Doctor’s Assessment Weighs Heavily On Whether Biden Will Stay In Race
No doctor has told the president that he is physically unfit to hold office, and Biden believes he has the wisdom and experience to do the job. Meanwhile, GOP nominee Donald Trump is mum about his physical and mental health after he was wounded in an assassination attempt.
The New York Times:
Biden Says He’d Consider Dropping Out If A ‘Medical Condition’ Emerged
President Biden said in an interview released on Wednesday that he would re-evaluate whether to stay in the presidential race if a doctor told him directly that he had a medical condition that made that necessary. Mr. Biden has said repeatedly that none of his doctors have told him he has a serious medical condition. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, wrote after the president’s physical in February that Mr. Biden is “a healthy, active, robust, 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” (Shear, 7/17)
AP:
Trump Has Given No Official Info About His Medical Care For Days Since An Assassination Attempt
Four days after a gunman’s attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, the public is still in the dark over the extent of his injuries, what treatment the Republican presidential nominee received in the hospital, and whether there may be any long-term effects on his health. Trump’s campaign has refused to discuss his condition, release a medical report or records, or make the doctors who treated him available, leaving information to dribble out from Trump, his friends and family. (Riccardi and Colvin, 7/18)
Stat:
Trump Ear Injury: Gunshot Trauma Experts Offer General Assessment
Four days after former president Donald Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania, his medical team has yet to release detailed records of his condition or treatment. And while his campaign has pronounced him to be in good health, numerous experts on gunshot trauma and emergency medicine interviewed by STAT said there could still be outstanding questions. (McFarling and Rajeev, 7/17)
KFF Health News:
Trump Is Wrong In Claiming Full Credit For Lowering Insulin Prices
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he — and not President Joe Biden — deserves credit for lowering older Americans’ prescription drug prices, specifically for insulin. In a June 8 post on Truth Social, the former president’s social platform, Trump wrote: “Low INSULIN PRICING was gotten for millions of Americans by me, and the Trump Administration, not by Crooked Joe Biden. He had NOTHING to do with it.” (Gardenswartz, 7/18)
In other policy news —
Roll Call:
Vance Quietly Tried To Shape Public Health Agenda In Congress
During his short time in the Senate, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance has made his opposition to abortion access and transgender health care well known — but all the while the Ohio Republican has been quietly introducing and supporting bills to try to shape America’s public health apparatus. (Cohen, 7/17)
AP:
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Endorses Federal Effort To Reclassify Marijuana As A Less Dangerous Drug
The Biden administration’s push to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug won an endorsement Wednesday from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said “the jury is no longer out” on its medical uses as an alternative to opioids that ravaged the Bluegrass State with overdose deaths. The Democratic governor called the proposal a “significant, common-sense step forward,” especially for people with serious medical conditions. Beshear laid out his support in a letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (Schreiner, 7/17)
Also —
CIDRAP:
SHEA Calls For More CDC Funds After Data Show 20% Hike In Resistant Hospital Infections
A fact sheet published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday highlights a 20% rise in hospital-onset infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and a fivefold increase in Candida auris infections during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 2019. A Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) statement following the release of the fact sheet calls for continued investment in CDC programs that fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR). (Van Beusekom, 7/17)
NPR:
Misleading Ads One Way To Gin Up Unauthorized ACA Sign-Ups, Lawsuit Alleges
The government is giving away money! So say ads on a variety of social media platforms. Consumers, the ads claim, can qualify for $1,400 or even $6,400 a month to use on groceries, rent, medical expenses, and other bills. Some mention no-cost health insurance coverage. But that’s not the whole story. And here’s the spoiler — no one is getting monthly checks to help with these everyday expenses. (Appleby, 7/18)
Reuters:
Ardelyx Sues US Health Department Over Kidney Disease Drug
Drugmaker Ardelyx (ARDX.O) said on Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over their plan to include its kidney disease drug in the Medicare payment bundle system. The lawsuit claims that CMS's plan to include the drug, Xphozah, along with all other oral-only phosphate lowering therapies in the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD) will "significantly and negatively impact patient choice of and timely access to important medications." (7/17)
The Hill:
Double Stuff Stoneo, Trips Ahoy! And More: FDA, FTC Issue Warnings For Copycat THC Snacks
The Biden administration is cracking down on companies that make edible THC products that too closely mimic well-known snack brands, warning of the risk such products could pose to young children. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued letters to five companies Wednesday “for illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace,” according to a press release. (Fortinsky, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Bird Flu Is Spreading. Why Aren’t More People Getting Tested?
Officials do not have the authority to compel workers to get tested, and there is no way for workers to test themselves. In the current outbreak, just four dairy workers and five poultry workers have tested positive for H5N1, the bird flu virus, but experts believe that many more have been infected. The Covid-19 pandemic and the mpox (formerly monkeypox) outbreak in 2022 revealed deep fissures in the U.S. approach to testing for emerging pathogens. (Mandavilli, 7/17)
