Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden's Budget Proposal Reinforces His Health Policy Priorities
Modern Healthcare: Biden’s Budget Includes Health Cybersecurity, Insurance Subsidies
The White House released its fiscal 2025 budget blueprint Monday, and its healthcare provisions are very much as President Joe Biden previewed them during his State of the Union address last week. The Health and Human Services Department budget request offers more detail about Biden's plans, including how his administration wants to respond to cyberattacks such as the one that has crippled UnitedHealth Group unit Change Healthcare for nearly three weeks. (McAuliff, 3/11)
New Hampshire Public Radio: In First New Hampshire Visit In Two Years, Biden Talks Cutting Health Care Costs
President Joe Biden paid New Hampshire his first visit in nearly two years Monday, using a brief speech at the Goffstown YMCA to promote his $7.3 trillion proposed federal budget and criticize Republicans as obstructionists. (Rogers, 3/11)
The Washington Post: Full Transcript Of Biden’s Special Counsel Interview Paints Nuanced Portrait
President Biden was in the early stages of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur when the topic of Beau Biden came up — initially with Biden raising it and later as Biden was attempting to get his chronological bearings and wondered aloud when, exactly, it was that his son died. “What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30,” he said, naming the correct day, according to a transcript of the exchange reviewed by The Washington Post. Two others in the room chime in with the year, and Biden questions again, “Was it 2015 when he died?” Not long after the exchange, Hur suggested they consider taking a brief break. “No,” Biden responds, before launching into a long explanation of Beau’s death and its impact on him deciding not to run for president in 2016. “Let me just keep going to get it done.” (Viser, 3/24)
On homelessness —
The Washington Post: Marcia Fudge To Step Down As HUD Secretary At End Of Month
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge will step down from her role in the Biden administration this month, she announced Monday, saying she had “mixed emotions” about leaving an agency that serves those most frequently left behind. ...In a statement, President Biden praised Fudge as someone whose “transformational leadership” led to lower housing costs and increased housing supply, with more housing units under construction now than at any time in the past 50 years. (Wang, 3/11)
KFF Health News: California Voters Are Skeptical That More Money Is The Answer To Homelessness
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s expensive ballot-box attempt to tackle the mental health and addiction crisis on the state’s streets is leading by a razor-thin margin, a week after the March 5 election. The close vote reflects growing skepticism among voters that he can effectively address the state’s homelessness epidemic. Proposition 1 would fund thousands of new housing units and treatment beds with a $6.4 billion bond and by redirecting $3 to $4 billion in existing mental health tax revenue. (Hart, 3/12)
