Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Big Tobacco Donated $5M To MAGA Inc. Before FDA's New Vape Policy: Report
The New York Times: A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision
The tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million to a super PAC backed by President Trump last month, about one week before his administration rolled out a new policy that could prove lucrative to the tobacco industry. The donation, which came through a Reynolds subsidiary and brings to $8 million the total donated by the subsidiary to MAGA Inc., the Trump-backed super PAC, was revealed in a campaign finance report filed Wednesday night. The donation came on April 30. (Vogel and Jewett, 5/20)
Barron's: Trump’s Portfolio Managers Traded UnitedHealth Ahead Of Favorable Medicare Policy Change
President Donald Trump’s investment portfolio actively traded UnitedHealth Group as the stock was whipsawed by a federal policy proposal on Medicare rates earlier this year. The disclosure, released last week by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, lists more than 3,600 stock trades spanning a range of companies and industries during the first three months of the year. (Dunn, 5/19)
On the immigration crisis —
The Texas Tribune: Woman Detained By ICE Wrongfully Denied Surgery, Doctors Say
The 911 call came two days after immigration agents detained the 23-year-old Guatemalan woman in Minnesota as she was driving her mother and two young siblings to their jobs cleaning houses. “Excruciating pain,” the employee at the El Paso immigrant detention facility reported. (Kriel, 5/20)
KFF Health News: ICE Arrests Are Separating Families. Here’s How To Plan Ahead
Depression. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Developmental delays. The trauma of family separation can have serious health consequences for children. On WAMU’s May 13 “Health Hub” segment, KFF Health News correspondent Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez discussed what families without legal status can do if a parent is detained by immigration agents, as well as strategies to keep children out of foster care. (Orozco Rodriguez, 5/21)
In news from Capitol Hill —
The Washington Post: Barney Frank, Influential Congressman And Gay Rights Hero, Dies At 86
Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who brought his sharp intellect and irrepressible wit to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he led a sweeping overhaul of the financial industry after the Great Recession and advanced gay rights as one of the first openly gay congressmen in history, died May 19 at his home in Ogunquit, Maine. He was 86. His death was confirmed by his sister Doris Breay. Mr. Frank revealed last month that he had entered hospice care for congestive heart failure. (Langer, 5/20)
Stat: Democrats Mount New Attempt To End Medicare AI Prior Authorization Pilot
Senate and House Democrats introduced resolutions Wednesday to overturn a Medicare pilot that uses artificial intelligence to approve or deny care. The technology experiment has led to allegations of delayed care for seniors in at least one of the six states it is currently being implemented. (Trang, 5/20)
The Hill: Lawmakers Push To Expand Clinical Trial Access
A House Democrat and Republican on Wednesday highlighted their push to expand access to clinical trials, saying artificial intelligence could be one tool used to reach more underrepresented communities seeking additional treatment options. The Clinical Trial Modernization Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), is a bipartisan effort aiming to address some of the economic hurdles preventing patients from participating in clinical trials, which rely on community-based research to test the safety and effectiveness of medications, procedures and other health-related interventions. (Swai, 5/20)
