Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Deportees Recount Horrors Of Hours Spent In ICE's Full-Body Restraints
AP: ICE Uses Full-Body Restraints On Deportees Despite Safety Concerns
The Nigerian man described being roused with other detainees in September in the middle of the night. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers clasped shackles on their hands and feet, he said, and told them they were being sent to Ghana, even though none of them was from there. When they asked to speak to their attorney, he said, the officers refused and straitjacketed the already-shackled men in full-body restraint suits called the WRAP, then loaded them onto a plane for the 16-hour-flight to West Africa. (Dearen, Mustian and Pineda, 10/22)
AP: Pregnant Women In US Detention Report Inadequate Care Under Trump
Women taken into custody by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in a letter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to stop holding expectant mothers in federal detention facilities. The letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of a broader campaign in recent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they say is the mistreatment of pregnant detainees. (Cline and Gonzalez, 10/23)
More health news from the Trump administration —
Modern Healthcare: What The Section 232 Investigation Into Medical Devices Means
The Trump administration is targeting medical devices and supplies in its latest push to review imports for national security risks. If the investigation finds a threat, tariffs or import limits could be imposed. Any trade restrictions could affect patient care by limiting providers’ access to essential tools and challenging medtech companies that rely on complex global supply chains. (Dubinsky, 10/22)
KFF Health News: Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules
This summer, the state of Louisiana texted just over 13,000 people enrolled in its Medicaid program with a link to a website where they could confirm their incomes. The texts were part of a pilot run to test technology the Trump administration says will make it easier for some Medicaid enrollees to prove they meet new requirements — working, studying, job training, or volunteering at least 80 hours a month — set to take effect in just over a year. But only 894 people completed the quarterly wage check, or just under 7% of enrollees who got the text, according to Drew Maranto, undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Health. (Bichell and Whitehead, 10/23)
Roll Call: Trump’s Approach To Lowering Drug Costs Is Raising Questions
The Trump administration is turning to an unconventional approach to lowering drug prices in the United States: striking deals directly with Big Pharma companies in an attempt to bring U.S. prices in line with what other countries pay. Trump and the nation’s health care officials have touted these “most-favored nation” deals as the most effective means to getting pharmaceutical prices down, beyond even the power of the Medicare drug price negotiations already in place. The key issue, health experts say, is that the public has had little visibility into these deals. (DeGroot, 10/22)
