Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicaid, Medicare, Vaccines, Disease Surveillance, Drug Safety — And RFK Jr.
Environmental lawyer and antivaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to be an “honest public servant” if he gets confirmed as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science,” Kennedy wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X. “I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families.” Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Kennedy’s appointment at HHS “could set back America in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and so much else.” But not all Democrats sounded the alarm. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said he was “excited” about the nomination but hoped that the former independent presidential candidate does not enact any vaccine bans. (Timotija, 11/14)
If confirmed, Mr. Kennedy, who ended his presidential campaign in August and endorsed Mr. Trump, would run a department whose divisions manage billions of dollars and regulate the nation’s food, medications, vaccines and medical treatments. The H.H.S. oversees 13 divisions that administer services and conduct research through various agencies and offices. (Sanders, Ruberg and Jewett, 11/14)
If the Senate confirms Kennedy, it will presage the biggest rethinking of the U.S. public health system ever. HHS and its agencies oversee drug approvals, food safety and disease surveillance, in addition to Medicare and Medicaid. A scion of one of America’s most famous Democratic families, Kennedy and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement blame Americans’ poor health in part on a corrupt alliance among the food and drug industries and the regulators supposed to watch over them. They want to replace the bureaucrats and overhaul the systems for overseeing pesticides, food additives and vaccines. Here’s what Kennedy and MAHA want to do. (Payne, Cirruzzo, Brown, Gibson and Snider, 11/14)
In its 78-year history, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has evolved from its origins tackling malaria to an agency that aims to safeguard almost every aspect of Americans' health. But the CDC's sprawling mission could be in for some big changes in the new Trump administration. House Republicans have called for cuts to the CDC's budget, and former Trump administration officials have suggested restructuring the agency in ways that would diminish its reach and influence. (Huang, 11/14)
