First Edition: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: The Quiet Collapse Of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net
In late October, Maine Family Planning announced three rural clinics in northern Maine would close by month’s end. These primary care and reproductive health clinics served about 800 patients, many uninsured or on Medicaid. “People don’t realize how much these clinics hold together the local health system until they’re gone,” said George Hill, the group’s president and CEO. “For thousands of patients, that was their doctor, their lab, and their lifeline.” (Gounder, 10/30)

KFF Health News: Refugees Will Be Among The First To Lose Food Stamps Under Federal Changes
After fleeing the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Antoinette landed in the Atlanta area last November and began to find her footing with federal help. Separated from her adult children and grieving her husband’s death in the war, she started a job packing boxes in a warehouse, making just enough to cover rent for her own apartment and bills. Antoinette has been relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, for her weekly grocery trips. (Rayasam, 10/30)

KFF Health News: California Faces Limits As It Directs Health Facilities To Push Back On Immigration Raids
In recent months, federal agents have camped out in the lobby of a Southern California hospital, guarded detained patients — sometimes shackled — in hospital rooms, and chased an immigrant landscaper into a surgical center. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have also shown up at community clinics. Health providers say that officers have tried to enter a parking lot hosting a mobile clinic, waved a machine gun in the faces of clinicians serving the homeless, and hauled a passerby into an unmarked car outside a community health center. (Boyd-Barrett, 10/30)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The Hill: Senate GOP, Democrats Looking For ‘Off Ramp’ To End Shutdown Next Week
Senate Republicans and Democrats are trying to hammer out a proposal to end the 30-day government shutdown as soon as next week, as some centrist Democrats argue behind the scenes that their party has successfully highlighted rising health care costs and it’s time to end the stalemate.  Shutdown fatigue on Capitol Hill is growing as the government stoppage approaches the one-month mark, and the pain is increasing. (Bolton, 10/30)

The New York Times: Obamacare Prices Become Public, Highlighting Big Increases
The Trump administration has released a preview of the available plans sold through Obamacare marketplaces in 30 states, giving Americans who buy their own health insurance a first look at just how much prices would go up. Insurers have increased rates significantly for next year — an average of about 30 percent for a typical plan in the 30 states where the federal government manages markets, and an average of 17 percent in states that run their own markets, according to a new analysis from KFF, the health research group. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 10/29)

The Hill: Dr. Mehmet Oz Minimizes Effect Of Tax Credit End On Affordable Care Act Rates
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz downplayed on Wednesday the likely substantial increase in the amount Americans will pay for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) federal marketplace. When asked at a press conference about the lack of a deal in Congress to extend expiring enhanced tax credits, Oz said he thinks they should expire because they were only intended for a short term to help Americans through the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think we all agree that COVID has passed, so therefore COVID-era subsidies should also pass,” Oz said. (Weixel, 10/29)

FOOD AID AND SNAP

Military.com: 'SNAP Is Everything': Military Families, Vets Prepare For Empty Fridges 
“We would not eat.” That is how disabled U.S. Navy veteran Juan Saro described a life without the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which he and more than 40 millions of Americans—around 1-in-8 Americans—rely on for food assistance. That includes seniors, disabled individuals, and families with children. About 1.2 million veterans are enrolled now, according to the National Council on Aging. (Radzius, 10/29)

Military.com: American Red Cross Steps Up As Government Shutdown Impacts Military Pay, SNAP
The American Red Cross is among the organizations nationwide that are coming to military service members’ aid in light of the ongoing government shutdown and potential missed paychecks. In areas like Oklahoma City, food and hygiene drives have been scheduled to assist military communities. ... [Also,] “This October, dozens of blood drives held at federal agencies, government organizations or military bases have been canceled, resulting in more than 1,000 uncollected donations. We are actively taking steps to mitigate these disruptions to ensure patients continue to receive the blood products they need," an American Red Cross spokesperson said. (Mordowanec, 10/29)

CNN: SNAP Benefits: ‘Grocery Buddies’ Are Stepping Up To Help Families At Risk Of Losing Food Stamps
In online forums usually reserved for finding handyman recommendations and lost pets, neighbors are stepping up for one another as “grocery buddies,” creating a patchwork solution for vulnerable families across the country. Here’s how it works: Neighbors post on social media in community groups or public forums about their willingness to be a “grocery buddy” and help a family at risk of losing SNAP benefits. The poster asks those interested to send them a private message. Together, they find a grocery solution that makes sense for both parties. (Ebrahimji, 10/29)

AP: With Federal Food Aid Set To Dry Up Amid Government Shutdown, Several States Step In To Help
With federal SNAP food assistance set to run dry this weekend amid the protracted U.S. government shutdown, Louisiana, New Mexico and Vermont became the latest states Wednesday to announce help for low-income households that rely on the funds to eat. They join states from New York to Nevada in scrambling to find ways to get food to people who are increasingly anxious and will otherwise go hungry without their normal monthly payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. (Beck and Mulvihill, 10/30)

New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Approves $2M For Mobile Food Pantries, Other SNAP Stopgaps
New Hampshire food assistance programs will receive an influx of $2 million in state funding as of Nov. 1, part of a plan to offset the loss of federal food assistance programs due to the ongoing government shutdown. The money will support a network of mobile food pantries specifically for the more than 75,000 New Hampshire residents enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. It will also help traditional food pantries stock up on additional food for SNAP participants. (10/29)

Roll Call: Democrats Seize On Food Stamp Funding As Latest Rallying Cry 
​A funding lapse for food stamps, set to hit next week, became a new focus for Democrats on Wednesday as the partial government shutdown enters its fifth week with no resolution in sight. In a rare diversion from their single-minded focus on extending expiring health insurance subsidies, Senate Democrats introduced legislation to continue funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, during the shutdown. (Fulton, 10/29)

VACCINE POLICY AND COVID

Politico: RFK Jr.’s Top Vaccine Adviser Says He Answers To No One
Martin Kulldorff wants to rebuild Americans’ declining trust in vaccines even if that means limiting access to some shots in the process. Kulldorff, who leads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, spoke exclusively to POLITICO about how he sees his role and the task Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime skeptic of vaccine safety, has given him. (Gardner and Gardner, 10/29)

The New York Times: Covid And Flu Can Triple Your Risk Of Heart Attack
A number of viral infections, including flu, Covid-19 and shingles, are linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study affirmed. The risk of a heart attack triples within the first few weeks after a Covid-19 infection, the study suggested, and quadruples in the month after a flu infection. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, was a large review and analysis of existing research. (Agrawal, 10/29)

CIDRAP: International Air Travel—Especially Packed Flights—Fueled Flu, COVID-19 Spread During Pandemic, Researchers Say
A new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases links higher intercontinental airline passenger flight volumes to both influenza activity and COVID-19 case and death rates, suggesting that short-term travel restrictions and in-flight interventions could slow disease transmission when coupled with public health measures. Flights from Asia played a larger role in disease spread, the study found. (Van Beusekom, 10/29)

The New York Times: Deputies Put Down 5 Escaped Monkeys They Were Wrongly Told Had Covid 
Sheriff’s deputies euthanized five monkeys that got loose when the truck carrying them overturned on a Mississippi highway on Tuesday after the driver mistakenly told them that the primates were infected with Covid-19, hepatitis C and herpes when they were not, the authorities said. Three other monkeys that escaped were still loose as of Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Randy Johnson of Jasper County, Miss., said in a phone interview, lamenting the sequence of events that had led to several of the monkeys being put down. (Vigdor, 10/29)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Stat: FDA Proposes Easier Approvals For Biologics 
The Trump administration announced a draft framework Wednesday that officials say will speed cheaper versions of biologic drugs to market with the aim of making medicine more affordable and accessible for patients. (Payne, 10/29)

Axios: Trump Immigration Policies, Funding Cuts Worsen Rising Elder Care Cost
The cost of hiring help to care for an elderly or a sick person at home is skyrocketing. A labor shortage and surging demand from an aging population was already driving up prices, and now the White House's crackdown on immigration and funding cuts are making things worse. (Peck, 10/30)

The Hill: Tobacco Industry’s Policy Interference On The Rise: Report
The tobacco industry’s influence on public health policymaking in the U.S. is growing according to the latest report by the anti-smoking organization Action on Smoking & Health (ASH). ASH’s Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, provided first to The Hill, found that the U.S. scored an 89 out of 100 on the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, a survey used to measure how governments respond the interference by the tobacco industry. The U.S.’s score ranked it 98 out of 100 surveyed countries. (Choi, 10/30)

NPR: How Hurricane Relief Efforts In Jamaica Are Affected By The End Of USAID
It's a major international disaster. And it comes in the wake of the Trump administration's dismantling of the world's largest aid agency, the United States Agency for International Development, along with the slashing of billions of dollars in foreign assistance. Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful Atlantic storm of this year, has torn through Jamaica and several other islands in the Caribbean, leaving a trail of devastation. With major flooding and power outages, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the country a "disaster area." (Tanis, 10/29)

TRANSGENDER CARE

The New York Times: Judge Rebukes Justice Dept. Over Efforts To Obtain Confidential Patient Details
A federal judge in Seattle has rejected a Justice Department effort to obtain confidential patient information from a provider of gender-affirming care, accusing the agency of “prosecutorial coercion” and of failing to conduct an investigation in good faith. The ruling, filed on Monday, was a scathing rebuke from a federal judge over an extraordinary attempt by the Justice Department to secure personal data in service of what it said was a bid to determine whether certain providers had committed fraud or made false claims about its services. (Thrust, 10/29)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

AP: Alaska Supreme Court To Decide On Abortion Care Provider Rules
The Alaska Supreme Court is weighing a case that is expected to determine who can provide abortion care in the state. The court heard arguments Wednesday in a 2019 case challenging the constitutionality of a law that states only a doctor licensed by the State Medical Board can perform an abortion in Alaska. The law, dating to the 1970s, was struck down as unconstitutional by Superior Court judge Josie Garton last year, a victory for the group that brought the challenge, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. The state appealed Garton’s ruling. (Bohrer, 10/30)

Today in Ohio: Ohio Just Cut Off Cancer Screenings And Birth Control For Thousands — All To Punish Planned Parenthood 
Ohio’s move to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood could soon create a healthcare access crisis for tens of thousands of vulnerable patients across the state—especially in communities where few affordable alternatives exist. (10/29)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

MedPage Today: Study Identifies U.S. Regions Vulnerable To Trump's $100K Visas For Foreign Docs
The percentage of physicians sponsored by the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire workers outside the country to work in specialty occupations, was significantly higher in vulnerable and underserved counties, according to a cross-sectional study. (Firth, 10/29)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Plan Finder Errors Must Be Fixed, Democrats Urge CMS
Top Democrats blasted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over reported flaws in the Medicare Advantage provider lists an agency contractor assembled. House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) wrote CMS Wednesday to demand it rectify “inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory information” on provider networks the agency incorporated into the Medicare Plan Finder. (Early, 10/29)

Healthcare Dive: Centene Posts $6.6B Loss On Massive Value Writedown
The goodwill impairment charge is meant to realign Centene’s value on its own books with its value in the market, which has plummeted this year. Still, Centene upped its earnings outlook for 2025. (Pifer, 10/29)

WGCU: Lee Health Is Part Of New Golisano Children's Alliance, Formed With $253 Million Gift 
A commitment of $253 million has been given by philanthropist Tom Golisano to six children's hospitals around the country. They will join Lee Health's Golisano Children's Hospital and three others to form the Golisano Children's Alliance, representing 10 children's hospitals across the eastern United States. (10/29)

North Carolina Health News: Medicaid Funding Gap Forces Closure Of NC Perinatal Group 
On Friday, North Carolina will be the only state in the country to no longer have a statewide collaborative focused on improving perinatal care. The Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina stands to lose its entire $905,000 budget on Friday, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed this week in an email to NC Health News. (Fernandez, 10/30)

Bloomberg: Harry You SPAC Agrees To Merge With Clinic-In-A-Box Firm OnMed
Blank-check deal veteran Harry You’s latest special purpose acquisition company has agreed to merge with a business that operates portable health-care stations. Berto Acquisition Corp. has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to combine with OnMed LLC, according to a statement Wednesday confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Financial details were not disclosed. (Baker, 10/29)

MedPage Today: Egg Freezing Benefits Are A Key Job Consideration For Female Docs
Fertility coverage, particularly egg freezing, is a key influence on female physicians' job decision-making, a survey showed. Physicians with current inadequate oocyte cryopreservation coverage were more than 4 times more likely to say fertility benefits would affect whether they accepted a job offer compared to those who thought their current coverage was adequate ... according to Ashley Veade, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Robertson, 10/29)

Modern Healthcare: How Robotic Surgery Is Using AI At Johns Hopkins, Lenox Hill
Surgical robots have transformed the operating room for doctors, bringing greater precision to procedures and improving patient outcomes. The next frontier: Robots that can perform procedures entirely on their own. What once was the stuff of science fiction is starting to become a reality as academic medical centers and research universities collaborate to develop the technology. It may take over a decade for the advancements to reach clinical practice and there would need to be a regulatory framework designed to approve them. (Dubinsky, 10/29)

PHARMA AND TECH

Bloomberg: Kenvue Hires P&G Exec To Aid Rebound From Tylenol Fallout
Kenvue Inc. hired an executive from Procter & Gamble Co. to help the company get back on track after its biggest product, Tylenol, has come under scrutiny from the Trump administration. Carlos De Jesus will become Kenvue’s next group president of North America effective Nov. 3, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg News. Interim Chief Executive Officer Kirk Perry cited De Jesus’ experience “successfully leading large-scale turnarounds across global markets” and said he is a “rare mix of pure marketer and brilliant operator.” (Brown, 10/29)

Bloomberg: Thermo Fisher To Buy Drug Trial Firm Clario For $8.9 Billion
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to acquire Clario Holdings Inc., a privately held maker of drug trial software, for about $8.9 billion in cash. The deal will give Thermo Fisher, a provider of analytical, clinical and laboratory instruments, access to a company that is playing a leading role in managing clinical data in thousands of drug trials. The agreement also includes potential future payments of as much as $525 million, according to a statement Wednesday. (Hipwell, 10/29)

STATE WATCH

Becker's Hospital Review: Court Reverses $213M Judgment Against Florida Hospital In 'Netflix' Case
A Florida appeals court has vacated a $213 million judgment against St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in a case popularized by a Netflix documentary. The family of Maya Kowalski had sued the hospital for claims including false imprisonment, wrongful death and medical negligence after the institution held the then-10-year-old under state custody in 2016, suspecting her mother, Beata, of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Beata later died by suicide, and the family’s story became the subject of the documentary “Take Care of Maya.” (Bruce, 10/29)

The Marshall Project: Missouri’s Competency Restoration Backlog Soars Despite Attempts To Fix It 
A backlog of defendants deemed mentally unfit for trial persists despite public policy changes to address the crisis. (Bogan, 10/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Mpox Cases Spur Vaccine Push For High-Risk People
California health officials are urging people at high risk of contracting mpox — a viral disease that causes painful rash and fever — to make sure they’re fully vaccinated, in light of three recent locally acquired cases in the state. “We want people to know Clade I is here, it’s circulating, and people should get up to date on the vaccine,” California Public Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan said Tuesday during a briefing with medical professionals. (Ho, 10/29)

Los Angeles Times: Most Of California's Public K-12 Schools Offer Virtually No Shade 
The vast majority of urban, public grade schools in California are paved-over “nature deserts” sorely lacking in trees or shade — leaving most of the state’s 5.8 million school-age children to bake in the sun during breaks from the classroom as rising global temperatures usher in more dangerous heat waves. That’s the conclusion of a team of California researchers from UCLA, UC Davis and UC Berkeley who studied changes in the tree cover at 7,262 urban public schools across the Golden State between 2018 through 2022. (Beason, 10/29)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

NPR: Cannabis Use Before Age15 Is Linked To Physical And Mental Health Issues
Teens who start using cannabis before age 15 are more likely to use the drug often later in their lives. They are also more likely to develop mental and physical health problems in young adulthood compared to their peers who did not use the drug in adolescence. Those are the findings of a new study in JAMA Network Open. (Chatterjee, 10/29)

Bloomberg: Character.AI To Ban Children Under 18 From Talking To Its Chatbots
Artificial intelligence startup Character.AI will ban kids from having conversations with chatbots on its platform following growing pressure from lawmakers and a raft of lawsuits alleging the company’s so-called characters are responsible for harms to children. The company said Wednesday that by Nov. 25 it will stop users under the age of 18 from having open-ended conversations with its chatbots, which users can create and talk to. (Metz, 10/29)

The New York Times: In Senior Homes, A.I. Technology Is Sensing Falls Before They Happen 
Today’s anti-fall technology has come a long way from ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!’ Here’s how it works. (Cohen, 10/29)