Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: It’s a health care election, too

It’s a health care election, too

Apr 21, 2026

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THE CATCH-UP

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz at Politico Health Care Summit 2027 alongside POLITICO's Dasha Burns

Pixelme Studio for POLITICO

BILL OF HEALTH: Voters will have no shortage of issues on their minds in November. War. Inflation. Tax cuts. Housing. Crime. Democracy.

But news today also shows, from the Hill to the Pentagon to POLITICO’s Health Care Summit, how both parties might make 2026 a health care election.

The GOP message: Speaking to Playbook’s Dasha Burns at the summit this morning, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced a new effort to root out Medicaid fraud across the country. Republicans have increasingly made cracking down on fraud in social services a centerpiece of their messaging, alongside MAHA health advocacy that’s newer to the GOP coalition. Oz has already gone after a few large, Democratic-led states, but today he said CMS is setting a 30-day clock for every state to provide plans for examining providers and combating fraud.

“I love Medicaid,” Oz said. “I cannot say that more fervently, and when you love something, you protect it. You don’t let it get defrauded.” Oz also maintained that letting enhanced Obamacare subsidies expire hasn’t led to a “mass departure” of Americans going uninsured.

Calley Means, a MAHA leader and White House senior adviser, told POLITICO’s Alex Burns that his movement’s drive for systemic reform to tackle chronic disease can be a political winner: “The thesis of the Trump administration, the thesis of the MAHA movement is: This demand of change is popular.”

The pushback: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein cutting benefits under the guise of fighting fraud is misguided. She said voters want major health care reforms that Democrats will try to deliver if they retake Congress, starting with unwinding Republicans’ Medicaid cuts. Virginia health secretary Marvin Figueroa and American Hospital Association chair Marc Bloom both warned at the summit they expect the number of uninsured people to rise once Medicaid work requirements kick in at the start of next year.

Dems see a narrative emerging in which they’ll criticize Republicans for health care cuts and stubbornly high health care costs. “All of this has to be put together as a story for the American people to understand as they head for the polls this fall,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told POLITICO’s Lauren Gardner. “Because in my opinion, there’s a landslide that is about to befall the Republicans, and a lot of it is because of what they have done to the health care system.”

At yet another congressional hearing today, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparred with Democrats over vaccines, defending his handling of measles. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) blasted Kennedy for “the dismantling of the childhood vaccination programs that has been detrimental to our nation and puts our nation at risk.” Kennedy responded that he’s “never been anti-vax … I don’t believe all vaccines are bad. I’ve never said that. What I’ve said is they should be safety-tested.” But he also refused to commit not to interfere with recommendations from new CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz, who is more pro-vaccine, per POLITICO’s Sophie Gardner.

First in Playbook — Ad it up: The progressive, science-focused PAC 314 Action is going up with a six-figure digital ad campaign that slams “Make America Healthy Again” as “RFK Jr.’s big lie.” The spots criticize him for anti-vaccine advocacy, health cuts and rising costs, urging voters to get their members of Congress to stand up to the administration. They’ll air in the districts of Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.), Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), Gabe Evans (R-Colo.) and Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.). Watch the Miller-Meeks ad

The agenda in action: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today announced the Pentagon will no longer require service members to get their annual flu shots. Hegseth framed the change as a victory for personal liberty, slamming the Biden administration for vaccine mandates that made anti-vax troops choose “between their conscience and their country.” More from Fox News

Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop us a line at eokun@politico.com and mgray@politico.com.

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8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. MORE BITES FROM A BUSY HILL DAY: Kevin Warsh held firm that he’d be “strictly independent” from the president if confirmed as Fed chair, at times clashing with skeptical Senate Banking Democrats who worried that he’d be a “sock puppet.” Warsh declared that Trump had never asked him to commit to any approach on interest rates — and that he wouldn’t comply — even though Trump continued to add public pressure as recently as today. More from POLITICO’s Sam Sutton

The Tillis problem: As expected, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) made clear that the Justice Department must end its “bogus” criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell before he’ll let Warsh (whom he supports) move forward. Good luck with that: CNBC’s Joe Kernen repeatedly tried to ask Trump in an interview this morning why he won’t just drop the investigation, which would pave the way for Warsh — and the president refused to bite or let it go.

Ethics and expulsions: Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) appears to be in serious danger of getting booted from the House, Axios’ Andrew Solender reports. Many Democrats say they’re ready to join with Republicans to expel her if the House Ethics Committee recommends it. The panel meets at 2 p.m. … Separately, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) preemptively met with his chamber’s ethics committee staff on Friday in the wake of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) alleging he committed sexual misconduct with someone else, which Gallego denies, Axios’ Kate Santaliz scooped.

Reconcilable differences: Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took the first big step toward Republicans’ reconciliation plans to fund immigration enforcement, per POLITICO’s Jordain Carney. The budget resolution he released gives Senate Judiciary and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs each a maximum of $70 billion, though the hope is to keep the total package at roughly $70 billion. Next up for this blueprint: a procedural vote, vote-a-rama and then it’s over to the House, where House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy they want to move quickly, as early as next week.

The crunch: With DHS still partially shut down, Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned on Fox News today that they’ll stop being able to make payroll in early May.

Spy games: Speaker Mike Johnson today floated the prospect of getting bipartisan support for a deal to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for three years, with reforms, per POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Riley Rogerson. But House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) warned that Republicans need to talk with Democrats or “it’s going to be hard to find bipartisan consensus.”

2. WAR AND PEACE: As the clock ticks to tomorrow’s expiration of the two-week Iran war ceasefire, Trump continues to send mixed signals about how an extension could play out. In the CNBC interview, he said the U.S. and Iran were “going to end up with a great deal.” But Trump also said that “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” and he posted on Truth Social, “Iran has Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!” The big question now is whether VP JD Vance and Iranian negotiators will travel to Pakistan for last-minute talks. Vance’s trip for the moment has been paused because “Tehran failed to respond to American negotiating positions,” NYT’s Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman report.

From the Pentagon: The U.S. military has halted and boarded an Iranian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, the Pentagon announced, per the AP. The department also unveiled new details for Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request today, including a special pot it’s calling “presidential priorities,” covering Golden Dome missile defense, drones, AI and more, Reuters’ Mike Stone reports.

The economic fallout: Stock markets fell today amid a rise in oil prices, as Wall Street waited to see what’s next in the Middle East, CNBC reports. Many Americans’ feelings about Trump are negative as well, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows. His approval rating — 36 percent — remains stuck at the lowest of his term, as Americans raised concerns about his “temperament” amid the war and his feud with Pope Leo XIV, Jason Lange writes.

More from the CNBC interview: Anthropic is “very smart” and “shaping up” following the company’s talks with the White House last week, and “it’s possible” there could be a deal allowing Anthropic’s AI models to be used within the DOD, Trump said. … He said he’ll favorably remember companies that don’t apply for tariff refunds. … And he suggested the government assist Spirit Airlines as the company stares down potential liquidation.

3. WEAPONIZATION WATCH: “Inside Todd Blanche’s audition for attorney general,” by CNN’s Paula Reid and Casey Gannon: “Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche traveled to Florida on Monday where he met with a new prosecutor tapped to handle one of the most important cases to President Donald Trump — the investigation into former CIA director and Trump critic John Brennan. … Trump has commended Blanche’s work as acting attorney general so far, and, according to current and former administration officials who spoke to CNN, the job appears to be his to lose.”

4. CIVIL RIGHTS SHAKEUP: The Southern Poverty Law Center announced that the Justice Department is probing the civil rights group, potentially teeing up criminal action against the SPLC or employees, AP’s Collin Binkley and Alanna Durkin Richer scooped. That would be a significant escalation against an organization that has often come under fire from the right. The SPLC claimed that the investigation may center on its “prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups.” DOJ had no immediate comment.

5. HEADS UP: The two Americans killed in a car accident in northern Mexico on Sunday as they were returning from a counternarcotics operation were working for the CIA, WaPo’s Warren Strobel and Ellen Nakashima scooped. The crash also killed two Mexican officials and led Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to say she would investigate if the operation violated the country’s laws. The CIA declined to comment.

6. WHAT’S IN A NAME: In an effort to appeal to Trump, some Ukrainian negotiators have proposed naming a contested portion of the country’s Donbas region “Donnyland,” NYT’s Anton Troianovski and Andrew Kramer report. The Disneyland allusion being applied to a “depopulated, decimated swath of Ukrainian coal-and-steel country could appear jarring as Europe’s deadliest fighting since World War II continues to rage. But it also reflects a global reality in which governments appeal to Mr. Trump’s vanity in order to get American might on their side.”

7. BATTLE FOR THE BALLOT: The American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the Protect Democracy Project are suing the Trump administration in federal court over its efforts to obtain states’ voter rolls, Reuters’ Luc Cohen reports. The groups accuse Trump officials of trying to prepare for “voter purging” that could hit eligible voters.

8. MOVING MONTANA: “Big Sky Crack-Up,” by The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer: “Montana Democrats thought they found a novel way to win control of the U.S. Senate — until the party faithful started fighting back. … Because [Seth] Bodnar is running as an independent, it means part of his campaign in Montana is based on criticizing Democrats whose voters he needs to support him. Even the candidates running for the Democratic nomination have been drawn into the drama. They, too, are criticizing their own party leaders just weeks before the June 2 primary and seeking to make sure that party bigwigs don’t try to clear a path for Bodnar.”

A message from UnitedHealth Group:

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TALK OF THE TOWN

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — Families of 204 fallen firefighters from 43 states had planned “to spend the first weekend of May witnessing their loved ones’ names being added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and participating in ceremonies to honor them,” WaPo’s Joe Heim reports. “But with Department of Homeland Security funding halted because of the shutdown, that event was in jeopardy. The memorial is on the campus of the United States Fire Administration, a DHS entity. … Organizers of the annual event said Monday that despite the funding lapse, DHS is making special arrangements to open the USFA campus for the memorial weekend and for the program to proceed as scheduled.”

IN MEMORIAM — “Daniel Bice, veteran Wisconsin political reporter and columnist, dies at 62,” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Ashley Luthern: “A veteran political reporter, Bice could conjure a politician’s personal phone number in seconds and never feared knocking on the door of someone he was trying to reach.”

— “Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, Who Joined Hunt for Anthrax Culprit, Dies at 97,” by NYT’s Adam Nossiter: “An expert on biological weapons, she emerged as an influential voice during the F.B.I.’s rocky search for a suspect after the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001.”

TRANSITION — Wendy Anderson is joining Salesforce as SVP of government and global public affairs. She previously worked at Palantir and is a Commerce Department and Defense Department alum.

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