Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

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

The Top Three...

Politico: Dr. Oz, With A TV Host’s Flair, Promises Simple Solutions For America’s Health Care Ills Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare, told senators a combination of investments, technology, and regulatory changes could both bring down costs and make America healthy again. “We have a generational opportunity to fix our health care system and help people stay healthy for longer,” Oz told senators on the Finance Committee on Friday. (King and Cirruzzo, 3/14)

The New York Times: President Signs Order Aimed At Closing Education Dept. President Trump on Thursday instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down her agency, a task that cannot be completed without congressional approval and sets the stage for a seismic political and legal battle over the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools. Mr. Trump said Thursday that the department would continue to provide critical functions that are required by law, such as the administration of federal student aid, including loans and grants, as well as funding for special education and districts with high levels of student poverty. The department would also continue civil rights enforcement, White House officials said. Mr. Trump called those programs “useful functions,” and said they’re going to be “preserved in full.” Higher education leaders and advocacy groups immediately condemned the executive order. “See you in court,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the trade union for educators. (Bender, Green and Blinder, 3/20)

NPR: Trump Wants To Erase DEI. Researchers Worry It Will Upend Work On Health Disparity Dr. Fola May studies diseases of the digestive tract, and runs a lab at the University of California Los Angeles looking for ways to detect disease earlier in various groups. For that work, she says her lab is "very dependent" on federal funds from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. So as those agencies began canceling grants and programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or "DEI," May worried: Would work like hers, looking at health disparities also get swept in? (Noguchi, 3/21)

For a Deeper Dive...

CBS News: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo And Former Texas Congressman Michael Burgess Floated For CDC Director Florida's controversial surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, and a former Texas Republican congressman, Dr. Michael Burgess, are each being backed by some of President Trump's allies to be the next head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House is searching for a replacement after the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, was abruptly pulled last week. (Tin, 3/20)

Becker's Hospital Review: Work Requirements Could Strip 5M People Of Medicaid The potential implementation of federal Medicaid work requirements poses a serious threat to healthcare access for millions of Americans. An analysis published March 17 by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation warns that up to 5 million adults could lose their Medicaid coverage by 2026 — not because they fail to meet work criteria, but due to bureaucratic hurdles and reporting challenges. (Condon, 3/17)

Stat: AHRQ, A Small HHS Agency, Likely Target For DOGE Cuts A small government agency responsible for putting medical products and services to practical use and making health care safe is feared to be the latest target for mass layoffs by the Trump administration. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has about 300 employees and a budget of $369 million, which is about 0.02% of what the government spends on health care. But AHRQ hasn’t escaped the notice of the DOGE Service, which has been slashing agency payrolls and budgets across the government. (Wilkerson, 3/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Weighing Major Cuts To Funding For Domestic HIV Prevention The Health and Human Services Department is weighing plans to drastically cut the federal government’s funding for domestic HIV prevention, according to people familiar with the matter. The plans could be announced as soon as within a day, the people said, but they haven’t been finalized and could be pulled back or adjusted. (Essley Whyte, Mosbergen and Rockoff, 3/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: 'We Have To Tell Our Story': How Hospitals Are Fighting To Protect Medicaid Nicole Stallings, President and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, joined the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast to shed light on the challenges ahead — chief among them, the battle to protect Medicaid. With 3.2 million Pennsylvanians relying on the program, potential funding cuts could send shockwaves through hospitals, communities and the state’s economy. In this conversation, Ms. Stallings unpacks the policy noise, outlines the stakes for hospital leaders, and shares how advocacy can shape the future of healthcare access. (Condon, 3/18)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr.’s Defeat On CDC Nominee Dave Weldon Tests Limits Of Vaccine Agenda Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s failure to install a fellow vaccine critic to a key government post is testing the limits of how far the US health secretary can go to promote his public-health agenda. The White House late Wednesday informed Dave Weldon that officials were pulling his nomination to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after his views on vaccines alarmed key Republican senators. Weldon had been scheduled to attend a Senate panel hearing the following morning, but “there were not the votes” to confirm the nominee, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said. (Cohrs Zhang and Court, 3/14)

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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