A Headless CDC – KFF Health News

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The Trump administration missed a deadline this week to name a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without a candidate, current acting director Jay Bhattacharya — who also serves as director of the National Institutes of Health — must relinquish that title, leaving no one at the helm of the nation’s top public health agency.

Meanwhile, a week after a federal judge blocked changes to the Department of Health and Human Services’ childhood vaccination schedule, another blocked a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• A federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration’s declaration to limit trans care for minors, although the practical effects of the ruling will depend on whether hospitals resume such care. And a key member of the new federal vaccine advisory committee has resigned while the committee’s activities — and even its members — remain in legal limbo.
• Two top health care administration positions remain vacant, after President Donald Trump missed a deadline to fill the top job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and the Senate made little progress in confirming his nominee for surgeon general.
• The percentage of international graduates from foreign medical schools who match into residency positions in the United States has fallen to a five-year low. This is notable given that immigrants make up a quarter of doctors, many in critical but lower-paid specialties such as primary care, particularly in rural areas. Meanwhile, new surveys show that more than a quarter of laboratories funded by the National Institutes of Health have laid off staff and that cuts in federal research funding have had a disproportionate effect on women and early-career scientists.
• And new data shows that the number of abortions in the United States remained relatively stable last year, for the second year in a row — largely due to access to abortion care via telehealth. And a vocal opponent of abortion in the Senate, with his eyes on a presidential campaign, has introduced legislation to reverse federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

Also this week, Rovner interviews Katie Keith of the Georgetown Law Center about the state of the Affordable Care Act on its 16th anniversary.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy articles they read this week that they think you should also read:

Julie Rovner: “The Potential Flaw in Trump’s Plan to Get Other Countries to Pay More for Drugs,” by John Wilkerson.

Shefali Luthra: “Yes. A mother’s COVID vaccine during pregnancy protects her baby, large study finds” from NPR, by Tara Haelle.

Lizzy Lawrence: The Atlantic’s “RFK Jr. Meme Wash,” by Nicholas Florko.

Rachel Cohrs Zhang: “We’re Inside Now” The Boston Globe: Meet the Man Building a Political Empire Behind RFK Jr.” by Tal Kopan.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

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