First Edition: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: ‘They Don’t Return Home’: Cities Across US Fail To Curb Traffic Deaths
Kris Edwards waited at home with friends for his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to go out to dinner, but she never made it back to the house they had purchased only four days earlier. Around 9 p.m. on June 29, a hit-and-run driver killed Tilly as she walked to her car after a fundraiser performance in Hollywood. "I’ve just got to figure out how to keep living. And the hard part with that is not knowing why,” Edwards said of his wife’s death. (Giles, 11/13)

KFF Health News: ICE Crackdown Heightens Barriers For Immigrant Domestic Violence Victims
The immigrant from India believed her husband when he said that if she wasn’t gone by the time he got to their Georgia home in 10 minutes, he would kill her. She said her husband and his family, who are also immigrants, abused her throughout their marriage, beating her with a belt, pouring hot water on her, cutting her, and pushing her head through a wall. (Platzman Weinstock, 11/13)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Nov. 6: Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: What to do when your health insurer stops covering your medical provider, and the Republican budget law will make it harder for some people to pay for medical school. (Cook, 11/12)

AP: Trump Signs Government Funding Bill, Ending Record Shutdown
President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks. The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands. (Freking, Cappelletti and Brown, 11/13)

The Hill: Democrats Introduce Discharge Petition To Force Vote On Extension Of ObamaCare Subsidies
House Democratic leaders introduced a discharge petition Wednesday designed to force consideration of legislation to extend expiring ObamaCare subsidies for another three years. Behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the Democrats are hoping to entice a handful of moderate Republicans to endorse the petition, which will require 218 signatures to force a floor vote on the legislation over the objections of Republican leaders. (Lillis, 11/12)

Stat: Trump Plan To Replace ACA Subsidies With Cash Met With Skepticism 
Republicans are proposing a substitute to the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that Democrats want to extend, taking their cue from President Trump’s demands. But even some opponents to the Democrats’ plan are wary of what Republicans are working on. (Wilkerson, 11/13)

The Hill: Hemp-Derived THC Drinks, Edibles Could Soon Disappear Because Of Shutdown Bill
Popular THC-infused drinks and edibles may disappear from store shelves in the next year as Congress is on the verge of passing a ban on nearly all hemp-derived THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, products. Tucked into the Senate-passed government funding bill is a provision that would recriminalize many of the intoxicating hemp-derived products that were legalized by the 2018 farm bill. (Weixel, 11/12)

AP: SNAP Timeline Remains Uncertain Even As The Government Starts To Reopen 
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the program, said in an email Wednesday that funds could be available “upon the government reopening, within 24 hours for most states.” The department didn’t immediately answer questions about where it might take longer — or whether the 24-hour timeline applies to when money would be available to states or loaded onto debit cards used by beneficiaries. (Mulvihill, 11/12)

ABC News: Some Food Banks See Up To 1,800% Surge In Demand Since SNAP Benefits Were Halted
Food assistance workers said the restoration of food assistance can't come soon enough as they struggle to fill in the gap left behind by SNAP. Cyndi Kirkhart, executive director at Facing Hunger Food Bank, said she's been working at the food bank for 11 years and has never seen the surge in people she is seeing now, and that it is higher than what she saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kekatos, 11/13)

AP: Tribes Kill Bison To Feed Their People Because Of The Shutdown
On the open plains of the Fort Peck Reservation, Robert Magnan leaned out the window of his truck, set a rifle against the door frame and then “pop!” — a bison tumbled dead in its tracks. Magnan and a co-worker shot two more bison, also known as buffalo, and quickly field dressed the animals before carting them off for processing into ground beef and cuts of meat for distribution to members of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in northern Montana. (Brown, Lee Brewer and Schafer, 11/13)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The New York Times: Trump Administration To Drastically Cut Housing Grants 
The Trump administration has developed plans for a wholesale shift in homelessness policy that would slash support for long-term housing programs, according to a confidential grant-making plan, and critics say it could quickly place as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people at risk of returning to the streets. Pivoting from housing aid, the administration’s approach would shift billions to short-term programs that impose work rules, help the police dismantle encampments, and require the homeless to accept treatment for mental health or addiction. (DeParle, 11/12)

The Washington Post: U.S. Visas Can Be Denied For Obesity, Cancer And Diabetes, Rubio Says
The Trump administration directed visa officers to consider obesity — and other chronic health conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes — as reasons to deny foreigners visas to the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. consulates and embassies around the world about the changes in a Nov. 6 cable, according to a copy obtained and verified by The Washington Post. The move broadens current medical screening beyond contagious diseases and gives visa officers new justification to reject applicants, in the Trump administration’s latest effort to curb the flow of immigration. (Gurley and Natanson, 11/13)

Stat: New Patent Policies May Undermine Trump Drive To Lower Drug Prices
File this under “unintended consequences.” Over the past few months, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has pursued new policies that its officials insist will preserve patents from unnecessary legal challenges and strengthen the system for protecting innovation. (Silverman, 11/13)

AP: At MAHA Summit, Vance Praises RFK Jr. For Defying Convention 
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday praised Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s willingness to question established science and embrace nontraditional voices in the health care space, saying that often throughout history, “all the experts were wrong.” In remarks in a fireside chat between the two men at a “Make America Healthy Again” summit in the nation’s capital, Vance also propped up Kennedy’s MAHA movement, saying it has been “a critical part of our success in Washington.” (Swenson, 11/12)

CNN: US Health Leaders Hailed The Benefits Of Hormone Therapy For Menopause. Doctors Are Pushing For Balance 
On Monday, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced that after 20 years, they were righting a medical wrong — what Makary has called “maybe one of the greatest screw-ups of modern medicine” — by pushing to remove the “black box” warning on hormone therapy for menopause symptoms. (Goodman, 11/12)

The New York Times: FDA’s Move To Limit Fluoride Supplements Has Doctors Worried 
The agency announced new recommendations on fluoride supplements, a crucial tool for protecting children’s dental health. (Blum, 11/11)

LGBTQ+ HEALTH CARE

AP: US Catholic Bishops Ban Gender-Affirming Care At Catholic Hospitals
U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to make official a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals. The step formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. From a Baltimore hotel ballroom, the bishops overwhelmingly approved revisions to their ethical and religious directives that guide the nation’s thousands of Catholic health care institutions and providers. (Stanley, 11/12)

AP: Transgender Members Of The Air Force Sue Over Retirement Pay
A group of 17 transgender members of the Air Force are suing the U.S. government over what they say is the military’s unlawful revocation of their early retirement pensions and benefits. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, comes several months after the Air Force confirmed that it would deny all transgender service members who have served between 15 and 18 years the option to retire early and would instead separate them without retirement benefits. (Toropin, 11/12)

The 19th: Detransition Is Now A Key Tool Of Politicians’ Anti-Trans Agenda. But What Is It Really Like?
For some people, gender shifts over time, often through changes in one’s sense of self. A transgender man may realize they are nonbinary and stop hormone replacement therapy. A trans woman may face so much discrimination that she represses her identity. And some trans people medically reverse their transition to live as their sex assigned at birth. (Rummler, 11/12)

The 19th: She Detransitioned At 20. She’s Scared About The Future Of Trans Health Care.
For Ara Kareis, the Trump administration’s rhetoric about detransitioners and transgender people is not just wrong — it’s scary. “The whole administration is scaring me right now,” said Kareis, a 22-year-old North Carolina resident who detransitioned a few years ago. To her, the rhetoric shared by the president and the vice president that portrays gender transition as a form of mutilation is deeply harmful. (Rummler, 11/12)

PHARMA AND TECH

Stat: FDA Officials Offer Roadmap For Gene-Editing Cases Like Baby KJ's 
Top Food and Drug Administration officials on Wednesday detailed a roadmap for approving the world’s first personalized gene-editing treatments. (Mast, 11/12)

MedPage Today: Rapid-Acting Drug For Major Heart Attacks Hits Main Goal In Trial
Patients experiencing major heart attacks had a lower risk of serious complications if they received a single injection of the investigational drug zalunfiban at first medical contact, a randomized placebo-controlled trial showed. (Susman, 11/12)

Fox News: New Bladder Cancer Treatment Shows 82% Success In Breakthrough Trial
An experimental drug has shown promise in fighting a hard-to-treat form of bladder cancer known as BCG-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) is an immunotherapy drug that is often the first-line treatment for certain early-stage bladder cancers. The new drug, TAR-200 — which was evaluated in a trial sponsored and conducted by Janssen Research & Development, LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson — may offer a less invasive alternative to bladder removal surgery. (Quill, 11/12)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Rates Rise For Aveanna, Enhabit Home Health
Home health companies say they are winning the tug of war with Medicare Advantage insurers over higher rates that ensure better member access to in-home services. Executives from Enhabit Home Health, Aveanna Healthcare and the Pennant Group told investor analysts during third-quarter earnings calls last week they have been more successful signing contracts with insurers that pay them higher fees per patient visit or for 60-day episodes of care. In return, members get priority access to services as demand for home healthcare from an aging population outpaces the supply of available providers. (Eastabrook, 11/12)

Modern Healthcare: Aetna, Cigna ‘Downcoding’ Policies Receive Pushback From States
The furor over accusations that health insurance companies are automatically “downcoding” medical claims has reached state capitals. Arkansas and Virginia adopted new laws this year to address downcoding, which is often conducted using artificial intelligence and other digital tools. Physician societies such as the American Medical Association are gathering allies in several state legislatures. The AMA expects more progress in 2026, according to a spokesperson. (Tong, 11/12)

Minnesota Public Radio: University Of Minnesota Opposes Fairview And Physicians Group Deal 
The University of Minnesota is raising concerns about an agreement between Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and a group of physicians at the University of Minnesota Medical School. On Wednesday, Fairview and University of Minnesota Physicians, a nonprofit clinical practice, announced they had reached a deal slated to begin on Jan. 1, 2027, to support physician training and fund the medical school for the next 10 years. (Zurek, 11/12)

STATE WATCH

The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Warns Of Grim Future For Clinics After Medicaid Cuts 
Planned Parenthood has spent tens of millions of dollars providing health care to low-income patients and has closed 20 clinics in the months since the Trump administration blocked the group from billing Medicaid — but weathering the funding cut on its own will soon become untenable, its leaders say. ... The 20 clinics the group has closed since the Medicaid ban became law are in addition to more than two dozen Planned Parenthood clinics that shut down earlier this year because of other federal funding cuts. Those that remain open are “being pushed to the brink,” the report said. (Somasundaram, 11/12)

AP: Former Aide To California Gov. Gavin Newsom Indicted On Federal Charges
A former top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been indicted on federal charges alleging her involvement in a scheme to steal campaign money from former federal Health Secretary Xavier Becerra. Dana Williamson was arrested and appeared in court Wednesday in Sacramento. She pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a judge ordered her released from custody. (Nguyễn and Ding, 11/13)

MENTAL HEALTH

The New York Times: More Teens Are Taking Antidepressants. It Could Disrupt Their Sex Lives for Years.
Research on adults who take S.S.R.I.s shows they tamp down sexual desire. Why aren’t we studying what that could mean for adolescents who take them? (Bergner, 11/12)

The New York Times: What To Know About Teen Sexual Development And S.S.R.I.S 
There is basically no research that looks at the impact of antidepressants on emerging sexuality. Here are the key things we do know. (Bergner, 11/12)

Axios: OpenAI's GPT-5.1 Has More Personality, Raising Questions Of Risk
The latest AI models powering ChatGPT just learned to be friendlier, improving the experience for people who use chatbots responsibly. It could be a problem for those who don't or can't. As chatbots become more human-like in their behavior, it could increase the risks of unhealthy attachments, or a kind of trust that goes beyond what the products are built to handle. (Morrone, 11/13)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

NBC News: Warnings Rise For U.S. As Severe Flu Strain H3N2 Causes Outbreaks In Canada, U.K.
As flu season gets underway, global health experts are increasingly worried about a new strain of the virus that popped up in June — four months after the makeup of this year’s flu shots had been decided. The new strain, a version of H3N2, is causing outbreaks in Canada and the U.K., where health officials are warning about the early wave that’s sending people to the hospital. (Edwards, 11/12)

The New York Times: Scientists Grow More Hopeful About Ending A Global Organ Shortage
In a modern glass complex in Geneva last month, hundreds of scientists from around the world gathered to share data, review cases — and revel in some astonishing progress. Their work was once considered the stuff of science fiction: so-called xenotransplantation, the use of animal organs to replace failing kidneys, hearts and livers in humans. (Rabin, 11/12)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

Newsweek: Scientists Find A Surprising New Trigger For Migraines
Food, stress, sleep and weather may not be the only triggers to consider when preventing migraines—how stable your daily routine is could play an important role too. Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers used a total “surprisal score” to measure the unexpectedness of a participant’s daily experiences, revealing it was associated with risk of an upcoming migraine attack. (Millington, 11/12)

The Guardian: High Blood Pressure Rates In Children Nearly Doubled In 20 Years, Global Review Finds
The rate of children and teenagers living with high blood pressure globally has nearly doubled because of a toxic combination of unhealthy diets, mass inactivity and soaring levels of obesity, according to the largest review of its kind. Experts said 114 million children who have developed hypertension even before reaching adulthood were facing potentially deadly and lifelong harm, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and a myriad of serious health complications. (Gregory, 11/12)

MedPage Today: Woman Born Without Most Of Her Brain Celebrates Her 20th Birthday
Doctors told her parents she wasn't expected to survive past age 4, but a Nebraska woman born without cerebral hemispheres celebrated her 20th birthday last week. Alex Simpson was diagnosed with hydranencephaly, a rare congenital malformation, when she was 2 months old. "Technically, she has about half the size of my pinky finger of her cerebellum in the back part of her brain, but that's all that's there," Alex's father, Shawn Simpson, told KETV in Omaha. (George, 11/12)