Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC's Director Cancels Another Meeting With Congress Because Of Conflicts Of Interests
Modern Healthcare: Conflict Of Interest Concerns Keep CDC's Fitzgerald Away From Yet Another Meeting With Congress
A Senate health committee held the first of two hearings Wednesday over the current state of the nation's readiness to address public health emergencies, which led to calls to improve the reliability of data collected during and after disasters. But before senators could tackle some of those pressing issues, they first had to contend with the fact that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald again canceled an appearance before Congress. Fitzgerald cited ongoing potential conflicts of interests related to her personal financial investments as the reason for recusing herself. (Johnson, 1/17)
Politico Pro: Top Public Health Official's Financial Conflicts Prevent Her From Testifying Before Congress After 7 Months On The Job
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald is the top public health official in the country, but she is unable to speak before Congress about much of what her agency is doing due to financial conflicts of interest still unresolved after seven months on the job. Her recusals on key issues — including cancer detection and aspects of the opioid crisis, potentially — have hindered her ability to lead and openly address some of the most important health concerns facing the country, all because she and her husband have more than $300,000 in investments in GW Ventures LLC and Greenway Messenger LLC, both deemed conflicts of interest. (Haberkorn and Ehley, 1/18)
