First Edition: Friday, Jan. 24, 2025

KFF Health News: A Program To Close Insurance Gaps For Native Americans Has Gone Largely Unused
A few years before the covid-19 pandemic, Dale Rice lost a toe to infection. But because he was uninsured at the time, the surgery at a Reno, Nevada, hospital led to years of anguish. He said he owes the hospital more than $20,000 for the procedure and still gets calls from collection agencies. “It can cause a lot of anxiety,” Rice said. “I can’t give you what I don’t have.” (Orozco Rodriguez, 1/24)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': Creating Chaos At HHS
President Donald Trump was sworn in Monday and by Wednesday had virtually stopped scientific policymaking at the Department of Health and Human Services. While incoming administrations often pause public communications, the acting HHS head ordered an unprecedented shutdown of all outside meetings, travel, and publications. Meanwhile, Trump issued a broad array of mostly nonbinding executive orders, but notably none directly concerning abortion. (Rovner, 1/23)

Becker's Hospital Review: US Sets WHO Exit Date
The United States will exit the World Health Organization on Jan. 22, 2026, Reuters reported Jan. 23. The planned exit comes after President Donald Trump signed a executive order Jan. 20 removing the U.S. from the WHO over "the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member state," the order said. (Ashley, 1/23)

Bloomberg: WHO Freezes Hiring And Cuts Costs After Trump Signals US Exit
The World Health Organization is freezing hiring, suspending investments and cutting non-essential travel in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to take the US out of the global body. (Furlong, 1/24)

Modern Healthcare: RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearing Date Set For Jan. 29 
The controversial nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services is set to move forward next week when he will face questioning from a pair of Senate committees. Kennedy is among the least-certain of President Donald Trump's nominees to be confirmed. Democrats, who cannot block Kennedy on their own, are expected to largely but not unanimously oppose him, and some Republicans have expressed concerns about Kennedy's views on vaccines and his past support for abortion rights. (McAuliff, 1/23)

CBS News: Trump Administration Expected To Go Outside CDC For Acting Director
The Trump administration is expected to tap Susan Coller Monarez, the deputy director of a federal health research agency, to serve as the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, multiple health officials tell CBS News. Picking Monarez would close an unprecedented leadership gap atop the CDC, which is tasked with tracking and responding to a myriad of emerging diseases and health emergencies. Other health agencies have also been operating without acting heads. (Tin, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Health Researchers Alarmed As Trump Administration Pauses Travel, Communications 
No meetings of cancer researchers to discuss issuing new federal grants. No new scientific reports on lessons from fighting avian flu. Not even private briefings for congressional staffers who have questions about health agency operations. (Diamond, Sun, Johnson and Johnson, 1/23)

Military.com: VA Declares 300,000 Health Care Jobs Exempt From Ordered Freeze On Federal Hiring
More than 300,000 Department of Veterans Affairs health care jobs are exempt from a federal hiring freeze instituted Jan. 20 by President Donald Trump. Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Todd Hunter issued a memo Jan. 21 containing instructions for the department to comply with Trump's executive order, issued shortly after he was sworn into office. (Kime, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Trump Moves To Close Pentagon Office Focused On Curbing Civilian Deaths
The Trump administration is moving to abolish a Pentagon office responsible for promoting civilian safety in battlefield operations, suggesting that incoming Defense Department leaders may attempt to loosen restrictions on U.S. military operations worldwide. ... The office, housed within the Department of the Army, helps the military to limit unintended civilian deaths. (Kelly, Horton and Ryan, 1/23)

The New York Times: A Judge Halted Trump’s Plan To End Birthright Citizenship
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive order declaring that children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens. The judge, John Coughenour, sided with states that had sued Trump arguing that the president’s order violated the 14th Amendment. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” he said today. “Frankly,” Judge Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, added, “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar would state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It just boggles my mind.” (Cullen, 1/23)

New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Medical Society Speaks Out Against Policy Allowing ICE Arrests At Hospitals
The New Hampshire Medical Society is speaking out against the Trump administration’s decision to allow immigration arrests at hospitals, saying it could deter patients from seeking care. “We saw this in previous years, where there was increased and heightened threat of deportation, that resulted in delay of seeking treatment by patients with immigrant status within the state,” said Dr. Marie-Elizabeth Ramas, a board member and the medical society’s president-elect. (Cuno-Booth, 1/23)

The New York Times: Instagram And Facebook Blocked And Hid Abortion Pill Providers’ Posts
Instagram and Facebook have recently blurred, blocked or removed posts from two abortion pill providers. Instagram also suspended the accounts of several abortion pill providers and hid the providers from appearing in search and recommendations. The actions ramped up in the last two weeks, and were especially noticeable in the last two days, abortion pill providers said. Content from their accounts — or in some cases, their entire accounts — were no longer visible on Instagram. (Cain Miller, Conger and Isaac, 1/23)

The New York Times: New Research Finds Potential Alternative To Abortion Pill Mifepristone
A new study suggests a possible alternative to the abortion pill mifepristone, a drug that continues to be a target of lawsuits and legislation from abortion opponents. But the potential substitute could further complicate the politics of reproductive health because it is also the key ingredient in a contraceptive morning-after pill. The new study, published Thursday in the journal NEJM Evidence, involved a drug called ulipristal acetate, the active ingredient in the prescription contraceptive Ella, one of two types of morning-after pills approved in the United States. (Belluck and Bazelon, 1/23)

The Hill: Republican Senators Introduce Bill To Ban Taxpayer Funding For Abortions
Republican lawmakers reintroduced a piece of legislation that would ban the use of federal funds for abortions or health coverage that includes abortion this week. If passed, the bill would essentially codify a decades-old policy called the Hyde Amendment which has banned the use of any federal dollars on abortions since 1977. There are two caveats, however. The Hyde Amendment does allow for federal funds to be spent on abortions if continuing a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. (O’Connell-Domenech, 1/23)

The Guardian: As Trump Returns, State Lawmakers Pursue Bills That Would Treat Abortion As Homicide
Legislators in at least four states have introduced bills this year that would change the legal definition of “homicide” to include abortion – proposals that pave the way for states to charge abortion patients with murder. Pregnancy Justice, a group that tracks these kinds of efforts, says it has recorded more “homicide” bills this year than ever before. Abortion bans have typically penalized providers, rather than patients. (Sherman, 1/23)

Axios: Trump Pardons 23 Anti-Abortion Activists On March For Life Rally Eve
President Trump signed pardons on Thursday for 23 anti-abortion protesters who were convicted of illegally blockading a reproductive health clinic in Washington, D.C. "They should not have been prosecuted, it's a great honor to sign this," Trump said as he signed the order one day before he's due to speak via video at anti-abortion activists' annual March for Life rally at the national mall in D.C., which Vice President JD Vance is due to address in person. (Falconer, 1/24)

The Hill: Trump To Address March For Life Via Video, Vance To Speak In Person
President Trump will address the annual March for Life event on the National Mall via video message Friday, while Vice President Vance will speak to the crowd in person. The president is scheduled to visit North Carolina and California on Friday, so he will instead address the crowd via video message, organizers said. (Samuels, 1/23)

The New York Times: Sensing Political Support, Abortion Opponents Raise Ambitions
Anti-abortion activists are charging ahead with their ultimate mission to end all abortions nationwide, freshly emboldened by powerful allies in Washington, a continued Supreme Court majority and legislative opportunities in conservative states. At the March for Life on Friday, the three most powerful men in America are expected to give remarks: President Trump via recorded video, and Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson in person. On Thursday Mr. Trump pardoned 23 activists convicted of obstructing access to abortion clinics. (Dias and Lerer, 1/24)

The New York Times: Sacklers Up Their Offer To Settle Purdue Opioids Cases, With A New Condition 
Seven months after the Supreme Court struck down a deal that would have resolved thousands of opioid cases against Purdue Pharma, the company’s owners, members of the Sackler family, have increased their cash offer to settle the litigation — but with a novel catch. Under the framework for a new deal, the Sacklers would not receive immunity from future opioid lawsuits, a condition that they had long insisted upon but that the court ruled was impermissible. (Hoffman, 1/23)

Modern Healthcare: High Cancer Costs Drive Employers To Focus On Screenings, Tests
Employers faced with rising cancer rates among working-age people and costly new treatments are adding specialized programs to their employee benefits in hopes of containing costs. Businesses are offering more screening options and hiring vendors such as Color Health that promise to help workers identify the disease early, thus giving them their best chance and potentially saving money. (Berryman, 1/23)

Newsweek: Texas May Change Rules For Health Insurance Companies
Texas lawmaker is trying to push for the state to tighten controls on health insurance companies using artificial intelligence (AI) to handle patient claims. Newsweek has contacted Texas Senator Charles Schwertner, who filed the new legislation, via email for comment. (Laws, 1/23)

Fierce Healthcare: Healthcare Bankruptcies Dip In 2024, Report Finds
Though not quite reaching 2023’s highs, healthcare bankruptcies remained elevated across 2024 with a six-year high among physician practices as well as “the largest hospital sector bankruptcy by far in the last 30 years,” according to new research from Gibbins Advisors. The restructuring advisory firm’s Thursday report outlined 57 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings among healthcare companies with more than $10 million in liabilities. This was down from the high of 79 filings during the prior year but remains above the average of 42 filings seen from 2019 to 2022, per the report. (Muoio, 1/23)

The Washington Post: Maryland Crematory Shut Down After Bodies Found Piled Up, Decomposing
Maryland officials have suspended the operating permit of a crematory in the southern part of the state after inspections showed that, among other things, has allowed bodies to pile up and block a refrigeration unit door from closing, with some visibly decomposing after being stored at too-warm temperatures. The Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors has reached out to people and funeral homes who may have worked with Heaven Bound Cremation Services LLC to inform them of a disciplinary order issued on Jan. 17 against the crematory located about 30 miles south of Washington. (Shepherd and Mettler, 1/24)

The CT Mirror: Amid Prospect Medical Bankruptcy, Lamont Proposes Oversight Bill
Connecticut officials gathered at the state Capitol Thursday to announce a proposal backed by Gov. Ned Lamont enhancing state oversight of major mergers, acquisitions and asset transfers in the health care sector. (Golvala, 1/23)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Plans To Limit Coverage Of Weight-Loss Drugs Like Wegovy For State Employees To Save $17M 
Colorado plans to start limiting insurance coverage of prescription weight-loss drugs for its roughly 40,000 state employees, a cost-cutting measure in a difficult budget year that officials say will save nearly $17 million annually. (Paul, 1/23)

The Baltimore Sun: Looming Cuts Worry Marylanders With Developmental Disabilities
Maryland disability advocates are worried about the more than $200 million in proposed fiscal 2026 budget cuts to the state’s Developmental Disabilities Administration, fearing that access to needed services could be decreased. (Jones, 1/23)

North Carolina Health News: NC Man With Disabilities Waits Months In An ED For A Better Place To Stay
For more than four months, 32-year-old Jackson Hedgepeth has lived in a small room at Atrium Health Union hospital in Monroe, waiting for help. Jackson has autism, and he’s nonverbal. He’s been on the waitlist for admission to J. Iverson Riddle, a state-operated center that provides services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (often referred to as I/DD) for more than a year. (Vespa, 1/24)

The New York Times: Los Angeles Schools Reopen To Relief And Worry About Toxins
More Los Angeles-area schools reopened on Thursday for the first time since wildfires swept the region this month and forced officials to shutter buildings in the areas hit by fires. In the Pasadena Unified School District, six campuses reopened, out of more than two dozen that had been closed since the fire. Roughly two-thirds of the district’s 14,000 students and about half of its roughly 3,000 staff members live in areas that were under evacuation or warnings. (Taft and McFadden, 1/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Studies: S.F. Strategy Helps Combat Sexually Transmitted Infections
Rates of chlamydia and syphilis — two of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States — plummeted in one key demographic after patients were offered a widely prescribed antibiotic after sex, according to two new studies by San Francisco researchers. The studies, published in JAMA Internal Medicine this month, found that incidence of syphilis and chlamydia fell dramatically among gay and bisexual men and transgender women after patients were offered doxy-PEP, short for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis. (Ho, 1/23)

Health News Florida: As Flu Cases Spike In Florida ERs, The CDC Issues New Guidance To Identify Bird Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week advised a need for faster flu testing to help identify possible bird flu cases hiding in the flock of rising flu diagnoses around the country. The new guidance to hospitals and labs to test for flu subtypes within 24 hours, especially for patients in intensive care. Most physicians and hospitals do not have the specific test required to identify bird flu, referred to by medical experts as influenza A(H5). Instead, they look for other subtypes they can check for. (Pedersen, 1/23)

Axios: Analysis Of 40 Cities Shows Violent Crime Dropped In 2024: Report
Violent crime in 40 U.S. cities dropped in 2024 to at or near pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report out Thursday that shows the COVID-era crime wave evaporating. President Trump has falsely asserted that immigration caused rising crime nationwide, but the new report suggests crime fell dramatically in President Biden's last two years — even below levels of Trump's last year in office. (Contreras, 1/23)

CNBC: Norovirus Vaccine From Moderna Could Have Phase 3 Results This Year
Norovirus is raging across the U.S. this winter. Moderna might soon have a vaccine for it. A large phase three trial of the shot is underway, with results expected as soon as later this year or 2026. Moderna needs to see a certain number of cases before it can analyze the data and determine how well its vaccine works, putting the timeline in flux. The 25,000-person study is enrolling ahead of schedule, said Doran Fink, Moderna’s clinical therapeutic area head for gastrointestinal and bacterial pathogens. (Peebles, 1/23)

Bloomberg: Africa CDC To Push Local Health Funding Plans As US Move Puts HIV Relief At Risk
African countries need to quickly find ways to raise local health funding as programs including the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief may be reduced, the continent’s chief health advisory body said. The call comes after President Donald Trump decided to exit the World Health Organization, a move that threatens to undermine global health security. (Kew, 1/23)