Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Medicaid Work Rules Punish Unpaid Caregivers; Surprise At A MAHA Roundtable
Stat: Medicaid Work Requirements Will Be Disaster For Unpaid Caregivers
Big changes are coming to the Medicaid system this time next year — and I fear they will quietly but profoundly decimate the unpaid workforce that already props up our long-term care system. (Emily D. Tisdale, 2/12)
The Washington Post: I Joined A MAHA Roundtable. What I Heard Surprised Me.
I want to be clear about my posture going in: I am not ideologically aligned with many who were in that room. As an immigrant physician and scientist, I worry that national funding cuts and policies that make this country less welcoming will deter the next generation of lifesaving talent and leadership from coming to the United States. I understand why many of my colleagues feel frustrated or concerned. What I heard at the event was more complex and constructive than much public discourse would suggest. (Chethan Sathya, 2/11)
The Washington Post: The FDA Moved The Goalposts For Moderna’s MRNA Flu Vaccine
Moderna spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing a flu vaccine using the same technology that allowed the United States to produce covid-19 vaccines in record time. But now the drug company’s flu shots are not getting a fair shake from the Food and Drug Administration. (2/11)
The Washington Post: A Solution To The Doctor Shortage Could Be Just Down The Street
Pharmacist education includes patient assessment, differential diagnosis, laboratory testing, drug administration and prescribing. But outdated statutes often limit pharmacists to testing without treatment or require referral even when clinical care is straightforward and well established. Some state legislatures are considering proposals to modernize these laws and expand access to care. Yet pharmacists in many states remain legally prohibited from providing care they are trained to deliver. (Tim Frost, 2/11)
The New York Times: Eyeing The Midterms, Kennedy Pivots Toward Food And Away From Vaccines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., making a calculated election-year pivot away from vaccines, staged a Hollywood-style event on Wednesday promoting his “Eat Real Food” agenda, featuring a celebrity cast that included the boxer Mike Tyson in a campaign to make healthy food “achievable, practical, affordable and within reach of every American family.” He was not specific. But underlying those promises was a political reality: Mr. Kennedy’s healthy eating agenda is popular. His vaccine agenda is not. (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, 2/11)
