First Edition: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: The Patient Expected A Free Checkup. The Bill Was $1,430
Carmen Aiken of Chicago made an appointment for an annual physical exam in July 2023, planning to get checked out and complete some blood work. The appointment was at a family medicine practice run by University of Illinois Health. Aiken said the doctor recommended they undergo a Pap smear, which they hadn’t had in more than a year, and testing for sexually transmitted infections. Aiken, who works for a nonprofit and uses the pronoun they, said they were also encouraged to get the HPV vaccine. (Liss and Sausser, 4/30)

KFF Health News: Trump Restores Title X Funding For Two Anti-Abortion States — While Wiping It Out Elsewhere
The Trump administration quietly restored federal family planning money to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that the states weren’t entitled to funds because they refused to provide women information about terminating pregnancies or abortion referrals on request. The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to restore millions of dollars for the two states came as it simultaneously withheld nearly $66 million from clinics in the Title X program elsewhere. (Pradhan, 4/30)

KFF Health News: Fast Action From Bystanders Can Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival. Many Don’t Know What To Do
When a woman collapsed on an escalator at the Buffalo, New York, airport last June, Phil Clough knew what to do. He and another bystander put her flat on her back and checked her pulse (faint) and her breathing (shallow and erratic). Then she stopped breathing altogether. Realizing that she might be having a cardiac arrest, Clough immediately started doing chest compressions, pressing hard and quickly on the center of her chest, while others nearby called 911 and ran to get an automated external defibrillator. (Andrews, 4/30)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: Concierge medicine could worsen the physician shortage in rural areas, and the Trump administration has canceled medical research grants that it says aren’t in line with its priorities. Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Families that rely on home health aides could pay the price for the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies, and some local health departments are canceling scheduled services because the federal government is trying to take back health grants. (4/29)

VACCINES

CBS News: FDA Chief Says They're Looking At Whether To Approve COVID Shots For Next Winter
The head of the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that the agency is now looking at whether it will still approve COVID-19 vaccines for next winter, citing a lack of data on booster shots. "We're taking a look. I can't comment on any particular application. As you know, we have a bunch of applications for those booster shots," FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett. Makary said many health care workers did not get the last round of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, calling it "a bit of a public trust problem." (Tin, 4/29)

The New York Times: Kennedy Advises New Parents To ‘Do Your Own Research’ On Vaccines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised parents of newborns to “do your own research” before vaccinating their infants during a televised interview in which he also suggested the measles shot was unsafe and repeatedly made false statements that cast doubt on the benefits of vaccination and the independence of the Food and Drug Administration. Mr. Kennedy made the remarks to the talk show host Dr. Phil in an interview that aired Monday on MeritTV to mark the 100th day of the Trump administration. (Gay Stolberg and Jewett, 4/29)

MORE FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

NBC News: Kennedy Planning $20 Million HHS 'Take Back Your Health' Ad Campaign
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to launch a sweeping, four-year public relations campaign called “Take Back Your Health” that could cost tens of millions of dollars, according to a document obtained by NBC News. ... The document, a request for proposals, calls for public relations firms to bid to run the campaign. The winning firm would employ up to 30 people to manage the campaign and oversee the purchase of up to three ads a day on five major television networks. (Strickler, 4/29)

MedPage Today: CDC Advisory Committee's Days Are Numbered
With several members receiving termination letters and its webpage archived, public health experts believe the days are numbered for CDC's Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). HICPAC develops guidance for preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections. While the committee operates with less attention than CDC's well-known Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), it made headlines in recent years after some groups pushed back on revisions to one of its infection control guidances. (Fiore, 4/29)

The Washington Post: CDC Reinstates Workers Who Screen Coal Miners For Black Lung Disease
The Trump administration on Tuesday temporarily reinstated dozens of fired federal workers who help screen coal miners for black lung, a deadly and incurable disease caused by inhaling toxic coal dust. The unusual move comes after The Washington Post reported that the layoffs had forced the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to suspend the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program for the first time in a half-century. (Joselow, 4/29)

The New York Times: Citing N.I.H. Cuts, A Top Science Journal Stops Accepting Submissions
Environmental Health Perspectives, widely considered the premier environmental health journal, has announced that it would pause acceptance of new studies for publication, as federal cuts have left its future uncertain. For more than 50 years, the journal has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to review studies on the health effects of environmental toxins — from “forever chemicals” to air pollution — and publish the research free of charge. (Rosenbluth and Mandavilli, 4/29)

CIDRAP: Americans Losing Trust After Public Health Leadership Shakeups
New poll results show that 4 in 10 US adults say that recent changes in federal leadership will erode their trust in public health recommendations, while just over a quarter say they will gain confidence, with results divided by political bent. Just over 100 days into the Trump administration, a March poll of 3,343 US adults by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation reveals simmering suspicion after a recent plethora of federal leadership edits. (Van Beusekom, 4/29)

Politico: DOGE Has Made A Big Impact On Washington. But Government Spending Is Up
DOGE has cut a wide swath — shrinking the federal workforce to 1960s levels. But its impact in other ways has been more narrow than both supporters and detractors might realize. Government spending is actually increasing amid all the DOGE cuts, with notable exceptions including foreign aid and education. ... DOGE, after promising $2 trillion in savings, now says it has saved the government $160 billion. ... In fact, the government has actually been spending more compared to this time last year, the model found. (Cai and Sentner, 4/29)

NBC News: Pfizer CEO Says Tariff Uncertainty Is Deterring Further U.S. Investment In Manufacturing, R&D
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday said uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s planned pharmaceutical tariffs is deterring the company from further investing in U.S. manufacturing and research and development. Bourla’s remarks on the company’s first-quarter earnings call came in response to a question about what Pfizer wants to see from tariff negotiations that would push the company to increase investments in the U.S. It comes as drugmakers brace for Trump’s levies on pharmaceuticals imported into the country — his administration’s bid to boost domestic manufacturing. (Constantino, 4/29)

MEDICARE

Roll Call: Supreme Court Decides Medicare Reimbursement Calculation 
The Supreme Court sided on Tuesday with the Department of Health and Human Services in a dispute over the rate under Medicare the government pays to hospitals that serve low-income patients. The 7-2 decision rejected an attempt from a group of more than 200 hospitals across 30 states to change the formula the government uses to calculate reimbursement for hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients. (Macagnone, 4/29)

Bloomberg: Medicare Administrator Explores Cutting Red Tape For Health Insurance Approvals
Leaders at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are exploring proposals to limit health insurers’ use of tactics that can delay medical care, people familiar with the discussions said. The aim of the proposals would be to cut the number of medical procedures subject to “prior authorization,” meaning ones in which doctors have to fill out additional paperwork for ultimate approval. CMS is exploring making policies more uniform across different health insurance plans. (Cohrs Zhang, 4/29)

Bloomberg: Elevance Curbs Online Medicare Sign-Ups As Expenses Rise
Elevance Health Inc. is halting digital enrollment in most of its Medicare health insurance plans, making it harder for brokers to sign up new members after rival UnitedHealth Group Inc. reported a surprise jump in expenses in those programs. The pullback could curb growth in plans that may be losing money for the company, according to industry analysts. Elevance, the second-largest US health insurer, is removing Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly from online platforms that insurance brokers use to sign up members, according to a statement last week from a national group representing health insurance brokers. (Tozzi and Swetlitz, 4/29)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: Gilead Will Pay $202 M To Settle Charges Of Paying Doctors Kickbacks
Gilead Sciences agreed to pay $202 million to settle allegations of paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing several of its HIV medicines, the latest example of a controversial practice that has come back to haunt numerous drugmakers over the years. (Silverman, 4/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Have Spent Millions Targeting ‘Middlemen’—And It’s Paying Off
When President Trump signed an executive order this month to try to reduce drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry scored a big win. Within 90 days, the order said, Trump’s staff should put together a report “re-evaluating the role of middlemen,” who have been the target of one of the most sweeping and expensive lobbying campaigns in recent years. (Dawsey, Peterson and Severns, 4/30)

Stat: Amid FDA Chaos, Approval Of A Rare Disease Drug Gets Delayed — Again
File this under “So close, yet so far.” After several years of struggling with regulatory hurdles to win approval for its rare disease drug, Stealth BioTherapeutics had expected the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to respond on Tuesday to its marketing application. (Silverman, 4/29)

MedPage Today: FDA OKs New Gene Therapy For Debilitating Skin Condition
The FDA approved prademagene zamikeracel (Zevaskyn) for treating adults and children with the blistering wounds caused by recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), Abeona Therapeutics announced on Tuesday. Patients with the debilitating dermatologic condition are born with COL7A1 mutations in both gene copies, affecting the ability to produce functional type VII collagen and resulting in extremely fragile skin that is subject to chronic wounds that can remain open for years. (Ingram, 4/29)

Bloomberg: Novo Nordisk Partners With Hims, Ro To Sell Cheaper Wegovy
Hims & Hers Health Inc. soared after Novo Nordisk A/S said it would sell its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy for a steeply reduced price on several telehealth platforms. The strategy comes as rival Eli Lilly & Co. is working with telehealth firms to distribute lower-cost vials of its own obesity medication, Zepbound, as competition heats up. Lilly and Novo have struggled to get widespread insurance coverage for their obesity medications and at first viewed telehealth companies, which started out by selling copycat versions of their drugs, as competitors. (Muller, 4/29)

Newsweek: How Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic And Mounjaro Are Eating Away At Body Positivity
Samhita Mukhopadhyay wasn't expecting shame to come from a photo. The longtime feminist writer and former Teen Vogue editor had just moderated a panel at a media conference. She was dressed in a skirt and printed top she felt good in—until she saw a candid image someone had posted online. "It was devastating," she told Newsweek. Mukhopadhyay took Mounjaro, an antidiabetic medication also used for weight loss, and saw dramatic results—losing 15 percent of her body weight over 18 months. She was feeling physically better, sleeping more soundly and even considering a wardrobe overhaul. But the cost of the drug forced her to stop. (Mesa, 4/30)

STATE WATCH

Becker's Hospital Review: Iowa Senate Passes PBM Bill: 4 Things To Know
The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would set new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers that lawmakers say will help rural pharmacies stay open and lower prescription costs, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported April 28. Here are four things to know: The new bill would require PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at the national or state average acquisition cost of a drug. (Murphy, 4/29)

The Texas Tribune: Abortion Pill Crackdown Bill Passes Texas Senate
Anyone who manufactures, mails or delivers abortion pills to someone in Texas could be sued for $100,000 under a bill that preliminarily passed the Senate on Tuesday. The bill, considered the most wide-ranging crackdown on abortion-inducing drugs in the country, is expected to face a harder road in the House. (Klibanoff, 4/29)

North Carolina Health News: NC Emerges As Southern Hub For Abortion Access Amid New Regional Restrictions
North Carolina has emerged as a vital access point for abortion care in the South in the wake of a wave of restrictions in neighboring states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Nationwide, the Tar Heel state served the second highest number of out-of-state patients in 2024 — behind only Illinois — a new report on national abortion volumes found. (Crumpler, 4/30)

NBC News: Florida Set To Become Second State To Ban Fluoride In Public Water
Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill to ban fluoride in public water systems Tuesday, with the state House voting 88-27. SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn't mention the word "fluoride," but it would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing "the use of certain additives in a water system." The bill awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. If DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies. (Alsharif, 4/29)

Health News Florida: A Tuberculosis Case Was Identified At A Fort Lauderdale School, Health Officials Report 
A person with tuberculosis was identified on a school campus in Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County said Tuesday. The active TB case was reported at Dillard High School, a magnet school for computer technology and performing arts with students in Grades 6-12. (Mayer, 4/29)

AP: Lawmakers Seeking To Revise New Sick Leave Laws
Voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska were asked last year whether they wanted to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. They overwhelmingly said yes. Now some lawmakers in each of those states are trying to roll back the benefits, citing concerns from businesses about costs. The efforts mark the latest attempt by legislators to alter laws backed by the voters they represent. (Lieb, Beck and Bohrer, 4/30)

PUBLIC HEALTH

CBS News: Life Expectancy In Southern States Changed Little For Americans Born From 1900 To 2000, Study Finds
Comparing the life expectancy of people born from 1900 to 2000, a study published Monday found that in many southern states, life expectancy changed very little, especially for women. But in several states in the Northeast and West, as well as in Washington, D.C., it improved significantly. Ranked among the worst states for longevity improvements over the last century, West Virginia's life expectancy for women born in 2000 rose to just 75.3 years, one year longer than its life expectancy for women born in 1900, according to the study. The state's life expectancy for men born in 2000 increased by about 9 years compared to those born in 1900. (Czachor, 4/29)