Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
IHS Transferred Doctor From One Agency-Run Hospital To Another After Officials Concluded He Was Molesting Children
The Wall Street Journal: HHS To Review Indian Health Service After Revelations On Pedophile Doctor
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called for a review of the Indian Health Service following an investigation that revealed the agency’s mishandling of a pedophile doctor. The investigation, by The Wall Street Journal and the PBS series Frontline, detailed the career of Stanley Patrick Weber, a pediatrician who in 2018 was convicted of sexually assaulting Native American boys. The IHS transferred him from one agency-run hospital to another after officials concluded he was molesting children in 1995, and he continued working for the federal agency for 21 years. (Weaver and Frosch, 2/13)
Frontline: Watch: Predator On The Reservation
Frontline and The Wall Street Journal investigate the decades-long failure to stop a government doctor accused of sexually abusing Native American boys for years, and examine how he moved from reservation to reservation despite warnings. (2/12)
In other news from the administration, EPA plans to announce limits on toxic chemicals —
Reuters: EPA To Limit Manmade Chemicals In Drinking Water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will announce on Thursdays limits on how much toxic chemicals from cookware and carpeting are allowed in drinking water. The agency will announce a plan to control a group of chemicals known as PFAS that are linked to cancer, liver and thyroid damage, and other health and fetal effects. The substances, which include PFOA and PFOS, are found in non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting and other manmade materials. (2/13)
The Associated Press: EPA Sets Toxins Response Plan Amid Criticism From Lawmakers
So-called forever chemicals, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFAS, pose “a very important threat,” acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in an interview with ABC News Live ahead of a scheduled briefing Thursday in Philadelphia. Wheeler said the agency was moving forward with the process under the Safe Drinking Water Act that could lead to new safety thresholds for the presence of the chemicals in water, but he did not commit in the interview to setting standards. (Knickmeyer and Flesher, 2/14)
