Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers Want IHS To Be Held Accountable For Its Role In Protecting Pediatrician Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Boys
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Pressure U.S. Indian Health Service To Release Sex Abuse Report
Lawmakers who oversee the U.S. Indian Health Service are demanding the health care agency release a report on its mishandling of a pedophile doctor that it wants to keep confidential, saying the agency must be held accountable. On Monday, Sen. Tom Udall, (D., N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a statement that the IHS ran the risk of an “appearance of a desire to avoid accountability” if it didn’t disclose “as much of the report as is possible, as soon as possible.” The report focused on the IHS’s failure to protect children during the nearly 30-year-career of staff pediatrician, Stanley Patrick Weber, who was later convicted of sexually abusing Native American boys. (Frosch and Weaver, 2/24)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
The Washington Post: U.S. Passports: Bill Seeks To Add Gender-Neutral ‘X’ To Male And Female Categories
While filling out a passport application more than five years ago, Dana Zzyym didn’t want to lie. Instead of checking the box labeled “M” or “F” for gender, Zzyym — who is intersex and identifies as neither male nor female — wrote down an “X.” The application was denied, prompting Zzyym to begin a lengthy, landmark court fight with the State Department, arguing that the limited gender options violated their constitutional rights. (Schmidt, 2/24)
Roll Call: Road Ahead: House Tackles Lynching And Flavored Tobacco, While Senate Considers Anti-Abortion Bills
The House will vote this week on measures to make lynching a federal hate crime and to ban the manufacturing and sale of flavored tobacco, while the Senate will take symbolic votes on two anti-abortion bills when it pauses from considering judicial and executive nominees. (McPherson and Connolly, 2/24)
