Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
No Easter Egg Roll At White House, No Tolerance For Staffers' Drug Use Either
Axios: White House Easter Egg Roll Canceled Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
The White House Easter Egg Roll has been canceled for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic. The White House Historical Association announced the event will instead take place virtually. The holiday celebration is organized by the first lady and typically draws crowds of 30,000 people. (Gonzalez, 3/20)
AP: Several White House Employees Fired For Using Drugs
Five White House staffers have been fired because of their past use of drugs, including marijuana, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. Marijuana has become a delicate issue for President Joe Biden's administration because 15 states and Washington, D.C., allow for recreational usage, despite a federal prohibition. The administration has tried not to automatically penalize potential staffers for legal behavior in their communities by developing a more flexible policy, Psaki said in a statement to The Associated Press. (Boak, 3/19)
Axios: How The Biden Administration Made Health Policy Without A Health Secretary
With Xavier Becerra's confirmation on Thursday as Health and Human Services secretary, the Biden administration's health care team is clicking into place — not that it's been sitting around waiting. Many of the most important health care jobs in the executive branch right now aren't the Senate-confirmed leadership roles, but the management advisers and rank-and-file civil servants in charge of the vaccination effort. (Baker, 3/19)
In updates on the stimulus act —
USA Today: Vice President Kamala Harris To Visit Fla. Monday To Tout COVID Relief
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday to tout the administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus plan, according to an administration source. It will be her first visit since crisscrossing Florida last fall during the presidential campaign. (Fins, 3/21)
KHN: Journalists Analyze The Covid Relief Bill
Reporter LJ Dawson discussed how undocumented immigrants have been left out of the pandemic relief package with Newsy on Tuesday. KHN correspondent Emmarie Huetteman discussed Affordable Care Act provisions included in the recent covid-19 relief bill with Newsy on Monday. (3/20)
In news about the Trump administration —
Axios: WashPost Journalists Writing Scoopy Book On Trump's COVID-19 Response
Washington Post journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta will be out June 29 with "Nightmare Scenario," a scoopy narrative of President Trump's chaotic response to the pandemic. Harper, the publisher, says the authors "reveal the numerous times officials tried to dissuade Trump from following his worst impulses ... And they show how the petty backstabbing and rivalries amongst cabinet members, staff, and aides, created a toxic cycle of blame, sycophancy, and political pressure." (Allen, 3/19)
Stat: Undocumented Immigrants Sought Less Care After Trump Campaign Launch
Undocumented immigrants were less likely to visit primary care physicians after former President Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015, according to a March study — suggesting his rhetoric had a chilling effect, experts said, that could make those individuals less likely to seek critical care or, even now, Covid-19 vaccinations. The study, published earlier this month in JAMA, showed a 34.5% decrease in undocumented adults’ primary care visits when they compared the periods roughly a year and a half preceeding the June 16, 2015 start of Trump’s campaign to the period roughly three years after it. Undocumented children’s visits dropped by even more — 43.3%. (Faheid, 3/22)
