51ÊÓƵ

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that cuts to Social Security and Medicare won't be part of the legislative package being worked out to fund President-elect Donald Trump's agenda. "No, the president has made clear that Social Security and Medicare have to be preserved," Johnson replied when asked if he was open to cutting the programs as part of the spending plans being worked out between House and Senate Republican leaders. "We have to look at all spending while maintaining… The Republican Party will not cut benefits." (Murray, Jones II, Peller and Pecorin, 1/7)

The Biden administration within days is expected to select the next batch of drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations — a process that this time could include Novo Nordisk's blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy. Why it matters: The political appeal of bringing down the price of the wildly popular drugs and other medicines for seniors could outweigh deep misgivings in Republican circles about one of Democrats' most significant health policy achievements. (Goldman, 1/8)

The advent of the first generic GLP-1 drugs could help Medicare negotiate a lower price for the highly sought after diabetes and obesity medication semaglutide, according to experts familiar with the price-negotiation program and STAT’s review of documents from the first round of negotiations. (Wilkerson, 1/7)

Medtech companies are bracing for massive tariffs that could drive up costs, temporarily stifle innovation and force them to rethink supply chain strategies that protect their bottom lines. One of the first actions President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to do upon taking office this month is impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and a higher tariff on goods from China. (Dubinsky, 1/7)

In June 2019, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to the small Pacific island nation of Samoa, where he met with activists calling for Samoans to skip measles vaccines and opt for alternatives instead. Now that visit — and the country’s subsequent measles outbreak — are receiving new political attention, as Democrats and advocates seek to block Kennedy’s confirmation as America’s top health official. Five months after Kennedy’s visit, Samoa declared a measles emergency, with leaders warning that vaccination levels had declined precipitously. Thousands of Samoans were infected during the outbreak, and 83 people died of the vaccine-preventable disease — an episode that Democrats say could foreshadow a future American crisis, should Kennedy be elevated to a Cabinet position and sow doubts about vaccines here. Most of Samoa’s measles deaths were in young children. (Diamond, 1/7)

Transgender people will not be permitted to use single-sex bathrooms that align with their gender identities near the House Chamber, under a policy from Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that was renewed Friday. The ban was included in a list of Johnson’s policies for the 119th Congress, which were reflected in the Congressional Record, a daily account of Congress’ proceedings. The policy was not officially included in the House rules package that passed Friday during the House’s first session. (Yurcaba, 1/7)

51ÊÓƵ Health News: Listen To The Latest '51ÊÓƵ Health News Minute' 

This week on the 51ÊÓƵ Health News Minute: the incoming Trump administration has signaled it may roll back federal efforts to reduce the burden of medical debt on Americans, and the nursing home industry hopes President-elect Trump will help block a new staffing requirement. (1/7)

President Joe Biden, both reflective and defensive as he discussed his legacy, told USA TODAY he believes he could have won his reelection bid − but isn't sure he would have had the vigor to complete four more years in the Oval Office."So far, so good," he said. "But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?" (Page, 1/8)