Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Administration Moves Affect Health Care
AP: US Cuts Remaining Dues Payment To WHO After Trump Pullout
The Trump administration said Wednesday it won’t pay more than $60 million in dues it owes to the World Health Organization and will use the money instead to pay down other contributions to the United Nations. The announcement came just a day after the White House announced the U.S. would not participate in a WHO-run project to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to withhold roughly $62 million in outstanding 2020 dues to the WHO is part of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his allegations that the agency has been improperly influenced by China. (Lee, 9/2)
In other news from the Trump administration —
The New York Times: Backed By Federal Funds, New Virus Tests Are Hitting The Market
With the pandemic still raging as fall approaches, the government’s efforts to support development and deployment of a variety of testing methods are a rare if belated bright spot amid widespread failures to contain the virus.In the latest round of government backing, the N.I.H. said on Wednesday that it was providing nine more companies with $123.3 million from a $2.5 billion pot of money allocated last spring by the stimulus bill to support testing. That will bring the total amount disbursed so far by the N.I.H. to $372 million across 16 companies. (LaFraniere and Wu, 9/2)
Stat: Trump Could Use Last-Minute Maneuver To Lower Drug Prices Before Election
The final two months before a presidential election don’t typically feature much policymaking, and there are rules about how quickly the government can implement big changes. But there’s a way for President Trump to pull off a major, last-minute policy change — and drug industry lobbyists are worried, given his campaign trail rhetoric on lowering drug prices, he just might. (Florko, 9/3)
The Hill: LGBTQ Advocates Notch Legal Win In Fight Against Trump Health Care Rule
A federal judge on Wednesday handed a win to LGBTQ advocates in their bid to stop the Trump administration from rolling back ObamaCare nondiscrimination protections. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, temporarily blocked the repeal of an Obama-era rule that bars discrimination against transgender people. The 101-page opinion also narrowed the scope of exemptions available to religious health care providers while the case plays out in court. (Kruzel, 9/2)
