In Effort To Cut Down On Veterans’ Suicides, Trump Expands Access To Mental Health Benefits
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that is geared toward helping new veterans transition to civilian life, which can be a particularly vulnerable time.
The Washington Post:
Trump Seeks To Reduce Suicide Among Recent Veterans With New Executive Order
President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at expanding mental-health care for transitioning veterans as they leave the military, in an effort to reduce suicides in a group that is considered particularly at risk. The order will take effect March 9 and is expected to provide all new veterans with mental-health care for at least a year after they leave the military. Trump gave the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs 60 days to iron out details and develop a joint plan, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said in phone call with reporters. (Lamothe, 1/9)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
Trump’s First Full Physical Is Approaching. What He Discloses Is Up To Him.
President Trump is a commander in chief who fuels himself with a steady stream of Diet Cokes, scoops of vanilla ice cream and slabs of red meat. He gets as little as five hours of sleep a night. He is not known to exercise more than the brief strolls beyond his cart on the golf course. This, he and his aides have maintained, is the very picture of presidential stamina. On Friday, Mr. Trump, 71, will undergo his first comprehensive physical examination as president, and the first formal check on his former doctor’s Trumpian 2015 campaign claim that he’d be the “healthiest individual ever elected” to the office. (Rogers and Altman, 1/9)
The Hill:
Alexander, Trump Discussed ObamaCare Fix In Nashville
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) says he spoke to President Trump on Monday about a bipartisan bill aimed at stabilizing ObamaCare markets and that Trump again expressed his support for the measure. Alexander told reporters Tuesday that Trump asked about the bill when the two appeared together at an event in Tennessee on Monday. Alexander said he told the president he would get back to him after meeting with Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) this week. (Sullivan, 1/9)
The Hill:
CDC Rejects Censorship Reports: 'There Are Absolutely No "Banned" Words'
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it “has not banned, prohibited, or forbidden” the use of certain words in official documentation, the agency director says in response to concerns from Senate Democrats. Democrats had been concerned, they said last month, “that the Trump Administration is yet again prioritizing ideology over science” after reports claimed agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had banned employees from using words including “fetus,” “vulnerable” and “science-based.” (Weixel 1/9)
The Associated Press:
Judge Urges Action On ‘100 Percent Manmade’ Opioid Crisis
A federal judge on Tuesday set a goal of doing something about the nation’s opioid epidemic this year, while noting the drug crisis is “100 percent man-made.” Judge Dan Polster urged participants on all sides of lawsuits against drugmakers and distributors to work toward a common goal of reducing overdose deaths. He said the issue has come to courts because “other branches of government have punted” it. (Welsh-Huggins, 1/9)
The Hill:
Senate Dems Seek $25B In Opioid Funding
Senate Democrats are pushing for an extra $25 billion to be included in any final budget agreement to combat the opioid epidemic. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, a pair of New Hampshire Democrats who are leading the effort, said during a press conference Tuesday that the federal response to the crisis has been insufficient and negotiations over a long-term spending deal are an opportunity to change that. (Weixel, 1/9)
Kaiser Health News:
A Poor Neighborhood In Chicago Looks To Cuba To Fight Infant Mortality
Over the past few months, medical professionals on Chicago’s South Side have been trying a new tactic to bring down the area’s infant mortality rate: find women of childbearing age and ask them about everything.Really, everything. “In the last 12 months, have you had any problems with any bug infestations, rodents or mold?” Dr. Kathy Tossas-Milligan, an epidemiologist, asked Yolanda Flowers during a recent visit to her home, in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. “Have you ever had teeth removed or crowned because of a cavity?” (Bryan, 1/10)