Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

The Top Three...

Stat: Dr. Erica Schwartz Confirmed As New CDC Director On 51-44 Vote Erica Schwartz was confirmed Wednesday as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making her the second permanent leader of the agency since the second Trump administration took office. (Cirruzzo, 8/5)

Politico: Hellbent On Putting Fauci In Jail, Rand Paul Wants To Skip A Senate Vote Rand Paul wants to fast-track prosecution of former Covid czar Anthony Fauci. The legal process will be fraught. After the Kentucky Republican pushed a contempt of Congress resolution through his Senate committee on party lines Thursday morning — saying Fauci had impeded his investigation of the pandemic by refusing to answer questions last week — Democrats demanded he take it to the full Senate for a vote they could filibuster. Paul said he’s going to instead take it straight to the attorney general. For Fauci, the difference is massive. (Levien and King, 8/6)

The Hill: OMB's Proposed Grantmaking Rule Will Destabilize Biomedical Research, Experts Warn A proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget to revise the federal grantmaking process is drawing widespread opposition from across multiple industries. Members of the medical research community warn the additional red tape will only serve to impede U.S. biomedical research. The Office of Management and Budget published a proposed rule in May that would, among several actions, instate a pre-issuance review on federal grants and give the awarding offices greater authority in terminating grants. (Choi, 8/3)

For a Deeper Dive...

The New York Times: F.D.A. Approves Moderna’s MRNA Flu Vaccine The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first mRNA flu vaccine, enabling use of a technology that will make it easier to rapidly target a widely prevalent or particularly virulent strain of the virus. The approval of the vaccine, called mFLUSIVA, which is manufactured by Moderna, follows a series of blows to mRNA research directed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including the cancellation of 22 projects meant to develop vaccines with mRNA technology through the government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. (Jewett, 8/5)

AP: Senate Leaders Reach Short-Term Funding Deal To Avoid Shutdown Key senators unveiled a short-term spending bill on Sunday that would keep federal agencies funded past the midterm elections and into early December as they look to avoid a government shutdown during the middle of campaign season. The Senate is likely to vote on the measure before leaving Washington at week’s end for its traditional August recess, a period that many lawmakers want to spend shoring up their reelection prospects rather than working in the nation’s capital. (Freking, 8/2)

KPRC: Texas AG Ken Paxton Investigates American Academy Of Pediatrics Over Childhood Vaccine Recommendations Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into the American Academy of Pediatrics, alleging the organization may have promoted childhood vaccines for financial gain. According to a Wednesday announcement from Paxton’s office, the investigation centers on whether the nation’s largest professional association of pediatricians issued vaccine recommendations influenced by financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies rather than scientific evidence. (Taylor, 8/5)

KFF Health News: Medicaid Work Rule Leaves Homeless People In The Cold Tywon Pugh has seizures that make it hard to find and keep a job. “They called me a ‘liability to the job site,’” Pugh said, recalling the words of his manager when a seizure cost him his last job at a fast-food restaurant in this western Montana city. When the 46-year-old lost work in the past, his wife of 10 years covered their rent and he tended to their home until he found another job. But his wife died last year. Soon after, Pugh became homeless. His problem with alcohol became worse, which made managing his seizures more difficult. (Houghton, 8/6)

You Might Also Enjoy...

Why We All Need to Care About What Happens to Dr. Tony Fauci. M Bertagnolli

For the Visual Among Us...

A few years ago I started a weekly e-mail for friends and colleagues who want to keep up on major federal health policy developments but did not have time to plod through all the minutiae--they were busy doing important things like running organizations and taking care of patients! Much to my surprise, it became pretty popular. I have now converted to a weekly newsletter format so you can manage your own subscription preferences and forward to others that might be interested.

These summaries represent my judgement on health policy issues that may not on the front pages, but are relevant to clinicians, administrators, and educators. I monitor many news sources and clipping services to identify content for this newsletter and I try hard to be as factual, balanced, and non-partisan as possible. While the articles are written by others (with credit attributed), the choice of what to include is entirely mine. If you are interested in receiving a daily summary of health policy news, you might consider signing up for the KHN Morning Briefing. If you enjoy podcasts, I suggest What the Health? and Tradeoffs.

-Gregg S. Margolis, PhD