Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
$259M In Medicaid Funds Is Withheld From Minn.; More States May Follow
The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Withhold $259M In Minnesota Medicaid Funds, Citing Fraud
Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would withhold $259 million in Medicaid payments for Minnesota, escalating its fight with the state as the White House seeks to elevate health care fraud as an election-year issue. “We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money,” Vance said at a news conference, standing alongside Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Viser and Diamond, 2/25)
In other Trump administration news —
Axios: Democrats Plan Aggressive Oversight Of Trump's Drug Price Deals, Medicaid Cuts
Democrats are eyeing aggressive oversight of controversial Trump administration moves on vaccines, Medicaid cuts and drug pricing if they flip control of one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. (Sullivan, 2/25)
Politico: Trump Wants Congress To Make His Drug Pricing Deals Law. It Won’t Be Easy.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump acknowledged his deals with drugmakers may not last past his administration if Congress does not make them law. He then urged lawmakers to make that happen. But whether they will comply is far from certain. While Republicans are generally reluctant to publicly oppose Trump, few have come out in favor of the effort. (Lim and King, 2/25)
CIDRAP: Nearly $900 Million In HHS Preparedness Funds Lack Coordinated Oversight, Report Says
A new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that two key federal programs designed to bolster the nation’s public health emergency readiness lack formal coordination and do not adequately track whether states and local jurisdictions can respond effectively to public health threats and emergencies. GAO reviewed US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) documentation, including notices of funding opportunity, templates, and examples of documents from eight jurisdictions selected to include variation among geographic location, proportion of the population living in rural areas, and public health governance structure. (Bergeson, 2/25)
KFF Health News: ‘You Aren’t Trapped’: Hundreds Of US Nurses Choose Canada Over Trump’s America
Last month, Justin and Amy Miller packed their vehicles with three kids, two dogs, a pet bearded dragon, and whatever belongings they could fit, then drove 2,000 miles from Wisconsin to British Columbia to leave President Donald Trump’s America. The Millers resettled on Vancouver Island, their scenic refuge accessible only by ferry or plane. Justin went to work in the emergency room at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, where he became one of at least 20 U.S.-trained nurses hired since April. Fear of Trump, some of the nurses said, was why they left. (Kelman, 2/26)
NPR: China And The U.S. Change Approaches To Foreign Aid
Foreign aid has long been a way for the United States and China to gain soft power and influence — providing public services in low-income countries that help them tackle poverty and disease, and engaging with people to build cooperation over the long run. For decades, the two countries had adopted separate international aid strategies. But the Trump administration has dismantled much of the United States' traditional foreign aid systems and is charting a new path, while China has also been adjusting its approach —stepping up visible contributions to global institutions while scaling back some of the large infrastructure projects that once defined its strategy. (Tanis, 2/24)
Also —
CNN: Polls Show Concerns About Trump’s Mental Acuity Increasing
President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential race after his initial opponent, then-President Joe Biden, withdrew over worries about his age and mental sharpness. But a year-plus into Trump’s four-year term, polls suggest the American people aren’t just increasingly unhappy with his job performance; they’re increasingly concerned about his mental capacity as well. (Blake, 2/26)
