Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Contract Awarding COVID Data Collection Raises Questions
NPR: Irregularities In COVID Reporting Contract Award Process Raises New Questions
An NPR investigation has found irregularities in the process by which the Trump administration awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a Pittsburgh company to collect key data about Covid-19 from the country's hospitals. The contract is at the center of a controversy over the Administration's decision to move that data reporting function from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which has tracked infection information for a range of illnesses for years — to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Tempe-Raston and Mak, 7/29)
Modern Healthcare: Here's A Peek At The White House's Unreleased Drug-Pricing Order
Partial text of an executive order the White House has refused to make public indicates the White House is using a more aggressive version of a payment demonstration for outpatient drugs to try to pressure drugmakers to the negotiating table. President Donald Trump signed four drug-pricing executive orders on Friday, but the White House has refused to release the text of the most controversial order that aims to reduce the amount Medicare pays for some high-cost outpatient drugs. Trump said during the White House event that the order would go into effect a month after signing. (Cohrs, 7/29)
