First Edition: Monday, March 10, 2025

KFF Health News: Millions In US Live In Places Where Doctors Don’t Practice And Telehealth Doesn’t Reach
Green lights flickered on the wireless router in Barbara Williams’ kitchen. Just one bar lit up — a weak signal connecting her to the world beyond her home in the Alabama Black Belt. Next to the router sat medications, vitamin D pills, and Williams’ blood glucose monitor kit. “I haven’t used that thing in a month or so,” said Williams, 72, waving toward the kit. Diagnosed with diabetes more than six years ago, she has developed nerve pain from neuropathy in both legs. (Tribble and Hacker, 3/10)

KFF Health News: How The FDA Lets Chemicals Pour Into America's Food Supply
Joseph Shea, who sells athletic wear in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, wonders and worries about the food he eats. The chemical ingredients with mystifying names. The references on product labels to unspecified natural or artificial flavors. The junk food that fits his budget but feels addictive and makes him feel unwell. Shea, one of 1,310 people who responded to a poll the health policy research group KFF conducted on health care priorities, said he assumes the FDA is making sure the ingredients are safe. (Hilzenrath, 3/10)

KFF Health News: MRNA Vaccines, Once A Trump Boast, Now Face Attacks From Some In GOP
Researchers racing to develop bird flu vaccines for humans have turned to a cutting-edge technology that enabled the rapid development of lifesaving covid shots. There’s a catch: The mRNA technology faces growing doubts among Republicans, including people around President Donald Trump. (Armour, 3/10)

KFF Health News: She Co-Founded The Office That Became DOGE. Now, She Sees ‘Irresponsible Transformation’
Jennifer Pahlka is perhaps best known as the founder of Code for America, a widely respected nonprofit that helped formalize the principles of civic tech, a movement leveraging design and technology expertise to improve public access to government services and data. Notably, the organization reimagined the online application for California’s food assistance program, which once had one of the country’s lowest participation rates, transforming it from a 45-minute endeavor requiring a computer to a mobile-friendly process that can be completed in under 10 minutes. (Kwon, 3/10)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Will Investigate Debunked Link Between Vaccines And Autism
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning to conduct a large-scale study to re-examine whether there is a connection between vaccines and autism, federal officials said Friday. Dozens of scientific studies have failed to find evidence of a link. But the C.D.C. now falls under the purview of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long expressed skepticism about the safety of vaccines and has vowed to revisit the data. (Baumgaertner Nunn and Gay Stolberg, 3/7)

CIDRAP: CDC Launches Tool To Track Conflicts Of Interest For Vaccine Committee 
Following the postponement of a regularly scheduled February meeting of its vaccine advisory committee, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on X today announced the launch of a new tool that it says is designed to increase transparency about current and past members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). (Schnirring, 3/7)

AP: West Texas Reports Nearly 200 Measles Cases. New Mexico Is Up To 30
A historic measles outbreak in West Texas is just short of 200 cases, Texas state health officials said Friday, while the number of cases in neighboring New Mexico tripled to 30. Most of the cases across both states are in people younger than 18 and people who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Texas health officials identified 39 new infections of the highly contagious disease, bringing the total count in the West Texas outbreak to 198 people since it began in late January. Twenty-three people have been hospitalized so far. (Shastri, 3/7)

FOX45 News: Maryland Resident Tests Positive For Measles, Officials Say
A Howard County resident who recently traveled internationally has tested positive for measles, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Howard County health officials. Health officials are attempting to identify people who might have been exposed, including contacting passengers on specific flights. (Watson, 3/9)

Newsweek: Measles Exposure Warning Issued For Washington Dulles Airport
Maryland health officials issued a warning on Sunday to anyone who passed through Washington Dulles International Airport or was in the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department after a case of measles was detected in a state resident who recently traveled internationally. Measles is an airborne, "extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed. (Aitken, 3/9)

AP: HHS Makes $25,000 Buyout Offer To Most Of Its Employees
Most of the 80,000 federal workers responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food and administering Medicare and Medicaid under the auspices of the Health and Human Services Department were emailed an offer to leave their job for as much as a $25,000 payment as part of President Donald Trump’s government cuts. Workers cannot start opting in until Monday and have until 5 p.m. on Friday to submit a response for the so-called voluntary separation offer. (Seitz, 3/9)

The New York Times: Stand Up For Science Rally Sees Mix Of Science, Politics And Anxiety
Shortly before noon on Friday, Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, stood on the steps below the Lincoln Memorial tuning his acoustic guitar — a “very sweet” Huss & Dalton, he said, with a double-helix of DNA winding down the neck in pearl inlay. The nation’s anxious scientists could use a song. (Burdick, 3/8)

NBC News: Federal Workers Gripped By Mental Health Distress Amid Trump Cuts
In an interview, the 54-year-old suicide prevention case manager with the Department of Veterans Affairs painfully recalled his agonizing journey, which also included beating cancer, as he grappled with a new crisis of his own. The world he turned to for salvation — returning to school at age 46, specifically to become a social worker so he could work in suicide prevention with veterans — was now in turmoil. Like the roughly 2 million workers across the federal government, he is watching his colleagues and the veterans he’s trying to help lose their livelihoods. (Korecki, 3/9)

AP: Trump Cuts To NIH Research Funding Halt Duke Projects
Facing the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Duke University is preparing for the worst. Like research universities around the United States, the private school in North Carolina’s Research Triangle would see a massive loss from Trump administration cuts to grants from the National Institutes of Health. (Seminera, 3/8)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey To Researchers
The Trump administration has asked researchers and organizations whose work is conducted overseas to disclose ties to those regarded as hostile, including “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties,” according to a questionnaire obtained by The New York Times. The online survey was sent this week to groups working abroad to research diseases like H.I.V., gather surveillance data and strengthen public health systems. (Gay Stolberg and Mandavilli, 3/7)

Stat: Google Scrubs 'Health Equity' From Its Website As Trump Attacks DEI
Google recently revised websites and made other adjustments to downplay its commitment to health equity, the latest example of a prominent company repositioning its work following President Trump’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion. (Aguilar, 3/10)

Politico: RFK Jr. Plans To Meet With Big Food
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to meet with top executives of several major food brands on Monday, marking the first sitdown between the new Health and Human Services secretary and companies he’s publicly accused of harming Americans’ health. Senior leaders from General Mills and PepsiCo are among those expected to participate in the discussion with Kennedy, said four people familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity to discuss details that are not yet public, though they cautioned the attendee list could still change. (Brown and Cancryn, 3/8)

Stat: Mayo Clinic Dairy-Sponsored Research Raises Conflict Concerns
In the world of nutrition research, dairy is neither hero nor villain. It contains important nutrients like protein and calcium. Yet full-fat dairy also contains relatively high levels of saturated fat, which has been linked to increased levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and greater risk of stroke and heart disease. (Todd, 3/10)

The Washington Post: Republican Medicaid Cuts Could Shutter Rural Hospitals, Maternity Care
Rural hospitals across the United States fear that massive Medicaid cuts Republicans would have to consider under the current House budget proposal could decimate maternity services or shutter already struggling medical facilities in communities that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump. Nearly half of all rural hospitals nationwide operate at a deficit, with Medicaid barely keeping them afloat. (Weber, 3/8)

Axios: What Cutting Junk Foods From SNAP Could Mean For Millions Of Recipients
Some Trump administration officials citing health concerns are looking to remove "junk food" from a federal food assistance program serving more than 41 million Americans. A ban on any foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could be particularly paramount for recipients living in food deserts who don't have access to nutritious foods nearby. (Habeshian, 3/8)

The Hill: Scott Perry Says No One ‘Legitimately’ On Medicaid Will Lose Coverage
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) suggested on Sunday that no one “legitimately” on Medicaid will lose their coverage due to GOP efforts to cut spending. In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” anchor Chris Stirewalt noted that, for Republicans to achieve the kind of steep spending cuts they have targeted, cuts will likely have to target more than just waste, fraud and abuse. Stirewalt noted that the Office of Management and Budget has said only about 4 percent of federal payments are improper, which, Stirewalt noted, accounts for just more than $31 billion in Medicaid. (Fortinsky, 3/9)

Politico: Trump Voters Oppose Medicaid Cuts, Poll Finds
A majority of President Donald Trump’s voters don’t want Congress to cut Medicaid, a new poll has found, underscoring the politically sensitive decision GOP lawmakers face as their leaders explore proposals to slash spending on the health insurance program for low-income Americans. More than 60 percent of Republicans and Trump voters say that Medicaid is “very important” to their local community, according to a KFF poll released today. And support for cutting the program is relatively low among conservative groups, with 33 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of Trump supporters favoring cuts. (Hooper and Cirruzzo, 3/7)

Politico: Funding Bill Skips Measure To Avert Physician Pay Cuts, A Blow To GOP Doctors Caucus
The funding bill House Republican leaders released on Saturday does not avert cuts for doctors who treat Medicare patients — a blow to Republicans who had pushed for the changes that also could risk alienating members whose support will be needed to pass the legislation. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), who co-chairs the GOP Doctors’ Caucus, said in recent months that Republican leadership was open to including the policy in the bill to keep the government funded through September, and that Trump administration officials had assured it would be addressed. (Leonard, King and Payne, 3/8)

MedPage Today: MedPAC Says Agents Make More Money Enrolling Clients In Medicare Advantage
A report released Thursday showing how health plan agents receive hefty financial incentives to steer beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage (MA) plans -- rather than traditional Medicare and Medigap -- prompted several members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to call for dramatic changes in the enrollment system. "I think we have a system here ... that is inherently flawed," said Commissioner R. Tamara Konetzka, PhD, a public health sciences professor at the University of Chicago, during a MedPAC public meeting. (Clark, 3/7)

Asheville Watchdog: Mission Hospital Cuts Weekend Nurse Pay
Mission Hospital is significantly reducing pay for nurses who work only weekends, a move that is already causing departures and that will require other nurses to work those shifts to improve staffing levels. (Jones, 3/8)

Modern Healthcare: Walgreens-Sycamore Deal Means Uncertainty For VillageMD
Walgreens Boots Alliance is being sold but the buyer isn't interested in VillageMD, which leaves the primary care provider's future murky. Walgreens announced Thursday it is being acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $10 billion, or $11.45 per share in cash, excluding debt. Shareholders could receive an additional $3 per share, or about $2.7 billion, if Walgreens sells VillageMD. (Hudson, 3/7)

Modern Healthcare: Cano Health CEO Mark Kent Steps Down
Cano Health CEO Mark Kent is stepping down from his position to pursue other entrepreneurial opportunities effective immediately, the primary care provider said Thursday. A search for a permanent successor for Kent is underway. Alan Wheatley, executive chairman of the board, will be overseeing the leadership transition, a Cano Health spokesperson said Friday. No interim CEO has been named. (DeSilva, 3/7)

Fierce Healthcare: One Year Later: Lessons Learned From The Change Cyberattack
Just over a year ago, cybercriminals launched a ransomware attack on clearinghouse Change Healthcare in what became the biggest hack to ever hit the healthcare industry. David Bailey, vice president of consulting services at Clearwater, a firm focused on cybersecurity in healthcare, told Fierce in an interview that the incident highlighted challenges in healthcare beyond fending off digital threats, as organizations grappled with a key service taken offline. (Minemyer, 3/7)

NBC News: Some CT Scans May Have Too Much Radiation, Researchers Say
Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco medical school, has spent well over a decade researching the disquieting risk that one of modern medicine’s most valuable tools, computerized tomography scans, can sometimes cause cancer. ... About 93 million CT scans are performed every year in the United States, according to IMV, a medical market research company that tracks imaging. More than half of those scans are for people 60 and older. Yet there is scant regulation of radiation levels as the machines scan organs and structures inside bodies. (Kenen, 3/8)

The Washington Post: Placebo Effect Can Work Even When Patients Know They’re Getting A Fake Drug
Catarina Craveiro, a biomedical research technician from Lisbon, had been hobbled by lower back pain from scoliosis since childhood, unable to do much physically and dependent on ibuprofen for relief. “It really interfered with my life,” she says. “I had bad pain. I wanted to do the same things as my friends, and I was not able to.” (Cimons, 3/8)

Stat: Unpaid Peer Review Fuels Antitrust Lawsuit Against Scientific Journals 
In a stark sign of scientists’ escalating frustration with how academic journals operate, researchers are taking on six publishing behemoths in court, arguing that the system is exploitative and overly expensive, and that it relies on illegal and anticompetitive practices. (Wosen, 3/10)

The Main Monitor: Midwives' Futures Uncertain As Birthing Units Closing In Maine
The vast majority of births in Maine — roughly 97 percent — occur in hospitals. But like the rest of the country, the number of home births has risen in the state in recent years, jumping 41 percent between 2018 and 2023, from 228 to 321. Nationwide, the percentage of home births in the United States reached 1.26 percent of all births in 2020, a 22 percent increase from 2019 and the highest level since at least 1990, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Hedegard and Cough, 3/9)

ABC News: Inside IVF Mix-Ups That Left Women Carrying Embryos That Weren't Theirs
From the moment she found out she was pregnant, Krystena Murray was excited to capture every step of the journey. "I have always known I wanted to be a mom," Murray told ABC News. "There was an assignment for school when I was younger, and we were supposed to pick a career. My mom said 'What do you want to be?' And I said, 'A mom.' And she says 'No, like, what do you want to do with your life?' And I looked at her and said, 'A mom.' " (Louallen, Rosenbaum, Coburn and Chevalier, 3/7)

The Washington Post: More Than 15 Percent Of Young Adults Used E-Cigarettes In 2023
Over 15 percent (15.5) of young adults ages 21 to 24 used electronic cigarettes in 2023, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics. To determine trends in vaping, data was drawn from the 2019-2023 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Collected continually throughout the year by the NCHS, interviews are conducted face-to-face in respondents’ homes. (McMahan, 3/10)

The Daily Yonder: Elder Abuse Laws Need To Be Updated, Study Shows 
Experts say elder abuse in rural communities is a problem, but finding ways to solve it means clarifying how states define it and who should report it. One in 10 older adults across the country reported experiencing some form of abuse during the previous year, according to a recent report from the National Center on Elder Abuse. For every single report of abuse, there are 24 incidents that may go unreported, the study claimed. (Carey, 3/9)