Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Friday, May 8, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: In California Governor Race, Single-Payer Is A Litmus Test. There’s Still No Way To Pay For It
When Gavin Newsom ran for California governor in 2018, his support for a state-run single-payer healthcare system was considered a risky move and earned him hefty labor endorsements. Today, leading Democrats in the wide-open race to succeed Newsom have embraced single-payer as a political necessity, an answer to voters fed up with rising premiums and other spiraling healthcare costs. But with no clear front-runner, they are sparring among themselves in debates and political ads over who is most committed to a government-run model. (Mai-Duc, 5/8)
KFF Health News: Listen: A Federal Agency Is After Workers' Health Data, And Critics Are Alarmed
Ten years ago, the Office of Personnel Management suffered one of the biggest government data breaches in history. Now, the agency wants millions of federal workers' medical records. KFF Health News reporter Amanda Seitz explained why health policy experts aren't sure OPM can safeguard the data on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on April 29. (Seitz, 5/8)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Abortion Pill Politics
A decision Friday night by a federal appeals court not only has raised new questions about the continued availability of the abortion pill mifepristone but has also thrust the abortion issue back into the spotlight. That’s something the Trump administration had hoped to avoid during the midterm elections. Meanwhile, this week Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, the agency’s scientists, and President Donald Trump tussled over whether to approve fruit-flavored vapes, which might help adults quit smoking but also might attract youths to vaping. (Rovner, 5/7)
HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK
CBS News: 5 U.S. States Monitoring Passengers Who Departed Cruise Ship Stricken By Hantavirus
At least 12 countries are currently monitoring people who had disembarked the MV Hondius before cases of hantavirus were confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press conference Thursday. Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Five U.S. states have said they are monitoring passengers who debarked the Hondius prior to any cases being confirmed on board for signs of the rare and often deadly disease: two each from Georgia and Texas, one from Virginia, one from Arizona, and an unspecified number from California, according to their respective state health departments. Each state has said none of the individuals is exhibiting any signs of the illness. (Osborne, 5/7)
Bloomberg: Hantavirus Cruise Outbreak Prompts Singapore To Test Two Travelers
Singapore has isolated two residents who were onboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus. Both men, aged 67 and 65, had been onboard the MV Hondius when it departed Argentina on April 1, the Communicable Diseases Agency said in a statement Thursday. ... If they test negative for hantavirus, they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure. If tested positive, they will remain hospitalized for monitoring and treatment given the potential severity of infection, CDA said. (Gemmell, 5/7)
Stat: Top Official Retires From CDC Cruise Ship Program
The top U.S. official responsible for public health on cruise ships is stepping down, according to an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement obtained by STAT. (Payne, 5/7)
The New York Times: Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness
On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first person aboard a cruise ship died of hantavirus, 30 passengers, including six Americans, disembarked in St. Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. The Americans are now back on U.S. soil, and three states are monitoring them; none have shown symptoms so far. That information came on Wednesday — not from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or from the State Department, which is coordinating the nation’s response to the hantavirus outbreak, but from the medical news publication MedPage Today. (The New York Times confirmed the report with state officials.) (Mandavilli, 5/7)
The Hill: Rising Outbreaks And Low Preparedness: US Health Report
Fewer than half of U.S. states are sufficiently prepared for a health emergency, according to research released Thursday. Only 20 states scored “high” on the annual report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) on national public health emergency preparedness. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., scored in the “middle tier,” and 13 states fell into the “low tier.” The report comes as the U.S. is set to host 78 World Cup matches in 10 different states from June 11 to July 19. Five of those 10 states performed “high” in TFAH’s assessment, four in the “middle” range and one state — Texas — scored “low” on health emergency preparedness in the report. (Davis, 5/7)
AP: Spanish Authorities Prepare For Hantavirus Cruise Ship Arrival
Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Saturday or Sunday. “They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” said Virginia Barcones, Spain’s head of emergency services, on Thursday. (5/8)
The Hill: WHO Official Says Hantavirus Is 'Not COVID'
A World Health Organization (WHO) official on Thursday said the threat level imposed by hantavirus, which has killed three people aboard a cruise ship, does not resemble the pandemic-level threat that COVID-19 had six years ago. Infectious disease epidemiologist Maria DeJoseph Van Kerkhove said during a press conference that the three hantavirus deaths of a Dutch couple and a German citizen, along with the evacuation of three people suspected of carrying the virus, are not a cause for panic. “This is not COVID, this is not influenza,” she said. “It spreads very, very differently. So, there are different precautions that people are taking.” (Mancini, 5/7)
CNN: This American Doctor Thought He Was Going On Vacation. He Ended Up Treating Hantavirus Patients On The Infected Ship
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius in the southern tip of Argentina last month anticipating a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, exploring vast icy expanses and remote islands, seeing wildlife like whales, dolphins and penguins up close. But a few weeks into his vacation across the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregon doctor jumped into action caring for passengers after a deadly hantavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, sickening the vessel’s doctor. (Harvey, 5/8)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
AP: US Will Revoke Passports For Parents Who Owe Child Support, AP Learns
The U.S. State Department will begin revoking the U.S. passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support. The department told The Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the State Department by the Department of Health and Human Services. (Lee, 5/7)
AP: EPA To Propose Rolling Back Some Biden-Era PFAS Limits In Drinking Water Under Trump Plan
The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official. The proposal will start the formal process of rolling back parts of the first-ever limits on PFAS in drinking water finalized during former President Joe Biden’s administration. Officials at the time found they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. (Phillis, 5/7)
ProPublica: Trump Let Polluters Sidestep Clean Air Act Rules With Just An Email
In March 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration made a tantalizing offer to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturing facilities and other factories: Their operations could be exempted from key provisions under the Clean Air Act, the bedrock environmental law estimated to have prevented thousands of premature deaths. All they had to do was ask. No rigorous application was needed. An email, which they had until the end of the month to send, would suffice. (Olalde, 5/8)
The New York Times: Employees With Medical Conditions Challenge C.D.C. In-Office Requirement
One employee is a survivor of a gastrointestinal cancer who sometimes loses control of her bowels. Another is undergoing breast cancer treatment that leaves her vulnerable to infections. A third has severely limited mobility and excruciating pain. They all work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has told them they must commute to the office each day regardless of their medical conditions. (Mandavilli, 5/7)
The Washington Post: Trump-Appointed Panel Calls For Overhauling Parts Of FEMA
A panel tasked with shaping the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency voted Thursday to approve a report recommending significant overhauls meant to streamline what it called an inefficient and “bloated” agency — changes that received pushback from disaster survivors and environmental advocacy groups. (Wang, Sacks and Dennis, 5/7)
AP: People Could Soon Ship Handguns Through US Postal Service
Handguns could be mailed through the United States Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition. In 1927, Congress passed a law barring the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to curb crime. In January, the Department of Justice revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urged the postal service to change its regulations. (Hill, 5/7)
AP: Hold On US Immigration Applications Lifted For Doctors. Others Are Still Waiting
Libyan Dr. Faysal Alghoula must renew his green card to continue caring for roughly 1,000 patients in southwestern Indiana, but hasn’t been able to since the Trump administration stopped reviewing applications for people from several dozen countries it deemed high-risk. Alghoula’s current visa will expire in September if his application is denied. But last week, the administration quietly made an exemption for medical doctors with pending visa or green card applications, possibly allowing Alghoula’s case to move forward. (Riddle and Taxin, 5/8)
VACCINES
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: RFK Jr. Defends Hepatitis B Vaccine Rollback At Cleveland Forum
A family physician pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday on one of the most contentious decisions of his tenure — the rollback of a longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. The question at Cleveland’s City Club came from Dr. Patricia Kellner, who said she has practiced family medicine for 40 years. (Eaton, 5/7)
CIDRAP: Lawmakers Ask Kennedy About Blocked COVID Vaccine Study
Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers about the suppression of a study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acting director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. In a letter sent yesterday to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, ranking members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said Bhattacharya’s decision to prevent the study from being published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC’s flagship publication, “appears to be a deliberate effort to suppress evidence of vaccine effectiveness by your hand-selected ideological ally.” (Dall, 5/7)
The Washington Post: As Measles Roars Back, Scientists Search For A New Therapy
Using the blood of a 56-year-old woman vaccinated against measles, scientists have isolated a fighting force of four potent virus-blocking antibodies that could pave the way toward a treatment for people exposed to the highly contagious respiratory disease making a comeback in the United States. A safe, highly effective vaccine for measles has been available since the 1960s, and the U.S. officially eliminated the disease in 2000, with sporadic cases and outbreaks. But dropping vaccination rates have sparked large outbreaks in multiple states, and the country is edging closer to the virus spreading freely again—which puts more people at risk. (Johnson, 5/7)
CIDRAP: Aluminum In Vaccines Not Linked To Autism, Other Health Problems, Study Finds
Aluminum additives used in vaccines are not linked to serious medical problems or long-term conditions in children, according to a report published today in The BMJ. In particular, researchers found no increased risk of asthma, autism, or autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes. The analysis, which included 59 studies conducted over many years, adds to a large body of research finding no ties between aluminum in childhood vaccines and serious health problems, including a 24-year study of more than 1.2 million Danish children published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Szabo, 5/7)
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
North Carolina Health News: NC Loses Abortion Clinic As Pressures Mount On Providers
North Carolina now has one fewer abortion clinic, shrinking access to the procedure in a state where nearly 48,000 abortions were provided in 2025. Last week, A Woman’s Choice closed its clinic in Greensboro, North Carolina’s third-largest city. The closure leaves 17 abortion clinics in North Carolina, scattered over nine counties across the state, that provide in-person abortion care to thousands of patients — including people traveling from more restrictive states across the Southeast. (Crumpler, 5/8)
HR Dive: Dems Urge EEOC To Retain Pregnancy Rule’s IVF Protections
The letter addresses EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’ condemnation of the EEOC’s PWFA final rule, which was solidified in April 2024. Lucas has been “vocal in her opposition” to certain parts of the final rule, the agency said in a previously released statement. ... According to the Democrats who signed the open letter, Lucas’ position is at odds with Trump’s fertility-related agenda. In August 2024, after the PWFA final rule and before he took office once more, Trump said he would champion in vitro fertilization, either through securing public funding or mandating that insurance companies cover IVF. (Colvin, 5/7)
WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS
ABC News: Many Medicare Enrollees Can Get GLP-1 Drugs For $50 Starting In July
More access to affordable weight-loss medications is coming this summer for adults on Medicare. Starting in July, certain Medicare enrollees can pay $50 a month for specific prescription GLP–1 medications, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicare announced the pilot program for the popular weight loss medications on Wednesday. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program will run between July 1, 2026, and Dec. 31, 2027. (Yu, 5/7)
Fierce Healthcare: Amazon Pharmacy To Offer Home Delivery For Novo's Ozempic Pill
Amazon Pharmacy will make Novo Nordisk's Ozempic pill available for home delivery, the company announced Thursday. Per the announcement, Amazon customers will be able to secure the oral GLP-1 medication via same-day delivery or pickup within minutes at its kiosks in short order. The drug, which is approved to manage blood sugar in individuals with type 2 diabetes, was originally sold as Rybelsus but was recently rebranded to Ozempic by Novo. (Minemyer, 5/7)
The Washington Post: GLP-1s May Not Shrink Muscle Mass As Much As We Thought, Study Suggests
Are GLP-1 weight-loss drugs hard on your muscles? That question has sparked controversy and concern among some scientists, doctors and the general public. Several large studies in recent years had suggested that people taking GLP-1 drugs such as Zepbound or Wegovy were losing outsize proportions of their muscle mass while also shedding body fat. In some of those studies, nearly 40 percent of people’s weight loss with GLP-1 drugs seemed to come from muscle, a much higher percentage than would be considered normal among people losing weight by dieting or other lifestyle changes. (Reynolds, 5/7)
MedPage Today: Teens With T1D, Obesity Reaped Benefits Of GLP-1s, Case Studies Suggest
Two insulin-dependent adolescents with type 1 diabetes and obesity had metabolic improvements after starting a low-dose GLP-1 agent, a case series showed. (Monaco, 5/8)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
San Francisco Chronicle: 18 Legionella Infections At Bay Area Kaiser Hospital
Kaiser Permanente confirmed late Wednesday that 18 people were infected with Legionella at its Santa Clara medical center, where officials are still trying to determine the source of the contamination. The health system said it found the infections during routine monitoring. The hospital and its nearby medical office building remain open and are operating normally. (Vaziri, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: Nonprofit Hospitals Spent $7.8B On Consultants, JAMA Study Finds
Nonprofit hospitals are spending millions of dollars on management consulting services, but the outcomes may not be worth the price tag. More than 20% of nonprofit hospitals hired management consultants from 2009 to 2023, spending an average of $15.7 million for consulting services, according to a study published this week on the JAMA Network. Nonprofit hospitals altogether spent more than $7.8 billion on those services during that time frame, the study found. (Hudson, 5/7)
Cardinal News: State Moves Toward Closing Hiram Davis Medical Center, But Lawmakers Express Concern About Plan
The Hiram W. Davis Medical Center has been slated for closure since August 2024, but some Virginia lawmakers remain hesitant to support the plan as families raise concerns about where residents with complex medical needs will go. The state-operated medical center in Petersburg provides long-term care for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities. (Schabacker, 5/8)
Modern Healthcare: Knox Lane To Acquire Cross Country Healthcare
Cross Country Healthcare has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Knox Lane for $437 million. The transaction would take the staffing technology company private, according to a Wednesday news release. Under the agreement, Knox Lane would acquire all outstanding shares of Cross Country Healthcare common stock at $13.25 per share, for an all-cash transaction totaling $437 million. The deal is slated to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. (DeSilva, 5/7)
MedPage Today: CMS Mulls Auto-Enrolling Seniors Into Medicare Advantage
When your patients turn 65, will they automatically be enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan or accountable care organization (ACO)? That idea is now on the Trump administration's radar. CMS is currently mulling a plan that would automatically enroll beneficiaries into either Medicare Advantage plans -- in which private insurers contract with CMS to serve Medicare beneficiaries -- or ACOs, such as those that participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, according to a report in STAT. (Frieden, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: States Curb Insurer AI, Prior Authorizations As Congress Stalls
States are increasingly targeting insurance companies over hot-button issues such as prior authorization and artificial intelligence in the absence of federal action. President Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican-led Congress have consistently attacked “Big Insurance” since Trump returned to the White House last year. Yet that rhetoric has not led to much federal legislation. Congress has taken only small steps toward addressing provider and patient complaints about cost, denials, delayed payments, prior authorizations, AI and other matters. (McAuliff, 5/7)
Central Florida Public Media: AdventHealth Nurses Address Hair Care Disparities For Black Patients
AdventHealth Hospital for Children in Orlando reported that Black pediatric patients needed different kinds of shampoo to care for their hair. The hospital listened. (Pedersen, 5/7)
SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS
Stat: Study Finds Explosion Of 'Fraudulent' AI Citations In Academic Papers
Citations in academic papers are intended to ground research in the work that preceded it, over time creating something of a family tree explaining the roots of ideas, protocols, and studies. But a growing number of these citations lead to dead ends. (Oza, 5/7)
Stat: New Study Suggests Scientists Grow Less Innovative With Age
Physicist Albert Einstein, widely regarded as one of the most prolific scientists of the past century, conducted much of his transformative work at the beginning of his career, before spending years defending his theories against the burgeoning field of quantum mechanics. A new study shows that Einstein is not alone, and that most researchers begin their careers conducting their more disruptive work — overturning conventional wisdom and forging paths of their own — but as they age, they tend to abandon that groundbreaking energy. (Oza, 5/7)
PHARMA AND TECH
Bloomberg: Joss Sackler Pleads Guilty To Obstruction In Opioid Addiction Case
As the Sackler family worked through a plan to pay $6.5 billion to resolve their liability over Purdue Pharma LP’s production of addictive opioids, the epidemic hit even closer to home. Joss Sackler, the wife of former Purdue board member David Sackler, admitted deleting WhatsApp messages showing she was the intended recipient of a shipment of prescription drugs seized by US border agents in 2024. Sackler, who said she was addicted to opioids at the time, pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal grand jury investigation into the transaction. (Van Voris and Kaiser, 5/7)
Stat: FDA To Reconsider Rare Cancer Drug Ebvallo After Surprise Rejection
Two companies developing a therapy for a rare blood cancer have reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration that walked back the agency’s main reason for rejecting the drug in January. (Feuerstein, 5/7)
Stat: Next-Gen Duchenne Drug From Entrada Disappoints In Study
Entrada Therapeutics’ next-generation drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy disappointed in an early trial, raising questions about the company’s competitiveness in an increasingly crowded field. (Mast, 5/7)
St. Pete Catalyst: Genetics Testing Lab Expansion Celebrated At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital leaders and staff came together Tuesday to celebrate expansion of the organization’s Clinical Biochemical Genetics Laboratory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The facility can help diagnose and monitor rare metabolic conditions. These can be life-threatening if they are not caught early. (Connor, 5/7)
Minnesota Public Radio: At The University Of Minnesota’s Wearable Technology Lab, Clothing Becomes Medical Care
Lucy Dunne’s firstborn child was diagnosed with jaundice through a blood test just one day after birth. Medical staff placed her daughter in a bassinet under an electric lamp and treated her with blue light therapy. But when Dunne’s baby cried, she was not allowed to pick her up. “Doing what I do for a living, it was pretty obvious that we could do better,” Dunne said. (Zurek, 5/8)
ABC News: Full-Body MRI Scans Are Selling Reassurance Doctors Say They Can’t Deliver
The promise of finding health problems early with a head-to-toe MRI scan is fueling a growing business. For someone who is generally healthy, however, these scans may be more likely to cause potential harm than benefit, according to a new editorial in the science journal JAMA. A full-body MRI scan uses magnets to create detailed images of organs and tissues across the body, to try to spot hidden diseases like cancer before symptoms appear. (Joseph and Neporent, 5/8)
STATE WATCH
The CT Mirror: CT Nursing Home Oversight Bill Clears Final Hurdle
A bill that seeks to bring more scrutiny to nursing home ownership and analyze private equity investment in nursing facilities gained final passage in the Connecticut House Wednesday. (Carlesso, 5/7)
The 19th: In CA, Survivors Call On Gavin Newsom For Funding To Combat Domestic Violence
“Before I say anything, I want everyone here to take a moment and think about someone finally reaching out for help and there’s no one here to answer,” Jazz LedBetter said to a crowd of over 250 survivors of abuse and advocates against domestic violence and sexual assault. (Mithani, 5/6)
Cardinal News: Blacksburg Nonprofit Helps Abolish $51 Million In Medical Debt In Southwest Virginia
A Blacksburg-based nonprofit has eliminated more than $51 million of medical debt for 35,007 residents in Southwest Virginia, according to a press release. (Schabacker, 5/8)
AP: Overflowing Idaho Prisons Are Sending Women With Good Behavior To ‘The Hole’
On the nearly four-hour drive from a southeast Idaho prison, Kristine Scott was optimistic. One of 15 women transferred on April 3 to a minimum security prison in Boise, Scott was told she’d work at the community reentry center and live in one of the least restrictive facilities in Idaho’s prison system. But when the women arrived at the South Idaho Correctional Institution, Scott said staff told them there weren’t enough beds available in the dorms. Instead, she and five other women were led to a segregated housing unit usually reserved as punishment for inmates who violate the rules or pose a safety risk — a unit known to prisoners as “the hole.” (Bryen, 5/7)
The Colorado Sun: Nearly Half Of Coloradans Experiencing Food Insecurity Don’t Qualify For SNAP
As a single mother, Cinthya Garcia used to receive about $600 in monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to support herself and her six children living with her in Commerce City. With the SNAP funds, Garcia could buy meat and fresh produce to make nutritious meals for her family. (McCoy, 5/8)
Chicago Tribune: Visitation Held For Chicago Officer Slain In Hospital Shooting
The city prepared to say its final goodbye to Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew, as visitation for the slain 10-year CPD veteran was held in Edgewater. (Kenny and Gorner, 5/7)
The New York Times: F.B.I. Says Austin Bar Shooter Was Driven By Personal Grievances Related To Iran War
The F.B.I. said on Thursday that a gunman acted alone when he shot and killed three people and injured 15 others in an Austin bar, though the attack in March may have been prompted by “specific personal triggers and grievances” related to the Iran War. The gunman, Ndiaga Diagne, 53, of Senegal, died after exchanging gunfire with police officers who responded to the shooting near a busy stretch of downtown Austin. (Jimenez, McGaughy and Ramirez, 5/7)
