Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Taps 3 Officials To Coordinate Vaccine, Testing And Supply Strategy
Politico: Biden Picks 3 Coordinators For Covid-19 Response
President-elect Joe Biden is expanding his White House Covid-19 Response team, tapping three senior officials to coordinate vaccine, testing and supply chain strategy in an announcement first shared with POLITICO. The officials are set to play a major role in Biden's response to the worsening pandemic, which the president-elect has made his top priority ahead of taking office. Nearly 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with Covid-19, and more than 336,000 have died with the virus. Biden's team has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration for not doing more to speed shots, tests and supplies in recent weeks. (Diamond, 12/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Biden Inauguration To Feature Virtual Parade
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration will include a virtual parade as part of a series of events on Jan. 20 that have been scaled-down because of the coronavirus pandemic, the inaugural committee said Sunday. ... The inaugural committee also has told people not to attend the inaugural activities and hired a chief medical adviser, Dr. David Kessler, to help plan the event based on health safety protocols. (Parti, 1/3)
AP: Memorial Held For Congressman-Elect Who Contracted COVID-19
Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who recently died from COVID-19 complications, was remembered Saturday as a man who loved people and felt called to serve others. “This is a gentleman who cared about nothing but others,” said former Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, who hired Letlow as chief of staff during his tenure in Washington and later backed Letlow’s bid for Congress. “He was a true servant’s servant. We never want to forget what he’s done for our state, what he’s done for me and my family.” Letlow, an incoming Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday at 41. Gov. John Bel Edwards ordered flags flown at half-staff on Saturday for Letlow, who is survived by his wife, Julia Letlow, and their children, Jeremiah, 3, and Jacqueline, 1. (1/3)
In other political news —
KHN: Seniors Face Crushing Drug Costs As Congress Stalls On Capping Medicare Out-Of-Pockets
Sharon Clark is able to get her life-sustaining cancer drug, Pomalyst — priced at more than $18,000 for a 28-day supply — only because of the generosity of patient assistance foundations. Clark, 57, a former insurance agent who lives in Bixby, Oklahoma, had to stop working in 2015 and go on Social Security disability and Medicare after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. Without the foundation grants, mostly financed by the drugmakers, she couldn’t afford the nearly $1,000 a month it would cost her for the drug, since her Medicare Part D drug plan requires her to pay 5% of the list price. Every year, however, Clark has to find new grants to cover her expensive cancer drug. (Meyer, 1/4)
Politico: How Trump Warped HHS Long Before Covid-19
They called it the "End of Science and Medicine" party — a hastily organized, informal sendoff for a senior career health official, less than six months into the Trump administration. Tom Novotny, the deputy assistant secretary for health, had refused to take a transfer to a lower-profile office. Now he was abruptly retiring. And Joshua Prasad, a then-29-year-old public health adviser who served as Novotny's aide, blasted out an email inviting colleagues to come say goodbye, the subject line intended as a joke on Novotony's "science and medicine" portfolio and the reality that his team was about to be disbanded. (Diamond, 12/31)
