Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Picks Ex-NC Health Secretary Mandy Cohen For CDC Chief: Sources
President Biden plans to select former North Carolina health secretary Mandy Cohen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to three people with direct knowledge of the pending announcement. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke with Cohen this week to congratulate her on her selection, the people said. Biden’s formal announcement is expected later this month, after White House officials finalize Cohen’s paperwork, the people said. (Diamond and Sun, 6/1)
Cohen, a medical doctor, served in the Obama administration as chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She helped implement the Affordable Care Act and new payment models at the agency. She also served as North Carolina’s health secretary for nearly five years into 2021, helping lead the state through the Covid-19 pandemic. She is an executive at Aledade, a network of independent primary-care practices. (Armour, Restuccia and Toy, 6/1)
In other administration news —
President Joe Biden tripped on a sandbag and fell as he completed handing out diplomas at the US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado on Thursday. Biden appeared fine afterward, walking without assistance to his seat in the stands. He was seen smiling and jogging toward his vehicle at the ceremony’s conclusion. (Liptak, 6/1)
Medical officials inside a Border Patrol facility where an 8-year-old Panamanian girl died last month denied several requests for an ambulance by the girl’s mother, according to a statement released Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The girl had arrived at the station in Harlingen, Texas, on May 14 with her mother, where she first had reported feeling flulike symptoms and pain, a continuing review by the agency has found, CBP said. At no point during her stay in custody did medical staff treating her consult with on-call doctors, including an on-call pediatrician, and they didn’t properly document her medical visits or the course of treatment. CBP said the girl’s mother requested an ambulance three or four times. (Hackman, 6/1)
