Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Plans To Repeal Limits On Air Pollution From Power Plants, Sources Say
The New York Times: E.P.A. Will Erase Limits On Climate Pollution From Power Plants
The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas, according to two people familiar with the proposal. The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency would complete the administration’s erasure of the most consequential climate policies of Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama. If the move survives expected legal challenges, it could also prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. (Joselow, 9/13)
More health news from the Trump administration —
Healthcare Finance News: HHS Awards $383.4M For Behavioral Health Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $383.4 million to strengthen behavioral health treatment, prevention and crisis-response services nationwide. The grants, distributed through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), include $252 million for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, suicide-prevention programs and mobile crisis services. An additional $81.4 million will support substance-use treatment and prevention, while $50 million will fund other mental-health initiatives. (Bender, 9/9)
FiercePharma: New FDA Oncology Chief Sets Priorities In First Interview
In his first interview after taking the reins of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE), Angelo de Claro, M.D., is outlining a regulatory agenda that prioritizes organizational strength and continued regulatory modernization. Stepping into one of the most heavyweight leadership roles in U.S. drug evaluation, de Claro faces the tall order of succeeding an FDA legend, Richard Pazdur, M.D. In his first interview, the new oncology chief vowed to build on Pazdur’s foundation while pioneering frameworks to integrate artificial intelligence into regulatory reviews, streamline drug development, and boost U.S. trial participation. (Liu, 9/11)
Stat: Trump’s Secretive Pharma Deals May Undermine ‘Most-Favored Nation’ Pricing, An Analysis Suggests
The projected savings from a highly touted Trump administration plan to lower Medicare drug costs may be drastically reduced — by as much as 80% — thanks to secretive deals cut with more than two dozen pharmaceutical companies, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 9/13)
The Duke Chronicle: Trump Administration Finds Duke School Of Medicine Racially Discriminated In Admissions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights found Duke’s School of Medicine to have intentionally discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its admissions practices. (Halper, 9/10)
The Washington Sun: Federal Judge Says DHS Acted ‘Capriciously’ When Halving FEMA’s Staff
A federal judge in California sided with a labor union on Friday in its lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the Department of Homeland Security “arbitrarily” moved to slash the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s staff by 50% earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that DHS acted “capriciously” when it revoked FEMA’s long-standing authority to renew contracts for its Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery, or CORE employees. CORE employees are on-the-ground contacts who are dispatched across the country and remain in communities years after a disaster. (Orellana Hernandez, 9/12)
KFF Health News: A Generation Of Kids Suffer As Trump Destabilizes Immigrant Families
The little girl stared up at Norma Gómez from the doorway of her neighbor’s apartment, her sad, brown eyes suddenly flashing with hope. “Are you the person who’s going to bring my mom back?” she asked. Gómez struggled to find an answer. It was a December morning, and she’d brought food, diapers, baby wipes, and clothes — items she hoped would help the 6-year-old girl, her baby brother, and the neighbor who had stepped in to care for them. The children were left alone after federal immigration agents arrested their parents outside their apartment in Oxnard, a mostly Latino agricultural community on the Southern California coast. But Gómez had no power to bring the parents back. (Boyd-Barrett, 9/14)
On Medicare and the high cost of healthcare —
Modern Healthcare: CMS Expands Medicare Coverage For TAVR
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expanding Medicare coverage of transcatheter aortic valve replacement to more patients. The new national coverage determination broadens coverage for patients with severe aortic stenosis, a condition where the heart’s aortic valve narrows. During a TAVR procedure, a doctor threads a thin, flexible catheter through the leg or chest to the heart and delivers a replacement valve. (Dubinsky, 9/11)
Stat: The GOP’s $50 Billion Rural Health Fund Is Coming Up Short, Hospital Leaders Say
Last summer, Republican lawmakers were worried. They were planning to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade, and they knew hospitals in their districts and states would suffer. Before passing their tax-cut law, they added in $50 billion over the next five years. This rural health fund was intended to help health care providers prepare for the new challenges ahead. (Payne, 9/14)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: The Meltdown In Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Employer-sponsored health insurance covers more than 165 million Americans. It can entice someone to work at one company over another, or be a set of golden handcuffs that keeps them locked into a job they may not enjoy. But rising costs are straining that system like never before. As premiums balloon, employers have started to pass on more costs to their workers, and the percentage of small businesses offering employees health insurance has dropped significantly. (Weissmann, 9/14)
