Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Military Rations Rife With Pesticides, Study Finds; US Floats 'Real Food Pilot'
The Hill: Trump Administration To Improve Food Quality Of Military Meals
The Trump administration is reportedly launching a new push to improve the quality of food at U.S. military bases after a study found that meals contained poor nutrients and harmful contaminants. The study, commissioned by Moms Across America in partnership with the Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter and Centner Academy, detected pesticides in 100 percent of sampled military meals, including Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs), rations and other cafeteria items. (Brams, 2/17)
More health news about the Trump administration —
Politico: Judges Decry Treatment Of Nursing And Pregnant Detainees In ICE Custody
A Myanmar refugee, with a nursing five-month-old at home, whisked abruptly to Texas by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A Massachusetts woman in her third trimester, held under ICE’s guard at a hospital after experiencing medical distress in ICE detention. An Indian national who is three months pregnant and whose weight dropped to 90 pounds while in an ICE facility. Federal judges are sounding alarms about the Trump administration’s treatment of pregnant and nursing detainees in ICE custody — and the administration has given the courts conflicting, unclear answers about whether it is following its own policies that sharply restrict those detentions. (Cheney, 2/18)
ProPublica: RFK Jr.’s FDA No Longer Warns Against Ineffective, Potentially Dangerous Autism Treatments
The warning on the government website was stark. Some products and remedies claiming to treat or cure autism are being marketed deceptively and can be harmful. Among them: chelating agents, hyperbaric oxygen therapies, chlorine dioxide and raw camel milk. Now that advisory is gone. (O’Matz, 2/18)
The New York Times: Documenting A ‘Drastically Changing’ Scientific Landscape
Since the Trump administration unfurled some of the deepest cuts to U.S. science funding in decades, thousands of jobs have been terminated or frozen at federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed budgets for this year include major cuts to organizations like NASA and the National Science Foundation. These cuts, some of them seemingly indiscriminate, have led to chaos and demoralization across the scientific community. (Otis, 2/17)
From Capitol Hill —
The Hill: Top Republican Eyeing FDA Overhaul
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Tuesday unveiled his proposal for modernizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), calling on the agency to reform some of its practices and embrace innovations in order to get more products approved for patients. In the report titled “Patients and families: Building the FDA of the future,” Cassidy, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, lamented that “unnecessary bottlenecks slow patients and consumers getting the products they need.” (Choi, 2/17)
Politico: Why Congress Failed To Reach An Obamacare Deal
Brian Fitzpatrick didn’t expect to find himself in the middle of a political brawl over health policy. The Pennsylvania Republican and former FBI agent doesn’t count the legislative area as a pillar of his portfolio. But early last fall, he joined a fledgling group of lawmakers incensed that House GOP leaders were doing nothing to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies before they expired. The lack of action, they knew, would send health insurance premiums soaring come January 1. (King and Levien, 2/17)
