Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: These Websites Still Offer Science-Based Vaccine Information; Billing Code Revamp Being Overlooked
The Washington Post: Want Accurate, Nongovernment Information On Vaccines? Try These Sites.
Many readers say they no longer trust guidance from federal health agencies and have asked where else they can go for vaccine information now. I think they should still continue to consult government sites including the CDC, Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, as most information featured there appears unaltered. This could change, especially if anti-vaccine voices gain additional influence. (Leana S. Wen, 6/12)
Stat: The AMA Is Not Properly Representing Physicians
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda may get the headlines, but his plans as Health and Human Services secretary also include something that has gone largely overlooked: overhauling U.S. health care spending priorities, targeting the current procedural terminology (CPT) billing codes. (Rotimi Kukoyi, Victor Agbafe, David N. Bernstein and Joan Perry, 6/13)
Stat: What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Conflicts Of Interest
If Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to “clean up the corruption and conflicts” at HHS, he is going about it the wrong way. I study conflicts of interest at federal agencies. While industry influence is a widely shared concern, Kennedy’s dismissal of all the members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee, and the rapid hiring of eight replacements, could easily misfire. (Genevieve P. Kanter, 6/12)
The Baltimore Sun: Cuts To Global Health Are Hurting Children
Every day on my way to work, I used to walk past a memorial wall in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. It honored USAID workers who had died in the line of duty and made the ultimate sacrifice so the United States could be safer, stronger and more prosperous. I was proud to be affiliated with such brave Americans who sacrificed for the common good and to work alongside partners all over the world who shared our mission of bringing security and a healthier life to people all over the world. (Angela Weaver, 6/12)
Stat: Government Must Take A VC Approach To Funding Research
Congress is floating a 40% cut to the National Science Foundation and deep reductions to the National Institutes of Health — America’s two flagship research engines. The justification? A $2 trillion deficit. But cutting science to fix the deficit is like burning your seed corn because you’re low on groceries. It’s fiscally shortsighted and strategically self-defeating. (Sahand Hormoz, 6/13)
