Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Escalating Public Feud Between Azar And Verma Reaching 'Soap Opera' Levels Of Melodrama
They鈥檙e not obsessing about the impeachment imbroglio consuming the rest of the Washington. At the West Wing鈥檚 Navy mess, in hallway asides and at staff meetings, many White House aides just want to chatter about an increasingly vicious public spat between two of President Donald Trump鈥檚 top health officials. Among top Trump aides, it鈥檚 now an open question as to whether Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma can survive the scale of bickering that has appalled and horrified people internally, a White House official said. (Cook, 12/11)
The acting White House chief of staff has summoned President Trump鈥檚 top two health policy officials to the White House on Thursday to assess whether the president鈥檚 health secretary and his Medicare chief can continue to work together, a senior administration official confirmed on Tuesday. White House aides said President Trump is still standing by his embattled administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma, amid reports that she had requested that taxpayers reimburse her $47,000 for property stolen on a trip, including jewelry priced at more than $40,000. (Rogers, Abelson and Goodnough, 12/10)
People familiar with the matter said distrust between Ms. Verma and Mr. Azar has arisen in part because some people at HHS suspect Ms. Verma leaked information to the media about former HHS Secretary Tom Price鈥檚 use of private and military planes for work travel. Reports about that travel led Mr. Price to resign last year. These people also said the tension is partly fueled by a belief that Ms. Verma wants the HHS secretary position. Allies of Ms. Verma have said she played no role in providing leaks to the press about Mr. Price鈥檚 travel and that she wasn鈥檛 aware he was doing it. (Armour, 12/10)
Medicare chief Seema Verma allegedly retained a lawyer to discuss a claim that President Donald Trump鈥檚 first Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, was creating a hostile work environment, according to an internal 2017 memo prepared by a HHS appointee. A spokesperson for Verma denied that she hired a lawyer. (Pradhan, Diamond and Cancryn, 12/10)
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said it found insufficient evidence to conclude that CMS Administrator Seema Verma violated the law barring federal employees from engaging in political activities while on the job. The nonpartisan Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint in November 2018 alleging that Verma used her official Twitter account and blog post to advocate against Democratic Medicare for All proposals, in violation of the Hatch Act. The group claimed Verma did so as part of a White House-coordinated effort to defeat Democratic party candidates in the 2018 midterm elections. (Meyer, 12/10)
