Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Schumer Vows To Block Measure That Would Slash CDC Funding 22%
AP: Schumer Says He Will Work To Block Any Effort In The Senate To Significantly Cut The CDC's Budget
The Senate’s top Democrat said Sunday he will work to block a plan that would significantly cut the proposed budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warning that such a spending reduction could endanger the public. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told The Associated Press he would block legislation from passing the Senate if it were to include the proposed cut. Democrats said the proposal in a House bill includes a reduction of the CDC’s proposed budget by $1.8 billion, or about 22%, that would harm public health. The Republican-led effort also would mean a major cut in programs designed to address firearm injuries and opioid overdose prevention. (8/11)
AP: The US Government Wants To Make It Easier For You To Click The 'Unsubscribe' Button
Efforts being rolled out Monday include a new Federal Communications Commission inquiry into whether to impose requirements on communications companies that would make it as easy to cancel a subscription or service as it was to sign up for one. ... Also Monday, the heads of the departments of Labor and of Health and Human Services are asking health insurance companies and group health plans to make improvements to customer interactions with their health coverage, and “in the coming months will identify additional opportunities to improve consumers’ interactions with the health care system,” according to a White House summary. (Hussein, 8/12)
KFF Health News: Watch: Where The Presidential And VP Candidates Stand On Health Policy
How do the top-of-the-ticket candidates compare on abortion, medical debt, and more? Here’s what you need to know. (Norman, 8/12)
AP: Vivek Murthy Traces Approach To Surgeon General Role Back To Family Dinner Table
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy traces his unconventional approach to the job back to his family dinner table. Now, in his second term as the 'Nation's Doctor,' Murthy hasn’t run from politics – as his mother hoped – he’s charged toward it. (Weitz, 8/11)
In military health news —
Military.com: Housing Agency Scraps Catch-22-Type Rule That Kept Disabled Homeless Vets From Receiving Rent Vouchers
Homeless veterans who were wounded, injured or became sick during their time in uniform will no longer have their disability benefits counted against them in the struggle to find affordable housing. In the face of an ongoing class-action suit brought by veterans in Los Angeles, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, announced Thursday that the rule, which counted service-connected disability benefits as income in deciding whether veterans qualified for housing vouchers, is being scrapped. (Sisk, 8/9)
American Homefront Project: Facing A Deadline, More Than 300,000 Claims Are Filed In The Camp Lejeune Case
Facing an Saturday deadline, hundreds of thousands of Marine Corps veterans, family members and others have filed claims in one of the biggest toxic exposure cases in the nation’s history. From 1953 to 1987, tainted water on Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was laced with chemicals that have been linked to a host of illnesses, including several forms of cancer and Parkinson’s disease. (Price, 8/9)
