Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Briefly Touches On Individual Mandate Repeal, Opioid Epidemic In State Of The Union
The New York Times: Trump Issues Appeal For Unity In First State Of The Union
President Trump challenged Democrats on Tuesday night to join him in overhauling immigration policies and in rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure in his first State of the Union address. Speaking to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Trump hailed what he called the “extraordinary success” of his administration’s first year, and largely steered clear of the nationalist rhetoric, political attacks and confrontational tone that have been his calling cards both as a candidate and as a commander in chief. (Hirschfeld Davis and Shear, 1/30)
The New York Times: 2018 State Of The Union Fact-Check
Reporters from The New York Times checked the facts, falsehoods and statements in need of context from President Trump’s first State of the Union address. Watch a replay along with real time analysis here and an annotated transcript of the speech. (1/30)
The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump On Obama's Health Care Law
Congress did repeal the unpopular requirement that most Americans carry insurance or risk a tax penalty but that takes effect next year. It's a far cry from what Trump and the GOP-led Congress set out to do last year, which was to scrap most of the sweeping Obama-era health law and replace it with a Republican alternative. The GOP blueprint would have left millions more Americans uninsured, making it even more unpopular than "Obamacare." (1/30)
The Wall Street Journal: In State Of The Union, Trump Vows Optimism As More Fights Loom
[Trump] squeezed in remarks on a handful of specific other issues including health care, which had dominated his first year in office, when he applauded Republicans’ repeal of the requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty as removing “the core” of the Affordable Care Act. (Nicholas, Radnofsky and Hughes, 1/31)
The Hill: Trump Makes No Calls For ObamaCare Repeal In State Of The Union
President Trump made no mention of repealing or replacing ObamaCare during his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, cementing how far the issue has fallen off of the GOP’s agenda. Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely moved away from gutting former President Obama’s signature health-care law, and Trump wasn’t expected to speak about repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in his speech Tuesday. (Roubein, 1/30)
The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump On Opioid Epidemic
According to the U.S. Centers on Disease Control and Prevention, about 40 percent of the opioid deaths in 2016 involved prescription painkillers. Those drugs are made by pharmaceutical companies. Some are abused by the people who have prescriptions; others are stolen and sold on the black market. The flow of heroin into the U.S. from Mexico is a major problem, but drugs that are brought from other countries don't all come over land borders. (1/30)
Politico: Trump State Of The Union 2018 Transcript: Live Analysis & Fact Check
Trump pledged repeatedly to halt the opioid epidemic, vowing in October to “liberate” Americans from the “scourge of addiction.” But neither the administration nor Congress has taken the major steps public health experts say are necessary fight the crisis – namely, pouring far more money into the effort. Trump in October decided against a national emergency that would have freed up new federal resources, opting inside to settle for declaring a “public health emergency” that only allowed the redirection of existing resources. Since then, he’s yet to propose any new plan for tackling the epidemic and left key health and drug jobs vacant – prompting experts to conclude that not much of consequence is being done. (1/30)
Stat: In State Of The Union, Trump Endorses 'Right To Try' For Terminally Ill Patients
In a wide-ranging State of the Union address Tuesday evening, President Trump endorsed Congress’s efforts to pass a bill allowing access to experimental treatments for patients with terminal conditions. So-called “right-to-try” legislation was passed by the Senate last fall, but the effort has since stalled in the House. Vice President Mike Pence has endorsed a right-to-try bill. In February Trump gave his support to the legislation but he had not spoken publicly about the issue prior to Tuesday’s address. (Swetlitz, 1/30)
