First Edition: Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: When The Doctor Needs A Checkup
He was a surgical oncologist at a hospital in a Southern city, a 78-year-old whose colleagues had begun noticing troubling behavior in the operating room. During procedures, he seemed “hesitant, not sure of how to go on to the next step without being prompted” by assistants, said Mark Katlic, director of the Aging Surgeon Program at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. The chief of surgery, concerned about the doctor’s cognition, “would not sign off on his credentials to practice surgery unless he went through an evaluation,” Katlic said. (Span, 2/4)

KFF Health News: Listen: Many Tents Are Gone, But Washington's Homeless — And Their Health Problems — Aren’t
January’s extreme cold has put a spotlight on the conditions homeless people face. They get sicker and die younger than housed people, often because health problems go untreated. The Trump administration’s removal of homeless tent encampments in Washington, D.C., has made it more difficult for health workers to reach that vulnerable population this winter. (Hart, 2/4)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: An expensive new gene therapy that can potentially cure people with sickle cell disease will be covered by Medicaid, but only when it works for patients. Plus, community health centers are preparing to help care for millions more uninsured people. (Cook, 2/3)

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Fierce Healthcare: Trump Signs $1.2T Spending Package That Funds HHS, Enacts PBM Reforms, Telehealth And Hospital-At-Home Measures
President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon signed a massive funding package that ends a brief government shutdown and provides full-year funding for the federal government through the end of the year. The House voted earlier in the day to pass the package by a vote of 217-214. (Landi and Muoio, 2/3)

Politico: Democrats Just Handed RFK Jr. Billions More Than He Asked For. It Was A Big Risk
Democrats counted it as a win Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed a law providing $20 billion more for the agency that is the world’s largest health research funder than Trump requested. Democrats’ victory could prove pyrrhic. Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his National Institutes of Health director, Jay Bhattacharya, have promised to spend the money, but not necessarily on projects Democrats will like. (Hooper, 2/3)

The Colorado Sun: Immigrant Communities Brace For Health Impact Of Trump Budget Bill
Lilia Cervantes knows that providing health care to immigrants is a battle of unanticipated consequences. Years ago, as a young hospitalist at Denver Health, Cervantes watched the consequences unfold for Hilda, an undocumented mother of two young children who had come to the U.S. from Mexico. (Sachs, 2/4)

The Washington Post: Standoff Over ICE Tactics Could Trigger Another Partial Government Shutdown 
Congress is staring down another partial government shutdown in 10 days unless Democrats strike a deal with President Donald Trump and Republicans over new restrictions on federal immigration authorities — and some key lawmakers in both parties are not optimistic. Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to a range of accountability measures to rein in personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies following outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti last month in Minneapolis. (Meyer and Hernandez, 2/4)

IMMIGRATION CRISIS

The Washington Post: Judge Temporarily Bans Use Of Tear Gas At Protests Near Portland ICE Office
An Oregon judge on Tuesday temporarily banned federal agents from using tear gas at protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland, days after agents deployed the chemical agents during a largely peaceful demonstration in the city that included children. (Cho, 2/4)

The Orange County Register: Deaf LA Teenager Says Immigration Officers Assaulted Him For Not Heeding Commands 
A deaf Los Angeles teenager says he was assaulted and taken into custody during a protest in downtown Los Angeles last month by federal immigration officers, who cited him for failing to comply with their directions. Videos posted Saturday, Jan. 24, to Instagram show armed agents, wearing U.S. Department of Homeland Security uniforms, chasing and tackling 18-year-old Anthony Paredes, seen wearing a red, green and white poncho, to the ground. Multiple people are heard in the background yelling, “He’s deaf! He cannot hear!” and asking officers not to hurt him. (Vergara and Silla, 2/2)

The New York Times: A Winter Of Anguish For Minneapolis Children 
“It’s like living in fear all the time,” a teenager said about the federal raids that have shattered families. (Knoll, 2/4)

ABC News: 'Deep Distress': Renee Good's Brothers Testify On Capitol Hill After Deadly Minneapolis Shooting
The two brothers of Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman killed by a federal immigration officer in January, spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling lawmakers of the effect their sister’s death had on their family. “The deep distress our family feels because of Renee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” said one brother, Luke Ganger. (Guarino, 2/3)

MORE FROM CAPITOL HILL

MedPage Today: NIH Chief Details Plans for Modernization at Senate Hearing
The NIH must be structurally overhauled to deliver more cures, spend taxpayer dollars more wisely, and regain public trust, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, said Tuesday during a Senate hearing on modernizing the agency. In the wide-ranging Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, Bhattacharya outlined his plan to make NIH more accountable, better coordinated, and more focused on measurable impact for patients. (McCreary, 2/3)

The Hill: NIH's Jay Bhattacharya Refutes Vaccine-Autism Theory In Senate Hearing
Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that he has not seen any studies supporting the theory that any vaccines cause autism, a break from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long speculated on a potential connection and has not discounted the possibility. In a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pressed Bhattacharya on where he stood when it came to the vaccine-autism theory. (Choi, 2/3)

The Hill: Senate Democrats Warn Equifax Against Price Gouging States, Medicaid Beneficiaries
A trio of Senate Democrats are warning the consumer credit reporting agency Equifax against price gouging for its services as a significant number of Medicaid beneficiaries are expected to go into the job market to find employment in order to keep receiving benefits under the new requirements passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). In a letter first shared with The Hill, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned Equifax CEO Max Begor against surging prices on state governments that will soon need to verify beneficiaries’ work, volunteer or school attendance. (Choi, 2/3)

DRUG VOUCHERS AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

Stat: Marty Makary Addresses Staff Concerns Over Drug Voucher Program 
At an employee town hall on Tuesday, Food and Drug Administration leaders tried to quell staff and external concerns about a controversial new program to fast-track certain drugs. (Lawrence, 2/3)  

AP: FDA's Drug Voucher Program: House Lawmaker Raises New Concerns
A Democratic lawmaker raised new concerns about a Food and Drug Administration program designed to drastically shorten the review of certain drugs, including whether senior officials involved in the effort are complying with federal ethics rules. In a letter sent Tuesday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts took issue with the lack of transparency in FDA’s handling of the program and questioned its legal underpinnings, noting that Congress did not sign off on the plan. (Perrone, 2/3)

Stat: Fast-Track Review Of Psilocybin Depression Drug Blocked
Trump administration officials vetoed the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to fast-track the review of a psychedelic treatment for severe depression, STAT has learned, highlighting possible internal discord between senior leadership and the Make America Healthy Again movement. (Lawrence, Chen and Garde, 2/4)

Bloomberg: Trump’s Attempt to Make Drugs Cheaper Is Pushing Up Prices in Other Countries
For the past few years, Swiss oncologist Christoph Renner has treated blood cancer patients with Lunsumio, a new drug that helps the immune system recognize and destroy malignant cells. Then, last summer, Renner got an email from Roche Holding AG, Lunsumio’s manufacturer, informing him the treatment would no longer be available in Switzerland because health insurers there wouldn’t pay for the infusions. “You see what’s possible,” says Renner, a professor at the University of Basel, “and then you’re told you can’t use it.” (Kinzelmann, 2/4)

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Modern Healthcare: ACA Price Hikes Spark ‘Alternative’ Plan Marketing Blitz
Huge premium increases on the health insurance exchanges mean opportunity for companies selling cheaper, skimpier plans. Companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Medi-Share, CrowdHealth and LendingTree flooded social media platforms, advertised on radio and promoted products such as short-term, limited duration plans and Christian sharing ministries. The campaigns targeted consumers, especially young adults, who found they couldn’t afford exchange coverage or don’t perceive value in comprehensive medical insurance. (Tepper, 2/3)

LGBTQ+ HEALTH CARE

The New York Times: Woman Wins Malpractice Suit Over Gender Surgery As A Minor 
In the first malpractice verdict against providers of gender-affirming care for minors, a jury in New York State has awarded a woman $2 million in damages for a double mastectomy she received as a teenager that she said had left her disfigured. The plaintiff, Fox Varian, 22, of Yorktown Heights, had accused her psychologist and the plastic surgeon who performed the operation of failing to obtain adequate consent about the risks before she agreed to undergo the procedure in 2019. (Jacobs, 2/3)

Stat: Plastic Surgeons Society Says Gender-Affirming Surgeries Not For Minors 
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recommends that gender-affirming surgeries be delayed until a patient is at least 19 years old, the group announced in a statement Tuesday. The statement, made by the group’s board of directors, represents a break from major U.S. medical groups that have supported the care, and applies to facial, chest, and genital procedures performed for transgender and nonbinary patients. (Payne and Gaffney, 2/3)

KCRA: California Sues Hospital For Complying With Trump Administration's Gender-Affirming Care Policy
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, alleging that the hospital violated the terms of its merger agreement with Children's Hospital of Orange County by discontinuing gender-affirming care for minors. (Joseph, 2/1)

VACCINES AND OUTBREAKS

Politico: ‘Efficacy Will Be Secondary’: RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Advisers Have A New Mission
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the government’s vaccine advisers, replaced them with skeptics of the shots like himself and is now giving them a new mandate: investigating the harms of immunization. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has for decades served as an impartial outside group of experts to advise the government and reinforce public confidence that decisions on the vaccine schedule are backed by science. (Gardner, 2/3)

The Hill: Illinois Joins WHO’s Global Disease Network
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) announced Tuesday that his state is joining the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, becoming the second state to do so since the U.S.’s withdrawal from the organization became official last month. Officials said Illinois’s participation means the state will now be “directly connected to timely global alert, expert public health networks, and international response capabilities essential to protecting Illinois residents from emerging disease threats.” (Brams, 2/3)

NBC News: Measles Outbreak Linked To A Florida University As Cases Keep Rising In The U.S.
At least 12 people have tested positive for measles at Ave Maria University, a private Catholic college near Naples, Florida, NBC affiliate WBBH of Fort Myers reported Tuesday. Three people were taken to a local hospital. A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was confirmed to have measles after traveling internationally, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. In January, Clemson University in South Carolina confirmed a case of measles in an “individual affiliated with the University.” It takes only three cases of the extremely contagious virus to become an outbreak. (Edwards, 2/3)

The Hill: Measles Case At UW-Madison Linked To International Travel
A student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been confirmed to be infected with measles, making this the first case in Dane County this year. Health officials say the student contracted the illness during international travel and visited several UW-Madison campus locations. Health officials are now contacting all those who may have been exposed by interacting with the student. If you visited those locations, check your measles-mumps-rubella vaccine status immediately. (Walker, 2/3)

CIDRAP: South Carolina Measles Outbreak Hits 876 With 29 New Cases
Today the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) said the state’s outbreak total is now 876, after adding 29 more cases since January 30 in an outbreak report. (Soucheray, 2/3)

CIDRAP: Large Share Of Older US Adults Haven’t Had A Recent Flu Or COVID Vaccine, Poll Finds
Despite a severe influenza season and rising COVID-19 activity this winter, 42% of adults ages 50 and older remain unvaccinated, according to a new University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. The survey also highlights gaps in understanding the vaccines’ ability to reduce the risk of severe illness. (Bergeson, 2/3)

CIDRAP: New Review Highlights Growing Evidence That Diabetes Drug Metformin Can Prevent Long COVID
Multiple randomized clinical trials and analyses of electronic health records (EHRs) suggest that metformin, a widely available diabetes drug, may reduce the risk of developing long COVID when taken during or shortly after acute COVID-19 infection, according to a literature review published last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Bergeson, 2/3)

The Sick Times: The Largest Long COVID Pediatric Trial Will Launch This Year
Justin Lin’s daughter, Serena, developed long COVID in seventh grade. For more than three years, she has experienced postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — causing rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and cognitive dysfunction as well as post-exertional malaise (PEM). (Spichak, 2/3)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

MedPage Today: Healthcare Workers Still Not Exempt From H-1B Visa Fee
More than 4 months after a Trump administration directive to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, healthcare workers are yet to receive an exemption from the fee, and concerns remain about its impact on filling critical positions. Organizations including the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, and others have petitioned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to give healthcare workers in the H-1B visa program -- which allows U.S. employers to hire workers outside the country to work in specialty occupations -- an exemption from the fee. (Henderson, 2/3)

MedPage Today: A 'Vicious Cycle': How Nursing Shortage Could Worsen Under Trump Team's Plan
Roughly one in three nurses in Michigan has student loan debt, according to a cross-sectional survey -- a finding that may have significant implications for recently proposed federal loan limits. (Firth, 2/3)

North Carolina Health News: Raleigh Hospital’s Attempt To Expand Cancer Services Leads To Revealing CON Law Dispute With Neighboring Systems 
The legal battle between Duke Health and WakeMed over a cancer-fighting linear accelerator has a David vs. Goliath flavor. (Blythe, 2/4)

Modern Healthcare: HCA's Medical City Acquires 13 CommunityMed Urgent Care Centers
An HCA Healthcare company has added more than a dozen urgent care centers in Texas to its network. Medical City Healthcare, a 22-hospital subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, has purchased 13 CommunityMed urgent care centers, according to a Monday news release. Financial terms were not disclosed. (DeSilva, 2/3)

Modern Healthcare: Cardiovascular Care Demand Fuels Investments From Hospitals
Hospitals and heart systems are zeroing in on the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., making investments in technology and facilities to expand and improve the treatment of heart disease. Greater demand for this specialized care is a result of numerous factors, including poor diet, chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity and the fact that people are living longer. Financial challenges facing the healthcare industry mean every dollar counts, and devoting more resources to caring for heart patients is viewed as an area that will generate a good return on investment. (DeSilva, 2/3)

MedPage Today: The Hidden Dangers Of Duplicate Medical Records
Patients with duplicate medical records had higher odds of adverse outcomes and longer hospital stays, a retrospective analysis from a large U.S. health system showed. Compared to patients with single, accurate records, those with duplicate medical records had significantly higher odds of in-­hospital mortality ... reported Hillary Western, MD, of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, and colleagues. (Robertson, 2/3)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Bloomberg: Hospitals Are Phasing Out Popular Baxter Anesthetic Due To Footprint
For decades, hospitals have relied on desflurane, a popular anesthetic, to put patients to sleep on the operating table. But the chemical is a potent greenhouse gas, so regulators, health systems and hospitals around the world are moving to phase it out. Starting this year, the EU will largely get rid of desflurane except in cases of medical necessity, following a 2023 ban by Scotland’s public health-care system. Hospitals in Singapore and Australia are also moving away from desflurane, and Chinese clinicians are discussing taking similar measures. (Court, 2/3)

Stat: Pfizer Moves Forward With Its Hopes For A Monthly Obesity Drug
Pfizer took its next steps Tuesday in its attempted resurrection in the obesity market. The pharma firm said that an experimental weight loss drug, recently picked up through the company’s contested acquisition of the biotech Metsera, hit its marks in a mid-stage study, demonstrating the potential to be a once-a-month treatment. (Joseph, 2/3)

NBC News: Why Are Some Estrogen Patches For Menopause Hard To Find?
Menopause clinics across the U.S. are hearing from women who are having trouble filling prescriptions for estrogen patches, a common hormone replacement therapy. “There’s just more demand for these medications, and I think it’s exponentially risen over the last three or four years,” said Dr. Rajita Patil, director of UCLA Health’s Comprehensive Menopause Program. “I don’t think that the supply chain was ready for that.” Hormone replacement therapy prescriptions for women 50-65 have increased 86% since 2021, according to Epic Research, which analyzes electronic health records nationwide. (Kopf, 2/3)

STATE WATCH

Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Expands Review Of 6,000 Medicaid Providers Amid Fraud Concerns 
The Minnesota Department of Human Services is bringing on more than 160 additional staff to help inspect Medicaid providers for fraud. It’s part of the state’s push to crack down on fraud in social services programs, amid federal investigations. (Timar-Wilcox, 2/3)

WBUR: Mass. Gov. Healey Proposes Eliminating Deadline To Prosecute Rapes When There's A DNA Match
Gov. Maura Healey wants to eliminate the 15-year deadline to prosecute rape in cases with a DNA match. The proposal is part of her budget recommendation for the 2027 fiscal year. Current Massachusetts law bars rape prosecutions in older cases, even when DNA testing has identified a suspect. (Mariano, 2/2)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Jails Have More Than 400 Pregnant Inmates Monthly. The State Is Studying What Happens To Them
In May 2018, Ruby McPeters was eight months pregnant when she was booked into Hood County jail on a probation violation. Just a month later, the 33-year-old North Texas woman was dead.According to her custodial death report, McPeters was sent back to jail after delivering her baby by C-section at a local hospital. But the jail had to again transport her to the hospital a few days later, after she developed an infection from the procedure. That led to sepsis, according to the report, which was sent to the Texas attorney general’s office nearly five years late because the sheriff thought the investigating agency had submitted it. (Nguyen, 2/3)

AP: Legal Experts Say Judge's Mistake Behind Overturning Of Sex Abuse Conviction Stands Out 
Two years after a former University of California, Los Angeles, gynecologist was convicted of sex abuse and sentenced to 11 years in prison, an attorney working to prepare an appeal of the case stumbled across an astounding find for the defense counsel. A note by the jury’s foreperson, a designated spokesperson for the jury, had been sent to the judge expressing concern that one of the jurors did not have sufficient English to carry out his duties and deliberate. The juror was an alternate who was brought in after another juror had a medical issue and two days before the verdict. The judge never shared that information with the prosecution or defense attorneys. (Ding and Watson, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Hypothermia Suspected In 3 D.C. Deaths As Region Probes Toll Of Cold Snap
At least three people have died from suspected hypothermia in Washington, D.C., as officials in Virginia and Maryland also investigate deaths after the recent winter storm and lingering frigid temperatures. (Elwood, Portnoy and Gathright, 2/4)

The Washington Post: Gavin Newsom Sat By His Mother During Her Assisted Suicide, And Came To Terms With Anger And Grief 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s account of his mother’s death at the age of 55 by assisted suicide, and his feelings of grief and remorse toward a woman with whom he had a loving but complex relationship, is one of the most revealing and emotional passages in the California governor’s book, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery,” which will be published Feb. 24. (Reston, 2/4)

REPRODUCTIVE AND INFANT HEALTH

CBS News: New Mexico Warns Against Drinking Raw Milk After Newborn Dies From Listeria 
An infant in New Mexico died of listeria, prompting the state's health department to warn residents against consuming raw milk and other raw dairy products. The New Mexico Department of Health said in a news release that officials believe the newborn contracted listeria as a result of unpasteurized milk their mother drank during pregnancy, though an exact cause cannot be pinpointed. Listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth or fatal infections in newborns, even if the mother was only mildly ill. (Breen, 2/3)

CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Paenibacillus Dendritiformis As A Cause Of Destructive Meningitis In Infants
A Public Health Alerts report today details two US infants with severe neurologic symptoms after infection with Paenibacillus dendritiformis, raising awareness of an emerging infectious disease threat. The first case involved a 2-month-old girl born extremely prematurely, at 26 weeks’ gestation a year ago in Pennsylvania. The second case was reported in Minnesota in a 37-day-old boy born at 33 weeks’ gestation who had been doing well following a 22-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and 15 days at home. (Wappes, 2/3)

The New York Times: Research Finds Interaction With Father, Not Mother, Affects Child Health 
For much of the 20th century and beyond, social scientists attributed a range of chronic mental health problems to dysfunction between infants and their mothers, who were categorized as overbearing, rejecting, domineering or ambivalent. But a team of researchers from Pennsylvania State University has found that at times the early parenting behavior of fathers may have a greater impact on children’s health. (Barry, 2/3)