Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Testosterone Testing Added To Service Members' Annual Checkups
NBC News: U.S. Military Will Test Service Members’ Testosterone Levels, Pete Hegseth Says
The U.S. military will begin testing the testosterone levels of some service members and recommending hormone therapy if needed, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. The new policy comes amid a larger push by the Trump administration to promote and expand public access to testosterone replacement therapies. (Brand and Gains, 7/15)
The Washington Post: MAHA Activists Thought Trump Would Limit Pesticides. His EPA Has Green-Lit More.
South Dakota farmer Jonathan Lundgren was perplexed last month while he was in the Oval Office. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Lundgren recalled, indicated that an hours-old Supreme Court ruling that limits lawsuits over a popular weed killer’s possible health impacts was a win for farmers. Regenerative farmers like Lundgren view the active ingredient in the pesticide Roundup, glyphosate, as a harmful chemical that helped inspire the Make America Healthy Again movement. Tens of thousands of plaintiffs have alleged it causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which Roundup’s manufacturer, Bayer, denies. (Roubein, 7/16)
Becker's Hospital Review: CMS Proposes Ban On Third-Party Remote Patient Monitoring: 6 Notes
CMS is proposing a Medicare payment ban for remote patient monitoring services delivered by third-party vendors. Here are six things to know: 1. The proposed rule, released July 14 as part of the 2027 physician fee schedule, would allow payment for remote physiologic monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring only when clinical staff employed by the billing practice furnish the services, not contracted third-party companies. Staff would not need to be on-site, but the billing relationship would have to run through the practice itself. (Bruce, 7/15)
On prescription drug prices —
NPR: TrumpRx Only Offers Some Brand-Name Drugs For Sale To Consumers
A centerpiece of President Trump's push to make prescription medicines more affordable is a government website for drug discounts that carries his own name. TrumpRx, launched in February, now boasts 92 deals on brand-name prescription drugs made by pharmaceutical companies that announced highly publicized agreements with the Trump administration. But nearly six months since the website's launch, those deals on TrumpRx represent fewer than 12% of the more than 800 brand-name drugs made by the participating pharmaceutical companies. (Lupkin, 7/16)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘Letters To The Editor’: Readers Share Personal Insights On Deadly Denials And Pregnancy Centers
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. ... I read your article in The Washington Post about the woman whose Humana policy required prior authorization for a drug she’d been taking (Bill of the Month: “She Struggled To Get a Lifesaving Drug Even After Insurers Vowed To Help,” June 29). My husband, Kenney, had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. On June 7, he fatally shot himself after a COPD exacerbation event. (7/16)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Some health plans are pocketing their enrollees’ drug discounts, while many Affordable Care Act insurers want to raise rates by double digits next year. (7/16)
