First Edition: Monday, Jan. 26, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Sick Of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans
Ever since Larry Wilkewitz retired more than 20 years ago from a wood products company, he’s had a commercial Medicare Advantage plan from the insurer Humana. But two years ago, he heard about Peak Health, a new Advantage plan started by the West Virginia University Health System, where his doctors practice. It was cheaper and offered more personal attention, plus extras such as an allowance for over-the-counter pharmacy items. Those benefits are more important than ever, he said, as he’s treated for cancer. (Jaffe, 1/26)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: Charity-Care Nonprofit Scales Up And Doubles Down
As premium payments for Affordable Care Act insurance plans soar and cuts to Medicaid start to affect hospitals and patients, many people in 2026 will need help paying medical bills. And charity care may be a solution. One group working on this is Dollar For, a nonprofit focused on helping people access the financial assistance that hospitals are legally required to offer patients who make less than a certain amount. (Weissmann, 1/26)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Mine News For Insights On Tylenol, Obamacare Credits, And Rural Health Funding
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed a year of changes at the Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on NPR’s 1A on Jan. 22. On CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on Jan. 16 and CBS Saturday Morning’s HealthWatch on Jan. 17, Gounder also discussed a study that found no link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She also commented on rising measles cases and decreasing vaccination rates on CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on Jan. 15. (1/24)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

The Washington Post: ICU Nurse Fatally Shot By Border Patrol In Minneapolis Cared For Veterans
Alex Pretti, the man fatally shot by Border Patrol on Saturday, was a passionate intensive care nurse who had recently become concerned about immigration enforcement efforts and begun attending protests, according to friends, family and co-workers. “Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital,” Pretti’s family said in a statement shared with The Washington Post. “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world.” (Gurley, Hennessy-Fiske, Gupta and Somasundaram, 1/25)

Military.com: Who Is Alex Pretti? VA Nurse Shot By Border Patrol During Minnesota Protest
Alex Pretti obtained his nursing license in January 2021 and worked in the ICU caring for critically ill veterans at the Minneapolis VA. He attended nursing school at the University of Minnesota and assisted on scientific research projects prior to moving to clinical work supporting critically ill veterans, according to reports. (Wile and Mordowanec, 1/25)

The New York Times: Alex Pretti’s Friends And Family Denounce ‘Sickening Lies’ About His Life
He was a calm presence amid hospital chaos. A mentor who taught kindness and patience to younger friends and colleagues. A singer with a knack for dancing. A bicyclist who treasured the beauty of Minnesota. This weekend, the family, co-workers and friends of Alex Pretti, who was killed by immigration agents in a confrontation after he was apparently filming them, remembered his life, even as the circumstances of his death were debated on the national stage. (Minsberg, Knoll and Bosman, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Minneapolis Shooting Scrambles America’s Gun Debate 
Asked if Alex Pretti ever brandished his gun, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said Saturday: “I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign. This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”... This position is at odds with the usual stance of many gun rights supporters, who often defend the rights of Americans to carry firearms in almost all situations. (Bendavid and Bellware, 1/25)

CBS News: Bondi Seeks Minnesota Voter Rolls, Welfare Data To "Help Bring Back Law And Order" In Wake Of Shootings
Attorney General Pam Bondi is pushing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to let the federal government access the state's voter rolls and public assistance data, as tensions flare in Minneapolis after a second person was shot Saturday by federal immigration agents assigned to a weekslong crackdown in the city. ... Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon responded with a statement Sunday saying: "The answer to Attorney General Bondi's request is no." Simon called Bondi's letter "an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. Citizens in violation of state and federal law. (Montoya-Galvez, Joe Walsh, 1/25)

ON CAPITOL HILL

AP: Democrats Vow To Oppose Homeland Security Money, Increasing Shutdown Chance
Democratic senators are vowing to oppose a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security following the shooting death of a 37-year-old Minnesota man, a stand that increases the prospect of a partial government shutdown by the end of the week. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, in a social media post hours after the Saturday shooting, said that what is happening in Minnesota is “appalling” and that Democrats “will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.” (Freking and Jalonick, 1/26)

THE LATEST FROM HHS

Stat: CDC Briefly Pauses More Than $5 Billion In Public Health Grants 
Federal officials have ended a brief pause of more than 100 grants totaling over $5 billion awarded to states to bolster their public health infrastructure. (Cirruzzo, 1/24)

MedPage Today: Congress Pressed On NIH Neurology Leadership Change
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) sounded the alarm after learning that Walter Koroshetz, MD, long-time director of the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) was not reappointed for another 5-year term, asking Congress to step in immediately. In an urgent letter, the AAN pressed Senate health committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), and other key lawmakers to leverage their authority with HHS to find out why Koroshetz's appointment was not renewed despite support from the NIH review panel, and called for transparency in future leadership decisions and for any leadership change to prioritize evidence-based medicine. (George, 1/23)

VACCINES

The Wall Street Journal: Defying CDC, Pediatricians Recommend All Kids Get Vaccinations Against 18 Diseases
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children be vaccinated against 18 diseases, more than the U.S. government directs after it overhauled its schedule. The doctors group, which released its recommendations Monday, kept its guidance largely unchanged from its previous version from last year. The group said it doesn’t endorse the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood-vaccine schedule. The agency now recommends all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases. (Petersen, 1/26)

CIDRAP: No Link Found Between Routine Childhood Vaccines, Aluminum Adjuvants, And Epilepsy Risk
Routine childhood vaccinations, nor the aluminum used as vaccine adjuvants, are not associated with an increased risk of epilepsy in young children, according to a new case-control study published this week in The Journal of Pediatrics. The study, led by a team from the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Marshfield, Wisconsin, examined whether being up to date on recommended vaccines or having higher cumulative exposure to vaccine-related aluminum was linked to the development of epilepsy in children under age four. (Bergeson, 1/23)

AP: Small Pox Eradication Pioneer Dr. William Foege Dies
Dr. William Foege, a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox — has died. Foege died Saturday in Atlanta at the age of 89, according to the Task Force for Global Health, which he co-founded. The 6-foot-7 inch Foege literally stood out in the field of public health. A whip-smart medical doctor with a calm demeanor, he had a canny knack for beating back infectious diseases. (Stobbe, 1/25)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

The Hill: Gavin Newsom Adds California To WHO's Global Outbreak Alert Group
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced just one day after the U.S. officially withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) that his state would become the first to join the organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, in a seeming rebuke of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from international collaborations. Newsom traveled this week to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was scheduled to speak at an event but was canceled at the last moment. During his trip, he met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Choi, 1/23)

CIDRAP: South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak Hits 700 Cases As CDC Confirms 416 So Far In 2026
The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) today confirmed 54 new measles cases in just three days, raising the size of its outbreak, which DPH first reported in October, to 700 cases. The news comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 416 total US cases so far this month—an increase of 245 infections in the past week—and as US health officials downplay the burgeoning outbreak and the key role that vaccines play in preventing illness. (Wappes, 1/23)

ABC News: Flu Activity Nationwide Declines But ER Visits For School-Aged Kids Increasing: CDC
Flu activity is starting to decline nationwide, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimated on Friday that there have been at least 19 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths from flu so far this season. Currently, seven states are seeing "very high" levels of flu-like illnesses while 23 states are seeing "high" levels, CDC data shows. (Benadjaoud, Zhang, and Kekatos, 1/23)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Roll Call: Vance Pledges Anti-Abortion Policies After White House Deemed Soft 
Thousands of marchers descended on the National Mall Friday as some of the nation’s most powerful politicians pledged to take the next steps to ending abortion. The annual March for Life rally serves as a key jumping point for abortion-related policy announcements from conservatives. But anti-abortion advocates had warned that the Trump administration has not done enough to advance their cause and that could have political ramifications. (Raman, 1/23)

Stat: Endometriosis Research And The Race For Better Diagnostic Tests 
María Teresa Pérez Zaballos spent five years visiting doctors before she got her diagnosis. She saw a gynecologist and a neuropathic pain specialist, had her digestive system checked, and took “a ton” of urinary tests. Eventually, she carried a packet of documents to each appointment, to show doctors all the conditions the others had already decided she didn’t have. (Gaffney, 1/26)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

MedPage Today: Physician-Produced Videos On Internet Flunk Evidence Test
Fewer than 20% of online health information videos produced by health professionals had high-quality evidence to support claims made in the videos, according to a review of content on the popular YouTube video platform. Two-thirds of the videos, all related to cancer or diabetes, had low, very low, or no evidence to support health claims. About 15% of the 309 videos had moderate-quality evidence. A multivariate analysis showed that videos with lower-quality evidence attracted more views than those with the highest level of evidence. (Bankhead, 1/14)

Aurora Beacon-News: VNA Health Care To Expand Indian Avenue Center In Aurora
VNA Health Care is planning to expand one of its busiest health centers in Aurora with the help of a recently-announced $750,000 award from Endeavor Health. (Smith, 1/23)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Ohio Nursing Homes Still Waiting On $1 Billion Supreme Court Says They’re Owed By The State 
The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the state to pay nursing homes up to $1 billion. Four months later, the money still hasn’t arrived. (Staver, 1/25)

PHARMA AND TECH

The New York Times: Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused For ‘Race Science’
Genetic researchers were seeking children for an ambitious, federally funded project to track brain development — a study that they told families could yield invaluable discoveries about DNA’s impact on behavior and disease. They also promised that the children’s sensitive data would be closely guarded in the decade-long study, which got underway in 2015. Promotional materials included a cartoon of a Black child saying it felt good knowing that “scientists are taking steps to keep my information safe.” The scientists did not keep it safe. (McIntire, 1/24)

Stat: New FDA Pathway For CRISPR Treatments Raises Concerns 
When Baby KJ was introduced to the world last year as the first recipient of a personalized gene-editing treatment, the logical next question was: How can we get to more Baby KJs? (Mast, 1/26)

CIDRAP: Narrow-Spectrum C Difficile Antibiotic Shows Promise In Phase 2 Study
A narrow-spectrum antibiotic candidate for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) was highly effective and well-tolerated in a small phase 2 trial, researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 1/23)

STATE WATCH

The Washington Post: Power Outages, School Closures, Frigid Temperatures Follow Massive Storm 
Public health risks will remain after the snow and sleet stop. Subzero temperatures are forecast in parts of the U.S. through Friday. (Dennis, Noll, Craig and Shepherd, 1/25)

The 19th: Pregnant Mother In ICE Detention Faces Deportation
A pregnant woman with two American-born children — including a breastfeeding infant — is awaiting deportation in a Louisiana immigration detention facility. She has been separated from her family for more than three weeks. (Luthra, 1/23)

Mirror Indy: Indiana’s Needle Exchange Programs Are On The Chopping Block
In 2023, Morgan Bryant went to her first syringe exchange. ... “You’re always on the run. Chasing after that high, that bag, that dealer,” Bryant said. “I was looking for a way out.” She found one at the Damien Center, Indy’s oldest AIDS service organization. Each week, Bryant exchanged her used needles for clean supplies and boxes of naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. Staff helped treat her wounds from injecting, too. Lawmakers are re-evaluating syringe exchanges like this one, which operate in six counties across Indiana. (Molloy, 1/23)

North Carolina Health News: Advocates Urge Safeguards For Caregivers As New Medicaid Work Requirements Start 
The number of family caregivers is rising across North Carolina, and so are the financial and health costs borne by the people providing that care, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP in a joint report. Advocates say new Medicaid work requirements could intensify those pressures unless the state takes deliberate steps to protect caregivers’ coverage. (Fredde, 1/26)

The Washington Post: Judges Should Consider Toll Of Domestic Abuse During Sentencing, Advocates Say 
Domestic violence victims convicted of crimes in Maryland could present evidence of how the abuse factored into their crimes while seeking a lighter sentence under a bill being considered by state lawmakers. (Golden, 1/26)

The Texas Tribune: Calls To 988 Line Increasing But Investment Is Still Lacking
For Julia Hewitt, the removal of LGBTQ+ services from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and potential funding freezes and cuts are a personal and professional issue. (Simpson, 1/23)

AP: Massive Pipe Rupture Sends Sewage Into Potomac River Near DC
A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling. DC Water, which operates the sewer system, is hooking up pumps to divert sewage around the rupture and allow crews to make repairs. It has cautioned people to stay out of the area and to wash their skin if exposed. (Phillis, Boone and Fields, 1/24)

PUBLIC HEALTH

ABC News: Lifetime Alcohol Use Linked To Higher Risk Of Colorectal Cancer, New Study Finds
Long-term alcohol use has been linked to higher risks of colorectal cancer, according to a study published Monday in the journal Cancer. Researchers found that those with heavy lifetime alcohol consumption have up to a 91% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with those who drank very little. That risk significantly increased with consistent heavy consumption, whereas those who quit drinking may have demonstrated decreased risk of precancerous tissue. (Beauchamp, 1/26)

Bloomberg: Infant Botulism Linked To ByHeart Formula Ingredient Supplier
Health officials found spores that can cause infant botulism at a supplier for formula-maker ByHeart Inc. as part of their investigation into an outbreak that sickened dozens of babies in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Food and Drug Administration testing identified the spores in a whole milk powder at a ByHeart supplier. The supplier wasn’t named. The tests also found links between samples from one of the infants involved in the outbreak and the whole milk powder, according to the CDC. (Edney and Nix, 1/23)

MassLive.com: Chocolate Sold Nationwide Recalled For Salmonella Risks: Throw Away, Return ASAP
The Food and Drug Administration is updating a nationwide chocolate recall to include several additional flavors potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Spring & Mulberry of North Carolina issued a voluntary recall earlier this month for Salmonella risks associated with its Mint Leaf chocolate.Now, the recall has been expanded to include Earl Grey, Lavender Rose, Mango Chili, Mixed Berry, Blueberry Fennel, Pecan Date and Pure Dark Minis. (Gagnon, 1/23)