Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Monday, Feb. 23, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: New Orleans Brings Back The House Call, Sending Nurses To Visit Newborns And Moms
When Lisa Bonfield gave birth to daughter Adele in late November, she was thrust into the new world of parenting, and faced an onslaught of challenges and skills to learn: breastfeeding, diapering, sleep routines, colic, crying, and all the little warning signs that something could be wrong with the baby. But unlike parents in most of the U.S., she had extra help that was once much more common: house calls. Adele was only a few weeks old when a registered nurse showed up at Bonfield’s door on Dec. 10 to check on them and offer hands-on help and advice. (Westwood, 2/23)
KFF Health News: As More Americans Embrace Anxiety Treatment, MAHA Derides Medications
After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting. “Every little ache, like my knee hurts,” she said, made her worry that “this is the end of the road for me.” So Zapp, a 40-year-old communications director in New York, became one of millions of Americans to start taking an anxiety medication in recent years. For her, it was the serotonin-boosting drug Lexapro. (Reese, 2/23)
KFF Health News: State Lawmakers Seek Restraints On Wage Garnishment For Medical Debt
Lawmakers in at least eight states this year are aiming to reel in wage garnishment for unpaid medical bills. The legislation introduced in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington builds on efforts made in other states in past years. This latest push for patient protections comes as the Trump administration has backed away from federal debt protections, health care has become more costly, and more people are expected to go without medical coverage or choose cheaper but riskier high-deductible insurance plans that could lead them into debt. (Bichell, 2/20)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Explain Colorectal Cancer Risk And Federal Pullback On Georgia Disability Oversight
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed on CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on Feb. 16 how the recent deaths of two actors sparked searches for colorectal cancer information. (2/21)
TARIFFS AND DRUG PRICES
Managed Healthcare Executive: What Does The Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Tariffs Mean For The Pharmaceutical Industry?
The Trump administration has other legal avenues to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals despite the Supreme Court decision striking down many of the administration’s current tariffs. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that President Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. But at a White House press conference, Trump said there were numerous other statutes and authorities that give the president the power to impose tariffs. He cited Sections 122 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974; Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962; and Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, commonly referred to as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. He also announced that he would impose a broad tariff of 10% under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effectively replacing tariffs he imposed under the international emergency law that the court struck down. (Wehrwein, 2/21)
MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
AP: Trump Says He Will Send A Hospital Ship To Greenland But The Territory's Leader Says No Thanks
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care, even though both of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships are currently docked at a shipyard in Alabama. Trump’s announcement prompted a defense on Sunday of Denmark and Greenland’s health care system from their leaders, and it was the latest point of friction with the American leader who has frequently talked about seizing the massive Arctic territory. “It’s a no thank you from here,” said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. (Keaten and Toropin, 2/22)
AP: Trump Administration Backs 10-Year Deadline To Replace Harmful Lead Pipes
The Trump administration said Friday it backs a 10-year deadline for most cities and towns to replace their harmful lead pipes, giving notice that it will support a tough rule approved under the Biden administration to reduce lead in drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court in Washington that it would defend the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in three decades against a court challenge by a utility industry association. (Phillis, 2/21)
Stat: Petition Pushes FDA To Exempt AI Devices From Premarket Review
The Trump administration has promised to reduce the barriers between health artificial intelligence developers and patients. With a provocative new proposal, an AI company has offered regulators a way to let a broad swath of potentially risky AI devices flood the market. (Aguilar and Palmer, 2/23)
Politico: RFK Jr.’s Billionaire Running Mate Is Making A Comedy About The Pandemic
Covid contrarians tight with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are pitching Hollywood on an unlikely leading man: National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate in the 2024 presidential campaign, is searching for investors to fund a movie that pokes fun at the pandemic response with a star based on Bhattacharya, who rose to prominence with his anti-lockdown manifesto and relentless tweets opposing social distancing. (Hooper, 2/22)
Politico: Trump’s Law Is Crushing The Next Generation Of RFK Jr. Disciples
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it his Make America Healthy Again mission to challenge the medical establishment. President Donald Trump’s signature law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, could entrench it. Kennedy sees America’s medical schools as bastions of groupthink that ignore the root causes of disease. But newly proposed caps on student loans that stem from the law would favor establishment institutions over nontraditional schools aligned with Kennedy’s view that Americans are sicker than ever because of what they eat, the chemicals they’re exposed to, and how little exercise they get. (Chu, 2/23)
IMMIGRATION CRISIS
The Texas Tribune: Records: Texan Killed By ICE Months Before Minneapolis Woman
Three months into President Donald Trump’s mass deportation undertaking, an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen in South Padre Island, long before immigration agents killed another American in Minnesota that prompted outrage across the nation, according to records released this week that were not previously disclosed by the government. (Serrano and Runnels, 2/20)
The Texas Tribune: Cuban Man’s Death At El Paso Tent Camp Was Result Of 'Spontaneous Use Of Force,' ICE Says
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this week reported that the death of a 55-year-old Cuban man at a detention facility in El Paso was the result of the staff’s “spontaneous use of force” to “prevent him from harming himself.” Officials quietly updated the cause of death after previously declaring last month that the man died of “medical distress.” (Kriel and Deguzman, 2/20)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Proposed Location For ICE Facility In Merrimack Sits Within PFAS Contamination Zone
The Merrimack warehouse that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to turn into an immigrant detention facility sits within a contamination zone where residents have long faced issues with chemical pollution in their drinking water. (Hoplamazian and Dario, 2/20)
The Boston Globe: Aspen Medical Calls Job Postings For Merrimack ICE Warehouse 'Speculative'
The head of a health care company that’s advertising jobs for nurses and other medical staff to work inside a proposed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Merrimack, N.H., said his business hasn’t decided whether to provide staffing for this or any other ICE facility. Ethan Bond, president of Aspen Medical USA, said his company posted “speculative” job listings online to test the labor market in New Hampshire and other markets where the US Department of Homeland Security is expected to have health care staffing needs. (Porter, 2/22)
ON CAPITOL HILL
The Hill: Rep. Thomas Massie Moves To Block Trump's Glyphosate Order
At least one Republican lawmaker is formally pushing back on President Trump’s effort to boost a controversial herbicide, glyphosate, that’s reviled by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. Trump this week stoked MAHA fury by issuing an executive order that seeks to “ensure an adequate supply” of glyphosate as a national security issue and grant “immunity” to makers of the pesticide under the Defense Production Act. In response, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) drafted legislation to prevent the order’s implementation. (Frazin, 2/20)
Stat: Health Care May Be Midterm Focus, But Reforms Face Uphill Climb
Lawmakers will likely have a lot to say about health care this year. Paradoxically, they probably won’t accomplish much on the subject. (Wilkerson, 2/23)
OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
NBC News: U.S. Closes In On 1,000 Measles Cases In First Two Months Of 2026
The U.S. has officially logged 982 measles cases in 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. It’s more than four times the number of cases as this time last year, when a large outbreak was just beginning in West Texas. Twenty-six states have reported cases so far this year. Large outbreaks continue to grow in Utah, Arizona and, most notably, South Carolina, where the virus has been spreading since the fall. As of Friday, the state had reported nearly 800 cases since January, bringing the outbreak’s total to 973. (Edwards, 2/21)
CIDRAP: Flu Claims 5 More US Children’s Lives As Virus Continues Circulating At Moderate To Very High Levels
Five more children died of influenza in the United States last week, for a season total of 71, as viral activity stays high across much of the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in its weekly FluView update. The 2024-25 flu season saw a total of 289 child deaths—the most reported in a non-pandemic flu season since the CDC began tracking pediatric flu deaths in 2004. (Van Beusekom, 2/20)
HIV/AIDS
AP: Zimbabwe Is One Of The First To Roll Out New And Long-Acting HIV Drug
Young women, mothers holding babies and some men lined up in a dusty field on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. They came for injections of a new HIV prevention drug launched in the country on Thursday, one that only needs to be administered twice a year. Zimbabwe, where HIV has led to tens of thousands of deaths over the past two decades, is one of the first countries to roll out lenacapavir, a long-acting drug that authorities hope will slow new infections. With clinical studies demonstrating near-total protection, the drug has been described by some health officials as a turning point for high-risk groups. (Mutsaka, 2/22)
CIDRAP: HIV Infection Linked To Increased Risk Of Long COVID
People with HIV (PWH) had a significantly higher risk of developing long COVID across multiple organ systems than people without HIV (PWoH), according to a large cohort study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. (Bergeson, 2/20)
HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY
AP: Mississippi Hospital System Closes All Clinics After Ransomware Attack
A ransomware attack forced the University of Mississippi Medical Center to close all of its roughly three dozen clinics around the state and cancel elective procedures for a second day on Friday, hobbling one of the state’s largest health care providers. University officials warned that the shutdown could continue for days as they try to evaluate the extent of the attack, including whether patients’ sensitive information was compromised, and restore network systems they took down as a precaution. (Bates, 2/21)
Modern Healthcare: OpenLoop Health Faces Lawsuits Over Alleged Data Breach
OpenLoop Health, which provides telehealth services for digital health companies, is facing a possible class action lawsuit due to an alleged data breach exposing 1.6 million health records. The Des Moines, Iowa-based company is getting sued by two different people, who allege OpenLoop failed to secure their personally identifiable information and protected health information when it was breached by a ransomware group in January. (Famakinwa, 2/20)
Modern Healthcare: Justice Department Sues OhioHealth For Anticompetitive Tactics
The U.S. Justice Department and the state of Ohio filed a lawsuit Friday against OhioHealth accusing the health system of anticompetitive behavior. The federal lawsuit alleges that Columbus-based OhioHealth’s practice of requiring commercial health insurers to include all of its providers in their networks inflates costs for policyholders and patients, hampers price transparency, and disadvantages regional rivals such as the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel Health System, which is part of Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health. (Hudson, 2/20)
Modern Healthcare: Congress Paves Way For Outpatient Pay Cuts, Site-Neutral Reform
Congress has backed off plans to institute “site-neutral” Medicare payments for outpatient care for now, but a new law still represents a step toward curtailing billions of dollars in hospital reimbursements. The spending and healthcare package President Donald Trump enacted this month requires health systems to obtain unique National Provider Identifiers, or NPIs, for their outpatient departments by 2028. Although the policy does not modify Medicare payments, it will arm lawmakers and regulators with detailed information about outpatient care provided at hospital-owned facilities — and its cost — to support broader site-neutral policies. (McAuliff, 2/20)
Fierce Healthcare: NYC's Largest Nurse Strike Ends After 41 Days
4,200 holdout nurses who remained on the picket line announced Feb. 20 a tentative contract agreement with NewYork-Presbyterian, as well as its "overwhelmingly" affirmative ratification vote a day later. The accord comes after 41 days and was characterized as a victory by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). (Muoio, 2/22)
PHARMACEUTICALS
FiercePharma: Manufacturing Catalent Cuts Staff By 96 In Another Round Of Layoffs In Maryland
Catalent is cutting more roles at its gene therapy manufacturing facility in Harmans, Maryland. This round of layoffs will affect 93 employees and will be effective on March 19, according to a Maryland Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing. The state's WARN report also notes the CDMO's dismissal of three other employees in nearby Baltimore. (Dunleavy, 2/20)
Stat: Novo's Obesity Drug CagriSema Falls Short In Trial Versus Zepbound
Novo Nordisk’s next-generation weight loss drug CagriSema, one of the company’s key hopes to help it regain its footing in the increasingly competitive obesity market, failed in a key study that compared it to rival Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, Novo said Monday. (Joseph, 2/23)
Bloomberg: L’Oréal Played A Key Role In Sanofi CEO Ouster, Successor Pick
L’Oréal SA played a key role in the ouster last week of Sanofi SA Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson and the choice of his successor, in what was a major corporate shakeup for the French pharmaceutical company. The push by the French cosmetics giant, Sanofi’s biggest shareholder, led to the naming of Merck KGaA CEO Belén Garijo to succeed Hudson, according to people familiar with the matter who didn’t want to be named citing confidential discussions. (Furlong, Rascouet, and Torsoli, 2/20)
Stat: Study On Timing Cancer Treatments To The Morning Comes Under Fire
The notion that oncologists could boost immunotherapy responses simply by giving infusions in the morning, rather than late afternoon, is an attractive one. So when a clinical trial published in Nature Medicine this month showed that lung cancer patients treated in the morning had a massive reduction in the risk of progression compared to those treated in the afternoon, many scientists were intrigued, if skeptical. Now that study is coming under fire, as multiple scientists and sleuths raise serious concerns about the data and point out inconsistencies in the trial. (Chen, 2/20)
STATE WATCH
AP: New Mexico To Investigate Forced Sterilization Of Native Women
In the 1970s, the U.S. agency that provides health care to Native Americans sterilized thousands of women without their full and informed consent, depriving them of the opportunity to start or grow families. Decades later, the state of New Mexico is set to investigate that troubling history and its lasting harm. (Peters, 2/21)
ABC News: Wyoming Abortion Bills, Including 'Heartbeat Ban,' Advancing Through Legislature
Two bills having to do with abortion are making their way through the Wyoming legislature. The first bill, HB0126, dubbed the Human Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortion if cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, which is around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant. If cardiac activity is detected, an abortion can only be performed in the case of a medical emergency, meaning if the life of the mother is in danger or if continuing the pregnancy would cause serious or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, according to the bill, which does not include exceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape or incest. (Kekatos, 2/20)
The Marshall Project: Tens Of Thousands Of Moms Flagged To Police Over Flawed Drug Tests
Ayanna Harris-Rashid was sitting up in bed, her newborn son latched to her breast, one hand scrolling on her phone, when the police called. She was wanted on a felony charge of child neglect. (Walter and Castellano, 2/21)
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH
MedPage Today: Sudden Infant Deaths In Inclined Sleepers Persisted Even After Recall
Even after recalls of inclined sleepers in 2019, sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs) still occurred with use of these products, researchers found. From 2009 to 2023, there were 158 SUIDs in inclined sleepers, with 68% occurring from 2009 to 2019 and 32% after 2019, reported Sasha Mintz, MPH, and Abigael Collier, DrPH, both of the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention at the Michigan Public Health Institute in Okemos, in Pediatrics. (Henderson, 2/23)
NBC News: Women's Pain Last Longer Than Men's. A Study Offers An Explanation
Scientists who study chronic pain have long puzzled over a particular type of scenario: A man and woman get into a car accident and sustain the same injuries. But the woman experiences long-lasting pain, while the man recovers more quickly. Historically, some doctors have dismissed these differences as women exaggerating their pain or being unable to tolerate the same discomfort as men. But studies have repeatedly found that women are more likely to experience chronic pain in general and that their pain lasts longer, on average. (Bendix, 2/20)
Stat: Why Heart Disease In Women May Be Missed On Scans
Women’s bodies are different from men’s in ways that medicine is still learning. Meanwhile, their risk of serious cardiovascular events can be underestimated if their distinct risk profiles are blurred with men’s. The latest example of important sex differences centers on the plaque burden in coronary arteries — a measure of fat and cholesterol deposits that also accounts for blood vessel size. (Cooney, 2/23)
Fox News: Experts Warn Of Health Risks Certain Supplements May Pose To Those With Diabetes
Some surveys find that about 75% of U.S. adults have used supplements, while federal survey data shows that 58% used one in the past 30 days — but some groups should exercise caution, experts say. There are many different supplements — including vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and probiotics — designed to fill nutrient gaps and support overall wellness. Some target specific functions, such as immune support, muscle recovery and bone health, according to multiple medical sources. (Rudy, 2/22)
AP: Trader Joe's Chicken Fried Rice Products May Contain Glass, USDA Says
A Portland, Oregon, company is recalling nearly 3.4 million pounds of frozen chicken fried rice products sold at Trader Joe’s stores and in Canada because they may contain pieces of glass, U.S. Agriculture Department officials reported. Ajinomoto Foods North America Inc. pulled Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice from stores nationwide. The frozen product — containing fried rice, vegetables, chicken meat and eggs — is sold in 20-ounce plastic bags. The affected packages have best-by dates of Sept. 8 through Nov. 17, 2026. The products are stamped with the establishment number P-18356 inside the USDA mark of inspection. (2/20)
