Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Monarez Confirmed As CDC Director
CBS News: Senate Confirms Susan Monarez As CDC Director. Here's What She's Said About Vaccines, Fluoride And More
The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday along party lines, 51 to 47, to confirm Susan Monarez as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monarez has been serving as the acting head of the CDC since January, and previously worked as the head of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. She was viewed as somewhat surprising pick for the CDC role because unlike most recent CDC directors, she holds a Ph.D. but is not a medical doctor. ... "If I'm confirmed as CDC director, I look forward to supporting the secretary with science and evidence, and making sure that I am giving him the best information possible," Monarez said at her confirmation hearing. (Moniuszko, 7/29)
On preventive services and vaccines —
Stat: RFK Jr. Could Remake Preventive Services Task Force 'Imminently'
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could “imminently” overhaul a key federal advisory panel that recommends which preventive services insurers must pay for, according to a person familiar with the plans. (Cirruzzo, 7/29)
NPR: Senators Introduce Resolution Supporting U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Two senators introduced a resolution Tuesday evening to preserve the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, following reports that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may soon fire its current members. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine and Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sponsored the resolution. (Huang, 7/29)
The Hill: Senate Democrats Probe Robert F. Kennedy Jr's Vaccine Panel Changes
Democrats on the Senate Health Committee launched an investigation on Tuesday into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s firing of all members of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel. Led by ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, the lawmakers asked for detailed information about why Kennedy dismissed members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), who else was involved in the process, and how the new members were identified and vetted. (Weixel, 7/29)
On changes at the NIH —
The Washington Post: The New NIH Director Says He Wants To Avoid Politics
“I’m not a politician,” the new director of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, insists. “I’m not going to get involved in the political fight over things.” But the great challenge facing the former Stanford University doctor and economist as he guides the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research is the fear for many that science and American politics have become intertwined as perhaps never before. (Johnson, 7/29)
Stat: He Was Censored At NIH. Now Kevin Hall Is Speaking Out
Kevin Hall can speak freely now. The leading U.S. authority on the science of ultra-processed foods made headlines this spring when he accused the Trump administration of censoring his work and opted to retire from his position at the National Institutes of Health. Without interference from D.C. to worry about, and with a forthcoming book, “Food Intelligence,” to promote, Hall is ready to speak candidly about his experiences with the leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement. (Todd, 7/30)
Bethesda Magazine: A Rockville Woman With Developmental Disabilities Was Laid Off From NIH After 30 Years. What’s Next For Her Is Uncertain.
When Andrea Geller got a job working in the mailroom at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda at age 21, she was ecstatic. For 31 years, the federal agency was her happy place. “I loved the mailroom, and I loved making friends and getting to talk to them every day,” Geller, 52, told Bethesda Today in a recent interview at her apartment in Rockville. But in April, she was one of thousands of NIH employees laid off by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. Geller has intellectual and developmental disabilities and is part of a program for disabled adults that allows her to enjoy some independence in apartment living while receiving assistance from counselors and medical professionals. (Bixby, 7/29)
On health data and the restoration of government websites —
Politico: The Trump Administration Wants To 'Kill The Clipboard'
Roughly 60 entities in the health care sector will pledge to making patient data more accessible and speeding its delivery among patients, clinicians and payers, according to an HHS employee granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive plans. The White House and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are expected to announce the commitments on Wednesday, Ruth reported last week. The agency hopes the commitments will stoke companies to make it easier for patients to import their data into an app of their choice, where they can manage their day-to-day health and easily share their history with doctors. (Reader and Paun, 7/29)
Medscape: Judge: Trump Must Restore Missing Health Websites and Data
The Trump administration has begun restoring health-related websites and datasets that it removed in January in order to comply with an order from a federal judge, who said that agencies such as the CDC unlawfully deleted treatment guidelines and other critical data that impaired doctors’ ability to care for patients. Federal agencies report that they now have restored 67 of the 212 webpages that plaintiffs included in their list, according to a court document filed on July 18. Those sites include pages about adolescent and school health, endometriosis, and health disparities among LGBTQ youth. (Szabo, 7/29)
On cuts to Medicaid and SNAP —
The Hill: States Sue HHS Over Trump Law Defunding Planned Parenthood
More than 20 states filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Health and Human Services, challenging a provision in President Trump’s enormous tax and spending package that bars certain health care nonprofits from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) includes a provision that bars health care nonprofits that provide abortions and received more than $800,000 in federal funding in 2023 from being able to get Medicaid reimbursements for one year. (O’Connell-Domenech, 7/29)
Stat: Budget Cuts Knock Down A ‘Pillar Of Public Health,’ Ending Nutrition Education
Sixteen children tumbled into nutritionist Kelsey Davis’s cooking class on a hot July morning, some hugging their counselors, some high-fiving the other 9- and 10-year-olds. Full of energy and opinions, they took their seats in the YMCA classroom in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, ready for another lesson. (Cooney, 7/30)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
July 24: Sam Whitehead read the week’s news: Affordable Care Act health plan will likely be more expensive next year, and work requirements for Medicaid recipients can be expensive and hard to navigate for enrollees. July 17: Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is threatening nursing home staff, and the country’s largest health insurers say they’ll simplify the process they use to decide whether to pay for doctor-ordered care. (Cook, 7/29)
