the need for a solid framework to lead improvements nationwide.

“And we still can’t send EKGs across the street,” he said.

Political problems: The politicization of Covid-19 — and many programs associated with the pandemic — has made mentions of public health unappealing for some lawmakers.

“I don’t go in to speak to the folks on the Hill as much as I used to,” Benjamin said. “You don’t get the feeling you’re going to be heard.”

Budget cuts pose a threat to building on progress made during the pandemic, he said.

But Republicans have argued the need for balance among policy priorities, emphasizing the effects of inflation to push for less government spending.

Toward ’24: That’s made the prospect of the 2024 elections even more important for some public health leaders.

“We’re working really hard to try to lay the groundwork for strategic investments in public health,” Benjamin said.

WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Do you know about big plans for the public health infrastructure working their way through Congress? We want to know, too. Drop me a line at [email protected].

TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST, host Katherine Ellen Foley talks with Alice Miranda Ollstein, who reports on new data showing that access to maternal health care is disappearing in many parts of the nation as a result of OB-GYNs moving or shuttering their practices and more birthing hospitals closing — and what’s behind the closures.

A PICK FOR FAUCI’S ROLE — The NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, led for decades by Dr. Anthony Fauci, has a new director: Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo.

POLITICO’s Erin Schumaker reports that Marrazzo, currently directing the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Division of Infectious Diseases, will lead the agency, NIH acting Director Lawrence Tabak said Wednesday.

Marrazzo is an infectious disease expert known for her research on sexually transmitted infections. She focuses on the human microbiome as it relates to female reproductive tract infections and hormonal contraception. She also served on the governor of Alabama’s Covid-19 task force during the pandemic.

The $6.3 billion NIAID conducts and supports research on the causes of infectious diseases and how to prevent, diagnose and treat them. The spending of those dollars has become increasingly controversial among Republicans, who have in recent years scrutinized Fauci’s work at the agency.

Marrazzo will start her new role in the fall.

COVID CONCERNS — New York State officials urge caution after recent rises in Covid-related hospitalizations, POLITICO’s Maya Kaufman reports.

Hospitalizations reached an average rate of 0.6 per 100,000 residents Wednesday, or more than 100 admissions a day, according to New York State Department of Health data. The number of reported Covid cases has shot up 55 percent since last week to an average of 824 statewide, but hospital admission rates are considered a more reliable indicator of Covid levels since most cases aren’t reported.

Those numbers are still low compared to the peaks from the pandemic, but the Health Department recommends that anyone experiencing symptoms be tested and, if positive for the virus, avoid contact with others.

It’s more than just New York. Covid hospitalizations have been rising nationwide for the first time since the beginning of the year, but the White House has expressed confidence in its ability to manage the virus heading into the fall.

PACT PLANNING — Time is running out for veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service to file for full backdated health care benefits under the PACT ACT, Evan reports.

The White House and scores of lawmakers have taken to social media to urge their eligible constituents to take full advantage of the law, which expanded and extended eligibility for permanent VA benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxins.

Though future PACT Act claims will have no deadline, veterans and their survivors must file a claim by Aug. 9 to receive retroactive payments dating back to Aug. 10, 2022, the day President Joe Biden signed the law.

HILL DAYS CONTINUE (VIRTUALLY) — Health lobbying doesn’t stop for August recess.

Customers of Athenahealth, which provides software and services for health systems, will meet with more than 50 congressional offices through the first half of the month, the group said in an announcement.

Health systems are pushing lawmakers to find a long-term fix for the annual physician fee schedule cuts — an issue that’s a top priority for provider groups in Washington.

The New York Times reports on what researchers think about “the new normal” of Covid.

The Wall Street Journal reports on employers blocking access to weight-loss drugs for workers.

KFF Health News reports on the real cost of — and who will pay for — the new Alzheimer’s drug.

CBS News reports that thousands of Tydemy birth control pills have been recalled because they don’t work.