Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Pricier Meds Front And Center, 340B Drug Program Sales Hit $100B In 2025
Stat: Sales From Controversial U.S. Drug Discount Program Rose To $100B Last Year
Prescription medicines purchased in the U.S. under a controversial government discount program amounted to $100 billion in 2025, a 22.8% increase from the previous year, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the program. (Silverman, 7/14)
Stat: FTC Settles Lawsuit With CVS Caremark Over Insulin Prices
The Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit against CVS Caremark, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S., over allegations that the company artificially inflated the price of insulin and impeded access to the lifesaving diabetes treatment. (Silverman, 7/14)
More on the Trump administration —
Becker's Hospital Review: HHS Denies Scrapping Plan To Withhold Hospital Funding Tied To Gender-Affirming Care
HHS has denied a report that the agency is planning to abandon the proposed rule to block Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to pediatric patients. NPR reported July 13 the news agency had obtained an official document showing details of the reversal. (Gregerson, 7/14)
Stat: Flood Of Comments On White House Grantmaking Overhaul Is Largely Negative, Analysis Shows
An analysis of a torrent of public comments submitted on a White House proposal to change the way federal contracts and grants are doled out shows a widespread rebuke of the potential change by scientists and others. (Oza and Parker, 7/15)
Military Times: VA, HHS To Increase Psychedelic Therapy Research For PTSD, Military-Related Mental Health Issues
The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services signed an agreement Monday to increase coordination on research into psychedelic drugs for treating veterans’ mental health disorders. Under the new memorandum of understanding, VA and HHS plan to increase clinical trial participation, train therapists, nurses and doctors to administer psychedelic medications if they receive federal approval and collect data and evidence to support patients, physicians and federal regulators in considering such treatments. (Kime, 7/14)
The New York Times: Public Health Groups Sue F.D.A. Over Flavored E-Cigarette Policy
A coalition of public health groups sued the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, seeking to block a new policy that could allow a wave of new flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to enter the market without completing the required scientific review. The lawsuit asks for a judge to set aside a policy that was announced in May and finalized just days after executives of companies pushing for it dined with President Trump at his golf club in Florida. Two days before the lunch, Reynolds American, which sent top staff members to the meeting, donated $5 million to a super PAC backed by the president, campaign finance records show. (Jewett, 7/14)
Stat: Under A New Leader, The FDA’s Biologics Center Moves To Steady Itself After Stormy Chapter
In a recent town hall meeting, Karim Mikhail told Food and Drug Administration staff that he was normal. “I am with you on planet Earth,” he said in June. “I understand very well what everybody is going through.” Typically, such an acknowledgment would be unremarkable. But Mikhail is acting director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where the previous leader, Vinay Prasad, was decidedly outside the norm. (Lawrence, 7/15)
ProPublica and KQED: Trump Administration Launches Crackdown On Teacher Sexual Misconduct
The Trump administration has launched a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers, following a KQED-ProPublica investigation into California’s teacher disciplinary system. (Jan and McDede, 7/14)
KFF Health News: Facing Funding Losses, States Call Out Big Businesses With Employees On Medicaid
As the Trump administration’s January deadline looms for states to enforce new Medicaid work requirements, some state lawmakers are turning the tables by pushing to publicly name the largest companies that have employees enrolled in the government program covering low-income and disabled people. California lawmakers seek to revive an expired law that would require the state to identify companies that employ 100 or more people and have employees enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. (Orozco Rodriguez, 7/15)
