Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Billions In Foreign Aid Can Remain Frozen Or Terminated, Court Rules
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration can withhold tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid, handing the president a significant 鈥 if possibly temporary 鈥 victory in his push to exercise greater authority over spending mandated by Congress. A panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted a federal judge鈥檚 preliminary injunction that ordered the Trump administration to appropriate the money for food, medicine and development. The 2-1 ruling came over the sharp objections of the only Democratic-appointed judge on the panel. (Jouvenal, 8/13)
After six months that shook the foundations of U.S. foreign aid, the question now is: Where do we go from here? (Igoe, 8/11)
On drug stockpiles, Medicare drug prices, and health care equity 鈥
President Trump on Wednesday ordered his health officials to secure a six-month supply of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients for drugs the administration determines are critical for national health and security. (Bettelheim, 8/14)
A handful of drug companies have formed a group to present lawmakers with research on what the industry sees as the negative impacts of Medicare drug price negotiations, according to lobbying records. (Wilkerson, 8/13)
The federal government has for decades invested vigorously in research aimed at narrowing the health gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups, pouring billions of dollars into understanding why minority and low-income Americans have shorter lives and suffer higher rates of illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Spending on so-called health disparities rose even during the Trump administration鈥檚 first term. But in its second, much of the funding has come to a sudden halt. (Caryn Rabin and Hwang, 8/13)
On homelessness policy 鈥
When Atlanta revealed its ambitious plans to clear homeless camps downtown ahead of the FIFA World Cup next summer, city officials said their goal was to house people, not throw them in jail. That housing-first approach appears at odds with President Donald Trump, who on Monday launched a federal takeover of the Washington, D.C., police force and ordered 800 National Guard troops to the capital, stating he wanted to crack down on violent crime and homelessness. (Reynolds, 8/13)
President Donald Trump says homeless people in the nation鈥檚 capital will be moved far from the city as part of his federal takeover of policing in the District of Columbia and crackdown on crime. With his exact plans unclear, there is concern among advocates and others who say there are better ways to address the issue of homelessness than clearing encampments, as the Republican administration has pledged to do. Washington鈥檚 status as a congressionally established federal district gives Trump the opportunity to push his tough-on-crime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime. (Kinnard, 8/13)
On the immigration crisis 鈥
The Trump administration must improve conditions at a Lower Manhattan immigration holding facility where a government lawyer acknowledges detainees are sleeping on the floor, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is packing detainees into a holding area without beds, showers or medical support, according to a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of detainees. For more than a week, people go to sleep each night on a concrete floor next to toilets without medication nor a way to bathe, and they receive 鈥渁t most only two small meals a day,鈥 attorneys for the detainees wrote. (Brasch, 8/13)
Two weeks after most of Maryland鈥檚 congressional delegation staged a sit-in at a controversial immigration enforcement facility in Baltimore, lawmakers returned for a guided tour on Wednesday and said they were still being stonewalled about how detainees are being treated inside. 鈥淲e leave here with more questions than we came in with,鈥 said Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland). (Munro and Cox, 8/14)
麻豆女优 Health News: 鈥楢 Fear Pandemic鈥: Immigration Raids Push Patients Into Telehealth
Jacob Sweidan has seen his patients through the federal immigration raids of the 1990s, a sitting governor鈥檚 call to abolish birthright citizenship, and the highly publicized workplace crackdowns and family separation policies of President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term. But in his 40 years as a pediatrician in Southern California serving those too poor to afford care, including many immigrant families, Sweidan said he鈥檚 never seen a drop-off in patient visits like this. (Mai-Duc, 8/14)