Overnight Health Care — Presented by the National Taxpayers Union — Tobacco giant Altria invests nearly $13 billion in e-cig maker Juul | Hatch urges colleagues to oppose Trump drug pricing proposal | Anti-abortion groups keep up pressure on HHS

by Jessie Hellmann and Nathaniel Weixel - 12/20/18 6:58 PM ET

Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care, where we still don’t know whether there will be a government shutdown.

It was a dramatic day in Washington, where Republicans are scrambling to avoid a shutdown and with Defense Secretary James Mattis announcing his resignation.

On the health care front, an outgoing GOP chairman is urging his colleagues to oppose President Trump’s drug pricing proposal, and anti-abortion groups are mad about comments NIH Director Francis Collins made defending fetal tissue research.

But first: Vaping startup Juul is now officially part of Big Tobacco.

Tobacco giant Altria invests nearly $13 billion in Juul

Cigarette manufacturer Altria announced Thursday that it is investing $12.8 billion in startup e-cigarette company Juul Labs.

Altria’s investment gives them a 35 percent ownership of the company, and an opening into a market where it has struggled to gain traction. Juul accounts for about 75 percent of the e-cigarette market. Earlier this month, amid speculation of a significant investment in Juul, Altria said it would stop selling its e-cigarette products.

The move also opens both companies up to new criticism, as Juul has consistently marketed itself as an alternative to Big Tobacco.

The company has said its mission is to help wean adult smokers off traditional cigarettes, but public health experts and anti-smoking advocates were quick to note the apparent contradiction. Tobacco companies have spent decades denying that smoking causes cancer.

“The Altria-Juul deal shows how far the tobacco industry will go to maximize profits and sell as many products as possible, including cigarettes,” Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said in a statement. “The FDA and other policymakers must be equally aggressive in working to reduce tobacco use and save lives.”

Juul CEO Kevin Burns acknowledged this in a statement: “We understand the controversy and skepticism that comes with an affiliation and partnership with the largest tobacco company in the US. We were skeptical as well,” he said. “But over the course of the last several months we were convinced by actions, not words, that in fact this partnership could help accelerate our success switching adult smokers.”

Public health crisis: Rather than help wean adults off traditional cigarettes, there has been an alarming spike in previously non-smoking young people taking up vaping. According to a National Institutes of Health survey, the number of high school seniors who say they vaped nicotine in the past 30 days has doubled since 2017 — from 11 percent to nearly 21 percent.

Big money: According to Bloomberg News, Altria’s investment means Juul is now worth $38 billion. That makes Juul Labs Inc. more valuable than Airbnb and SpaceX. According to multiple reports, each Juul employee will take home a $1.3 million bonus.

Read more here on Hatch’s concerns .

In Congress: Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) will chair the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees.

Pallone and Neal, who are ranking members on the committees, were elected by the Democratic caucus on Thursday.

Pallone said he would “conduct robust oversight of the Trump Administration’s ongoing actions to sabotage our health care system.”

Neal said he would oppose efforts to “privatize Social Security and slash Medicare.”

California asks judge to block Trump contraception rule

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) asked a federal judge on Thursday to block Trump administration rules that would allow more exemptions to ObamaCare’s contraception mandate.

“The Trump Administration is continuing to trample on women’s rights and access to care with this illegal final rule,” Becerra said in a statement Thursday. “California will continue the fight against any actions that attempt to restrict women’s access to affordable, quality healthcare.”

Context: Two courts have already blocked the draft version of these rules from going into effect last year (the administration issued the rules as interim final, meaning they took effect immediately.)

The finalized rules will take effect in January, barring action from the courts.

More on the fight over the birth control rule here.

Anti-abortion groups are keeping the pressure up on HHS as it reviews fetal tissue research funding

In a letter sent to Trump Thursday, 12 anti-abortion groups urged him to “immediately” end funding of fetal tissue research.

“This terrible atrocity is incongruous with your leadership in defense of human life,” the groups, led by the Susan B. Anthony List, wrote in the letter.

“We look forward to working with you and with Secretary Azar to implement a new policy that affirms the dignity of all Americans, born and unborn.”

Context: Abortion foes were enraged last week over NIH Director Francis Collins’ comments that fetal tissue research would be a “mainstay” at the agency.

Two groups that signed the letter — March for Life and Live Action — have separately called on Collins to resign.

Read their full letter here.