Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pelosi Cast Long Shadow On Health Issues As Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi made history in 2007 for getting the job, for becoming the first female speaker of the House and聽the highest-ranking woman in American history. As the California congresswoman steps back聽from her role as the leader of House Democrats through tumultuous times, she has also made history for what she has done in the job. (Page, 11/17)
Dealing with trauma she likened to 鈥渟urvivor鈥檚 guilt,鈥 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the aftermath of the October attack on her husband, Paul, by an assailant looking for her has left the California Democrat鈥檚 family shaken. 鈥淚f he had fallen, slipped on the ice or was in an accident and hurt his head, it would be horrible, but to have it be an assault on him because they were looking for me is really 鈥 they call it 鈥榮urvivor鈥檚 guilt鈥 or something,鈥 Pelosi said Thursday in her most detailed comments to date on the attack鈥檚 aftermath. 鈥淏ut the traumatic effect on him, this happened in our house.鈥 (Alfaro and Kane, 11/17)
In other updates from Capitol Hill 鈥
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday introduced new legislation that aims to improve access to communications technology for Americans with disabilities to ensure they have equal opportunities in an increasingly online world. The Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA) will update policies for television programming and online video streaming platforms. (Dress, 11/7)
An effort to lower the cost of insulin for privately insured patients faces long odds in the lame duck session, Axios' Peter Sullivan reports. (Sullivan, 11/18)
Millions of Medicaid recipients are unaware that states will redetermine their eligibility for the program when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends 鈥 and fewer than one third know what other coverage options exist, according to an Urban Institute policy brief. (Moreno, 11/17)
KHN: KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat The Health?鈥: The Changing Of The Guard
The coming Congress will look different from the current one: While Democrats narrowly kept control of the U.S. Senate, Republicans gained a majority in the House. While their majority is small, it will likely be enough to block any further items on President Joe Biden鈥檚 agenda. Meanwhile, the current, lame-duck Congress still has a lot of items on its to-do list, including keeping the government open and averting a scheduled 4% cut in payments to health providers. (11/17)
And the Biden administration proposes changes to the WIC program 鈥
U.S. agriculture officials proposed changes Thursday to the federal program that helps pay the grocery bills for low-income pregnant women, babies and young children, including extending a bump in payments for fresh fruits and vegetables allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The update also adds more whole grains, canned fish and non-dairy options to their shopping carts. The effort is aimed at expanding the number and type of healthy foods available to families who get assistance from the Agriculture Department鈥檚 program known as WIC, officials said. (Aleccia, 11/18)