First Edition: Friday, March 21, 2025

KFF Health News: Workers Prep To Meet ICE Officials At The Health Clinic Door
A policy change by the Trump administration allows federal immigration officials to make arrests at or near sensitive locations, including health care facilities. To respond, some health providers are scrambling to give their staff legal training. In a memo to health care providers, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown advises health workers that they need not record a patient’s immigration status unless it relates to insurance coverage and that they should ask for credentials if someone claiming to be an ICE official shows up. He also said providers should not interfere with an investigation. (Fortiér, 3/21)

KFF Health News: US Judge Names Receiver To Take Over California Prisons’ Mental Health Program
A judge has initiated a federal court takeover of California’s troubled prison mental health system by naming the former head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to serve as receiver, giving her four months to craft a plan to provide adequate care for tens of thousands of prisoners with serious mental illness. Senior U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller issued her order March 19, identifying Colette Peters as the nominated receiver. (Thompson, 3/20)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Federal Health Work In Flux
It’s the Trump administration vs. the federal courts, as the Department of Government Efficiency continues to try to cancel federal contracts and programs and fire workers. But in the haste to cut things, jobs and programs are being eliminated even if they align with the new administration’s goal to “Make America Healthy Again.” (Rovner, 3/20)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospitals Warned Of Multi-City Terrorist Threat
The American Hospital Association and Health-ISAC are alerting hospitals to a social media post alleging plans for a coordinated, multi-city terrorist attack on hospitals in the coming weeks. In their joint bulletin, the organizations cited an X post made by user @AXctual that claimed the terrorist group ISIS-K (Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham–Khorasan Province) is actively planning simultaneous car bomb attacks on hospitals in the coming weeks. (Diaz, 3/20)

AP: Police Confirm A Shooting At A Michigan Hospital
A hospital employee shot a coworker in a parking garage Thursday in suburban Detroit, setting off a morning scramble at a major health care campus before the suspect was arrested miles away a few hours later. The gunman never entered Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital. But it was treated as an active shooter situation, which led to a lockdown and other security steps at the hospital as well as at schools in Troy. (3/20)

AP: Man Grabs Philadelphia Police Officer's Gun Outside Hospital, Shoots Him Before Being Fatally Shot
A man who had voluntarily agreed to be taken to a psychiatric hospital by Philadelphia police grabbed an officer’s gun outside the facility and wounded him before being fatally shot by another officer, the city police commissioner said, noting the wounded officer’s bulletproof vest spared him from serious injury. The shooting occurred shortly before 1 p.m. at Friends Hospital, Commissioner Kevin Bethel said. (Shipkowski, 3/20)

The New York Times: President Signs Order Aimed At Closing Education Dept.
President Trump on Thursday instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down her agency, a task that cannot be completed without congressional approval and sets the stage for a seismic political and legal battle over the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools. Mr. Trump said Thursday that the department would continue to provide critical functions that are required by law, such as the administration of federal student aid, including loans and grants, as well as funding for special education and districts with high levels of student poverty. The department would also continue civil rights enforcement, White House officials said. Mr. Trump called those programs “useful functions,” and said they’re going to be “preserved in full.” Higher education leaders and advocacy groups immediately condemned the executive order. “See you in court,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the trade union for educators. (Bender, Green and Blinder, 3/20)

NPR: How The Education Department Cuts Could Hurt Low-Income And Rural Schools
The administration has promised that "formula funding" for schools, which is protected by law, would be preserved. That includes flagship programs like Title I for high-poverty schools, and the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which sends money to rural and low-income schools. But nearly all the statisticians and data experts who work in the office responsible for determining whether schools qualify for that money will soon be out of jobs, making it unclear how such grants would remain intact. (Mehta, 3/21)

The 19th: ‘A Dark Day’ For American Children: Trump Issues Order To Kill The Department Of Education
The plan to dismantle the Department of Education is in Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump term drafted by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. While campaigning, Trump denied any connection to Project 2025, which faced heavy criticism, including for its goal to eliminate the sole federal education agency. Critics of closing the department say that it will hurt economically disadvantaged youth, children with disabilities and students who need financial aid for college since the agency administers funding to serve these groups. (Nittle, 3/20)

NEA Today: What Was School Like For Students With Disabilities Before IDEA? 
Equity in education was not the norm before the Department of Education. Jim Crow laws enforced segregation in public schooling, so white children and children of color couldn’t go to school together. Native American students were often sent to federally run boarding schools to assimilate the students into white culture. Girls were often taught different curriculums with fewer opportunities for higher education. Another key group was left out of education: students with disabilities. “Students with disabilities weren't educated in most cases,” explains Jack Schneider, professor on education policy and director of the Center for Education Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “They were turned away, and their families were told that the school didn't have the facilities, didn't have the resources to serve their kids.” (Walker, 3/19)

USA Today: Citing Trump Order, Justice Department Cuts Disability Guidance For Businesses
The Department of Justice this week announced the removal of 11 guidelines for businesses seeking to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Justice Department said removing the "unnecessary and outdated guidance" will help businesses comply with the federal disability law and eliminate unnecessary review. The agency cited a Jan. 20 executive order signed by President Donald Trump that called on federal agencies to take action to lower the cost of living. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act extends civil rights protections to the estimated 1 in 4 U.S. adults with disabilities. (Alltucker, 3/20)

Stat: Why This Lawsuit From Texas, Other States Threatens Disability Rights
In the run-up to President Trump’s reelection last November, Texas and 16 other states filed a lawsuit that disability advocates now say could upend one of the legal cornerstones of disability rights in the United States. (Broderick, 3/21)

CBS News: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo And Former Texas Congressman Michael Burgess Floated For CDC Director
Florida's controversial surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, and a former Texas Republican congressman, Dr. Michael Burgess, are each being backed by some of President Trump's allies to be the next head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House is searching for a replacement after the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, was abruptly pulled last week. (Tin, 3/20)

Stat: Fired CDC Employees Baffled By Their Status
On Wednesday, as S. was heading to the library to apply for yet more jobs, an email pinged onto her phone. The subject line said, “Read this immediately” — the same as in February, when she was notified she would be fired from her job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Boodman, 3/20)

Stat: ‘We’re Living In The Twilight Zone’: Researchers Decry Trump Administration Assault On Science
Do scientists put themselves at risk by speaking out against the Trump administration? “Hell yes,” said Jonathan Jackson, a national expert on increasing diversity in clinical trials who was answering the question of an audience member at the STAT Breakthrough Summit East Thursday. “I might lose the grants I have by the middle of next week” just by being on this stage, he added, an answer that silenced the crowd. (McFarling, 3/21)

MedPage Today: Top Societies Decry Trump's Funding Cuts To Landmark Diabetes Study
The Endocrine Society and American Diabetes Association criticized the cancellation of funding for the ongoing, landmark Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), which has been tracking people with diabetes and prediabetes for 30 years. Researchers working on the study, which kicked off in 1996, found out last week that the study's NIH funding was yanked by the Trump administration. DPP investigators were told to immediately stop study activities. (Monaco, 3/20)

10TV.com: Ohio Reports First Measles Case Of 2025
State health officials reported the first measles case in Ohio this year. The Ohio Department of Health said the person infected was an adult in Ashtabula County who was unvaccinated and had contact with someone who had recently traveled outside the country. (3/20)

The Baltimore Sun: Two New Measles Cases Confirmed In Maryland, Health Officials Say
Two Prince George’s County residents who recently traveled together internationally have been confirmed to have measles, the Maryland Department of Health said Thursday. The positive cases are not related to the confirmed measles infection of a Howard County resident that was announced earlier this month, health officials said. The infections also are not associated with the growing measles outbreak that has struck parts of the southwestern United States, including New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. (Deal-Zimmerman, 3/20)

CBS News: Chicago Department Of Public Health Urges People To Confirm Measles Vaccine Amid Growing Texas Outbreak
While Chicago so far has been spared from a surge in measles cases in the U.S. this year, public health officials nonetheless are urging people to make sure they've been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 301 confirmed cases of measles nationwide as of March 13, with about 90% of those cases from an outbreak in Texas and neighboring New Mexico. (Feurer, 3/20)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Is Poised To Make Measles A Nationwide Epidemic, Public Health Experts Say
With its measles outbreak spreading to two additional states, Texas is on track to becoming the cause of a national epidemic if it doesn’t start vaccinating more people, according to public health experts. (Simpson, 3/21)

NBC News: How A Texas Child's Measles Death Was Weaponized By The Anti-Vaccine Movement
In February, a 6-year-old Texan was the first child in the United States to die of measles in two decades. Her death might have been a warning to an increasingly vaccine-hesitant country about the consequences of shunning the only guaranteed way to fight the preventable disease. Instead, the anti-vaccine movement is broadcasting a different lesson, turning the girl and her family into propaganda, an emotional plank in the misguided argument that vaccines are more dangerous than the illnesses they prevent. (Zadrozny, 3/20)

The Hill: Former Surgeon General Blasts RFK Jr.’s Rhetoric, Highlights Herd Immunity Amid Measles Outbreak
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that vaccine skepticism has eroded the importance of herd immunity in light of the measles outbreak in Texas, and put some of the blame on Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In an op-ed published by CNN on Thursday, Adams wrote that the high rate of vaccine decline in the Texas Mennonite community where the measles outbreak began highlights how quickly measles can spread through an unvaccinated population. (Choi, 3/20)

Stat: 'Polio, Bad': Bill Nye The Science Guy Rebukes RFK Jr. Over His Vaccine Views
For decades, Bill Nye the Science Guy has imparted a simple message to generations of kids and adults: “Science rules!” The catchphrase took on a new meaning Thursday, as Nye critiqued Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his views and decisions on science and vaccines. “We really try in planetary science to stay away from the politics,” he said. “But man, it’s really hard right now — this is so extreme.” (Broderick, 3/21)

U.S. News & World Report: Calling The Shots: Tracking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Moves On Vaccines 
Since taking the helm of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has both backed vaccination as a public health tool and made remarks that threaten to undermine it. (Johnson and Smith-Schoenwalder, 3/20)

ProPublica: FDA Found Problems At Indian Drug Factory Linked To U.S. Deaths
The Food and Drug Administration has found problems at an Indian factory that makes generic drugs for American patients, including one medication that was manufactured there and has been linked to at least eight deaths, federal records show. The agency inspected the factory after a ProPublica investigation in December found that the plant, operated by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, was responsible for an outsized share of recalls for pills that didn’t dissolve properly and could harm people. (Callahan, 3/20)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealth Will Reimburse Pharmacies More For Brand-Name Drugs
UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s drug-benefits unit is starting to reimburse pharmacies more for dispensing brand-name medicines to address longstanding complaints that expensive prescriptions are losing money for drugstores. Pharmacy benefit managers have traditionally compensated pharmacists more for cheaper generic medicines to encourage their use, said Patrick Conway, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx unit. But generic adoption has plateaued, and Conway said the old system discouraged some pharmacies from stocking newer branded drugs like diabetes and weight-loss shots. (Swetlitz and Tozzi, 3/20)

Fierce Healthcare: Optum Rx To Overhaul Pharmacy Reimbursement Models
Optum Rx is shifting its payment models to better meet the needs of pharmacies and consumers, the pharmacy benefit manager announced Thursday. The company said it will shift to a cost-based model, which will better align with "the costs pharmacies may face due to manufacturer pricing actions." The PBM expects the change to be a positive one for the more than 24,000 independent and community pharmacies it works with, along with its members. (Minemyer, 3/20)

Stat: Alnylam Drug Wins FDA Approval For Progressive Heart Disease 
The Food and Drug Administration cleared Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for a progressive heart condition Thursday, setting it up to compete with therapies from BridgeBio and Pfizer. (Chen, 3/20)

AP: Blood Test For Ovarian Cancer Misses Some Black And Native American Patients, Study Finds
A common blood test may miss ovarian cancer in some Black and Native American patients, delaying their treatment, a new study finds. It’s the latest example of medical tests that contribute to health care disparities. Researchers have been working to uncover these kinds of biases in medicine. Recently, the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion has jeopardized such research as universities react to political pressure and federal agencies comb through grants looking for projects that violate the president’s orders. (Johnson, 3/20)

CBS News: Mayor Eric Adams Says 1 Of 4 Jails To Replace Rikers Will Be A "State-Of-The-Art Mental Health Facility"
Mayor Eric Adams says that one of the four new community jails that were being built to replace Rikers will now be dedicated to inmates with mental health issues. The new facility will be part of the solution to closing Rikers Island. Adams has tapped his new First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to build the new jail for those with mental health issues. (Kramer, 3/20)

Chicago Tribune: State Board Rejects Plan To Eliminate Inpatient Psychiatric Services At Northwest Community Hospital
State regulators have shot down a request by Endeavor Health to eliminate inpatient psychiatric services at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 4-4 on Tuesday on Endeavor’s application for a certificate of exemption to close the 52-bed unit at Northwest Community Hospital — meaning the motion to grant the request failed, said John Kniery, administrator for the board. (Schencker, 3/20)

AP: Alabama Lawmakers Advance Regulations On Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Two blocks from the Alabama Statehouse, a black wreath hung on the door of Adams Drugs — a symbol to draw attention to the number of neighborhood pharmacies that have closed, or are in danger of closing, across the state. Dozens of independent pharmacies have shuttered in Alabama over the last two years, according to the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance. Pharmacists said that is because of financial pressures, in part, because it can often cost more to dispense a drug than they are reimbursed by pharmacy benefit managers. (Chandler, 3/21)

AP: Alabama Lawmakers Approve Paid Parental Leave For State Employees 
Alabama lawmakers on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill that would make teachers and state employees eligible for paid parental leave. The Republican dominated House of Representatives voted 94-2 to pass legislation that would offer up to eight weeks of maternity leave and two weeks of paternity leave after the birth, stillbirth or miscarriage of a child. The legislation now goes to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who endorsed the legislation in her annual state of the state speech in February. (3/20)

ProPublica, Montana Free Press: Why Has MT Renewed Dr. Thomas Weiner’s License Despite Harm Allegations?
Since at least April 2021, the Montana medical licensing board has had evidence, including thousands of pages of patient files and medical reviews, that Dr. Thomas C. Weiner, a popular Helena oncologist, had hurt and potentially killed patients, ProPublica and Montana Free Press have learned. Yet in that time, the board renewed his medical license — twice. Weiner directed the cancer center at St. Peter’s Health for 24 years before he was fired in 2020 and accused of overprescribing narcotics, treating people who didn’t have cancer with chemotherapy and providing substandard care. (McSwane and Silvers, 3/21)

AP: South Carolina Public Health Chief's Confirmation Hearing Overshadowed By COVID Anger
As the first director of South Carolina’s newly organized health agency, Dr. Edward Simmer has a vision of reducing infant mortality, fighting childhood cancers and reducing drug overdoses. But his confirmation has instead turned into a referendum on how the state responded to COVID five years ago and residual anger over lockdowns and vaccines — even though Simmer didn’t start working in the state until February 2021. (Collins, 3/20)

New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Schools Advised To Roll Back Transgender Protections To Comply With Trump Mandates 
The New Hampshire School Board Association has advised schools to eliminate anti-discrimination policies for transgender students to comply with new federal mandates and safeguard their funding. But those mandates are prompting tense debate in some local districts — and warnings that transgender students’ safety could be at risk. (Timmins, 3/20)

Stat: California Bill Targets Ultra-Processed Food In School Lunches
A new bill from California would seek to remove ultra-processed foods deemed “particularly harmful” to physical and mental health from school lunches by 2032, creating the first legal definition of ultra-processed foods in the U.S. and tasking state scientists and University of California experts with determining which additives pose the most risk in the process. (Todd, 3/19)

Newsweek: Feeling Sleepy During The Day? It Could Be A Sign Of A Hidden Health Risk
Increased daytime sleepiness could raise the risk of dementia among women in their eighties, neurologists have warned. A study found that female octogenarians who experience increased daytime sleepiness over a five-year period may have double the risk of developing dementia. (Patrick, 3/20)