Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocates Quickly Counter Trump's Brag That He Was Responsible For Sizable Drop In Cancer Death Rates
Politico: Trump Makes Misleading Brag About Lower Cancer Deaths
President Donald Trump appeared to claim credit today for a record drop in cancer death rates that occurred the year he took office. Scientists say lower smoking rates, earlier detection and better drugs are responsible for a steady decline in cancer deaths since 1991. The president, who unsuccessfully advocated cutting $4.5 billion from the NIH budget last year, tweeted that U.S. cancer death rates are the lowest in recorded history, adding there is “a lot of good news coming out of this Administration.” (Owermohle, 1/9)
CNN: Trump Takes Credit For Decline In Cancer Deaths. The American Cancer Society Says He's Wrong
Gary M. Reedy, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, told CNN that the 2017 findings are not connected to the actions of the Trump administration. "The mortality trends reflected in our current report, including the largest drop in overall cancer mortality ever recorded from 2016 to 2017, reflect prevention, early detection, and treatment advances that occurred in prior years," Reedy said in a written statement on Thursday. (Howard and Dale, 1/9)
USA Today: Trump Appears To Take Credit For Lower Cancer Death Rates
Trump has advocated and proposed cutting billions of dollars in funding to NIH in the past, a move that would have impacted the National Cancer Institute if Congress had approved it. However, Trump eventually signed a budget passed by Congress that instead gave NIH a $2.6 billion increase and ignored the proposed cuts by the administration. Former vice president and 2020 Democratic contender Joe Biden hit back at Trump's tweet Thursday night, saying that "We're lucky that the cancer rate is down, but we're luckier that Congress stopped you." Trump has advocated and proposed cutting billions of dollars in funding to NIH in the past, a move that would have impacted the National Cancer Institute if Congress had approved it. (Behrmann, 1/9)
In other news —
Modern Healthcare: Insurance Status Linked To Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Treatment
Lacking health insurance coverage may be a leading driver for racial disparities in breast cancer detection and mortality rates, according to a new study. The study, published Thursday in JAMA Oncology, marks one of the first examinations of how insurance has contributed to later diagnosis of breast cancer among women in ethnic minorities and resulted in poorer disease outcomes. (Johnson, 1/9)
