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The Brian Lehrer Show

The Impact of Federal Health Agency Cuts

The Brian Lehrer Show

WNYC

Arts, Lerer, Radio, York, Wnyc, News, Media, New, Npr, Nyc, Bryan, News Commentary, Politics, Daily News, Public

4.71.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last week thousands of federal employees who work for health agencies lost their jobs. Selena Simmons-Duffin, health policy correspondent for NPR, offers analysis.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

0:07.2

WNYC Studios.

0:09.2

Brian Lairr on WNYC.

0:21.3

We continue with our Health and Climate Tuesday section of the show, which will keep up at least through the first hundred days of the Trump administration, so those issues don't get lost in the crush of other headlines.

0:32.5

We'll focus on some health-related stories today with NPR health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin.

0:39.0

She covers the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, now being run by RFK Jr.

0:44.6

She has a story out this morning called Its Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and HHS just gutted

0:51.7

its rape prevention unit.

0:53.6

She had one last month called

0:54.8

segregated facilities are no longer banned in federal contracts.

1:00.0

So those are a few examples of how the war on DEI,

1:03.3

diversity, equity, and inclusion could lead to its reverse initials,

1:07.4

IED, inequality, exclusion, and discrimination.

1:11.2

Low-income people also seem to be less of a consideration than in past administrations.

1:17.1

Salina reported for NPR that among the cuts to HHS staff was some confusion over a team

1:23.1

that works on lead poisoning.

1:24.9

We know lead poisoning occurs disproportionately in low-income children.

1:29.1

Salina reported that the CDC said, oops, the lead poisoning team was cut by mistake, but then

1:35.7

reverse that and said, no, it wasn't by mistake. Another recent article by Selena, as it relates

1:41.2

to affordability and health, five things to know as Dr. Oz prepares to lead

1:46.4

Medicare and Medicaid. One of those things, at his confirmation hearing, he seemed sympathetic to the

1:52.1

Republican idea that Medicaid should be only for its original specific populations.

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