Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Taps Another Indiana Health Official For Surgeon General Post
The New York Times: Trump Nominates Indiana Health Commissioner As Surgeon General
President Trump has nominated Dr. Jerome M. Adams, the health commissioner for Indiana and a strong advocate of needle exchanges to avoid the spread of disease, to be the surgeon general of the United States. Dr. Adams, 42, was first appointed to the Indiana post in October 2014 when Vice President Mike Pence was governor. Shortly after Dr. Adams took office, there was an unusual H.I.V. outbreak in Scott County, a rural Indiana community near the Kentucky border. (Kaplan, 6/29)
USA Today: Trump Nominates Indiana Doctor For Surgeon General
During his time in office, Adams presided over a major health crisis — an HIV outbreak in Scott County associated with intravenous drug use that eventually stretched to more than 200 cases. Although Pence had first expressed reservations about needle exchange programs, the state's response eventually included such a program among other measures. People who have worked in Indiana with Adams praised him for his tireless energy as well as his finely honed people skills and ability to listen. (Rudavsky, 6/30)
The Washington Post: Trump Picks Indiana Health Commissioner For Surgeon General
If confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, Adams would become another prominent health official from Vice President Pence’s home state to take a high-profile post in the Trump administration. Seema Verma, a former health policy consultant who crafted Indiana’s unusual Medicaid expansion rules, now heads the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. (Bernstein, 6/29)
Politico: Trump Nominates Indiana Health Official For Surgeon General
Trump abruptly fired the previous surgeon general Vivek Murthy without explanation. Murthy had been a supporter of Obamacare, an advocate for comprehensive treatment of addiction and had argued for treating gun violence as a public health problem. (6/29)
The Hill: Trump Nominates Indiana Health Official For Surgeon General
President Trump is nominating Jerome M. Adams to be the surgeon general of the Public Health Service. Adams is currently Indiana's state health commissioner and was appointed to the post by Vice President Mike Pence, during his time as the state's governor. If confirmed, Adams would replace Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, the current acting surgeon general. Trent-Adams took over the post in April after President Trump dismissed the previous surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, an Obama appointee. Murthy had served in the post since 2014. (Delk, 6/29)
In other administration news —
The Fiscal Times: Why Trump’s Rollback Of Clean Air Rules Could Cost Taxpayers Billions
The grim reality is that even under Obama’s aggressive efforts to combat air pollution, tens of thousands of mostly older Americans are dying unnecessarily every year because carbon emission levels are still way [too] high. Air pollution causes an estimated 200,000 early deaths in the U.S. annually, according to a 2013 national study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment. (Pianin, 6/29)
