Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: HHS Cuts Endanger Access To Crucial Information; Decimating Agencies Won't Make US Healthy
Stat: Cuts To HHS Comms, FOIA Personnel Could Hide Corruption
The DOGE cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday will make America less safe. Unless something is done soon to change course, they will also make it easier to hide corrupt behavior by the agency’s leadership. (Kevin Griffis, 4/2)
Bloomberg: This Isn't How You Make America Healthy Again
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s grand plan for Making America Healthy Again is taking shape. It centers on dismantling the public health systems that have kept Americans safe for decades. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/3)
The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Mimics AIDS Denier Thabo Mbeki
There’s historical precedent for how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is handling his ascension to high office. It’s an episode that didn’t end well. (Donald G. McNeil Jr., 4/3)
Stat: The EPO Drug Scandal That Explains RFK Jr.’s Appeal To Americans
Erythropoietin — also known as EPO — is mostly remembered as the drug that cyclist Lance Armstrong dishonestly used to win seven Tours de France. The blood thickener’s role in a cancer drug disaster that, by one estimate, cost nearly 500,000 Americans their lives has been forgotten. (Gardiner Harris, 4/3)
Stat: Basic Science Makes U.S. Innovation Great
In recent debates about government funding, certain quirky-sounding research projects — like studying shrimp on treadmills — have grabbed headlines and become easy targets for criticism. Politicians and the public alike ask: “Why should we pay for shrimp running on treadmills?” Questioning these seemingly odd experiments, out of context, poses a serious threat to support for curiosity-driven basic science — the very engine that drives transformative discoveries. (Carole LaBonne, 4/3)
