From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Dem Attorney General Josh Kaul warned Donald Trump has put the country “on the verge of a dark ages” for public health with the way the president has cut federal money for research of lifesaving treatments.
Speaking yesterday at a WisPolitics luncheon in Madison, Kaul also slammed changes that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made to the way vaccines are approved.
“You can’t cut $11 billion in public health grants, you can’t drastically cut research funding, you can’t kick people off of Medicaid without having enormous impacts,” Kaul said.
The AG, now in his second term, took a series of shots at the Trump administration, accusing the president of taking unusual steps to consolidate power by threatening political opponents, freezing funding and ignoring acts of Congress.
Kaul, who started his role as AG midway through Trump’s first term, said his office has been more active in challenging the president’s actions than previously. He said that’s a reflection of the legally dubious moves Trump has made early in his second term.
The Department of Justice under Kaul is now involved in 20 legal actions against the Trump administration since the start of the year. His agency has also joined friend-of-the court briefs in other cases. That includes joining 22 other attorneys general on Friday in filing an amicus brief supporting lawsuits filed by National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service seeking to block funding cuts Trump demanded through executive orders.
See more coverage from the luncheon here.
— U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are reintroducing legislation aimed at reducing costs for cancer patients.
Grothman, a Republican who represents the state’s 6th Congressional District in eastern Wisconsin, says he’s “proud to work with both sides of the aisle to expand access, reduce costs, and help improve outcomes” for cancer patients.
The Cancer Drug Parity Act would require health insurers to cover oral cancer treatments “on the same level” as traditional intravenous therapies, according to a release from Grothman’s office. That’s in addition to expanding “oral parity protections” to patients with private insurance whose health care is regulated at the federal level.
The announcement notes oral cancer treatments can provide a more convenient and less invasive treatment option but often include substantial out-of-pocket costs for patients. That’s because while IV treatments are often covered under insurance plans’ medical benefit, oral drugs are grouped under the prescription benefit, the release shows.
“As oral medications become more widely used and popular among cancer patients, it’s critical that health plans don’t force patients to choose between effectiveness and affordability,” Grothman said in a statement.
At least 43 states and Washington, D.C. have passed “oral parity” laws like this, the release notes.
See the release below.
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