Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HIV Prevention At Risk In Latest Projected Federal Funding Cuts
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Weighing Major Cuts To Funding For Domestic HIV Prevention
The Health and Human Services Department is weighing plans to drastically cut the federal government’s funding for domestic HIV prevention, according to people familiar with the matter. The plans could be announced as soon as within a day, the people said, but they haven’t been finalized and could be pulled back or adjusted. (Essley Whyte, Mosbergen and Rockoff, 3/18)
The Guardian: ‘It’s Back To Drug Rationing’: The End Of HIV Was In Sight. Then Came The Cuts
Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, of South Africa’s Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, has seen US funding for three trials of potential HIV vaccines involving eight countries cancelled and only reinstated after an appeal to the US supreme court. “We’re running around like chickens without heads to at least get one going, because the vaccines are sitting in the fridge and will expire,” she says. (Lay, 2/18)
More on the federal budget cuts and funding freeze —
The New York Times: Elon Musk’s Role In Dismantling USAID Likely Violated Constitution, Judge Finds
Efforts by Elon Musk and his team to permanently shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development likely violated the Constitution “in multiple ways” and robbed Congress of its authority to oversee the dissolution of an agency it created, a federal judge found on Tuesday. The ruling, by Judge Theodore D. Chuang of U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, appeared to be the first time a judge has moved to rein in Mr. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency directly. (Montague, 3/18)
Politico: The Person The White House Says Is Leading DOGE Has Also Been Working At HHS
The person the White House identified last month as the leader of DOGE — despite public evidence that Elon Musk is calling the shots — has been working simultaneously at the Department of Health and Human Services since February. ... The filing shows that Amy Gleason, despite claiming responsibility as DOGE’s leader, was detailed to HHS last month and formally hired by the department as a “consultant/expert” on March 4, while retaining her status as a DOGE employee as well. (Cheney and Messerly, 3/18)
AP: Amid Elon Musk's DOGE Cuts, EPA Plans To Cut Scientific Research Program
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees who help provide the scientific foundation for rules safeguarding human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants. As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists — 75% of the research program’s staff — could be laid off, according to documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. (Daly, 3/18)
The New York Times: Fearing Trump, NYU Langone Shuns ‘Trigger’ Words Like ‘Diverse'
The message of the PowerPoint was unmistakable. Eliminate references to “diverse students” and the word “marginalized” from websites and policy statements. Scrutinize and reconsider phrases such as “systemic racism” or “vulnerable.” Add more references to concepts like “opportunity” and “equal access.” Lawyers for NYU Langone Health, a leading hospital system in Manhattan, proposed these changes to the hospital’s website late last month, according to an internal PowerPoint presentation that contained a list of “trigger words.” (Goldstein, 3/19)
The Colorado Sun: Funding Cuts To CU-Anschutz Could Erase Years Of Medical Research
As the ALS disease that will one day claim her life progressed, Barbara Johnson enrolled in a clinical trial at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus funded by the federal National Institutes of Health. The trial did not prove successful, and now she can no longer participate in others because the disease has taken away her ability to swallow pills, her ability to eat, her ability to speak. (Ingold, 3/19)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Trump voters may favor government regulation to cut health care costs, and health workers are being trained on the law to deal with possible raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in health care settings. ... Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: The current bird flu outbreak is gaining momentum despite mass culling of infected poultry, and the Trump administration is embracing the conservative policy playbook known as Project 2025. (3/18)
In other Trump administration news —
The New York Times: Judge Blocks Policy That Would Expel Transgender Troops
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Tuesday from banning transgender people from serving in the military. In a forcefully written opinion that rebuked the president’s effort, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes issued an injunction that allows trans troops to keep serving in the military, under rules that were established by the Biden administration, until their lawsuit against the Trump administration’s ban is decided. (Philipps, 3/18)
