Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden: Obamacare Is Under Attack Again, Public Health Officials Will Get My Backing
Modern Healthcare: Biden Targets Trump ACA Lawsuit, Promises National COVID-19 Plan
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday warned that President Donald Trump could take down the Affordable Care Act and promised a more coordinated national response to COVID-19. Biden's speech was the culmination of a convention focused more on his personality and character traits than his policy plans. One of his most aggressive healthcare policy ideas, creating a government-sponsored public health insurance option, was hardly mentioned during the four-day event. (Cohrs, 8/21)
AP: Biden Says He'd Shut Down Economy If Scientists Recommended
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he would follow public health advisers’ advice if they called for a national shutdown should he take office and the coronavirus had not abated. “I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives. We cannot get the country moving until we control the virus,” Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday night on ABC News. (Barrow, 8/24)
Politico: ‘Watch Me’: Biden Hits Back At Trump Over Attacks On Age
Joe Biden has two words for President Donald Trump on his fitness for office: “Watch me.” The Democratic presidential nominee issued the direct call to Trump when asked by ABC’s David Muir to respond to Trump’s recent blistering attacks on Biden's mental acuity during a joint interview with his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, that aired Sunday night. (Semones, 8/23)
ABC News: Biden Has Not Been Tested For COVID-19, But 'Incredibly Strict Protocols' In Place: Biden Communications Director
Kate Bedingfield, former Vice President Joe Biden's deputy campaign manager and communications director, said Sunday that the Democratic presidential nominee has not been tested for COVID-19, but that "incredibly strict protocols," have been put in place to ensure that he does not contract it. (Verhovek, 8/23)
Reuters: In Interview, Biden Says He Will Stick To His Stay-At-Home Strategy
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said in an interview that aired on Sunday that he had no plans to begin a more aggressive campaign schedule with little more than two months to go before the Nov. 3 election. Asked if he could win a presidential election from his Delaware home, Biden answered: “We will.” Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, gave their first interview together to ABC News. “We’re going to follow the science, what the scientists tell us,” Biden said. (Oliphant, 8/23)
