HHS Secretary RFK Jr. speaks about measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged people to get vaccinated against measles in an op-ed written for Fox News Digital amid a growing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. In the op-ed, Kennedy noted that before the introduction of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in the 1960s, "virtually every child in the United States contracted measles," adding that "on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths" between 1953 and 1962 with a fatality rate of one in 1,205 cases.

"Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons," Kennedy wrote. However, Kennedy also placed a significant emphasis on nutrition, calling it "a best defense" against many chronic and infectious diseases, and listed a variety of vitamins that should be part of a healthy diet.

Some experts expressed concern about Kennedy emphasizing nutrition when discussing a measles outbreak. "He does seem to subscribe to the idea that is certainly one of the anti-vax movement talking points that public health prevention amounts to taking a multivitamin, or eating whole foods," said Malia Jones, an assistant professor of community health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "We can have good nutrition … and also vaccines."

When asked about the measles outbreak during a cabinet meeting, Kennedy said that measles outbreaks are "not unusual," a classification that Christina Johns, a pediatric emergency physician at PM Pediatrics in Annapolis, Maryland said "would be inaccurate," adding that a typical outbreak "is in the order of a handful, not over 100 people that that we have seen recently with this latest outbreak in West Texas."

Kennedy also said in an interview on Fox News that doctors in Texas had seen "very, very good results" treating measles cases with the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin, and cod liver oil, the latter of which Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said is "by no means" an evidence-based treatment and something he had never heard of a physician using against measles.

Kennedy's handling of the measles outbreak led Thomas Corry, the top spokesperson at HHS, to resign on Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to POLITICO. Corry had not only disagreed with Kennedy's handling of the outbreak but also had growing disagreements with both Kennedy and his principal deputy chief of staff, Stefanie Spear, over their management of HHS, the people said. (Falconer, Axios, 3/2; Mukherjee, CNN, 2/27; Branswell, STAT, 3/3; Rosenbluth, New York Times, 3/4; Cancryn, POLITICO, 3/3)

HHS rescinds policy requiring public comment for rulemaking

HHS last week issued a policy statement saying that it would immediately rescind a policy from 1971 requiring public comment for rules on public property, loans, grants, public benefits, or contracts. HHS said the policy imposes extra requirements on the agency and is "contrary to the efficient operation of the department." The statement said HHS "will continue to follow notice and comment rulemaking procedures in all instances in which it is required to do so by the statutory text of the [Administrative Procedure Act]."

A former high-level HHS official in the Biden-Harris administration who spoke to STAT said the move is "hugely concerning and will almost certainly be challenged. This includes grants, loans, and benefits, which is a large portion of what HHS does."

Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, said he believes the move is a clear effort by Kennedy to avoid accountability. "My impression of the rule is that the Secretary knows that much of what he's done and what he intends to do to radically transform health policy … has been lawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, and he's trying to insulate himself from accountability," Gostin said. (Goldman, Axios, 2/28; Cueto, STAT+  [subscription required], 2/28; Choi, The Hill, 2/28; Early, Modern Healthcare, 2/28)

President Trump gives speech before a joint session of Congress

President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave his first speech of his second term before a joint session of Congress, discussing several topics but only briefly mentioning healthcare. During the speech, Trump spoke about DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018, and said that reversing rates of childhood cancer is "one of the top priorities for our new presidential commission to Make America Healthy Again."

Trump added that his administration's goal is "to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong." Trump also noted that rates of autism in children have increased, saying that "there's something wrong … so we're going to find out what it is and there's nobody better than [Kennedy] and all of the people that are working with you."

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupted Trump's speech shortly after it began, saying Trump had no "mandate to cut Medicaid." Green was removed from the chamber and later said to reporters that he was protesting Trump's cuts to federal programs. "I was making it clear to the president that he has no mandate to cut Medicaid," Green said. "I have people who are very fearful, these are poor people and they all need Medicaid in their lives when it comes to their healthcare." (Stanage, The Hill, 3/5; Irwin, The Hill, 3/5; Speech transcript, New York Times, 3/5)

Trump administration will allegedly drop EMTALA abortion lawsuit

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday said it will drop its suit against Idaho that argued the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) provided federal protections to healthcare providers performing abortions in emergency situations.

The suit was originally filed by the Biden administration, who challenged an Idaho law that only allows for abortions to save the life of a pregnant person, arguing the exception was "extremely narrow" and violated EMTALA. Idaho and anti-abortion activists argued the Biden administration was attempting to subvert the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which left abortion regulation up to the states.

Last year, the Supreme Court temporarily ruled in favor of the federal government, saying that appeals from Idaho were being dismissed as "improvidently granted," allowing a San Francisco-based federal appeals court to consider the case.

St. Luke's Health System, which is based in Idaho, said in a brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho that its attorneys received an email from an unnamed federal official informing them the DOJ intended to withdraw its case against the Idaho law. (Early, Modern Healthcare, 3/4; Whitehurst/Boone, Associated Press, 3/4)

Federal judge blocks executive orders stopping federal funding for providers of gender-affirming care

U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson on Tuesday blocked President Trump's executive orders that would halt federal funding to providers of gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19. The ruling will keep enforcement of the executive order on hold while the case goes through the courts. However, the Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling.

The ruling came in a case brought by six transgender individuals between the ages of 12 and 18 alongside parents and advocacy groups arguing that their access to treatment where they live in Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts was threatened by Trump's orders.

Hurson in February had issued a temporary restraining order, finding that Trump had likely exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. On Tuesday, Hurson found that the plaintiffs in the case were likely to prevail on their claims arguing Trump's orders violated existing laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause.

(Associated Press, 3/4; Harmon, New York Times, 3/4)

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