First Edition: May 24, 2017
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Politico:
Trump Undermines Senate GOP’s Medicaid Backers
A group of Republican senators is fighting desperately to preserve health coverage for millions of low-income constituents who have benefited from Obamacare. And the president of their own party seriously undercut their negotiating position with his budget Tuesday. By proposing hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts in combination with the House-passed health care bill’s more than $800 billion in Medicaid spending reductions, President Donald Trump is effectively throwing in with fiscal conservatives looking to constrain the program’s growth and wind down its coverage as quickly as possible. And that could be perilous for more than a dozen GOP senators who have been meeting for months over how to preserve the law's benefits. (Everett and Cancryn, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
Trump Budget Would Cut Health Benefits For Many Lower-Income Kids, Experts Fear
Lower-income children would have their federal health benefits cut sharply under President Trump’s proposed budget, which analysts say could reverse gains that have pushed uninsured rates for this vulnerable population below 5 percent. The shift stems from a combination of factors, including a plan to reduce Medicaid by $1.4 trillion over the next decade and a roughly 20 percent decrease in funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), along with proposed changes to eligibility requirements and the way federal matching funds are calculated. (Eilperin, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
Poor And Disabled Big Losers In Trump Budget; Military Wins
The poor and the disabled are big losers in President Donald Trump's $4.1 trillion budget proposal while the Pentagon is a big winner. Trump's plan for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 makes deep cuts in safety net programs, including Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The proposal also includes big cuts in Social Security's disability program. (Ohlemacher, 5/24)
USA Today:
Health Care Advocates Say The Trump Budget Plan Would Gut Medicaid
Advocates for low income people struggled to find the words to describe the likely effect of the proposed $800 billion in cuts proposed to Medicaid in the Trump administration's budget released Tuesday. Depending who you ask, it will be devastating or "just awful" to the lowest income Americans, especially children and those with chronic health conditions, mental illness or substance use disorder. (O'Donnell, Saker and Robinson, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
Agency-By-Agency Look At Trump's Budget
The budget initiates deep cuts to health insurance programs for people with modest incomes, including coverage for children. Those cuts would go beyond the House GOP bill that repeals much of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," and limits future federal financing for Medicaid. (5/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Scientific Research Would Take A Big Hit Under Trump's Budget — And That's Bad For The Economy, Experts Say
How does science fare under President Trump’s proposed budget? Not too well. The American Assn. for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) estimated that the budget released Tuesday morning represented a 16.8% decrease in overall funding for scientific research compared with the current budget. (Netburn, 5/23)
NPR:
Trump Administration Seeks Deep Cuts In Health Care, Medical Research
The NIH, which funds research into medical treatments and basic science, would see cuts of almost $6 billion, to about $26 billion. That would include a $575 million cut to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and $838 million cut to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is involved in a wide range of diseases including AIDS and Zika. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases would be cut by $355 million. (Kodjak and Stein, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Research, Public Health And Worker Safety Would All See Steep Cuts Under Trump Budget
Under the heading “Putting America’s Health First,” the Trump administration’s 2018 budget blueprint includes a $5.8-billion cut for the National Institutes of Health, a move that would slash the medical research agency’s funding by just over 18%. It would reduce public health spending by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by $1.32 billion, a 17% decline from 2017 spending levels. And it would cut the Food and Drug Administration’s spending by $854 million, a 31% decrease cut from current funding levels. (Healy, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
Trump’s Budget Proposal Aims To Cut All Federal Funds From Planned Parenthood
President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal would bar Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from receiving federal funds that help pay for health-care services for millions of Americans. The budget, the “New Foundation for American Greatness,” was released Tuesday, proposing to cut trillions of dollars in spending during the next decade. The budget is part of the Trump administration’s effort to follow through on a campaign promise to exclude “certain entities that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood” from participating in any Department of Health and Human Services programs, according to a fact sheet from the White House. (Bever, 5/23)
The New York Times:
Cuts To AIDS Treatment Programs Could Cost A Million Lives
At least one million people will die in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, researchers and advocates said on Tuesday, if funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration to global public health programs are enacted. The United States currently spends more than $6 billion annually on programs that buy antiretroviral drugs for about 11.5 million people worldwide who are infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The Trump administration has proposed slashing those programs by at least $1.1 billion — nearly a fifth of their current funding, said Jen Kates, a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Harris, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump’s Budget Will Hit Hard For California's Most Vulnerable, Advocates And State Lawmakers Warn
President Trump’s proposed budget would likely result in billions of dollars of cuts to vital health and human services programs in California, state Democratic lawmakers and advocates for the poor said Tuesday. “It’s unconscionable and un-American,” said Gov. Jerry Brown in a written statement. (Myers, 5/23)
Reuters:
Trump Budget Cuts May Stir Backlash In Rural America
President Donald Trump’s proposals to slash federal aid to the poor, the sick and people living in rural areas reflect conservatives' demands for a smaller federal government but target many of the very people who voted for him last November. In his first detailed budget submission to Congress on Tuesday, Trump requested major reductions to programs that help poor families afford groceries and poor and disabled people get healthcare. (Cowan, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
Even Some Republicans Balk At Trump’s Plan For Steep Budget Cuts
While some fiscally conservative lawmakers, particularly in the House, found a lot to praise in Trump’s plan to balance the budget within 10 years, most Republicans flatly rejected the White House proposal. The divide sets up a clash between House conservatives and a growing number of Senate Republicans who would rather work with Democrats on a spending deal than entertain Trump’s deep cuts. “This is kind of the game,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.). “We know that the president’s budget won’t pass as proposed.” (Snell, Paletta and DeBonis, 5/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Bipartisan Pushback Greets Trump’s Proposed Budget
“I hate to say it, but I would say the budget was dead before the ink was dry,” Rep. Don Young (R., Alaska), who opposes the budget’s elimination of two programs in his state. Payments to Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor, would be cut by more than $600 billion over a decade from levels projected under current law in addition to proposed Medicaid cuts under the House bill repealing and replacing much of the Affordable Care Act. (Davidson, Peterson and Andrews, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
Icy Reception To Trump Budget From Fellow Republicans
Longtime GOP Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky declared proposed cuts to safety net and environmental proposals "draconian." "I don't think the president's budget is going anywhere," said Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, asked if he's concerned about the message sent by slashing the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. (Werner, 5/23)
The New York Times:
Republicans Will Reject Trump’s Budget, But Still Try To Impose Austerity
Finally some good news for President Trump: His new budget stands absolutely no chance of being enacted by Congress. Moving forward with the cuts outlined in the $4.1 trillion spending plan created by the budget director, Mick Mulvaney, formerly one of the most determined fiscal hawks in Congress, would no doubt have major repercussions and compound the peril of Republicans already facing upheaval over their health care proposals. It would most likely hurt some of the very voters in rural and economically distressed corners of the nation who catapulted Mr. Trump to the White House and Republicans to control of the House and Senate. The effect on those constituents would be quickly felt. (Hulse, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
Cabinet Members Head To Capitol Hill To Defend Trump Budget
Top officials in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet are heading to Capitol Hill to defend his plans to cut domestic programs and parry Democratic criticism of his tax proposals. Budget Director Mick Mulvaney appears Wednesday before the House Budget panel while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will testify at the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. The budget contains virtually no further detail on taxes beyond the cuts the administration proposed in a one-page outline last month. (Taylor, 5/24)
The Associated Press:
Clinton: Trump Budget Shows 'Unimaginable' Cruelty
Hillary Clinton proclaimed Tuesday that President Donald Trump's budget shows an "unimaginable level of cruelty" for millions of Americans and children. The former Democratic presidential nominee, who recently declared herself part of the Trump resistance, lashed out at the Republican president's spending plan in aggressive terms after being honored in New York City by the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps provide health care to poor and homeless children. (Peoples, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
Budget Office To Gauge Health Bill Effect On Coverage, Cost
Congressional Republicans are about to learn more about whether their drive to dismantle President Barack Obama's health care law has been worth the political pain they've been experiencing. The Congressional Budget Office planned to release its estimate Wednesday of what impact the GOP's House-passed health care overhaul would have on coverage and premiums. (Fram and Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/24)
Politico:
Republicans Gird For CBO Verdict On Obamacare Repeal
Republicans are bracing for a report Wednesday expected to say their Obamacare repeal plan would leave millions of Americans without health insurance, further complicating their efforts to pass legislation quickly. The CBO’s analysis of the bill comes three weeks after House Republicans rushed to vote on the legislation without an update on its cost, or its impact on the nation's uninsured. The agency's score will serve as the unofficial framework for Senate lawmakers negotiating their own version of repeal and will likely help those eager to make big changes. It's also expected to become a rallying point for Democrats critical of an effort that could strip health care from millions. (Cancryn and Ferris, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
With Healthcare In Turmoil, Senate Republicans Are Under Pressure To Buck Trump
Senate Republicans face increasing pressure to rescue health insurance markets and protect coverage for millions of Americans amid growing fears the Trump administration is going let the markets collapse. In recent days, leading hospitals, physician groups, health insurers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have pleaded with the Senate to step in, effectively going around the White House. (Levey and Mascaro, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
Fact-Checking A Rosy Portrait Of The American Health Care Act
In a $2 million ad campaign to support the House GOP health plan, the right-leaning American Action Network (AAN) features a California woman named Elizabeth Jacinto who says she suffered under Obamacare and expresses enthusiasm for the American Health Care Act. The ACHA only narrowly passed the House and was greeted lukewarmly by the Senate, so a key part of the effort appears to assist 21 GOP lawmakers who cast a tough vote to support proposal. (Kessler, 5/24)
The Associated Press:
Health Care Is Key Issue As Montana Fills US House Seat
Meagher County, Montana, may not be much different than the rest of the rural enclaves across America that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump last fall. The median annual household income is $38,000 — about 25 percent below the national average. Nearly 20 percent of its 1,800 residents live in poverty. And more than one in four people don't have health insurance. (5/23)
The Associated Press:
Congressman Quits Post In GOP Group Over Health Care Bill
A New Jersey Republican congressman who helped push the House health care bill to passage quit his post Tuesday as a chairman of the chamber's moderate Tuesday Group, criticizing colleagues for having "different objectives and a different sense of governing than I do." Rep. Tom MacArthur, a second-term congressman, announced his decision at a closed-door meeting of the group, which has roughly 50 members. (Fram, 5/23)
USA Today:
Rep. Tom MacArthur Quits As Leader Of Moderate Tuesday Group
"I realized through the health care debates that people in my group wanted different things. They had a very different view of governing," MacArthur told reporters during a House vote Tuesday. MacArthur became co-chairman of the Tuesday Group at the beginning of this year. A former insurance executive now in his second term in the House, he was the first New Jersey Republican to support House leaders' bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. (Jackson, 5/23)
Politico:
MacArthur Resigns As Co-Chairman Of 'Clearly Divided' Tuesday Group
“Clearly, our group is divided. Many in the Tuesday Group are eager to live up to our ideal of being problem-solvers, while others seem unwilling to compromise,” MacArthur, 56, told the group, according to prepared remarks obtained by POLITICO New Jersey. (Jennings, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
Q&A: Rep. Tom MacArthur And The Agony Of GOP Moderates In Trump’s Washington
MacArthur’s brief and uneasy turn under the national spotlight has been telling. Exchanges from his packed forum this month in deep-blue Willingboro — mostly of supporters of the Affordable Care Act fuming about his attempts to repeal and replace the law — have been replayed endlessly on cable news. And the centrists MacArthur once led are increasingly nervous about their reelection chances — and have groused that his eagerness to cut a deal with Freedom Caucus hard-liners is partly responsible for their vulnerability. (Costa, 5/23)
The New York Times:
W.H.O. Elects Ethiopia’s Tedros As First Director General From Africa
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia was voted director general of the World Health Organization on Tuesday, the first African ever to head the agency. The election was the first conducted by the W.H.O. under more open and democratic rules. After nearly two years of public campaigning, originally by six candidates, the voting took place in a closed-door session in which the health ministers of 186 countries cast their ballots in secret. (McNeil and Cumming-Bruce, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
WHO Picks Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu Of Ethiopia To Lead The Global Health Agency
During the third and final round of balloting in Geneva, members of the World Health Assembly voted 133 to 50 to pick Tedros, as he is known, to be the next director-general, according to unofficial tallies. Cheers broke out, observers said, as he beat out David Nabarro, a 67-year-old physician and longtime United Nations official from Britain, and Sania Nishtar, a 54-year-old cardiologist from Pakistan. It was the first time member states took part in a secret ballot that gave each member state an equal vote. In the past, leaders were chosen by an executive board and voting took place behind closed doors. Nishtar was eliminated during the first round of voting. (Sun, 5/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Approves Merck’s Keytruda To Treat Cancers With Genetic Defects
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Merck & Co.’s Keytruda drug to treat tumors with a certain genetic defect—the first time the agency has cleared a cancer drug for a use not tied to the site of a tumor. The FDA approved Keytruda to treat tumors with genetic defects known as “microsatellite instability” or “mismatch repair” deficiencies, which are present in an estimated 4% of cancers. Studies showed the drug shrank tumors in a significant number of patients with colorectal and 14 other cancer types that had the genetic defect. (Loftus, 5/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Alexion’s Shakeup Continues As Four Executives Exit
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s new chief executive is reshaping the top ranks of the organization following an internal investigation into sales practices prompted by a former employee. (Tweh and Rockoff, 5/23)
The Washington Post:
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Calls For ‘More Forceful Steps’ To Curb Opioid Epidemic
Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called on his staff Tuesday to explore “more forceful” efforts to curb the epidemic, including requiring training for doctors and ensuring patients aren't prescribed the medications for unnecessarily long periods that increase the risk of addiction. “Opioid prescriptions should be written only for appropriate patients and for appropriate durations,” Gottlieb said in his first interview since becoming commissioner. “No more 30-day supplies for tooth extractions” or uncomplicated hernia repairs. (McGinley, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
NY Senate Heroin Task Force To Hear From Experts, Ex-Users
New York lawmakers working to address the heroin and opioid epidemic want to hear from the experts — and people with first-hand experience with addiction. A state Senate Task Force is holding a public hearing Wednesday at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College in Johnstown. (5/24)
USA Today/The Associated Press:
Gun Deaths: When Kids Find Guns, Should Parents Be Blamed?
Amy Pittman learned on her first day in jail to bottle up her grief. As soon as she arrived, guards took her shoelaces so she wouldn’t try to hang herself. Cry too much or scream too loud and she feared they would come back to take everything she had left — her clothes, a sheet, a plastic spork. (Penzenstadler, Foley and Fenn, 5/24)
USA Today/The Associated Press:
States Rejecting Bills Intended To Keep Guns Away From Kids
In state after state, proposals that would create or toughen laws intended to keep kids from getting ahold of unsecured guns have stalled — caught up in a debate over whether they are effective prevention measures or just government overreach. Child access prevention laws allow prosecutors to bring charges against adults who fail to safely store their loaded guns, especially when they are obtained by minors and used to harm. (Foley and Penzenstadler, 5/24)
NPR:
One Fifth Of Children In Fatal Car Crashes Were Improperly Restrained
A new study found that 20 percent of children who were in a fatal car crashes were not buckled in properly, or were not wearing a seat belt at all, and that child fatality rates in deadly car crashes vary widely by state. The results add evidence to the argument that state regulations and public information tactics can affect motor vehicle safety for kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that, for example, seat belt use across all age groups is higher in states with more stringent seat belt enforcement laws. (Hersher, 5/23)
The Associated Press:
California Botulism Outbreak Is Rare Case Of Deadly Disease
A deadly botulism outbreak linked to contaminated nacho-cheese dip sold in a California gas station is a rare case of the disease that can cause paralysis and death. The outbreak in the Sacramento area left one man dead and sent nine people to a hospital. Here are some things to know about botulism. (5/23)
The New York Times:
Why Chocolate May Be Good For The Heart
Eating chocolate has been tied to a reduced risk of heart disease. Now scientists have uncovered one possible reason. Using data from a large Danish health study, researchers have found an association between chocolate consumption and a lowered risk for atrial fibrillation, the irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke, heart failure and other serious problems. The study is in Heart. (Bakalar, 5/23)