Trump withdraws from World Health Organization, makes several other health-related moves

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. The order was one of several focused on health care-related initiatives.

The order states that the U.S. is withdrawing “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”

The order also states that the payments are unfair, with China having 300% more population than the United States, but pays 90% less to the organization.

The order establishes that the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall create directorates and coordinating mechanisms within the National Security Council apparatus “as he deems necessary and appropriate to safeguard public health and fortify biosecurity.”

All funding, support, and resources for the WHO from the U.S. are immediately suspended, and the order mandates that the Director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy “shall review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy as soon as practicable.”

Other executive orders issued by the president included:

• Rescinding an order for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to experiment with three drug pricing models – none of which had been fully implemented yet. The pricing programs were intended to help Medicaid pay for cell and gene therapies, help Medicare pay less for drugs that receive accelerated approval from the FDA, and a project to encourage Medicare prescription drug plans to offer generic drugs for a $2 copay.
• Rescinding an order that increased the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act in most states and funding for third parties that help people enroll.
• Rescinding several Covid-19 related Biden-era policies that were issued during the pandemic. The policies related to testing, treatment research, and economic relief.
• Rescinding a policy against discriminating against people on the basis of sexual or gender identity and ended conversion therapy.
• Rescinding a policy that offered students protections on the basis of sex and gender identity in schools.