Changes At CFPB May Upend Efforts To Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports
For now, an effort to lay off nearly all Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees is on hold. But if the agency is shuttered, a Biden-era rule that would prevent credit agencies from including medical debt on credit reports would likely be overturned or wither away, The Washington Post says.
The New York Times:
New Details Emerge On Trump Officials’ Sprint To Gut Consumer Bureau Staff
Emails and testimonials from workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau document the administration’s efforts to lay off 90 percent of the employees. (Cowley, 4/27)
The Washington Post:
New Consumer Protections Could End Soon. Here’s What You Need To Know.
Just before President Donald Trump took office, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that would prevent credit reporting agencies from including unpaid medical bills in credit reports and prohibit lenders from considering medical debt when making credit decisions. Republican lawmakers introduced a CRA resolution to repeal the rule in March. ... Meanwhile, multiple trade associations have filed suit to declare the regulation unlawful and set it aside. In February, a federal judge in Texas paused consideration of that case until June, which the new Trump-appointed CFPB leadership agreed to. If the plaintiffs succeed, their win will overturn the regulation. (Ziegler, 4/28)
'Make America Healthy Again' —
Stat:
RFK Jr.’s MAHA Commission Faces Scrutiny Ahead Of Deadline
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a little less than a month left to produce a key document that will shape the federal government’s approach to childhood chronic disease. And while administration officials say he is on track to meet that deadline, it’s not clear how the “Make America Healthy Again” commission is conducting its work. (Cueto, 4/29)
CIDRAP:
Groups Urge Kennedy To Reduce Antibiotic Overuse In Meat Production
A coalition of food safety, public health, and consumer advocacy groups are urging Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat industry. ... The groups have been warning for several years that widespread use of these antibiotics—which are also used in human medicine—in cows, pigs, and poultry is accelerating the antibiotic-resistance threat. (Dall, 4/28)
On DEI and race —
Politico:
Trump Administration To Close A Civil Rights Office In RFK Jr.'s HHS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will close its civil rights office in June, according to an email sent to staff Monday and viewed by POLITICO. The office closure is part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mass reorganization of his department that has seen the agency downsized by roughly 20 percent. Kennedy and President Donald Trump have also focused on programs and agencies they say promote diversity, equity and inclusion. (Cirruzzo, 4/28)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas LGBTQ+ Students Criticize Proposed K-12 DEI Ban
When Marshall Romero came out as a trans male in 2021, he didn’t think his identity would become a political issue. But in the years since, the 16-year-old sophomore at Alief Early College High School in Houston said he has watched the Republican Party increasingly target LGBTQ+ people, and he became more politically active in response. (Sorochinskaia, 4/29)
KFF Health News:
As A Diversity Grant Dies, Young Scientists Fear It Will Haunt Their Careers
Adelaide Tovar, a University of Michigan scientist who researches genes related to diabetes, used to feel like an impostor in a laboratory. Tovar, 32, grew up poor and was the first in her family to graduate from high school. During her first year in college, she realized she didn’t know how to study. But after years of studying biology and genetics, Tovar finally got proof that she belonged. Last fall, the National Institutes of Health awarded her a prestigious grant. It would fund her research and put her on track to be a university professor and eventually launch a laboratory of her own. (Kelman, 4/29)
Also —
Axios:
100 Days Of Health Care Upheaval
In 100 days, President Trump and his administration have not only upended the status quo for health care and challenged mainstream science, but slashed the workforce that's supposed to execute on their vision. (Goldman, 4/29)
The New York Times:
100 Days: How Trump’s Second Term Is Changing Power, Institutions And More
President Trump has wielded the presidency as an instrument of blunt power, ignoring the howls of outrage from Democrats and daring largely docile Republicans to challenge the limits of his authority. (4/29)
KFF Health News:
Trump Administration Retreats From 100% Withholding On Social Security Clawbacks
The Social Security Administration is backing off a plan it announced in March to withhold 100% of many beneficiaries’ monthly payments to claw back money the government had allegedly overpaid them. Instead, the agency will default to withholding 50% of old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits, the agency said in an “emergency message” to staff dated April 25. (Hilzenrath and Fleischer, 4/28)
