Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nominee For Indian Health Services' Top Spot Touts Business Acumen, But Financial History Tells Different Story
The Wall Street Journal: Trump Pick For Indian Health Services Cites Business Savvy, But Financial History Show Struggles
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the troubled Indian Health Service left his latest employer in a state of financial disarray, filed for personal bankruptcy and had liens imposed on one of his own businesses for failing to pay federal taxes, according to public documents and interviews. The nominee, Robert Weaver, a member of the Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma, has cited his private-sector business acumen and leadership of several small businesses as key qualifications to lead the agency and its roughly $6 billion budget. (Frosch and Weaver, 2/13)
Politico: Trump's HHS Worked With Conservative Group On Planned Parenthood Policy
A conservative legal organization worked with the Trump administration to make it easier for states to defund Planned Parenthood, according to documents obtained by congressional Democrats and shared with POLITICO. HHS last month told states they no longer have to comply with Obama administration policy that made it difficult for states to exclude the women's health group from their Medicaid programs — an announcement timed to the March of Life anti-abortion rally. HHS received a draft legal analysis from the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom a week before the announcement, according to House Oversight Committee ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings. (Haberkorn, 2/12)
And in other news —
Stat: NIH Funding Contributed To 210 Approved Drugs In Recent Years, Study Says
A new study makes a strong case for the importance of government support for basic research: Federally funded studies contributed to the science that underlies every one of the 210 new drugs approved between 2010 and 2016. Researchers at Bentley University scoured millions of research papers for mentions of those 210 new molecular entities, or NMEs, as well as studies on their molecular targets. Then, they looked to see which of those studies had received any funding from the National Institutes of Health. (Thielking, 2/12)
Modern Healthcare: Title X Grantees On Edge Over Delayed Funding Announcement
In Texas, 28 women's health providers and a total of 100 clinics wait to see if they will get their Title X family planning grant money after it expires March 31, and a recent email from the Trump administration has raised more questions than it has answered their concerns. Texas, given its size probably has more examples of worried providers, but community health centers, hospital hospital-based clinics, public health departments and free-standing providers around the country get money through Title X, a Nixon-era program focused on family planning services for low-income women and families. The program's impact on providers' bottom lines depends on their size and the services the funds subsidize, but for some public health departments and clinics the money is crucial. (Luthi, 2/12)
