STAT+: Overton won’t get a vote before midterms

STAT's D.C. Diagnosis newsletter reports that Heidi Overton, the nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, will not receive a vote in the Senate health committee before the midterm elections. The Senate is in session for its last week until Nov. 9, and the committee has no vote scheduled on the FDA nominee. Overton is not among the three HHS nominees the Senate health committee is set to vote on Wednesday.

The newsletter explains the political risk: it would take just one Republican to sink Overton's nomination in committee, and last week's hearing did not shed much light on how hard-to-get Republicans might vote. As a result, the outcome will not be known until after the elections.

Other items in the need-to-know roundup include Wednesday's deadline for states to decide whether to participate in GENEROUS, a pilot program offering drugs in Medicaid at prices available abroad; the Senate health committee's Wednesday vote on three HHS nominees; CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz traveling to Texas to promote CHOICE arrangements, in which employers can give workers money tax-free to buy ACA Marketplace insurance; and the annual U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance conference in Arlington, the main group advocating for stronger alcohol regulation.