CDC Director’s $375,000 Salary Called Into Question By Democratic Senator
CDC Director Robert Redfield's salary is nearly double what his predecessor made.
The Washington Post:
Top Democratic Senator Questions CDC Director’s $375,000 Salary
A top Democratic senator is raising questions about the $375,000 salary of Robert Redfield, the new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who is getting almost twice what his predecessor earned and more than other past directors. In a letter Friday to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked for the justification for offering Redfield “a salary significantly higher” than that of his predecessors and other leaders at HHS. (Sun, 4/27)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Struggle For Transgender Rights Shifts To Health Care
Military service. Bathroom use. Job bias. And now, health care. The Trump administration is coming under fire for rewriting a federal rule that bars discrimination in health care based on "gender identity." Critics say it's another attempt to undercut acceptance for transgender people. The Health and Human Services Department rule dates to the Obama administration, a time when LGBT people gained political and social recognition. But a federal judge in Texas said the rule went too far by concluding that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is a form of sex discrimination, which is forbidden by civil rights laws. (4/30)
The Washington Post:
Bill Gates Calls On U.S. To Lead Fight Against A Pandemic That Could Kill 33 Million
Bill Gates says the U.S. government is falling short in preparing the nation and the world for the “significant probability of a large and lethal modern-day pandemic occurring in our lifetimes.” In an interview this week, the billionaire philanthropist said he has raised the issue of pandemic preparedness with President Trump since the 2016 presidential election. In his most recent meeting last month, Gates said he laid out the increasing risk of a bioterrorism attack and stressed the importance of U.S. funding for advanced research on new therapeutics, including a universal flu vaccine, which would protect against all or most strains of influenza. (Sun, 4/27)
Stat:
Bill Gates Says He Got Trump Fired Up About A Universal Flu Vaccine
Bill Gates was talking to President Trump in the Oval Office last month when the conversation turned to the notion of a universal flu vaccine — probably, as Gates recalled in an interview, “the longest conversation about universal flu vaccine that the president’s ever had.” “You should associate yourself with American innovation. Wouldn’t you love to have the universal flu vaccine be something that really got kicked off and energized by you?” Gates recalled asking Trump. (Branswell, 4/30)