First Edition: Monday, June 30, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400
In the early days of the West Texas measles outbreak, Thang Nguyen eyed the rising number of cases and worried. His 4-year-old son was at risk because he had received only the first of the vaccine’s two doses. So, in mid-March, he took his family to a primary care clinic at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. By the end of the visit, his son, Anh Hoang, had received one shot protecting against four illnesses — measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox. (Appleby, 6/30)

KFF Health News: In A First, Trump And GOP-Led Congress Prepare To Swell Ranks Of U.S. Uninsured
Last September, Alton Fry went to the doctor concerned he had high blood pressure. The trip would result in a prostate cancer diagnosis. So began the stress of trying to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in treatment — without health insurance. “I’ve never been sick in my life, so I’ve never needed insurance before,” said Fry, a 54-year-old self-employed masonry contractor who restores old buildings in the rural Appalachian community he’s called home nearly all his life. (Rayasam and Whitehead, 6/30)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Break Down Reconciliation Bill, Vaccine Panel Meeting, And 'Dobbs' Anniversary
KFF Health News senior correspondent Phil Galewitz discussed Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts on “CBS Morning News” on June 26. ... KFF Health News senior correspondent Arthur Allen discussed the first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel meeting under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on “CBS News 24/7” on June 25. (6/28)

MEDICAID AND THE GOP MEGABILL

The New York Times: Senate Version Of Trump’s Policy Bill Would Slash Medicaid Spending Even More
Republicans’ marquee domestic policy bill that is making its way through the Senate would result in deeper cuts and more Americans losing health insurance coverage than the original measure that passed the House last month, according to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. According to a report published late Saturday night, the legislation would mean 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034. Federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare would be reduced by more than $1.1 trillion over that period — with more than $1 trillion of those cuts coming from Medicaid alone. (Sanger-Katz, 6/29)

The Hill: Senate Proposal Boosts Rural Hospital Funding, Changes Medicaid Language
Senate Republican leaders substantially increased the size of a rural hospital relief fund and rewrote controversial language freezing health care provider taxes in a late-night bid to keep President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on track for a vote Saturday afternoon. Republican leaders increased the size of the proposed rural hospital relief fund from $15 billion to $25 billion, with the money to be distributed over five years. (Bolton, 6/28)

Politico: Thom Tillis Denounces GOP Megabill's Medicaid Cuts In Fiery Speech 
Hours after announcing his retirement, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis went to the Senate floor and slammed the GOP’s plans for drastic Medicaid cuts — warning Republicans they are about to “make a mistake on health care and betray a promise” if their sprawling domestic policy bill passes.“ It is inescapable this bill will betray the promise Donald Trump made,” Tillis said. “I’m telling the president that you have been misinformed. You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.” (McCarthy and Carney, 6/29)

Politico: 'We Don't Pay People In This Country To Be Lazy,' Mullin Says Of Medicaid Work Requirements 
Sen. Markwayne Mullin is insisting President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic megabill doesn’t break his promise not to cut Medicaid, even as the Congressional Budget Office estimates 7.8 million people would lose access if it passes. Instead, Mullin (R-Okla.) told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday, the “Big Beautiful Bill” is eliminating fraud, waste and abuse that Republicans say is rampant in the program. “What is so hard about having a work requirement there with someone that has no medical conditions and no dependents?” he said on “Meet the Press.” (Svirnovskiy, 6/29)

SUPREME COURT

Modern Healthcare: Health Industry Reacts To SCOTUS' ACA Preventive Care Ruling
Healthcare advocates, trade group leaders and elected government officials are applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold preventive services coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled Friday that insurers will still be required to cover preventive care, such as cancer screenings, at no cost to enrollees. (DeSilva, 6/27)

FUNDING AND RESEARCH CUTS

The Washington Post: DOGE Loses Control Of Process For Awarding Billions In Federal Funds 
The U.S. DOGE Service has lost the power to control the government’s process for awarding billions of dollars in federal funds, the latest sign of the team’s declining influence following Elon Musk’s high-profile exit from Washington, according to two people familiar with the situation and emails obtained by The Washington Post. Three months ago, DOGE employees wrested control of a key federal grants website, grants.gov, which serves as a clearinghouse for more than $500 billion in annual awards, The Post reported. For most of the program’s existence, federal agencies including the Defense Department posted their funding opportunities directly to the site, where thousands of outside organizations could see and apply for them — until April, when DOGE staffers changed the website’s permissions to give themselves power to review and approve all grants across the government. (Diamond and Natanson, 6/27)

Stat: France Woos U.S. Scientists Trying To Escape Funding Cuts 
When this city’s largest university launched a program earlier this year to offer U.S. scientists three-year postings, it didn’t take long for the applications to roll in. Within weeks, there were nearly 300. Those applications detailed researchers’ grants and publication records, but in the view of the president of the school, they also brought to life the very real fears American academics are facing as the Trump administration axes funding for scientific research in the United States. (Joseph, 6/30)

The Washington Post: In Sudan, Where Children Clung To Life, Doctors Say USAID Cuts Have Been Fatal 
The 3-year-old boy darted among the mourners, his giggles rising above the soft cadence of condolences. Women with somber faces and bright scarves hugged his weeping mother, patting her shoulders as she stooped to pick up her remaining son. Marwan didn’t yet know that his twin brother was dead. Omran shouldn’t have died, doctors said. The physician at his clinic outside the Sudanese capital said basic antibiotics probably would have cured his chest infection. The International Rescue Committee, which received a large amount of its funding from the United States, had been scheduled to deliver the medicines in February. Then the new U.S. administration froze foreign aid programs, and a stop-work order came down from Washington. (Houreld and Haroun, 6/29)

AP: Nations Are Meeting To Drum Up Trillions To Fight Poverty — But Not The US
Many of the world’s nations are gathering starting Monday in Spain for a high-level conference to tackle the growing gap between rich and poor nations and try to drum up trillions of dollars needed to close it. The United States, previously a major contributor, pulled its participation, so finding funding will be tough. The four-day Financing for Development meeting in the southern city of Seville is taking place as many countries face escalating debt burdens, declining investments, decreasing international aid and increasing trade barriers. (Wilson and Lederer, 6/30)

PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

Bloomberg: Trump Officials Met Walmart, Amazon On Direct Drug Sales
US health officials met with with Walmart Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other retailers [last] week as part of an effort to help Americans get their medicines more directly from companies that make them, according to people familiar with the talks. The conversations between the Trump administration and experts from the nascent straight-to-consumer drug industry are intended to explore streamlining the way Americans get their medicines and therefore lower costs, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. (Cohrs Zhang and Kang, 6/27)

MEDICARE

Modern Healthcare: CMMI To Add Prior Authorizations To Some Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will test a new model that adds prior authorization requirements to some services for traditional Medicare. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation unveiled the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction, or WISeR, demonstration Friday. (Tepper, 6/27)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Shield Of CA Cuts Some Medicare Advantage Commissions
Blue Shield of California will end commissions for new enrollments in some of its wider network Medicare Advantage plans next week. The nonprofit insurer will cease paying brokers who sign up new members in its preferred provider organization, or PPO, plans in Alameda, Orange and San Diego counties effective July 1, the company wrote in a notice to third-party sellers Thursday. “This was a difficult business decision but one we believe is necessary in the current climate,” the insurer said in the notice. (Tepper, 6/27)

North Carolina Health News: NC Senate Budget Slashes Senior Insurance Counseling Program
The North Carolina Senate proposed budget released in April would cut state funds for a popular program that helps seniors make better choices for their Medicare plans. For now, the program stands, as state lawmakers are at a standstill on budget negotiations and don’t expect to come to an agreement before the new fiscal year starts on July 1. (Vitaglione, 6/30) 

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Chicago Tribune: Evanston To Protect Privacy Of Abortion, Gender-Care Patients By Limiting License Plate Reader Tech
In response to reports of Texas officials using Mount Prospect’s automatic license plate reading (ALPR) technology to track a woman who traveled to Illinois for an abortion, Evanston officials passed an ordinance that would limit data sharing in similar cases to protect the privacy of individuals seeking sensitive healthcare procedures. (Requena, 6/27)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Murder Case Raises Questions About Fetal Personhood 
A North Texas man charged with capital murder this month after he allegedly slipped his girlfriend abortion-inducing medication and caused a miscarriage marks the first time a murder charge has been brought in an abortion-related case in Texas. The case tests a new method for reining in abortion pills — by threatening to prosecute individuals who provide them with the most severe criminal charge — while advancing the longstanding legal provision that defines an embryo as a person, legal experts say. The latter could raise serious implications about the legality of fertility treatments and in other legal realms such as criminal and immigration issues. (Yu and Betts, 6/30)

The Washington Post: Finding Viable Sperm In Infertile Men Can Take Days. AI Did It In Hours.
After 18 years of infertility, a couple could finally have a baby thanks to artificial intelligence. The father had a rare condition that left him with almost no detectable sperm. Then fertility specialists found a novel path to the mother’s pregnancy. A tiny camera captured millions of images in a semen sample. AI scoured them for viable sperm in hours — a process that might have otherwise taken days. The result was a speedy extraction of the sperm that could at last fertilize an egg. Researchers at the Columbia University Fertility Center say this procedure, conducted in March, amounts to the first-known use of AI-enabled conception using this particular technology. (Malhi, 6/27)

STATE WATCH

The Hill: NH Passes Bill Banning Trans Care For Minors
New Hampshire lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to bills that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the state, sending the measures to Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has not yet said whether she will sign them. State lawmakers voted to pass House Bill 377, which would prohibit doctors from administering puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth beginning next year. The measure includes a “grandfather clause” that would allow minors already receiving care to continue doing so even after the law takes effect. (Migdon, 6/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Weighs Cutting Off Funding For Hospitals That Offer Gender Treatments For Minors
The Trump administration is weighing cutting off funds to hospitals that it says provide gender-related treatments for children and teenagers, a move that would sharply escalate officials’ scrutiny of such programs. The potential for increased federal scrutiny on gender-related healthcare comes after a 30-day deadline passed Saturday for nine children’s hospitals to respond to letters from Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz. The former heart surgeon and television host demanded data related to sex-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers. (Essley Whyte, 6/30)

AP: California Legislature Approves Budget And Cuts Immigrant Health Access
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Friday a budget that pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark health care expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12 billion deficit. It’s the third year in a row the nation’s most populous state has been forced to slash funding or stop some of the programs championed by Democratic leaders. Lawmakers passed the budget earlier in the day following an agreement of a $321 billion spending plan between Newsom and Democratic leaders. But the whole budget will be void if lawmakers don’t send him legislation to make it easier to build housing by Monday. (Nguyễn, 6/28)

AP: Arizona Governor Caps Off Quarrelsome Legislative Session With Budget Approval
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed on Friday a bipartisan budget that boosts pay for first responders and increases spending on social services, capping a quarrelsome session of the Republican-led Legislature that brought the state to the brink of a government shutdown. (Govindarao, 6/28)

Central Florida Public Media: Florida Is The First State To Require That High School Student-Athletes Get Life-Saving EKGs 
A new Florida law taking effect Tuesday will mandate that all high school student-athletes take an electrocardiogram (EKG) before they can compete on school sports teams. The Second Chance Act is the first of its kind – Florida is the first and only state to require high school student-athletes to get at least one EKG. (Prieur, 6/29)

PUBLIC HEALTH

CIDRAP: WHO Adds XFG To SARS-CoV-2 Variants Under Monitoring
The World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) on June 25 added the XFG to its SARS-CoV-2 variants under monitoring (VUM) list, as global proportions increase rapidly. In its initial risk assessment, the experts said the public health risk is currently low. XFG is one of many offshoots of the JN.1 subvariant, and the earliest sample was collected at the end of January. (Schnirring, 6/27)

CIDRAP: World Leaders Pledge $9 Billion To Support Gavi's Vaccine Initiatives
In the wake of US defunding of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, world leaders this week at the "Health and Prosperity through Immunisation" global summit in Brussels pledged €7.7 billion ($9 billion US) to support the group, according to a joint press release posted by the European Commission (EC). Gavi's target budget for 2026 through 2030 is €10.2 billion ($12 billion). (Wappes, 6/27)

The New York Times: How Might Jell-O Look And Taste When Artificial Dyes Are Removed? 
Turning wobbly blobs of clear gelatin red or orange using natural ingredients takes beet juice and a touch of annatto from the seeds of a tropical tree. But making gelatin green? That one is difficult for Simple Mixes, a company that makes naturally flavored and colored gelatin. Its founder, Malathy Nair, uses a blend of yellow turmeric extract with spirulina, an extract from algae that produces shades of green and blue. (Creswell, 6/29)