Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden's Neurological Exams Were Just Routine, White House Doctor Says
NPR: White House Doctor Says Neurological Exams Were Part Of Biden's Routine Physicals
The White House physician says a neurological specialist has only visited President Biden as part of routine physicals, following questions about Biden’s fitness for office. Other visits by the specialist to the White House were to treat military personnel who experience neurological issues related to their service, the White House physician added in a letter issued on Monday. (7/8)
The New York Times: Parkinson’s Expert Visited The White House Eight Times In Eight Months
An expert on Parkinson’s disease from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House eight times in eight months from last summer through this spring, including at least once for a meeting with President Biden’s physician, according to official visitor logs. The expert, Dr. Kevin Cannard, is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders and recently published a paper on Parkinson’s. The logs, released by the White House, document visits from July 2023 through March of this year. More recent visits, if there have been any, would not be released until later under the White House’s voluntary disclosure policy. (Baumgaertner and Baker, 7/8)
Politico: Biden’s Physician Was Also A Family Business Associate
President Joe Biden is leaning on the credibility of White House physician Kevin O’Connor’s optimistic assessment of his health, but that physician is a family intimate and one-time business associate of the president’s brother. When Biden’s brother Jim was exploring a business venture aimed at securing Veterans Affairs contracts in 2017, O’Connor introduced him to a military-focused medical team and accompanied him to a meeting with a hospital president. (Schreckinger, 7/8)
In related news —
The Wall Street Journal: How Biden’s Inner Circle Worked To Keep Signs Of Aging Under Wraps
Senior White House advisers for more than a year have aggressively stage-managed President Biden’s schedule, movements and personal interactions, as they sought to minimize signs of how age has taken a toll on the oldest president in U.S. history. The White House has limited Biden’s daily itinerary and shielded him from impromptu exchanges. Advisers have restricted news conferences and media appearances, twice declining Super Bowl halftime interviews—an easy way to reach millions of voters—and sought to make sure meetings with donors stuck to scripted pleasantries. (Restuccia, Linskey, Glazer, Ballhaus and Schwartzel, 7/8)
The Washington Post: In A Florida Retiree Stronghold, Anger And Hope For Biden
Perhaps nowhere are President Biden’s senior moments hitting closer to home than in places like RiverWalk, a community that skews older in snowbird-friendly Palm Beach County, Florida. The neighborhood is built around the idea that getting old doesn’t mean staying still. Many of the residents keep a busy calendar well into their 80s. And they reject the idea that there should be an age limit for running the country. (Rozsa, 7/8)
