Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Inexperienced Volunteers Tapped By Kushner Added To Confusion, Chaos Of Federal Response
This spring, as the United States faced a critical shortage of masks, gloves and other protective equipment to battle the coronavirus pandemic, a South Carolina physician reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Agency with an offer of help. Dr. Jeffrey Hendricks had longtime manufacturing contacts in China and a line on millions of masks from established suppliers. Instead of encountering seasoned FEMA procurement officials, his information was diverted to a team of roughly a dozen young volunteers, recruited by the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and overseen by a former assistant to Mr. Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump. (Confessore, Jacobs, Kantor, Kanno-Youngs and Ferre-Sadurni, 5/5)
About two dozen employees from Boston Consulting Group, Insight, McKinsey and other firms have volunteered their time — some on paid vacation leave from their jobs and others without pay — to aid the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to administration officials and others familiar with the arrangement. Although some of the volunteers have relevant backgrounds and experience, many others were poorly matched with their assigned jobs, including those given the task of securing personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals nationwide, according to a complaint filed last month with the House Oversight Committee. (Abutaleb and Parker, 5/5)
Volunteers who helped oversee the Trump administration’s supply-chain task force were encouraged to prioritize assistance and tips from political allies and associates of President Trump, The New York Times reports. The volunteers tracked those whose assistance they prioritized on a “VIP Update” spreadsheet, The Times reported, citing documents and emails it obtained. Included on the list were Republican members of Congress, conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Tana Goertz, a former “Apprentice” contestant and Trump surrogate. (Axelrod, 5/5)
Meanwhile —
An action plan published Tuesday by researchers at Johns Hopkins University offers wide-ranging solutions for both the private healthcare sector and the federal government in response to the shortcomings that have come to light in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The COVID pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need for more robust healthcare preparedness and some fundamental changes in U.S. health policy," the report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said. (Castellucci, 5/5)
