First Edition: Monday, March 23, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Rising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip The Doc Until Medicare
John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he’s waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare. He was already thinking about delaying it — then his monthly Obamacare insurance premium payment tripled this year to $2,460, about a third of his income, he said. And with a $2,700 deductible, he’d be on the hook for most of the diagnostic exam, a financial hit he said he couldn’t stomach. “It was going to cost close to $3,000,” said Galvin, who lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and recently retired as director of a durable medical equipment company. “I put it off.” (Whitehead, 3/23)

KFF Health News: Even With Dental Insurance, You Still Could Face A Large Bill
Russell Anthony made eight trips to the dentist last year. The 65-year-old retiree in Nashville, Tennessee, hopes to go less often in 2026, but he’s already made a few visits. “I had a root canal just last week that was like $500,” he said. “The week before that, I had a crown that cost me several hundred dollars. And as we speak, I have a broken tooth, and I have to go and see the dentist soon.” In all, Anthony — uncle of HealthQ host Cara Anthony — expects to pay about $2,000 for dental care this year, even though he has dental insurance. (Farmer, Anthony and Ruppelt, 3/23)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Shine Light On Out-Of-Reach Insurance Prices, AI's Role In Claims Disputes, And Susie Wiles
KFF Health News senior correspondent Renuka Rayasam discussed the KFF Health News series “Priced Out,” which focuses on the health insurance crisis, on An Arm and a Leg on March 19. (3/21)

PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

NBC News: White House Expands TrumpRx With Three New Drugs
The White House said Friday it’s adding three drugs for diabetes and lung disease to the self-pay platform TrumpRx, as the administration works to expand the site as part of its push to lower drug prices. The drugs, from German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, are Jentadueto and Jentadueto XR, for Type 2 diabetes, as well as the COPD drug Striverdi Respimat. (Lovelace Jr., 3/20)

Stat: Iran War Has Not Disrupted Pharma Supply Chains. That Could Change If Conflict Is Prolonged 
The escalating war in the Middle East so far has not appreciably disrupted global pharmaceutical supply chains, but with no clear end in sight, the potential exists for the conflict to change the calculus for production, shipping, and, ultimately, pricing for different medicines in different countries, according to industry experts. (Silverman and Merelli, 3/20)

The Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr. Wants To End The ‘War On Peptides’ And Make The Chinese Drugs Legal And Easier To Buy
The substances, manufactured in China, come in tiny glass bottles with names like “Glow Stack” and “Wolverine Stack.” They promise youthful skin and speedy muscle recovery, delivered in injectable form. Influencers, celebrities and everyday people are raving about peptides, unapproved drugs driving a gray-market craze. And they now have an ally in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who wants to make peptides easier—and legal—to buy. (Siddiqui and O'Brien, 3/22)

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE

Stat: Medicare Considering Automatic Medicare Advantage Enrollment 
President Trump’s Medicare director said Thursday his team is considering a policy that would automatically enroll Medicare beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage plans, a controversial idea that was touted in the conservative Project 2025 policy blueprint. (Bannow, 3/20)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

Military.com: Community Mourns Killed VA Clinic Worker, 34, Who Had Pregnant Wife & Kids
The family of killed Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic worker Nicholas “Nic” Crews are speaking out about the loss of the husband and father who was soon expecting another child. Crews, who just turned 34 years of age on March 14, died from an incident that occurred at about 1:30 p.m. March 17 at a VA Clinic on East Church Street in Jasper, Ga. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said that Charles Michels, 51, of Jasper, was at the clinic for a walk-in mental health consultation. (Mordowanec, 3/22)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Washington Post: Casey Means’s Surgeon General Bid Stalls With Key GOP Votes Uncertain 
The nascent Make America Healthy Again movement got one of its biggest wins last spring: Casey Means was selected to be the nation’s top doctor. But more than 10 months later, the controversial surgeon general pick has yet to assume the position advising Americans on how to improve their health. Her nomination has stalled as some Republicans question her stance on vaccines, her medical credentials and her pushes against the medical establishment. (Weber and Roubein, 3/23)

The Washington Post: The CDC’s Next Chief Will Face Thorny Vaccine Politics. Here Are 3 Potential Picks.
The White House may pick a former governor, a state health director or a cardiologist who has been critical of repeated coronavirus boosters to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Former Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher, Mississippi health director Daniel Edney and Johns Hopkins cardiologist Joseph Marine are being considered to lead the nation’s preeminent public health agency, according to several administration officials and others familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. (Sun, Diamond and Roubein, 3/22)

AP: Trump's EPA Is Paving The Way For Hazier National Parks, Activists Say
A year ago, federal environmental regulators told West Virginia officials that their plan to clear sulfur and smog from skies over the state’s national wilderness areas wasn’t good enough because a dozen coal plants didn’t analyze whether they needed better pollution controls. Six months later, the Environmental Protection Agency, now firmly under President Donald Trump’s control, blessed the same plan, saying technology evaluations wouldn’t be necessary as long as visibility hit projected benchmarks. (Richmond, 3/22)

AP: Detained Immigrant Children Still Face Concerning Conditions, Lawyers Say
Nearly 600 immigrant children were held in a Texas family detention center in recent months without enough food, medical care or mental health services, as their time inside stretched beyond court-mandated limits, according to court documents filed Friday. Children and families held in the Dilley detention facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were sent earlier this year also faced virus outbreaks and lasting lockdowns in December and January, although the total number of children held at Dilley has fallen in recent weeks, according to the attorney’s reports and site visits. (Burke, 3/22)

ON CAPITOL HILL

The Washington Post: Senate Rejects Measure To Ban Trans Athletes In Female Sports
The Senate on Saturday rejected an amendment to a far-reaching voting bill that would have barred transgender females from playing in girls’ and women’s sports, a provision that President Donald Trump had demanded be included in the legislation. The amendment to the Save America Act, which the chamber has been debating since Tuesday, would have amended Title IX, the landmark 1972 law prohibiting discrimination based on sex at education institutions that receive federal funding. The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), a Trump ally who has repeatedly pressed the issue. (Vazquez, 3/21)

REPRODUCTIVE AND INFANT HEALTH

Jackson Hole Community Radio: As Court Battle Brews, Wyoming Women Are Again Sent Out-Of-State For Care For Abortion Access 
As soon as Wyoming banned abortion, the state’s providers and those seeking care quickly changed course. At the state’s lone clinic, almost a dozen appointments had been delayed or referred out of state after the first five days. By the end of week two, that number was roughly 20, said Katie Knutter, executive director of Wellspring Health Access in Casper. (McMurtry, 3/20)

NBC News: Doulas Can Improve Health Outcomes For Women And Babies. Insurers Are Taking Notice
Like many first-time moms, Nathalia Marin Torres was excited when she found out she was pregnant last August, but she was also a bit nervous. The 33-year-old Colombia native didn’t click with her OB-GYN and felt like she needed more support navigating the health care system in the United States. “When you’re kind of far away from family and from your culture, it’s a little bit overwhelming,” Torres said. (Kopf and Essamuah, 3/21)

AP: New Parents Are Shunning Proven Preventive Care For Their Infants In Effort To Be 'Natural'
One day at an Idaho hospital, half the newborns Dr. Tom Patterson saw didn’t get the vitamin K shots that have been given to babies for decades to prevent potentially deadly bleeding. On another recent day, more than a quarter didn’t get the shot. Their parents wouldn’t allow it. ... Doctors across the nation are alarmed that skepticism fueled by rising anti-science sentiment and medical mistrust is increasingly reaching beyond vaccines to other proven, routine, preventive care for babies. (Ungar, 3/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Has One Of The Highest IVF Birth Rates In The US. Here's Why
San Francisco has one of the highest shares of babies born through in vitro fertilization in the country, a Chronicle analysis found. At least 9.4% of babies born in San Francisco in 2024, the latest available data, were born from pregnancies that used assistive reproductive technologies, which by definition includes in vitro fertilization as well as the rarely used gamete intrafallopian transfer, according to CDC data collected from birth certificates. That puts San Francisco just behind three counties in New Jersey. (Echeverria, 3/21)

CIDRAP: Newborns Protected From E Coli Infections By Microbes From Mom, Study Suggests
Mothers share so much with their babies, from favorite lullabies and bedtime stories to clothes and toys from their own childhood. But some of the most important things that moms share with their babies are transferred before birth, in the form of antibodies that protect newborns from disease. Maternal antibodies equip newborns with a ready-made shield against infection during the first few months of life, when an infant’s immune system is still under development. (Szabo, 3/20)

CIDRAP: Midwife-Led Perinatal Care Tied To Lower Childhood Vaccination Rates
Children whose mothers received most of their perinatal care from midwives were less likely to be fully vaccinated on schedule and more likely to have delayed or refused routine immunizations than those cared for primarily by physicians, according to an observational study published this week in Vaccine. (Bergeson, 3/20)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: Match Day 2026 Breaks Record For Residency Matches
A record number of medical students matched into residency programs this year but more positions went unfilled than in 2025. Hospitals and medical centers offered 44,344 positions in 2026, a 2.6% increase from 2025, according to Match Day results released Friday by the National Resident Matching Program. Of the offered positions 93.5% were filled, compared with 94.3% in 2025. The number of applicants for residency programs totaled 48,050, a 1.8% increase from last year. (DeSilva, 3/20)

CIDRAP: Up To 60% Of Health Care Workers May Have Long COVID 4 Years After Infection
Four years after infection with the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 strain, up to 60% of health care workers (HCWs) in Switzerland still reported at least one COVID-19 symptom, although the number of participants dwindled over time, Swiss researchers write in Infection. From 2022 to 2024, the team tracked 24 COVID-19 symptoms among 456 HCWs who self-reported infection with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and 571 uninfected controls at 14 centers. Participants completed an online survey at baseline and every six months and underwent serologic testing to identify any asymptomatic infections. The median participant age was 44 years, and 80.6% were women. (Van Beusekom, 3/20)

Modern Healthcare: Jefferson Health To Pay $108.6M In Malpractice Lawsuit
Jefferson Health must pay $108.6 million after a Philadelphia jury found the nonprofit health system liable for brain injuries suffered by a baby delivered in 2018 at Einstein Pediatrics. Doctors at Einstein Pediatrics, which Jefferson acquired in 2021 as part of the Einstein Healthcare Network transaction and changed the name to Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, delivered the baby referred to in court filings as “KJ.” KJ’s parents filed a lawsuit in July 2024 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, alleging the child’s permanent brain damage stemmed from preventable complications during birth. (Kacik, 3/20)

Asheville Watchdog: Mission Hospital To Evaluate Leadership’s 'Capacity And Competency,' Hires Consultant In Wake Of Immediate Jeopardy
Mission Hospital has hired an outside consultant following its most recent Immediate Jeopardy sanction and committed to federal regulators that it will make sweeping changes, including reevaluating “the capacity and competency” of its leadership and staff, according to its enhanced plan of correction obtained by Asheville Watchdog. (Clifford, 3/22)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital-At-Home Heats Up As DispatchHealth, MedArrive Expand
MedArrive’s purchase of software assets from Inbound Health earlier this week is the latest, but likely not the last, move by companies jockeying for the best position in the burgeoning hospital-at-home market. Many health systems are looking to outside companies to help them establish home-based care programs, and in the past year vendors have switched up their business models and other companies have entered the space. Their efforts have taken on more significance since last month when Medicare’s Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver was extended through September 2030. (Eastabrook, 3/20)

Modern Healthcare: UHS-Talkspace Deal Signals Demand For Behavioral Health Services
Universal Health Services’ proposed acquisition of Talkspace taps into the surging demand for behavioral healthcare and marks a significant step in its strategy to expand outpatient services. Last week, UHS announced it plans to buy the virtual behavioral healthcare company in an $835 million deal. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. (Hudson, 3/20)

AP: Jehovah's Witnesses Ease Church Policy Against Blood Transfusions
Leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses are modifying their prohibition on receiving blood transfusions on religious grounds, now allowing members to decide whether to allow their own blood to be drawn and stored in advance for such things as a scheduled surgery with a risk of significant blood loss. But the organization is retaining its wider prohibition against receiving transfusions of others’ blood — a procedure routinely used with patients after accidents, violence or other blood loss. This long-held prohibition is one of the most distinctive and controversial teachings of the movement, which is headquartered in New York state and well-known for its assertive public proselytizing. (Smith, 3/20)

PHARMACEUTICALS

MedPage Today: Gene Therapy Supply Runs Out, Company Warns Of Treatment Delays
Etranacogene dezaparvovec (Hemgenix), the only commercially available gene therapy for hemophilia B, is temporarily unavailable, according to maker CSL Behring. In a letter addressed to the hemophilia B community, the company said it is experiencing a "temporary global stockout" of the one-time gene therapy that will result in treatment delays for some patients in countries where the product is approved, including the U.S. (Bassett, 3/21)

Stat: FDA Approved C. Diff Drugs. Access To Treatment Got Harder 
Her son had been sick for four months when Blanca Morales started asking about a transplant. It had started with a case of strep throat from Mundo’s first-grade class — routine enough, treatable with antibiotics. Then he started having stomach trouble. (Boodman, 3/23)

Modern Healthcare: Abbott Laboratories To Close $21B Exact Sciences Deal Monday
Abbott Laboratories said Friday it plans to close its acquisition of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences Corp. on Monday. The deal was announced in November, with a total equity value of approximately $21 billion. At the time, the companies said Exact Sciences would become a subsidiary of Abbott and Abbott’s total diagnostic sales would surpass $12 billion annually as a result of the purchase. The transaction is anticipated to add about $3 billion of incremental sales in 2026. (Dubinsky, 3/20)

STATE WATCH

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa House Passes Bill To Raise Taxes On HMO Health Insurance Plans To Fund Medicaid 
The Iowa House passed a bill that would raise taxes on HMO health insurance plans. The bill (HF 2739) would temporarily change the tax on HMOs from less than 1% to 3.5%. Republican officials say the state needs the money to help cover a Medicaid budget deficit. (Sostaric, 3/20)

Charlotte Ledger: NC Lawmakers Take Aim At Hospitals' Prized Tax Perks 
As North Carolina lawmakers search for ways to reduce the tax burden for state residents, they’re taking aim at the generous tax breaks the state’s nonprofit and public hospitals have long enjoyed. (Crouch, 3/23)

Maryland Matters: ‘Elopement’ Bills In Maryland Aim To Protect People With Autism, Dementia
Shari Bailey said she was brought to tears this week when a lawmaker texted her with the news that the House had passed a bill, inspired by her daughter, that aims to improve outcomes for people with autism or dementia who wander off. It was one piece of good news in a series of positive developments for a package of bills Bailey is backing that address the problem of “elopement.”(Brown, 3/22)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: ‘It Just Got Too Complicated’: Ohioans Face Steep Barriers Seeking Medical Aid In Dying Out Of State 
Terminally ill Ohioans who want to decide when life should end have few options, with just two states on opposite coasts offering a legal path for nonresidents to access medical aid in dying: Oregon and Vermont. (McGowan, 3/22)

Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota’s Paid Leave Law Benefits Some Workers, Frustrates Others 
After Sage Conway gave birth to her second child last summer, she dreaded the thought of returning to work right away. She took unpaid family leave so she could spend 12 weeks at home her newborn son, Theo. But after that was up, the dental hygienist from Cottage Grove had to go back to work. (Bloch, 3/21)

PUBLIC HEALTH

CIDRAP: US Measles Outbreak Approaches 1,500 Cases
With 125 new measles cases confirmed today, the US total has reached 1,487 measles infections, and the outbreak is on track to surpass last year’s outbreak numbers—which reflected a 35-year high—before summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the new data in an update today. The CDC confirmed 2,285 measles cases for all of last year, the most since 1991. The United States will likely lose its measles elimination status—which it gained in 2000—in November, when officials assess the data. (Wappes, 3/20)

CIDRAP: CDC Reports 14 More Pediatric Flu Deaths, 115 Total
This week 14 US children were confirmed to have died of influenza, up from 11 in each of the previous two weeks, as overall flu activity remained elevated but declined in most parts of the country, with influenza A decreasing and influenza B trends varying by region, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in its FluView update for the week ending March 14. The new flu-related deaths in children bring the season’s total to 115, compared with 293 for all of last season. (Bergeson, 3/20)

The Washington Post: Four Truths About Covid That Have Become Clouded Over Time 
In the early days, the virus posed a graver threat to people and the health care system, Trump embraced lockdowns he now blasts, and the benefits of vaccines were oversold. (Nirappil, 3/22)

Los Angeles Times: As Mosquitoes Go Year-Round In L.A., A Promising Fix Hits A Snag
To curb a dengue-carrying mosquito, L.A. County officials are releasing sterilized males. The approach is promising, but funding to expand it is uncertain. (Seidman, 3/22)

The New York Times: No Pills Or Needles, Just Paper: How Deadly Drugs Are Changing
The body lay slumped on the jail floor, curled around a metal toilet. Investigators found no evidence of homicide, just a few scraps of rolled-up paper, singed and scattered on the floor like scorched confetti. For months, inmates had been falling ill at the Cook County jail in Chicago. Officials said they had heard rumors that extremely toxic drugs were infiltrating the facility, delivered on something so ordinary that it seemed impossible to stop. Then the body appeared, and “something clicked,” said Justin Wilks, the head investigator at the jail. The paper itself must be the culprit — and it was deadly. (Ahmed and Richtel, 3/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Early Schizophrenia Signs May Hold Key To Preventing Psychosis
The earliest signs of schizophrenia aren’t subtle. People may start hearing voices in their head, or becoming suspicious of others. They may feel like they’re being followed or wonder if a chip has been implanted in their brain. These symptoms are troubling, but on their own, they don’t necessarily mean someone has schizophrenia. Not yet. (Allday, 3/22)

Newsweek: Parents Warned After Unsafe Levels Of Toxic Lead Found In Kids’ Clothing
Parents may want to take a closer look at what their children are wearing after new research found unsafe levels of toxic lead in some items kids’ clothing—particularly those linked to fast fashion. Preliminary findings from the study conducted by undergraduate researchers show that several children’s shirts sold by popular retailers contained lead levels exceeding U.S. federal safety limits. (Gray, 3/23)

CNBC: Menstrual Products Prices Skyrocketing From Inflation, Tariffs
Rising inflation and ever-changing tariff policies have led to higher prices across store shelves over the past few years, squeezing consumers’ budgets. An often overlooked example: menstrual products. (Neelakandan, 3/22)

NUTRITION

NPR: What Do The New ‘GLP-1 Friendly’ Food Labels Mean?
Some food companies, including Nestle and Conagra, are responding to the popularity of obesity and diabetes drugs by branding some products "GLP-1 Friendly." The labels target a growing number of consumers taking medicines such as Zepbound and Wegovy who may be looking for healthier, ready-made meals that minimize side-effects from the drugs. But what, exactly, does it mean to eat a GLP-1-friendly diet? (Noguchi, 3/23)

NBC News: Can You Trust Calorie Counts On Food Labels? What Nutrition Scientists Say
The math it took to calculate the number of calories in your favorite snack involved a lot more guesstimation than you may think. The Food and Drug Administration began requiring standardized nutrition labeling — including the number of calories per serving — on most packaged foods in 1990. Obesity rates skyrocketed in the United States over the next few decades, spurring a 2016 change to the rule to list calorie counts on nutrition labels in a large, bold font. (Sullivan, 3/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gut Microbiome May Shape Healthy Aging, Experts Say
The gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in your gastrointestinal tract — is having a moment. Research into the field, which is only about 20 years old, is booming, generating excitement among scientists and a curious public. (Ho, 3/22)