Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Graham's Death, McConnell's Absence Renew Concerns Over An Aging Senate
The Washington Post: Lindsey Graham Dies Of Aortic Dissection, Preliminary Medical Report Says
In a statement, Sen. Lindsey Graham's office said preliminary findings from the D.C. medical examiner’s office found that Graham (R-S.C.) suffered from an aortic dissection, in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the main artery. This was caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the statement said. These tears usually occur when there is high blood pressure. (Diamond and Alfaro, 7/12)
CNN: McConnell Says After Weeks Of Speculation That Hospitalization Was Due To A Fall
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Sunday announced, after weeks of speculation, that he had a fall last month that landed him in the hospital. “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia,” he said in a statement. McConnell also provided a photo showing him smiling next to his wife, Elaine Chao. He appears to have a copy of Sunday’s Washington Post sports section on his lap. (Grayer and D'Antonio, 7/12)
The Washington Post: Senate Again Confronts The Challenges Of An Aging Membership
The Senate has always been a chamber of older men and women. And it has always had to reckon with the effects of age and illness. But it has never built the necessary rules and procedures to deal with such problems, according to experts in congressional history. Its members have served through comas and strokes, vanished for years and died in office — and each time the institution has improvised, only to move on without a rule. Age in itself is not the problem, experts say. Graham was working to the end, just back from Ukraine, and many senators serve into their 80s undimmed. But the Senate has provided no answer for when its members inevitably can no longer serve — and no requirement that anyone say so. (Binday, Choi and Dillard, 7/12)
The Washington Post: Graham’s Death Complicates Senate Republicans’ Packed Agenda
Lindsey Graham’s death and Mitch McConnell’s extended absence leaves Republicans with a 51-to-47 Senate majority. McConnell, who was hospitalized last month, said Sunday that he’s not yet ready to return to the Senate floor on doctors’ advice, reducing Republicans to a slimmer majority until Graham’s successor is sworn in and McConnell returns. The Senate is scheduled be in session for just seven weeks before the midterms. (Dillard and Meyer, 7/13)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
ProPublica: Lawmakers Call For CDC To Track Vitamin K Shot Refusal, Cite ProPublica Report
Two members of Congress have called on federal officials to address what they described as “a growing and preventable public health crisis” of families refusing the long-standard vitamin K shot for their newborns, which has led to some of those babies suffering uncontrollable bleeding and even dying. “We write to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take immediate action,” two Democrats, Rep. Kim Schrier, from Washington, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, from Maryland, wrote in a letter last week to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who is acting as director of the CDC. (Eldeib, 7/10)
