Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Nominee Draws Ire Of MAHA Activists Who Fear She'll Sidestep Their Interests
The Washington Post: White House-MAHA Fight Over Pesticides Snares FDA Nominee Heidi Overton
The MAGA-MAHA alliance helped carry Donald Trump back to the White House. It handed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. control of the nation’s health agencies. Now, it may fracture over a widely used herbicide. President Donald Trump’s decision that expanded domestic production of glyphosate earlier this year was a national security priority and not an endorsement of the use of the weed killer, White House officials have said — part of his Make America Great Again platform. (Roubein and Diamond, 8/26)
More MAHA news —
The Hill: General Mills Ends Artificial Coloring In US Cereals
General Mills said Wednesday that it has ended the use of artificial coloring in its United States cereal portfolio with intentions to remove the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027. In a press release, the company stated that 90 percent of General Mills’s U.S. retail portfolio had made the transition while all of its cereal already removed certified colors. “This achievement reflects how we are evolving with consumer needs while continuing to offer food that tastes great, delivers quality and provides value,” Big C Cereal President at General Mills Bethany Quam said. (Bhakta, 8/26)
In other Trump administration happenings —
Military Times: Lawmakers Demand VA Bring Back LGBTQ+ Care Coordinators
Two House lawmakers are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore dedicated LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions and specialized support networks after the agency changed the structure of the program earlier this summer. Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., said in a letter Wednesday to VA Secretary Doug Collins that recent department directives eliminated dedicated LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator positions, dismantled specialized support networks and restricted tailored healthcare resources for LGBTQ+ veterans. (Oliverio, 8/26)
Axios: Trump's Cabinet Goes Full Creator
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have both launched YouTube shows in recent weeks, the latest examples of how the Trump administration is redefining how government communicates with the American public. (Fischer and Rothschild, 8/25)
On funding for Medicaid and other federal programs —
Modern Healthcare: CMS' Medicaid State-Directed Payments Rule Draws Pushback
A broad coalition of healthcare interests is urging the government to go back to the drawing board and redraft a regulation to limit Medicaid state-directed payments. Organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the health insurance trade group AHIP and the National Association of Medicaid Directors have called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pare back a proposed rule issued in May to align with the statutory text of President Donald Trump’s signature tax law. (Early, 8/26)
AP: Healthcare Victims Lose Coverage As California And The Federal Government Battle Over Hospice Fraud
At 71 and a few years into retirement, Linda Henry felt like she was in good health, and only went to her doctor in Southern California for the occasional checkup. So it was a shock when she found out in 2024 that she had been enrolled in hospice, a specialized end-of-life care usually provided to people with six months or less to live. A Medicare worker told her the system said she had heart failure. (Ding, 8/27)
Stat: Hospitals Race To Reverse Medicaid Cuts Before They Take Effect
Hospital leaders, stung by the passage of a law that will cut nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid funding over the next decade, have been racing to remake their systems. And in Washington, some are building a long-shot plan to turn back the clock. (Payne, 8/27)
CalMatters: California Transgender Kids May Lose Medi-Cal Care In October
When A.W.’s husband lost his job, she was thankful the safety net preserved the family’s access to healthcare. Her eldest son had a team of doctors and therapists at Stanford’s specialty gender clinic; losing that support team, she said, would have been traumatic. The clinic accepted Medi-Cal patients. (Hwang, 8/26)
KFF Health News: A Camp For Children With Brain Injuries Zips Ahead, Despite Federal Uncertainty
In an open field, arrows whizzed through the humid June air and struck their targets. Campers and counselors cheered. It was archery hour at Camp Cranium. Operations director Drew Meyer watched, a few tears escaping from behind his dark sunglasses. “They will surprise you, like, flat out,” he said of the campers, who have all survived brain injuries. “They’ll come out here, and they’ll shoot for three hours and start hitting the target.” (McFarlane, 8/27)
