Trump Administration Aims To Slash Housing Grants By Two-Thirds In 2026
In a major shift in homelessness policy, the bulk of funding would be directed toward programs that prioritize work and drug treatment. Also: new patent policies' impact on lowering drug prices; pediatricians' reactions to the FDA's effort to limit fluoride supplements; and more.
The New York Times:
Trump Administration To Drastically Cut Housing Grants
The Trump administration has developed plans for a wholesale shift in homelessness policy that would slash support for long-term housing programs, according to a confidential grant-making plan, and critics say it could quickly place as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people at risk of returning to the streets. Pivoting from housing aid, the administration’s approach would shift billions to short-term programs that impose work rules, help the police dismantle encampments, and require the homeless to accept treatment for mental health or addiction. (DeParle, 11/12)
On prescription prices and immigration policy —
Stat:
New Patent Policies May Undermine Trump Drive To Lower Drug Prices
File this under “unintended consequences.” Over the past few months, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has pursued new policies that its officials insist will preserve patents from unnecessary legal challenges and strengthen the system for protecting innovation. (Silverman, 11/13)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Visas Can Be Denied For Obesity, Cancer And Diabetes, Rubio Says
The Trump administration directed visa officers to consider obesity — and other chronic health conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes — as reasons to deny foreigners visas to the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. consulates and embassies around the world about the changes in a Nov. 6 cable, according to a copy obtained and verified by The Washington Post. The move broadens current medical screening beyond contagious diseases and gives visa officers new justification to reject applicants, in the Trump administration’s latest effort to curb the flow of immigration. (Gurley and Natanson, 11/13)
KFF Health News:
ICE Crackdown Heightens Barriers For Immigrant Domestic Violence Victims
The immigrant from India believed her husband when he said that if she wasn’t gone by the time he got to their Georgia home in 10 minutes, he would kill her. She said her husband and his family, who are also immigrants, abused her throughout their marriage, beating her with a belt, pouring hot water on her, cutting her, and pushing her head through a wall. (Platzman Weinstock, 11/13)
On MAHA —
AP:
At MAHA Summit, Vance Praises RFK Jr. For Defying Convention
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday praised Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s willingness to question established science and embrace nontraditional voices in the health care space, saying that often throughout history, “all the experts were wrong.” In remarks in a fireside chat between the two men at a “Make America Healthy Again” summit in the nation’s capital, Vance also propped up Kennedy’s MAHA movement, saying it has been “a critical part of our success in Washington.” (Swenson, 11/12)
The New York Times:
FDA’s Move To Limit Fluoride Supplements Has Doctors Worried
The agency announced new recommendations on fluoride supplements, a crucial tool for protecting children’s dental health. (Blum, 11/11)
Stat:
How Two FDA Officials, Prasad And Hoeg, Seized Vaccine Oversight
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he does not want to take vaccines away from Americans. But at a closed-door meeting of Food and Drug Administration vaccine scientists in September, a top official suggested doing just that. (Lawrence, 11/12)
