Alex Azar Came To HHS Ready To Execute A Four-Point Health Plan. Then The Zero-Tolerance Crisis Happened.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar became the public face of the crisis because his agency is responsible for housing the migrant children that were separated from their parents. The Washington Post looks at how he handled the pressure. Meanwhile, Azar plans to shift millions from public health programs to help pay to house detained migrant children.
The Washington Post:
Health And Human Services Secretary Confronts Migrant Child Crisis
Midnight had passed, and Alex Azar was still in a coat and tie as he looked into a computer monitor inside the Department of Health and Human Services emergency-operations hub. It was a room built for managing responses to hurricanes and disease outbreaks, but the HHS secretary was, instead, scrambling to deal with a disaster instigated by his own boss — a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that led thousands of children to be separated from their parents. Azar was not consulted on the zero tolerance policy before it was announced in early May, according to people familiar with the events, even though his department is responsible for housing migrant children who are on their own. (Goldstein, 9/20)
The Hill:
Trump Health Official Defends Funding Shifts To Pay For Detained Migrant Children
A top White House health official on Thursday defended a decision to shift money from health efforts in order to help pay to house detained migrant children. Joe Grogan, director of health programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters the administration will not divert money from anti-opioid efforts. (Weixel, 9/20)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
Lawmakers Consider Easing Costs On Drug Companies As Part Of Opioids Deal
Lawmakers are considering adding a provision easing costs on drug companies to an opioid package currently being negotiated. The powerful pharmaceutical industry has been pushing for months to roll back a provision from February’s budget deal that shifted more costs onto drug companies, and they sense they have a chance to attach the change to the bipartisan opioid package currently moving through Congress. (Sullivan, 9/20)
Stat:
Top Trump Health Official Calls On Congress To Do More On Drug Pricing
A top U.S. health official on Thursday called on lawmakers in Congress to do more to help bring down drug prices, saying that the Trump administration had “given them a lot of opportunities to step in here.” “I think Congress can do more,” said Joe Grogan, associate director for health programs at the Office of Management and Budget. He added: “As we get to the sprint before the end of the year, there are a few things that they may take up, and we’re actively in discussions about that.” (Swetlitz, 9/20)
The New York Times:
Biosafety Reforms Still Lagging At Military Labs
Three years after discovering that a military laboratory had shipped live anthrax to facilities around the world, the Department of Defense still has not developed a plan to evaluate its biological security practices, the federal Government Accountability Office reported on Thursday. The department has implemented about half of the procedural changes that had been recommended, the G.A.O. said. But the Pentagon still has not established a way to measure the effectiveness of these reforms, making it difficult for experts to determine whether safety has improved. (Baumgaertner, 9/20)
ProPublica/The New York Times:
Sloan Kettering’s Cozy Deal With Start-Up Ignites A New
An artificial intelligence start-up founded by three insiders at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center debuted with great fanfare in February, with $25 million in venture capital and the promise that it might one day transform how cancer is diagnosed. The company, Paige.AI, is one in a burgeoning field of start-ups that are applying artificial intelligence to health care, yet it has an advantage over many competitors: The company has an exclusive deal to use the cancer center’s vast archive of 25 million patient tissue slides, along with decades of work by its world-renowned pathologists. (Ornstein and Thomas, 9/20)