Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Friday, June 26, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Medicare Advantage Company Pays $342M To Government In Midst Of Billing Probe
A major Medicare Advantage company has paid the government more than $342 million to help settle allegations that it overcharged the federal healthcare program for years. Elevance Health, which covers about 2 million people on Medicare, sent the money to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services via wire transfer on May 27, court records show. Government lawyers disclosed the payment in a June 22 court filing. (Schulte, 6/26)
KFF Health News: Efforts To End School Vaccine Mandates Hit A Wall In Florida
Every state, along with Washington, D.C., requires children to obtain certain vaccinations before they can attend school or childcare. These mandates date back decades, and many public health experts consider them a foundational defense against infectious disease. Since the summer of 2025, Florida leaders have aimed to make the state the first to drop some of those vaccine mandates. The anti-vaccine rhetoric has often been positioned as a push for “medical freedom.” Related efforts to revise laws and regulations rumbled along at the state health department and in the legislature for months. (Sheridan, 6/26)
KFF Health News: Trouble Getting Weight Loss Drugs Covered By Insurance? Here’s What To Know
A professional in-home caregiver lost her coverage for Zepbound. She soon realized getting it back was not straightforward. Deborah Finley, 50, of Lodi, California, said her weight started to worry her during the early days of covid. That’s when she noticed a lot of the people who were on ventilators or dying had something in common: obesity. (Lupkin, 6/26)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Trump Officials Still Delaying Funds
For the second year in a row, Trump administration officials are delaying the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars in health-related grant funding as political appointees seek to ensure the funding adheres to the administration’s priorities — despite promises to Congress that the money would be spent as directed. (Rovner, 6/25)
SUPREME COURT
NBC News: Supreme Court Ruling On Roundup Weed Killer Leaves MAHA Leaders Feeling Betrayed
Many prominent figures in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement said they felt betrayed Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled that Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, did not need to warn consumers of a potential cancer risk associated with its weed killer. The ruling is likely to prevent thousands of lawsuits from arguing in state courts that Roundup should come with a cancer warning. (Bendix and Tsirkin, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Nursing Homes, Factory Owners And Immigrants Brace For Fallout From Supreme Court Ruling
Immigrants began making plans to sell or rent their homes, secure bank accounts and figure out thorny issues like child custody arrangements. Business owners started calculating how many days they can continue to employ workers whose legal status is set to expire. And nursing home leaders warned they would have fewer beds to offer if health aides are forced to leave the country. Panic rippled through communities from Florida to Ohio and beyond in the hours after the Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration Thursday to strip humanitarian protections from Haitians and Syrians — and potentially all 1.3 million immigrants from over a dozen countries who had been previously shielded from deportation. (Sacchetti and Gurley, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Strikes Down Hawaii Limits On Carrying Guns In Public
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that sharply restricts where people can carry guns in public, the latest ruling by the high court in recent years rolling back firearm restrictions. In an ideologically split 6-3 ruling, the justices found a statute that requires gun owners to get consent to carry a firearm onto private property open to the public violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. (Jouvenal, 6/25)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The New York Times: Trump Issues Order To Reduce Pesticides In Food As Kennedy Allies Fume
President Trump, facing a backlash from supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for allying himself with the chemical industry, issued an executive order on Thursday aimed at reducing pesticides in the food supply and studying the health risks they pose. The order does not involve new federal funding, and does not call for new regulations or legislation. Critics contended that it did little to meaningfully address the consequences of pesticide use. Two White House officials, speaking anonymously to preview the order before it was announced, said it was timed to coincide with a dinner Mr. Trump was hosting for farmers. (Stolberg, 6/25)
Politico: Trump Nominates New Top Deputy To RFK Jr.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he was nominating Chris Klomp to be Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s second-in-command at the Department of Health and Human Services. If the Senate confirms him, the 45-year-old tech entrepreneur would become deputy secretary overseeing the vast department’s operations. “Everywhere Chris goes, he earns TRUST. He is a person of principle, and is deeply committed to serving the AMERICAN People — and fixing our broken Healthcare System,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. (Paun, 6/25)
Stat: Proposed CDC Science Office Could Tighten Political Control At Agency
Political appointees appear poised to gain more control over information coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a proposal to add a separate science office atop the agency. (Cirruzzo, 6/25)
Bloomberg: FDA Commissioner Shortlist Includes New York Cancer Practice CEO
Jeff Vacirca, a physician and leader of a prominent New York oncology group, is among the final candidates the Trump administration is considering to lead the Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Several candidates are under consideration and the decision hasn’t been made, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information. (Cohrs Zhang, 6/25)
AP: DEA Asks Justice Department Watchdog To Review Fentanyl Pill Strategy In New Mexico
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Justice Department’s internal watchdog to investigate a whistleblower’s claims that DEA agents permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico. The request came days after an Associated Press investigation found agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — major shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025. (Mustian, 6/25)
ON CAPITOL HILL
The Hill: Trump Plans Deportation Of 500 Migrant Children: Sen. Ron Wyden
The Trump administration is planning to bypass legal protections and hastily deport more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children, a top Democratic senator warned Thursday. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a letter that he “obtained credible information” that the Trump administration had a list of more than 500 migrant children currently in the care and custody of the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) who were being targeted for fast-track removal in a matter of days. The children have been in ORR custody, primarily in long-term foster care, for at least six months and do not have any relative or guardian in the U.S. to act as a sponsor. (Weixel, 6/25)
Becker's Hospital Review: Lawmakers Pitch Cap On Medicare Beneficiary Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Democratic senators introduced legislation June 25 that would cap out-of-pocket costs for traditional Medicare beneficiaries. The Medicare Cost Cap Act would install a $5,000 annual cap for Parts A and B cost-sharing — including deductibles, copays and coinsurance — beginning in 2028. Once the cap is hit, Medicare would pay 100% of covered costs for the rest of the year. The cap would change each year based on per capita Medicare spending growth. (Casolo, 6/25)
Stat: Cassidy Proposes New Rules For 340B Drug Discount Program
The chair of the Senate health committee introduced a bill to restrict a federal drug discount program known as 340B that has been lucrative for nonprofit hospitals. (Wilkerson, 6/25)
Military.com: 47 Senate Lawmakers Oppose VA Disability Rule On Sleep Apnea, Tinnitus
Nearly 50 lawmakers in Congress are urging reconsideration of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) draft rule in a major proposed legislative package that they claim will negatively impact disabled veterans who suffer from sleep apnea and tinnitus. The rule, entitled "Schedule for Rating Disabilities—Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Special Provisions Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory Conditions; Respiratory System," is currently contained within the comprehensive bill package called the Take Care of America's Veterans Act (TCAVA) that was introduced last week and includes more than 60 veterans' bills, such as the Major Richard Star Act, the Love Lives On Act, caregiver reforms, VA modernization initiatives, combat-injured veteran expansions, more support for military spouses and more. (Mordowanec, 6/25)
The New York Times: Johnson Says He Will Send Housing Bill To Trump
Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday that he would send to President Trump a bipartisan housing bill cleared by Congress, despite the president’s decision a day earlier to scrap a much-anticipated signing ceremony for the measure. Mr. Trump has yet to commit to signing the legislation, which he has diminished as being “of minor importance” even as members of his own party have celebrated it as a crucial victory that can lower housing costs. (Gold, 6/25)
MedPage Today: Democrats Press Trump Admin On Special Access To Obesity Drug
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to disclose who received special access to Eli Lilly's investigational obesity drug retatrutide. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking who the lone patient was, after STAT reported earlier this week that a request for compassionate use was made to the FDA in April for a "well connected" 79-year-old man with refractory obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and pulmonary hypertension. (Fiore, 6/25)
VACCINES
Stat: New ACIP Charter Widens Member Criteria, Focuses On Vaccine Alternatives
A new charter for the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use substantially refocuses the responsibilities of the committee, downplaying its role in recommending the use of new vaccines and giving it responsibility to assess alternatives for disease prevention. (Branswell and Oza, 6/25)
The New York Times: Military Leaders Sought Flu Vaccination Program Weeks Before Outbreak Hit Base
On May 5, several weeks before a major flu outbreak at an Air Force basic training in Texas, the leaders of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force asked the secretary of defense’s office for permission to vaccinate trainees for the flu, military officials said. ... But the permission did not come until June 16, according to Pentagon officials. By that point the flu was already racing through an Air Force Basic Military Training wing in San Antonio. (Jaffe, 6/25)
EBOLA OUTBREAK
Bloomberg: Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak Offers New Insights As Recoveries Double In Congo
As more patients recover from the world’s largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, doctors are beginning to piece together how the rare virus behaves — offering the clearest picture yet of one of the disease’s least-studied strains. The number of recoveries reported by Congolese health authorities more than doubled in eight days, rising to 138 on Wednesday from 67 on June 16, even as treatment centers admit dozens of patients daily. (Gale, 6/26)
MedPage Today: Hemorrhage May Be 'Infrequent' Feature In Latest Ebola Outbreak
In a departure from past Ebola outbreaks, roughly 90% of the patients testing positive for Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) had no hemorrhagic signs or bleeding at presentation, according to a preliminary report. (Rudd, 6/25)
The New York Times: Congo Ebola Crisis: Contact Tracing Is Dangerously Behind, Officials Warn
Africa’s top health agency offered a grim outlook on the Ebola crisis raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, warning that contact tracing was dangerously behind where it needed to be to end the spread. “If we don’t stop this outbreak now,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, the director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Thursday, “for sure it will be the largest Ebola outbreak ever.” (Mpoke Bigg and Nolen, 6/25)
CIDRAP: Africa CDC Triples Amount Needed To Fight Ebola
Today during a press conference, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) would require $1.4 billion in funding to contain, almost triple the $518 million Africa CDC estimated it needed at the beginning of the month. "If we don't have this $1.4 billion and if we don't resolve the humanitarian issue, we will not stop this outbreak,” Kaseya said. So far, about $910 million has been pledged for the outbreak, but only 13% of that had been released. (Soucheray, 6/25)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
San Francisco Chronicle: A Major Bay Area Hospital Is Eyeing A Billion-Dollar Rebuild
El Camino Health has proposed building a new hospital in Los Gatos that would replace its current 64-year-old hospital by 2032, the health care provider announced. The $1 billion rebuild, adjacent to the current facility at Pollard Road and Knowles Drive, would create the first all-electric hospital in Los Gatos. The proposed hospital would be more than double the size of the current facility — 340,000 square feet compared with 138,000. (Ho, 6/25)
Fierce Healthcare: Kaiser To Pay Hospital $82M Over Insufficient OON Reimbursement
Kaiser Permanente must pay millions to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center over the years of underpayments for out-of-network emergency medical care, according to a Tuesday final judgment ending a battle of appeals between the two. (Muoio, 6/24)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Eureka Nursing Home Set For Sale, Could Trigger Layoffs
The proposed sale of a financially beleaguered nursing home in Eureka could see dozens of employees laid off from the site — at least temporarily — before any new owner takes over. (Bauman, 6/25)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: SSM Health, Feds Strike $1M Deal To Settle Medicare Overbilling Claims
SM Health has agreed to pay nearly $1.1 million in total to settle claims that its pharmacy improperly waived patient copays and, in turn, overbilled Medicare for prescriptions. (Bauman, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: Where Physician Assistant Shortages May Deepen By 2038
Physician assistants and other advanced practice providers have helped offset the exit of physicians from the workforce, but the additions are unlikely to meet demands for care well into the next decade. A shortage of physicians persists in rural and urban areas alike and is compounded by recent changes to H-1B visas and federal tuition borrowing rates that are expected to make it more challenging for physicians to join the workforce. (DeSilva and Broderick, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: Health Systems Race To Expand Outpatient Services As Rivals Grow
Health systems are racing to scale outpatient services, both to expand their reach and protect their turf. Efficiency and expansion have become paramount as they take on for-profit competitors in surgeries, infusions, cardiac care, imaging and physical therapy. Hospital systems are also competing against their peers, accelerating plans to fund growth initiatives through their balance sheets and joint ventures. (Kacik, 6/25)
PHARMACEUTICALS
The New York Times: Medical Journal Retracts Study Claiming Cancer Therapy Is More Effective When Given In The Morning
Early this year, a medical journal article caught the attention of cancer patients and doctors worldwide because of its extraordinary conclusion. Simply changing the time of day that immunotherapy was administered appeared to produce a stunning benefit for lung cancer patients. Those who received IV infusions in the morning had their cancer kept at bay for twice as long as those who got it in the afternoon, according to the results from a clinical trial in China and published in the journal Nature Medicine in February. The study also reported that the patients lived nearly twice as long. (Robbins, 6/25)
HealthDay: GLP-1 Weight-Loss Boom Linked To Surge In Poison Control Calls
Prior to approval, U.S. poison control centers recorded roughly 1,000 to 1,500 cases annually. After mid-2021, call volumes nearly doubled. And by 2023, poison centers logged more than 8,000 GLP-1-related calls. When researchers examined the increase by specific medication, semaglutide accounted for 64% of all GLP-1-related calls, according to the results. (6/25)
NBC News: Serious Statin Side Effects On Muscles Are Extremely Rare, New Research Confirms
People are more worried about severe muscular problems when taking statins than they should be: Such side effects are exceedingly rare, research published Thursday in the journal The Lancet Digital Health reaffirms. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and statins can lower LDL cholesterol levels by as much as 60%, reducing a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke. But despite more than 50 years of data showing the cholesterol-lowering medications are safe, many people are still hesitant to take statins, fearing side effects. (Sullivan, 6/25)
The 19th: No, Your Drinking Water Isn’t Contaminated By Abortion Pills
Anti-abortion advocates, including Republican lawmakers and state officials, want the EPA to review mifepristone as a water contaminant. Scientists say there’s no evidence it harms the environment or people. (Barnes, 6/25)
Stat: Medetomidine: New Hidden Danger In Opioid Withdrawal For Inmates
When Lillian was booked into a rural Pennsylvania jail, she couldn’t stop vomiting. As she showered and changed into her jail uniform, “brain zaps” kept destabilizing her. “The corrections officer watching me kept having to grab me steady or I would have dropped and hit the floor,” Lillian recalled. (Green, 6/26)
STATE WATCH
The Washington Post: California Billionaire Tax Headed For Ballot Despite Top Democrats’ Opposition
Leaders of a proposal to tax California’s billionaires faced growing opposition Thursday as they declared the issue would make the state’s ballot in November. ... The ballot measure would impose a one-time wealth tax of 5 percent on the state’s more than 250 billionaires and put the revenue toward health care — to counteract federal cuts imposed by the Trump administration, advocates say. California’s billionaires account for more than $2 trillion in wealth, advocates say, meaning the tax could funnel $100 billion to the state, though others dispute that number. (Knowles, 6/25)
AP: Judge Blocks Tennessee From Reporting Sick Children To Immigration Authorities, For Now
A judge temporarily ordered the Tennessee Department of Health not to give immigration authorities information about roughly 400 seriously sick and disabled immigrant children who are enrolled in a healthcare assistance program. The restraining order was issued Wednesday at the request of three Nashville doctors who treat some of those children and who sued after state officials sent letters to providers and immigrant families saying a new law required them to share identifying information for those on the program after the end of June. (Hall, 6/26)
The Washington Post: NYC Passes Rent Freeze, In Line With Mamdani Campaign Promise
A city board voted Thursday to freeze rents for up to two years for about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, delivering on a key piece of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda while rattling the real estate industry. (Craig, 6/25)
The New York Times: Colorado Brothers Hid Decaying Bodies In Their Funeral Home, Authorities Say
Two brothers who own a Colorado funeral home where two dozen bodies were found in various stages of decay were arrested on Thursday, nearly a year after state inspectors followed the smell of decomposition to a room hidden behind a cardboard display, according to investigators and state records. The owners, Brian and Christopher Cotter, face more than 125 counts of state charges, including abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft, the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said on Thursday. (Walker, 6/25)
AP: Man, 74, Becomes Oldest Inmate Executed In Florida's Modern History
A 74-year-old man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife became the oldest person executed in Florida’s modern history on Thursday, and the state is scheduled to execute another 74-year-old inmate next month. Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Spencer was convicted of the 1992 stabbing death of his wife Karen. (Fischer and Collins, 6/26)
GLOBAL WATCH
AP: Study: Climate Change Is Behind Europe's High Temperatures
The record-breaking heat that’s scorching Europe day and night this month would not have been possible without climate change, according to a new study. The World Weather Attribution rapid study released Friday found that the heat would have been virtually impossible just five decades ago, and is 200 times more likely today than it would have been 20 years ago. (St. John, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Hundreds In Spain May Have Died From Record Heat, Agency Warns
More than 200 people may have died in Spain in recent days as a result of the record heat wave that has gripped much of Europe this week, according to data from a national monitoring system that estimates excess deaths. Researchers at Spain’s leading public health agency in Madrid, using models based on a decade of mortality records, and temperature and demographic data, projected the heat wave has caused 212 excess deaths since Sunday. (Crowe and Kaplan, 6/25)
