Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Kennedy's Defunding Of Gavi Is Wrong And Dangerous; Will Planned Parenthood Survive Trump?
Stat: Kennedy Mangles Science In Global Vaccine Decision
In a recorded message to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused members of “not taking vaccine safety seriously” and announced that under his leadership, the United States would stop funding Gavi. This is a deadly mistake. Since 2000, Gavi has supported vaccination of more than 1 billion children and prevented an estimated 18.8 million deaths. (Tom Frieden, 7/2)
The Guardian: Planned Parenthood May Not Survive The Trump Administration
Planned Parenthood, the massive, 108-year-old network of women’s and reproductive health clinics that operates almost 600 health centers across the United States, may not survive the Trump administration. Long a hated symbol on the right, and unable to summon enthusiastic support from the left, the medical network has nevertheless remained a symbolic and material cornerstone of women’s equality, serving millions of patients – many of them indigent or low-income – each year, and housing one of the biggest feminist and pro-choice lobbying and litigation shops in America, in addition to being one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers. (Moira Donegan, 7/1)
Stat: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Devastate Pediatric Health Systems
Much of the dialogue surrounding the hundreds of billions of proposed Medicaid cuts passed by the Senate on Tuesday is centered on the impact on nearly 80 million Medicaid enrollees, half of whom are children. What does not receive as much attention, and which I’d argue is underappreciated, is how cuts to Medicaid would impact all children by devastating pediatric health systems, not just those in the program. (Anireddy Reddy, 7/2)
Kansas City Star: Government Reports Exposes Profit-Driven Practices Of PBMs
The cost of many medications in our country is outrageous, unjustifiable and in some cases unconscionable. The root causes are complex; the solutions uncertain. As a physician interacting with pharma for many decades, my opinion is that the drug industry consistently puts company profits before patients’ welfare. Additionally, careful study of agency reports demonstrates that PBMs do not lower the costs of drugs. Many, myself included, believe they increase the price of the drugs we physicians prescribe. (John C. Hagan III, 7/1)
The Baltimore Sun: Congress Can Save Lives With Kidney Donation Bill
As a retired middle school teacher who spent 40 years guiding students through challenging lessons, I know how to explain complex concepts. I also know how to recognize when a system is not working. What I have learned from the past two years navigating the kidney transplant process is this: We are failing thousands of families, and we do not have to. (Ellen Weis, 7/1)
