Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With A Day's Notice, Some Fired CDC Staff Are Asked To Return To Work
NPR: In A Sudden Reversal, CDC Rescinds Some Staff Firings
Just a few weeks after summarily firing hundreds of employees, the Trump administration is now notifying some staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they're back on the job. On Tuesday, an unknown number of CDC staff began receiving emails stating that their letters of termination were being rescinded, according to emails reviewed by NPR and interviews with more than half a dozen sources at the agency who were not authorized to speak publicly. (Huang and Stone, 3/4)
KFF Health News: CDC Firings Undermine Public Health Work Far Beyond Washington
The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources. The programs are designed to cultivate a new generation of public health leaders, many of whom have gone on to work at the CDC. That was far from its only purpose. Local and state officials said the departures threaten to undermine the nation’s constant effort to identify and control infectious disease outbreaks. (Pradhan, 3/5)
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More on the budget cuts —
Politico: GSA Prepares To Sell Over 400 Federal Properties
The General Services Administration announced Tuesday that it will begin selling off some of the federal government’s most recognizable office buildings, including the Hubert H. Humphrey Building (home to the Department of Health and Human Services). (Cai and Nguyen, 3/4)
The Hill: Social Security Administration Says It's Identified $800M+ In Savings
The Social Security Administration (SSA) said in a release that it has identified more than $800 million in savings or “cost avoidance” for fiscal 2025 among information technology, grants, property and payroll. The SSA stated that it froze hiring and “drastically” cut back on overtime, saving about $550 million. (Timotija, 3/4)
KFF Health News: Trump Vowed To End Surprise Medical Bills. The Office Working On That Just Got Slashed
As President Donald Trump wrapped up his first term in 2020, he signed legislation to protect Americans from surprise medical bills. “This must end,” Trump said. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable.” But the president’s wide-ranging push to slash government spending, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is weakening the federal office charged with implementing the No Surprises Act. (Levey, 3/4)
The New York Times: U.S. Embassies Halt Air Quality Monitoring Abroad
What’s the air quality in New Delhi, Jakarta or Buenos Aires? Until Tuesday, the United States Embassy in those cities could have told you. But the Trump administration has effectively shut down a global air quality monitoring program, ending more than a decade of public data-collection and reporting from 80 embassies and consulates worldwide. (Friedman and Plumer, 3/4)
On transgender health care —
AP: Judge Orders Longer-Term Nationwide Block On Trump Orders On Transgender Youth Health Care
A federal judge extended a nationwide block Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19. The judge’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president’s orders. (3/5)
On Trump's Cabinet —
AP: Trump’s FDA Pick Made His Name By Bashing The Medical Establishment. Soon He May Be Leading It
Dr. Marty Makary rose to national attention by skewering the medical establishment in books and papers and bashing the federal response to COVID-19 on TV. Now the Johns Hopkins University surgeon and researcher has been nominated to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The agency — responsible for regulating products ranging from toothpaste to vaccines — is famously understated, issuing carefully worded statements devoid of opinion or scientific speculation. (Perrone, 3/4)
The New York Times: He Fought Claims Of Harm From Infant Formula. Now He Regulates It
The new head of the Food and Drug Administration division that regulates infant formula was in recent months a corporate lawyer defending a top formula maker from claims that its product gave rise to debilitating harm to premature babies. Kyle A. Diamantas joined the F.D.A. last month to lead the food division, leaving the law firm Jones Day, which has served as a pipeline of talent to both Trump administrations. (Jewett, 3/4)
