Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Panel Looking At Maine Shooting Probes Army Reservists On Gunman
The New York Times: Panel Examining Lewiston Shooting Presses Army Reservists on Gunman
A commission investigating the October mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, interrogated Army Reserve colleagues of the gunman, Robert R. Card Jr., at a hearing Thursday, pressing for answers about their failed efforts to prevent him from inflicting harm and eliciting some of the most detailed accounts yet of the months leading up to the rampage. Members of the commission drilled down on key moments of inaction by military supervisors who knew of the shooter’s threats, erratic behavior and access to weapons, seeking accountability among the multiple law enforcement agencies and military personnel who traded concerns about Mr. Card, as his mental state deteriorated last year. (Russell, 3/7)
AP: Maine Mass Shooter Had A Brain Injury. Experts Say That Doesn't Explain His Violence.
Brain injury experts are cautioning against drawing conclusions from newly released and limited information about evidence of a brain injury in an Army reservist who killed 18 people last year in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting. (Ramer and Casey, 3/8)
KFF Health News: VIP Health System For Top US Officials Risked Jeopardizing Care For Soldiers
Top U.S. officials in the Washington area have received preferential treatment from a little-known health care program run by the military, potentially jeopardizing care for other patients including active-duty service members, according to Pentagon investigators. White House officials, senior military and other national security leaders, retired military officers, and family members have all benefited. (Hilzenrath, 3/8)
The New York Times: Ronny Jackson, Former White House Physician, Was Demoted By The Navy
In a report completed three years ago, the Pentagon found that Rear Adm. Ronny L. Jackson had mistreated subordinates while serving as the White House physician and drank and took sleeping pills on the job. The report recommended that he face discipline. Now it turns out that the Navy quietly punished him the next year. Though he had retired from the military in 2019, he was demoted to captain — a sanction that he has not publicly acknowledged. (Sullivan, Shear and Schmitt, 3/7)
Military.com: A Nurse With An Amputation Hopes To Join The Air Force. A New Bill Could Allow Her To Do So.
Hannah Cvancara is the namesake of the "Hannah Cvancara Service Act," a bill introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., in February. If passed, it would allow amputees interested in joining the military to serve in medical personnel fields in the National Guard, reserves and on active duty. Cvancara was born with a condition called fibular hemimelia, meaning she was born without a fibula bone and had a few other bone defects through her left leg and foot. As a one-year-old, she underwent a below-the-knee amputation and has been using prosthetics since. (Nostrant, 3/7)
CBS News: Marine Veteran Fights To Expand Mandated Insurance Coverage Of Life-Changing Prosthetics In Maryland
In Maryland, those without limbs are fighting to make insurance companies pay for prosthetics that are essential for their mobility. There's a push in Maryland to mandate coverage that can change lives. "I'm a high-ranking, professional sprinter. I snowboard. I surf. There are so many things that I'm able to do by the access that I'm allowed. I want to be able to give that to other people," said John Edward Heath. Heath, a Marine veteran and Paralympian, lost his leg after being hit by a drunk driver. (Hellgren, 3/7)
