Skip to main content

Health Policy Updates for the Week of January 14, 2019

Duke Government Relations Logo

The Headlines

  1. The government shutdown continues into day 28, the longest in U.S. history.
  2. Chancellor Washington visited Fremont Rural Health Clinic and eastern North Carolina this week.

The Details

  1. Partial Government Shutdown Update
    The partial government shutdown has now entered day 28, the longest in U.S. history. Thousands of federal workers have missed their first paychecks, but the President signed S. 24, Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, on Wednesday to ensure that these employees will quickly receive retroactive pay, once the shutdown ends.
     
    The House passed a short-term funding bill on Wednesday, which included $12.1 billion in disaster aid and would reopen the government through February 8. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated the Senate will not take up legislation that President Trump won’t sign, and Trump has threatened to veto any bill without wall funding. It is not expected that they will take up this measure.
     
    Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Scott Gottlieb, estimated that there is enough drug user fee money to continue product evaluation for about five weeks, which is more than originally estimated. The FDA is operating with some unpaid staff, and will likely see a backlog of work due to the inability to evaluate new applications that require user fees.  
     
    Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the House will be in session next week instead of taking a recess to continue work on legislation to end the government shutdown.
     
  2. Chancellor Washington Visits Fremont Rural Health Clinic and Eastern North Carolina
    On Thursday, Chancellor Washington, accompanied by Duke Health Government Relations, toured the Duke School of Medicine’s student-run free clinic in rural Fremont, N.C. The Fremont Clinic opened in 1978 as a part of the North Carolina Student Rural Health Coalition, a collaborative effort with UNC and ECU to address rural health issues across the state. Now operating independently, the Fremont Clinic remains under ownership of the Fremont community leaders, but Duke’s partnership continues to expand over the years. Chancellor Washington also travelled to Greenville, NC to meet with leaders at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health.