Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Rule Will Push Some Foreign Medical Trainees Out Of US After 4 Years
Fierce Healthcare: DHS Decouples J-1 Visa Duration From Training Program Length
The Trump administration is moving ahead with a visa rule change that will require some medical trainees to seek government approval to remain in the country long enough to finish their programs. The Department of Homeland Security’s policy change for F, J and I nonimmigrant visas was floated as a draft last August and finalized last week with a Sept. 15 effective date. (Muoio, 7/20)
In related news about the immigration crisis —
The New York Times: Senior Living Facility In Distress As Immigrant Caregivers Are Forced Out
Channing House, a senior living community just a mile from Stanford University, is home to pioneering scientists, tech executives and inventors. But during a recent meeting, its residents confronted a problem they felt powerless to fix: the sudden loss of their caregivers to immigration policies. “Our work force is being drastically disrupted, relationships are being severed and lives are being upended right now,” said Rhonda Bekkedahl, the center’s chief executive, who convened the gathering in June that was attended by about half of the 250 residents of the community in Palo Alto, Calif. (Jordan, 7/20)
More health news about the Trump administration —
MedPage Today: HHS Agency Cuts Dozens Of Grants
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) cut dozens of grants last week, issuing what appeared to be batch termination notices to researchers. Termination letters shared with MedPage Today and posted online had similar wording, noting that AHRQ "is adjusting its discretionary health services research award portfolio in order to better prioritize agency resources." (Fiore, 7/20)
Roll Call: Trump Administration Puts Kibosh On HIV Prevention Funding
The Trump administration will not renew direct federal funding of community-based organizations that work on HIV prevention, according to multiple groups impacted by the freeze. The move is the latest step in the administration’s push to eliminate funding for DEI-focused initiatives that help the LGBTQ community. (Cohen, 7/20)
NBC News: Seven Peptides Are Under Review By An FDA Panel This Week. Here’s Everything We Know
The claims surrounding peptides are sweeping: They’re promoted as treatments for everything from faster healing to younger-looking skin, better sleep and even a longer life. The evidence is far less expansive. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to discuss whether to loosen restrictions on seven popular peptides, a move that would make it easier for compounding pharmacies to make them. (Lovelace Jr., 7/20)
Stat: Rare Disease Drugmakers Seek Exclusion From Medicare Pricing Plans
Biotech companies are lobbying the Trump administration to exclude treatments for rare diseases from programs that lower brand drug prices in Medicare. (Wilkerson, 7/21)
The New York Times: Trump Attacks National Academies Over Climate Chapter In Judges’ Manual
The reference manual was partly funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation to the National Academies of Sciences, and the president wrote in his post that he was ordering officials to scrutinize the funding. “Our Taxpayers should not be funding Climate Fraud, and Judges should never have relied upon it,” Mr. Trump wrote. (Zraick, 7/20)
