In Policy Reversal, Trump Admin Ends Funding For Fentanyl Test Strips
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The federal government has paid to supply the test strips, which also check for other contaminants, to states since 2021, but the Trump administration now contends that harm-reduction measures encourage drug use, The New York Times reports. Experts assert that more information is better, and the distribution of test strips can stave off overdoses and encourage people who use drugs to exercise more caution.
The New York Times:
U.S. Government Will Stop Paying For Test Strips To Detect Deadly Drugs
A simple strip of treated paper that can swiftly signal whether a street drug contains deadly fentanyl or other contaminants is a common overdose prevention tool, distributed widely on college campuses and at music festivals and community clinics. The federal government has championed test strips since 2021 and has paid to supply them to states, a position the Trump administration publicly embraced as recently as July. But on Friday afternoon, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sent a letter to state health departments and grant recipients across the country, saying that the government would no longer pay for the strips because they are “intended for use by people using drugs.” (Hoffman, 4/27)
More updates from the Trump administration —
The New York Times:
Charges Against Suspect In Trump Assassination Attempt Based On Shotgun Shell And A Screed
Shortly before the attack, Cole Tomas Allen sent an email to his family and a former employer in which he expressed deep anger at the administration and the president, the affidavit said. Administration officials were the suspect’s “targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to a copy of the roughly 1,000-word document shared by two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to disclose the information. (Barrett, Montague and Levenson, 4/27)
ProPublica:
Trump SSI Rule Change Targets Disabled Adults Who Live With Families
Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college. (Hager, 4/28)
The CT Mirror:
CT Veteran Files Federal Lawsuit Over VA Denial Of Child’s Claim
A Connecticut Vietnam veteran and his daughter filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for denying her application for benefits, alleging it is discriminatory based on the sex of the parent. Ron and Michele Christoforo are challenging a federal statute that says children who have certain birth defects are eligible for VA benefits if their mother served during the Vietnam War between February 1961 through May 1975. (Hagen, 4/27)
CNBC:
Novartis CEO: Reality Of Trump’s Drug Pricing To Set In Over Next 18 Months
Novartis’ CEO warned Tuesday that the U.S. drug pricing policy under President Donald Trump poses a “very difficult situation” and the reality will soon catch up with both drugmakers and patients. “The longer-term implications are significant,” CEO Vas Narasimhan told CNBC’s Carolin Roth. “The reality of MFN is going to set in in the next 18 months.” (Ohlen, 4/28)
In news from Capitol Hill —
Stat:
Kennedy Repeatedly Fails To Answer Questions From Democrats
Last week, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) asked health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. whether he would release — by Friday — the contract of a longtime vaccine critic who was hired by the Department of Health and Human Services. “Yeah, I’m happy to,” Kennedy responded. But Friday came and went without a response from Kennedy. (Payne, 4/27)
The New York Times:
House Republican Makes His First Statement About Mysterious Absence
Representative Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who has not cast a vote in the House in nearly two months, said on Monday that he expected to make a full recovery from what he called a “personal medical issue,” but offered no additional details about his health or when he might return to Congress. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” he said in his first public statement since he began missing votes in Washington last month. (Tully, 4/27)
The Hill:
Sen. Mark Warner To Return To Senate After Daughter’s Death From Diabetes
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Monday that he will return to the upper chamber this week after taking time off for the death of his daughter, Madison. The Virginia senator wrote on the social platform X, “As we remember our incredible daughter, Maddy, my family has been deeply touched by the outpouring of support we’ve received. Thank you to everyone for your kind words.” Madison Warner, 36, died earlier this month after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. Mark Warner and his wife, Lisa Collis, wrote in a statement last Monday that they were “heartbroken beyond words” by their daughter’s passing. (Rego, 4/27)
