Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Alex Azar Came To HHS Ready To Execute A Four-Point Health Plan. Then The Zero-Tolerance Crisis Happened.
The Washington Post: Health And Human Services Secretary Confronts Migrant Child Crisis
Midnight had passed, and Alex Azar was still in a coat and tie as he looked into a computer monitor inside the Department of Health and Human Services emergency-operations hub. It was a room built for managing responses to hurricanes and disease outbreaks, but the HHS secretary was, instead, scrambling to deal with a disaster instigated by his own boss — a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that led thousands of children to be separated from their parents. Azar was not consulted on the zero tolerance policy before it was announced in early May, according to people familiar with the events, even though his department is responsible for housing migrant children who are on their own. (Goldstein, 9/20)
The Hill: Trump Health Official Defends Funding Shifts To Pay For Detained Migrant Children
A top White House health official on Thursday defended a decision to shift money from health efforts in order to help pay to house detained migrant children. Joe Grogan, director of health programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters the administration will not divert money from anti-opioid efforts. (Weixel, 9/20)
In other news —
The Associated Press: Arizona Licenses For Nonprofit Housing Migrant Kids At Risk
Arizona officials have moved to revoke the licenses for a nonprofit that houses immigrant children after it missed a deadline to show that all its employees passed background checks. Texas-based Southwest Key demonstrated an "astonishingly flippant attitude" toward the state's concerns about delayed background checks for workers at its eight Arizona shelters, the state Department of Health said in a scathing letter Wednesday. (Galvan, 9/20)
