Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans, by state, here and this database as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Journalists Assess Risks of Tick Bites, Wildfire Smoke, Rising Health Costs
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
A WISH FOR US
Everlasting peace.
— Kyle Thompson
Secure, healthy families.
Please, thrive in this land!
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Outbreaks and Health Threats
Number of Measles Cases Roars Past Last Year's Total As Vaccine Hesitancy Takes Hold
The New York Times: Measles Cases Hit New Record In U.S., As Vaccination Rates Wane
The United States has now recorded more cases of measles in 2026 than in any other year since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000, a grim sign that the country may be headed toward a new era in which the disease regularly sickens thousands every year. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that there have been 2,318 confirmed cases of measles so far this year. The case count toppled the record set last year, when measles infected more than 2,200 Americans and killed two unvaccinated children. More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000 through 2024 combined. (Rosenbluth, 7/24)
WKMG: ‘Effective:’ Florida Surgeon General Talks Measles Vaccine Amid Spread
Florida’s top health official called the measles vaccine “effective” Friday, but stopped short of imploring people to get inoculated against the disease. Dr. Joseph Ladapo was in Orlando Friday for an event focused on mental health and kids. (Valente, 7/24)
OPB: Limited Cooperation In Some Measles Cases Is Making The Virus Harder To Contain In Oregon
This spring, two children attended a Portland-area school while infected with measles. Both were exposed at home and were showing symptoms. The kids were contacts of a known measles case that public health officials were monitoring. Adults in the household were told to keep the children home from school if they developed symptoms. But, according to Multnomah County Health Officer Dr. Richard Bruno, that didn’t happen, and the children were sent to school without public health’s knowledge. (Templeton, 7/22)
On the cyclospora outbreak —
CBS News: Cyclospora Outbreak Dubbed 'Lettuce-Gate' As Concerns Over Parasitic Illness Spread Across U.S.
As the cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce spread to nine states, Americans have dubbed the health concern "lettuce-gate" on social media, and they aren't convinced the situation is under control. (Bauman, 7/25)
NBC Chicago: Taylor Farms Releases Statement Amid Cyclosporiasis Outbreak
Taylor Farms released a new statement Friday amid an investigation into the source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak across the U.S. The company, which remains at the center of U.S. health officials' investigation, said it has taken added precautions despite no positive test results involving its product so far. "According to the FDA, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora as of July 19, 2026," Taylor Farms said in its statement. "We are confident in our food and food safety systems and will continue to be transparent as more information becomes available." (Dvorak, 7/24)
The Hill: Former Trump Food Official Calls For Independent Review Of Federal Government Response To Cyclospora Outbreak
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas, who served under both President Trump and former President Biden, criticized the federal government’s handling of a Cyclospora outbreak that has impacted thousands of Americans. (Davis, 7/24)
CNN: Cyclospora Outbreaks Start With Human Contamination. Nobody Has Ever Been Able To Figure Out How
As cases of explosive diarrhea continue to rise across the US this summer, health officials are grappling with a longstanding question about the tiny parasite that’s behind all this torment: Just how the heck is poop getting into our food? (Goodman, 7/25)
On the screwworm threat —
The Hill: U.S. To Begin Phased Reopening To Mexican Cattle Ports Next Month
The U.S. will initiate a “phased reopening” next month of the country’s southern cattle ports, which were closed in May following the detection of a New World Screwworm (NWS) outbreak, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday. (Davis, 7/25)
On flesh-eating bacteria and leprosy —
WUSF: Florida Reports First 2026 Death From A 'Flesh-Eating Bacteria' Infection
The Florida Health Department has reported the state’s first death this year from Vibrio vulnificus, commonly known as “flesh-eating bacteria.” The death was reported in June and involved a Palm Beach County resident who was 80 to 84 years old, according to the agency’s website. It is not known when the death occurred. (Mayer, 7/24)
WUSF: Armadillos Likely Behind Florida’s Increasing Leprosy Cases, But Doctors Say Don't Worry
Reported cases of leprosy in Florida have been rising over the past several years. This year, the state saw 17 cases as of July 18. The total from last year was 36, compared to 20 in 2024, 23 in 2023 and eight in 2022. A local species of armadillo, which carries the bacteria that causes leprosy, may be behind most cases, scientists say. (Riva, 7/27)
Ebola cases soar in DR Congo —
Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters: Ebola Infections In DR Congo Surge To 3,200, With 1,405 Deaths
The number of people infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 3,200, according to government data, including at least 1,405 deaths. The data was released on Sunday as medics struggle to contain the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak, with infections surging by about 1,000 in just 10 days. (7/27)
AP: Ebola Hospital Workers Strike In Congo, Disrupting Patient Care
Health workers at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Congo went on strike on Saturday, demanding their pay. The walkout disrupted care for patients in the epicenter of the country’s rapidly growing outbreak. (Ngorora and Bagalwa, 7/25)
Administration News
Peptide Push Is Lowering The Bar For Patient Safety, Scientists Fear
NBC News: FDA Peptide Votes Could Open The Door To More Unproven Drugs: ‘Pandora’s Box’
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Friday recommended allowing two more unproven peptides to be compounded, capping a two-day meeting that raised questions about whether the agency was weakening the guardrails designed to keep untested drugs from reaching patients. (Lovelace Jr., 7/24)
Stat: Medical Schools Adapting To Kennedy Push To Add Nutrition Training
When students return to McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston this year, they will get to participate in hands-on nutrition experiences, including cooking demonstrations in the teaching kitchen, tours of the campus “holistic garden,” and the opportunity to take a culinary-medicine-focused elective. (Chan, 7/27)
Fox News: Surgeon General Warns Screen Time Harms Kids' Attention And Memory
As screens compete for families' attention, children's development is paying the price, top federal health officials warn. Early and excessive screen time can trigger severe neurocognitive delays in young children, impacting attention spans, memory and language skills, according to Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, interim surgeon general and principal deputy assistant secretary of health. (Quill, 7/26)
The Washington Post: 67 Boat Strikes. 221 Dead. The Cocaine Hasn’t Slowed, Officials Report.
The Trump administration’s deadly military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, but they’re prompting criminal organizations to develop new strategies and tactics and undermining traditional investigative methods, according to a previously unreported assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration, a closed-door congressional briefing and interviews with current and former U.S. and foreign officials. (Horton, McCoy, Schmidt and Moriarty, 7/27)
On traumatic brain injuries in veterans —
Military.com: National Defense Authorization Act Officially Funds New Blast Overpressure Task Force To Advance TBI Research
Active-duty U.S. military personnel and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other related ailments could benefit from new federal research programs after the House authorized the creation of the so-called Blast Overpressure Task Force in its annual defense policy bill. ... If approved, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will appoint health experts to the task force who are "involved in research regarding the mitigation and treatment of blast overpressure or blast exposure." (Plummer, 7/24)
On former President Joe Biden's health —
The Washington Post: Illness Has Transformed Biden's Post-Presidential Life
Joe Biden’s world has grown smaller. Eighteen months after leaving the White House, the 83-year-old former president moves within a narrowed circle of relatives, old friends and longtime aides as he undergoes treatment for metastatic cancer. The treatment appears to be working, according to five former aides and others close to Biden, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss his health and private life. But the disease — and the toll of treating it — has left him visibly frail. (Wootson Jr., 7/26)
Healthcare Costs
Food-Is-Medicine Programs Expand But Won't Offset Pending SNAP Cuts
Modern Healthcare: Food-Is-Medicine Programs Gain Momentum As SNAP Cuts Loom
Food-is-medicine programs are gaining more support from insurers, hospitals, states and the Trump administration but the efforts aren’t expected to offset dramatic cuts to federal food assistance. (DeSilva, 7/24)
More on the high cost of healthcare and prescription drugs —
Fierce Healthcare: HCA Execs: ACA Dropoffs 'Almost One For One' Became Uninsured
HCA Healthcare on Friday affirmed its earlier warnings about Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange subsidies fallout, telling analysts that patients who dropped off marketplace plan coverage due to increased premiums have "migrated almost one for one" to uninsurance. (Gleeson, 7/24)
Healthcare Dive: Rise Of Uninsured Patients Hits CHS’ Finances In Q2
Uninsured patients, largely those who dropped Affordable Care Act plans, are hitting for-profit hospital operator Community Health Systems’ bottom line harder than anticipated. (Halleman, 7/24)
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Trump Says He’s Fighting Medicaid Massive Fraud. In Ohio, That Means Hyping Tiny Cases.
An Elyria woman accused of carrying out $1,524 in Medicaid fraud. A Cleveland home health aide charged in connection with a $2,411 fraud. A Pennsylvania woman accused of submitting $3,727 in false timecard entries to defraud Medicaid. Federal and state prosecutors trumpeted those small cases and dozens of others across the country in recent weeks as part of a blitz of press conferences, news releases and social media posts spotlighting healthcare fraud prosecutions. (Ferrise, 7/26)
North Carolina Health News: NC Attorney General: Medicaid Rule Change Will Cost Counties Millions
Congress included an exemption in last year’s federal Medicaid work requirement law for people who are “medically frail” — a category that encompasses people with serious or complex medical conditions like cancer, Parkinson’s disease, cystic fibrosis and other illnesses that can make it difficult to maintain employment. The provision was intended to ensure that some of the nation’s sickest Medicaid beneficiaries would not lose their health coverage because they could not meet an 80-hour monthly work requirement. (Baxley, 7/27)
Politico: Your Health Care Bill Is Incomprehensible. Congress Is Stepping In.
Figuring out who’s offering the best deal on heart surgeries or routine physicals isn’t the most pressing issue for everyday Americans. That hasn’t stopped lawmakers on Capitol Hill from trying to turn that kind of price transparency into their marquee bipartisan health care goal this year. (Levien, 7/26)
WP Intelligence: Agencies Push Changes That Intensify Fight Over $100 Billion Drug Discount Program
A battle between pharmaceutical giants and hospitals is escalating, as two federal agencies consider sweeping changes to a program that has ballooned to $100 billion in discounted drug purchases. Hospital industry officials call one Trump administration move “shocking,” while the drug industry calls it just a start, saying that a bolder overhaul is needed. The discount program, known as 340B, was created in 1992 to support safety-net providers, such as hospitals and clinics that treat many low-income people, by forcing drugmakers to cut the prices of medicines that these providers buy. (Adams, 7/24)
Health Industry
Understand The Risks Before Sharing Your Medical Records With ChatGPT, Experts Warn
CBS News: ChatGPT Now Has A Space For Sharing Medical Records. Should You?
Hundreds of millions of people a week turn to ChatGPT for health advice, and now the platform has a dedicated space for those users. This week, OpenAI rolled out Health in ChatGPT, where users can upload medical records such as lab results and medications, and connect Apple Health to allow the platform access to health and fitness data. (Fichten, 7/25)
KFF Health News: Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
A tiny federal agency tasked with protecting the public from injuries caused by lawn mowers and coffeemakers is demanding that some of the nation’s biggest health systems turn over detailed, personally identifiable medical records of all patients who seek help at their emergency rooms. (Seitz, Rosenfeld and Tahir, 7/27)
In other healthcare industry news —
Chicago Tribune: Plastic Surgeon’s License Suspended After Tribune Investigation
State officials have suspended a Chicago plastic surgeon’s license, temporarily barring him from practicing medicine in Illinois, following a Tribune investigation finding the state had not disciplined him despite eight patient deaths. (Gutowski and Pratt, 7/24)
Modern Healthcare: Intermountain To Buy Surgery Partners' Stakes In 2 Idaho Hospitals
Surgery Partners plans to sell its ownership interest in two Idaho hospitals to Intermountain Health. The proposed transaction, which values the facilities at an estimated $1.15 billion, would include Surgery Partners’ Idaho Falls Community Hospital and Mountain View Hospital, also in Idaho Falls, along with affiliated clinics. (DeSilva, 7/24)
Modern Healthcare: Robotic Surgery Annual Meeting Spotlights AI, Telesurgery
The biggest names in robotic surgery are showing off their newest devices and technologies this week as they compete to shape the future of procedures. A surgical robot with integrated operating table-mounted arms, telesurgery capabilities and artificial intelligence tools for surgical guidance and scenario prediction are among the innovations on display at the Society of Robotic Surgery’s annual meeting in Hollywood, Florida. (Dubinsky, 7/24)
On rural healthcare —
The Daily Yonder: Questions Remain On Rural Health Transformation Funds Effects On Rural Hospitals
Across the country, states are grappling with how to allocate their portion of funds from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) created in 2025. But whether those federal dollars will help keep rural hospitals open is still up for debate. (Carey, 7/26)
KFF Health News: Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents. (7/27)
Pharmaceuticals
Anti-Abortion Group Claims Mifepristone Is Contaminating The Water Supply
Politico: Activists ‘Throwing Everything' They Can Against Abortion Turn To Wastewater Data
Anti-abortion activists are launching the next phase of their years-long effort to use environmental protection laws to cut off access to the abortion drug mifepristone, which they see as the main impediment to eliminating abortions after the fall of Roe v. Wade. (Ollstein and Wittenberg, 7/26)
In other pharmaceutical news —
MedPage Today: FDA Approves Tylenol With Naproxen Combination
The FDA approved a combination tablet of 325-mg acetaminophen and 110-mg naproxen sodium (Tylenol with Naproxen) for over-the-counter (OTC) pain relief, the agency announced Friday. The opioid-free combination tablet is indicated for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains from headaches, backaches, muscular aches, toothaches, menstrual cramps, and minor arthritis pain in adults and children ages 12 and older. (George, 7/24)
MedPage Today: New Avacopan Analysis Sent To FDA After Data Manipulation Allegations
Amgen has submitted a third-party review of avacopan's (Tavneos) pivotal trial data and other analyses to the FDA in a bid to keep the embattled drug for severe anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis on the market. (Ingram, 7/24)
MedPage Today: Branded Bevacizumab Approved For Wet AMD
The FDA approved the first formulation of bevacizumab specifically for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), Outlook Therapeutics announced on Friday. (Bankhead, 7/24)
MedPage Today: Study Links GLP-1s To Lower Risk Of Fragility Fractures In Diabetes Patients
Starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes was associated with a lower risk of fragility fractures in adults 50 and older, including hip and vertebral fractures, according to a large target trial emulation study. (Monaco, 7/25)
NPR: The Risk And Cost Of Missed ADHD Treatments In Women Is Striking
School used to be pretty easy for Kate Jarvis when she was a little girl, back in the 1980s. She was a straight-A student, creative, and so organized that she'd even prep her toothbrush with toothpaste each night before school. She says her mother used to call her "bright-eyed and bushy tailed." Then puberty hit, and everything started to fall apart. She found it harder to focus in school, and her grades slipped. "It really hit my self-esteem badly. I felt pretty awful about myself," she says. (Godoy, 7/26)
On vaccine court and vaccinations —
CBS News: Vaccine Court: Where Americans Who Suffer Rare Injury After Vaccination Can Take Their Claims
If you've never before heard of the national vaccine court, you're hardly alone. As we first reported in October, it sits inconspicuously, a few hundred yards from the White House; and stands as a model of effective public policy, balancing the societal good of widespread vaccination with rare individual harm. Founded in the 1980s, the court has, with little fanfare, paid out billions of dollars to Americans who have claimed injury after getting a vaccine. Today, with vaccine skepticism rising and given voice in the highest ranks of government, we wondered: can this singular court block out the noise, withstand the political winds, and stay true to its mission? (Wertheim, 7/26)
CIDRAP: One Immunization May Protect Newborns Against 2 Serious Diseases
One immunization may protect newborns against two serious illnesses, according to a new study from France. An injection called nirsevimab, which dramatically reduces a baby’s risk of being hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also appears to reduce the risk of a life-threatening bacterial infection called invasive pneumococcal disease. (Szabo, 7/24)
CIDRAP: Most Americans Unsure Which Vaccines Are Recommended During Pregnancy
Most Americans are uncertain about which vaccines are recommended during pregnancy, according to nationally representative survey findings released yesterday by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania. (Bergeson, 7/24)
State Watch
At Least 69 Killed: July Heat Wave Was One Of The Deadliest Weather Events In Recent US History
The Washington Post: The Post Counted 70 Deaths From July Heat Domes. The True Toll May Not Be Known.
Martha Irene Van Egmond was working in her garden in Bolton, Mississippi, when she stumbled and couldn’t get up. The 83-year-old spent hours lying on the ground amid temperatures over 90 degrees, the county coroner said, eventually succumbing to the oppressive heat. (Kaplan, 7/26)
On gun violence and mental health —
The New York Times: At Least 3 Killed In Shooting At Food Festival In Seattle
Three people were killed and four others wounded on Sunday in a shooting at a food festival in Seattle, the authorities said. The shooting occurred at Seattle Center, which was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival and is also home to the Space Needle, the Seattle Police Department said. (Zhuang and Desai, 7/26)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The New York Times: 13 Children Accidentally Consume Edibles At New Jersey Y.M.C.A. Summer Camp
Thirteen children were sickened on Thursday at a Y.M.C.A. summer camp in East Orange, N.J., after eating edibles that looked like candy, according to the Y.M.C.A. and two parents of the children. (MacDonald, 7/25)
FOX45 News: 19 Taken To Hospitals After Illnesses At Youth Academy In Laurel, Maryland
Nineteen people were taken to hospitals after experiencing similar but minor symptoms at Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy, prompting a mass-casualty response. Fire crews ruled out carbon monoxide and now suspect food. (Curtis, 7/26)
The New York Times: A 2-Year-Old’s Drowning And A Fight Over The Line Between Life And Death
Annelise Camp was found unconscious in a swimming pool in Texas on Memorial Day. She was only 2 years old, and it wasn’t clear how long she had been underwater. Paramedics performed CPR to try to revive her. And finally, a faint heartbeat returned, but not enough to stimulate a pulse in her wrist. She was put on a ventilator at a Houston-area hospital, and doctors overseeing her care thought she was brain-dead. (Salhotra, 7/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Woman Undergoes Groundbreaking Breast Cancer Surgery
Vicky Pan’s greatest fear came true last summer when she found a lump in her right breast that turned out to be an aggressive and advanced form of breast cancer. Pan, then 45, was healthy, had no family history of breast cancer, and had just gotten an all-clear on her annual mammogram earlier that year. “I was devastated,” said Pan, who lives in Moraga with her husband and two sons, ages 9 and 11. “It was a combination of fear and, ‘Oh gosh, what are my kids going to do? They’re so young.’” (Ho, 7/26)
KFF Health News: Journalists Assess Risks Of Tick Bites, Wildfire Smoke, Rising Health Costs
KFF Health News senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed the affordability of Affordable Care Act health insurance plans on Connecticut Public’s The Wheelhouse on July 22. Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed tick bites on CBS’ CBS Mornings on July 20. She also discussed wildfire smoke and severe heat on CBS’ The Daily Report on July 16. KFF Health News senior correspondent Renuka Rayasam discussed the effects of soaring health costs in Georgia on WUGA’s The Georgia Health Report on July 17. (7/25)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Midwives Are Vital In Combating Vaccine Misinformation; Diet Culture Has A Dangerous Response To Cyclospora Outbreak
Stat: Midwives Are Uniquely Positioned To Fight Vaccine Misinformation
In the dimmed light of a hospital room in Nevada, the placenta — blue and shining — has just delivered. I coaxed it gently, spinning the warm, bloody organ and twisting the trailing membranes into a compact coil, leaving nothing behind. Even a small fragment of placenta or membrane can prevent the uterus from contracting properly, failing to squeeze shut the great vessels that have spent 40 weeks surging with blood to feed a growing baby. If those vessels do not abruptly close, blood continues pumping into the empty uterus and a hemorrhage begins. (Mara Evans, 7/27)
CNN: Diet Culture Is Driving Weight Loss Jokes Amid Parasite Outbreak
Celebrating losing a few pounds because you got sick? As cyclospora cases spread throughout the United States, more people are making jokes about the “benefits” of the intestinal parasite. The toilet humor took a disturbing turn when some people on social media suggested they wanted to contract this infection for its potential weight-loss effects. (Oona Hanson, 7/25)
Stat: Cyclospora Wake-Up Call: 'Eat Real Food' Relies On Robust Food Safety
I spent nearly a decade leading FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. That role convinced me that food safety and nutrition are interdependent in so many ways, and if we want to make our population healthier, we need to support both. (Susan Mayne, 7/24)
MedPage Today: AMA President: It's Time To Lift Limits On Physician-Owned Hospitals
Since 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has expanded health insurance to millions, protecting people with pre-existing conditions and strengthening America's healthcare safety net. But one of its lesser-known provisions has yielded unintended consequences. The ACA restricts the creation and expansion of physician-owned hospitals, a policy that stifles innovation, limits patient access to specialty care, and has coincided with growing market power among large hospital systems. (Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, 7/26)
Stat: E-Bikes And E-Scooters For Kids And Teens Are Increasingly Dangerous
When we were children, it wasn’t unusual to hear about a kid wiping out on a bike, skateboard, or roller skates and coming home with scrapes, bruises, and occasionally broken bones that needed to be fixed. While painful, those injuries generally matched the speed and physics of childhood play and rarely led to permanent injuries. (J. Todd R. Lawrence and Madison A. Kesler, 7/27)