Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
ICE Ramps Up Health Care Staff Amid Surge In Deaths At Detention Facilities
Politico: ICE Is Hiring Dozens Of Health Workers As Lawsuits, Deaths In Custody Mount
The Trump administration is expanding its ranks of health care providers who work in immigration detention centers around the country as deaths in custody mount and federal oversight is weakened by layoffs. The push by the Department of Homeland Security to hire more than 40 doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, pharmacists and health administrators follows the revelation that nearly as many immigrants have died in custody so far this year than over the course of the Biden administration, according to government records. (Ollstein and Reader, 10/20)
The 19th: ICE Keeps Detaining Pregnant Immigrants — Against Federal Policy
Cary López Alvarado, of Hawthorne, California, was nine months pregnant when she was arrested by immigration officials alongside her husband, an immigrant from Guatemala. Alvarado was held overnight but was never sent to a detention facility: After taking her into custody, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned she was a U.S. citizen. Immediately after her release, she began to experience sharp pains in her stomach, according to a claim she filed against the federal government. She gave birth a few days later. (Luthra and Barclay, 10/20)
Updates on the federal shutdown —
AP: CDC Experts Skip Infectious Disease Meeting In Atlanta
CDC researchers are being forced to skip a pivotal conference on infectious disease this week due to the government shutdown, missing out on high-level discussions not long after surges in measles and whooping cough hit the U.S. IDWeek, the largest annual meeting of infectious disease experts in the nation, is the leading venue for experts to trade information about diagnosing, treating and preventing threats including bird flu, superbugs and HIV, among many other topics. (Stobbe, 10/20)
Fierce Healthcare: How The Shutdown Impacts Healthcare: Judge Asserts Her Temporary Restraining Order Includes HHS Workers
After administration officials wrote in court filings that nearly 1,000 fired Health and Human Services employees were not subject to a Wednesday block, a federal judge held an emergency meeting to specify her intent to the contrary. The judge's initial temporary restraining order required federal agencies to temporarily halt reductions in force (RIFs) affecting workers represented by bargaining units that first filed on Sept. 30 to block any cuts attributed to the government shutdown. The administration, in filings, said that many of those to whom it had issued RIFs were unaffected by the order, as many departments and agencies had stopped recognizing those collective bargaining units over the summer in compliance with a March executive order. (Beavins, Minemyer and Muoio, 10/20)
AP: Head Start Centers Face Funding Cutoff Under Shutdown
Head Start programs that serve tens of thousands of the nation’s neediest preschoolers are facing a cutoff of federal funding at the end of the month because of the government shutdown, leaving many scrambling to figure out how to keep their doors open. The early education initiative is funded almost entirely by the federal government, making it particularly vulnerable to funding disruptions. The programs — which are run by schools, local governments and nonprofits — receive new grants annually and are not allowed to carry over unspent money. (Balingit, 10/20)
AP: Nuclear Security Agency Starts Furloughing Workers
The federal agency tasked with overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile has begun furloughing employees as part of the ongoing federal government shutdown, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday. In a visit to Nevada, Wright said the National Nuclear Security Administration is furloughing 1,400 federal workers as part of the shutdown, which began Oct. 1. Nearly 400 federal workers will remain on the job, along with thousands of NNSA contractors, the Energy Department said. The NNSA, a semi-autonomous branch of the Energy Department, also works to secure nuclear materials around the world. (Daly, 10/20)
CNN: What’s Happening To End The Government Shutdown? Nothing
No end is in sight to a government shutdown now tied for the second-longest ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected departure for Asia at the end of the week for summits. There’s no sign he’ll emulate his first predecessor, President Barack Obama, who canceled a tour of the region in 2013 because of a similar stalemate. (Collinson, 10/20)
In other news on the presidency —
AP: Biden Completes A Round Of Radiation Therapy
Former President Joe Biden on Monday completed a round of radiation therapy treatment for the aggressive form of prostate cancer he was diagnosed with after leaving office, a spokesperson said. Biden had been receiving treatment at Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia, said aide Kelly Scully. (Superville, 10/21)
