Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Pledges Preexisting Conditions Action Already Protected By Obamacare
The Hill: Trump Teases Order Requiring Insurers To Cover Preexisting Conditions
President Trump on Friday teased an executive order to require health insurers to cover all preexisting conditions, something already established under the Affordable Care Act, which his administration is suing to dismantle. "Over the next two weeks I’ll be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions for all companies," Trump said during a news conference at his Bedminster property in New Jersey. "That’s a big thing. I’ve always been very strongly in favor. We have to cover preexisting conditions." (Samuels, 8/7)
USA Today: Trump Weighing Executive Order To Force Insurers To Cover Pre-Existing Conditions, Something Obamacare Does
Trump's statement comes as he seeks to overturn Obamacare, which continues to gain ground throughout the country as voters in more states approve its centerpiece Medicaid expansion. In June, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to repeal the act, as millions have lost their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court will make a ruling in the fall. (Lalljee, 8/8)
AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s False Push On Preexisting Conditions
President Donald Trump is teasing the possibility of executive action to require health insurance companies to cover preexisting medical conditions, something that he says “has never been done before.” It’s been done before. People with such medical problems have health insurance protections because of President Barack Obama’s health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Yen, 8/8)
In other news from the federal government —
The New York Times: C.D.C. Closes Some Offices Over Bacteria Discovery
The nation’s foremost public health agency is learning that it is not immune to the complex effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told employees that some office space it leases in the Atlanta area would be closed again after property managers of the buildings discovered Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, in water sources at the sites. No employees were sickened. The announcement was reported on Friday by CNN. (Horberry, 8/8)
WBUR: 'We're Risking Our Lives': Front-Line Federal Workers Sue For Hazard Pay
Some 6,000 federal employees are expected to have contracted COVID-19 on the job as of this week, and as many as 60 have died, according to a Department of Labor report issued last month. Heidi Burakiewicz, a Washington, D.C., attorney who brought the suit in collaboration with the American Federation of Government Employees, says such federal workers "are risking their health and safety to go to work. They have the types of jobs that are necessary to keep the country up and running and safe." (Naylor, 8/7)
