Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Debt Fight Has Public Health Consequences
Politico: The Debt Ceiling Deal Could Make America’s STD Problem Much Worse
Senior Biden administration officials and public health leaders are warning that debt ceiling negotiations around clawing back unspent Covid-19 money would have an unintended consequence: increasing sexually-transmitted diseases. The potential cuts — one of the few seeming areas of agreement between House Republicans and the White House — could sap as much as $30 billion from state and local public health departments that are struggling to rebuild as Covid-19 wanes. Funding clawbacks would undermine work to slow the spread of syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV and hepatitis, and leave the country weaker in the face of future pandemics. (Ollstein, 5/19)
Politico: White House Negotiators Signal Concessions On Work Requirements In Debt Talks
White House negotiators are willing to make some concessions to tighten work requirements for federal cash aid as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling. The negotiators are narrowing in on possible changes that would further restrict access for low-income Americans to the emergency aid program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, according to two people familiar with the talks, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. Republicans are also pressing the White House team to agree to expanded work requirements for some adults without children receiving food assistance, which Biden didn’t rule out in comments he made to reporters on Wednesday. (Hill, 5/18)
More news from the Biden administration —
Fox News: White House Announces New Funding For Teen Mental Health Crisis: ‘Will Help Save Lives’
As millions of Americans, particularly our young people, continue to struggle with worsening mental health challenges, the White House announced on Thursday — the National Day of Mental Health Action — how the Biden administration plans to tackle the crisis. Coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month, the new strategy involves increasing mental health staffing in schools, bolstering operations of the 988 crisis lifeline and making it easier for schools to obtain Medicaid funding. (Rudy, 5/18)
Houston Chronicle: Biden Calls For Stricter Gun Laws On Anniversary Of Santa Fe Shooting
"Guns are the No. 1 killer of kids in America, and it’s within our power to stop this epidemic," Biden said in a statement. "Yet, from Columbine to Newtown to Parkland to Uvalde to Nashville and so many other shootings in between, our schools are routinely scenes of gun violence instead of the safe spaces they should be." (Wermund, 5/18)
In other updates from Capitol Hill —
San Francisco Chronicle: Feinstein Suffered Complications From Shingles Virus
Sen. Dianne Feinstein experienced complications from the serious bout of shingles that left her unable to return to the Senate for nearly three months, including Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis, her spokesperson Adam Russell told The Chronicle. (Stein, 5/18)
The New York Times: What Is Post-Shingles Encephalitis? Dianne Feinstein’s Recent Illness
Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California, returned to the Capitol last week after spending more than two months recovering from shingles. The disease, often characterized by a painful rash, is triggered by the same virus that causes chickenpox, which stays in people’s bodies for life and, years later, can become reactivated. For Ms. Feinstein, 89, the virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication in which the brain swells. The condition is often caused by an infection or an immune response. (Mueller, 5/18)
