Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Says He'll Deny Disaster Aid, Veterans' Benefits Unless Midterms Go His Way
AP: Vote Republican, Or Else: How Trump Dangles Aid In The Midterms
President Donald Trump says Georgia GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins can call him whenever he wants to ask for help for his state. But if Georgia reelects Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, Trump says it could be another story. “There’s a big difference between that and Pee-wee Herman calling,” Trump said last week in Perry, Georgia, using his derisive nickname for Ossoff. The president acted out a hypothetical scenario at his rally where Ossoff called to ask for money for his state, with Trump responding, “I don’t give a damn what he wants.” (Min Kim, 10/30)
CalMatters: Fact Check: Trump Announces Rural Health Money Ahead Of Election
The Trump administration announced a $233.6 million investment in California rural health just five days before the midterm election that could determine control of Congress. But state officials say the money isn’t new. “Currently, California has not received additional funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,” said Andrew DiLuccia, a spokesperson for the Department of Health Care Access and Information. (Hwang, 10/29)
Stat: RFK Jr.'s Health Policy Midterms Pitch: MAHA, Vaccines, And Fraud
On Wednesday night in Clive, Iowa, a parade of Make America Healthy Again activists and Republican candidates decried Big Agriculture, stressed the rise in chronic disease in America, and called for the Covid-19 vaccine to be removed from the market. (Cirruzzo, 10/29)
On elections in Oregon, Kansas, Texas, California, and Illinois —
OPB: Oregon Is Hundreds Of Millions Short In Medicaid Funding. Neither Top Gubernatorial Candidate Has Shared A Plan
On healthcare, Oregon’s top candidates for governor offer classic partisan politics with relatively few surprises. Republican challenger Christine Drazan says burdensome taxes and state regulations are driving clinics out of business and forcing hospitals to cut their services. Incumbent Democrat Tina Kotek, meanwhile, blames out-of-state corporations who she says choose profits over the needs of communities in Oregon. The differences in their worldviews are clear. But across three debates, their websites and numerous ads and events, the two candidates have mostly avoided talking about how they will tackle one of the most important challenges facing the incoming governor: Medicaid cuts. (Templeton, 10/28)
The 19th: Roger Marshall Closes Campaign With Men Who Compare Abortion To Human Sacrifice, The Holocaust
Kansas’ embattled Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is embracing the support of anti-abortion activists in his closing reelection pitch to voters — including the leader of an organization that has promoted violence against abortion providers and conservative pastors who have compared abortion to human sacrifice. (Luthra, 10/29)
The Texas Tribune: Disappointed By Trump, Dubious Of Talarico: This Rio Grande Valley Health Official Mulls His Midterm Vote
Dr. Ivan Melendez was among the 110,000 voters in Hidalgo County who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 in a historic swing that amounted to the first time the predominantly Hispanic county has gone for a Republican presidential nominee in more than 50 years. In the Rio Grande Valley, Melendez serves as the county’s health authority, responsible for enacting health laws in an area with one of the highest uninsured rates in the country. (Garcia, 10/29)
KFF Health News: For Californians Drowning In Healthcare Costs, Governor’s Race Offers Few Answers
When Ashley Porter began slurring her speech one October day four years ago, doctors suspected a stroke. A spinal tap, an MRI, dozens of blood draws, another MRI, and a night spent at the hospital were followed, finally, by an answer: Porter had multiple sclerosis. Her shock turned to outrage, she said, when she received the roughly $180,000 hospital bill, even though insurance covered most of it. (Mai-Duc, 10/30)
Chicago Sun Times: Pope Leo Will Vote From The Vatican, By Mail, In Illinois' Midterm Election
He may be the leader of the Catholic Church, but Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV is still a registered voter in Illinois and requested a mail ballot for the midterm elections. That’s according to the Will County clerk’s office. “Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a vote by mail ballot for the upcoming election,” said Kim Fladhammer, Will County clerk’s office chief of staff. (Sfondeles, 10/29)
