Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
$1.2T Spending Package Boosts HHS, Funds Bipartisan Health Care Measures
Fierce Healthcare: Trump Signs $1.2T Spending Package That Funds HHS, Enacts PBM Reforms, Telehealth And Hospital-At-Home Measures
President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon signed a massive funding package that ends a brief government shutdown and provides full-year funding for the federal government through the end of the year. The House voted earlier in the day to pass the package by a vote of 217-214. (Landi and Muoio, 2/3)
Politico: Democrats Just Handed RFK Jr. Billions More Than He Asked For. It Was A Big Risk
Democrats counted it as a win Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed a law providing $20 billion more for the agency that is the world’s largest health research funder than Trump requested. Democrats’ victory could prove pyrrhic. Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his National Institutes of Health director, Jay Bhattacharya, have promised to spend the money, but not necessarily on projects Democrats will like. (Hooper, 2/3)
The Colorado Sun: Immigrant Communities Brace For Health Impact Of Trump Budget Bill
Lilia Cervantes knows that providing health care to immigrants is a battle of unanticipated consequences. Years ago, as a young hospitalist at Denver Health, Cervantes watched the consequences unfold for Hilda, an undocumented mother of two young children who had come to the U.S. from Mexico. (Sachs, 2/4)
Is another shutdown coming? —
The Washington Post: Standoff Over ICE Tactics Could Trigger Another Partial Government Shutdown
Congress is staring down another partial government shutdown in 10 days unless Democrats strike a deal with President Donald Trump and Republicans over new restrictions on federal immigration authorities — and some key lawmakers in both parties are not optimistic. Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to a range of accountability measures to rein in personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies following outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti last month in Minneapolis. (Meyer and Hernandez, 2/4)
Related news on the immigration crisis —
ABC News: 'Deep Distress': Renee Good's Brothers Testify On Capitol Hill After Deadly Minneapolis Shooting
The two brothers of Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman killed by a federal immigration officer in January, spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling lawmakers of the effect their sister’s death had on their family. “The deep distress our family feels because of Renee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” said one brother, Luke Ganger. (Guarino, 2/3)
The New Republic: Not A Single Republican Shows Up To Hear Renee Good’s Brothers Testify
Also testifying were Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by customs agents in Chicago; Aliya Rahman, who was violently detained by agents in Minneapolis while trying to go to the doctor; and Martin Daniel Rascon, who was shot at by Border Patrol in California while driving with his family. (Ferguson, 2/3)
The Orange County Register: Deaf LA Teenager Says Immigration Officers Assaulted Him For Not Heeding Commands
A deaf Los Angeles teenager says he was assaulted and taken into custody during a protest in downtown Los Angeles last month by federal immigration officers, who cited him for failing to comply with their directions. Videos posted Saturday, Jan. 24, to Instagram show armed agents, wearing U.S. Department of Homeland Security uniforms, chasing and tackling 18-year-old Anthony Paredes, seen wearing a red, green and white poncho, to the ground. Multiple people are heard in the background yelling, “He’s deaf! He cannot hear!” and asking officers not to hurt him. (Vergara and Silla, 2/2)
The New York Times: A Winter Of Anguish For Minneapolis Children
“It’s like living in fear all the time,” a teenager said about the federal raids that have shattered families. (Knoll, 2/4)
The Washington Post: Judge Temporarily Bans Use Of Tear Gas At Protests Near Portland ICE Office
An Oregon judge on Tuesday temporarily banned federal agents from using tear gas at protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland, days after agents deployed the chemical agents during a largely peaceful demonstration in the city that included children. (Cho, 2/4)
