Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Of The Union: Some Experts Say Trump's Goal Of Halting HIV Transmissions In America Is Achievable, Realistic
The New York Times: Trump Expected To Announce Plan To Stop Spread Of H.I.V. In The U.S. By 2030
President Trump is expected to announce in his State of the Union speech a national commitment to end transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, with a goal of stopping its spread in this country by 2030. A senior administration official with knowledge of Mr. Trump’s preparations confirmed the plan on Monday, in advance of the address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening. Government scientists have been working for months on the plan, which calls for an expanded effort to prevent infections and to treat those with H.I.V. (Pear and Rogers, 2/4)
The Washington Post: Trump Is Planning Campaign To Halt Transmission Of HIV In U.S. By 2030
Few other details were available Monday, but any effort to eradicate new HIV diagnoses would almost certainly have to focus on black and Hispanic men who have sex with other men, people between the ages of 25 and 34 and residents of Southern states. Those groups have for years borne a disproportionate share of new HIV diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, there were 38,739 new HIV diagnoses in the United States, according to the CDC. An estimated 1.1 million people had the virus in 2015, the CDC said, with about 15 percent of them undiagnosed. (Bernstein, Sun and Goldstein, 2/4)
The Hill: Five Things To Watch At Trump’s State Of The Union
Trump’s team has indicated the president may make overtures to Democrats by delivering a “unifying” message that contains proposals they could support, such as reforming prescription drug pricing, a commitment to end AIDS in the U.S. by 2030 and an infrastructure package. But it’s unclear how much of the speech will be dedicated to bipartisan themes compared with appeals to Trump’s base, typically the president’s go-to move in times of crisis. (Fabian, 2/5)
The Associated Press: Separating Fact Vs Fiction In Trump's State Of The Union
A guide to separating fact from fiction on subjects Trump is expected to address in Tuesday night's speech: What a difference a year makes. From predicting that the Affordable Care Act would "implode" and "explode," Trump now regularly claims credit for stable premiums under the health law. He's likely to keep repeating it, even though he's wrong. "The average benchmark exchange premium will decline for the first time in 2019 thanks to President Trump's policies," states a Jan. 20 White House information sheet, referring to the marketplace exchanges set up under "Obamacare." (Yen and Woodward, 2/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump To Call For Bipartisanship As He Threatens To Declare Emergency
The White House primarily sees the speech—his second address to the nation on border security in the past month—as key to its efforts to win a public-relations battle in the standoff with congressional Democrats over border-wall funding, which led to the 35-day shutdown that left 800,000 workers without pay for weeks. (Ballhaus, 2/4)
Politico: Everything You Need To Know About The 2019 State Of The Union
Trump's first State of the Union address, delivered last January, was the third-longest ever delivered, clocking in at 1 hour and 20 minutes. That’s a near-historic amount of time, and just nine minutes shy of the overall record, which goes to President Bill Clinton’s final State of the Union address in 2000. Clinton also claims the No. 2 spot with his 1995 address, which lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. (Forgey, 2/4)
