First Edition: Monday, March 2, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts
Families of Idahoans with disabilities say their lives could be upended as lawmakers in the state’s Republican-dominated legislature mull sweeping cuts. Services at risk include the 24/7 care that allows a 39-year-old with cerebral palsy to live independently; the in-home caregiving that lets a 26-year-old with brain damage from a hemorrhage at birth stay in his family home; and private duty nursing for a 19-year-old with cerebral palsy who has qualified for hospice care for complications including pulmonary decline from a spinal cord injury. (Sable-Smith, 3/2)

KFF Health News: Medicaid Is Paying For More Dental Care. GOP Cuts Threaten To Reverse The Trend
Star Quinn moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, in 2023, the same year the state began covering dental costs for about 600,000 low-income adults enrolled in Medicaid. But when Quinn chipped a tooth and it became infected, she could not find a dentist near her home who would accept her government health coverage and was taking new patients. She went to an emergency room, receiving painkillers and antibiotics, but she remained in agonizing pain weeks later and paid a dentist $200 to extract the tooth. (Galewitz, 3/2)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: ICE, ALS, Addiction Medicine, And Robotic Ultrasounds: Journalists Sound Off On All That And More
KFF Health News Southern California correspondent Claudia Boyd-Barrett discussed how family members and lawyers of those in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody are struggling to find them in California hospitals on CapRadio’s Insight With Vicki Gonzalez on Feb. 25. (2/28)

RFK JR. AND VACCINES

Stat: Kennedy Announces New Vaccine Advisory Committee Members After Meeting Rescheduled
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced two new members of his handpicked panel of vaccine advisers on Friday, ahead of a meeting rescheduled for March. Kennedy said in a statement that Sean G. Downing, a primary care doctor licensed in Florida, and Angelina Farella, a pediatrician in Texas, would join the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group that advises the federal government on which vaccines to recommend to the public. (Cirruzzo, 2/27)

NPR: 'One Year Of Failure.' The Lancet Slams RFK Jr.’s First Year As Health Chief
One of the world's leading medical journals has issued a scathing rebuke of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to mark his first year leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The editorial — titled "Robert F. Kennedy Jr: 1 year of failure" — appears in the latest issue of the Lancet. (Stone, 2/28)

CIDRAP: WHO Updates All 3 Viral Strains To Be Included In Fall Flu Shots
The World Health Organization (WHO) today recommended that vaccine manufacturers completely change the three viral strains included in the vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere’s next influenza season. As expected, the WHO recommended that vaccines for the next flu season includes a new variant of the influenza virus that started to increase last fall—too late for it to be included in this winter’s flu vaccines. Using current vaccine manufacturing technology, companies need at least six months’ prep time to produce flu shots in time for immunization campaigns beginning in the late summer or early fall. (Szabo, 2/27)

CIDRAP: European Regulators Recommend Approval Of Combined MRNA Vaccine For Flu And COVID
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) today said it’s recommending marketing authorization for mCombriax, Moderna’s combined mRNA vaccine for protecting older adults against COVID-19 and flu. The recommendation was made by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, which looked at data from a phase 3 trial involving 8,000 participants aged 50 and older. (Dall, 2/27)

'MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN'

The Hill: RFK Jr. Suggests Buying Liver Or 'Cheap Cuts' Instead Of Steak
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday suggested people eat liver or “cheap cuts” in response to the high cost of beef. “This is true all over the country. There’s a lot of good food in grocery stores that goes away. Most of the cheap cuts of meat are very inexpensive,” Kennedy said at an event hosted by MAHA Action, a political action committee dedicated to supporting the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. “If you buy, you know, a porterhouse steak, it’s going to, it is going to take you back. You can buy liver or the cheaper cuts of steak that are very, very affordable,” he added. (Choi, 2/27)

The Hill: Kennedy Addresses Glyphosate Concerns With Joe Rogan
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview that aired Friday that President Trump’s order bolstering the controversial herbicide glyphosate was “not something that I was particularly happy with.” Kennedy’s remarks to podcaster Joe Rogan departed somewhat from his previous defense of Trump’s move — though the Health secretary also expressed sympathy for the president’s position. (Frazin, 2/27)

SURGEON GENERAL CONFIRMATION HEARING

The Hill: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski Undecided On Trump Surgeon General Pick Casey Means
President Trump’s choice to serve as surgeon general has not cobbled together enough votes to win confirmation as a pair of centrist Senate Republicans have yet to give her their support. Casey Means, the nominee for the position, is facing an uphill climb to make it through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee after an at-times contentious confirmation hearing Wednesday. (Weaver, 2/27)

MEDICAID

AP: Medicaid Work Mandates Are Forcing States To Spend Millions On New Technology
To receive Medicaid health coverage, some adults will soon have to show they are working, volunteering or taking classes. But to gather that proof, many states first will have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer systems. Across the nation, states face an immense task and high costs to prepare for the Jan. 1 kickoff of new Medicaid eligibility mandates affecting millions of lower-income adults in the government-funded health care program. (Lieb, 3/1)

Stat: Federal Medicaid Audit Finds Massive Overpayment For Autism Therapy In Colorado 
For the fourth time, federal auditors have turned up improper or potentially improper Medicaid payments in every sample of autism therapy records they audited. This report, focused on Colorado, yielded the highest improper payment amount yet. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General uncovered $285.2 million in improper and potentially improper payments in 2022 and 2023 to clinicians who provide a popular form of autism therapy called applied behavior analysis, or ABA. The payments, administered under Colorado’s Medicaid program, come from the state and federal governments. (Bannow, 3/2)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Urges CMS To Cut Red Tape For Medicaid Fraud Crackdowns
Centene is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to empower insurers to take matters of potential fraud into their own hands. The Medicaid market leader suggested seven possible reforms to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a Wednesday letter, advocating for the agency to ease a “complex web of regulations.” (Tong, 2/27)

The Hill: JD Vance's Helming Of Donald Trump's War On Fraud A Risk For GOP, Experts Warn
Vice President Vance began his new role leading the Trump administration’s war on fraud with a bang this week by announcing a nearly $260 million moratorium on Medicaid funding for Minnesota. Strategists on both sides of the political spectrum say the campaign carries risks for the administration as it seeks to move on from the deadly immigration campaign in the state earlier this year. Maddie Twomey, communications director for the Democratic-aligned health advocacy group Protect Our Care, said attacking health care is rarely a politically sound move. (Choi, 3/1)

SUPREME COURT

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

CNN: Hospitals Are Making Cuts After ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ Fueling Democrats’ Midterm Attacks 
In northeast Georgia, a hospital closed its maternity ward. In rural New Hampshire, a community health center shuttered. And in Iowa, a Des Moines hospital system laid off dozens of employees and closed a clinic. All these providers cited President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda package, which slashed more than $1 trillion in federal support for health care, as a factor in their decisions. (Wright and Luhby, 3/2)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Group Limits Employees’ Raises To 2% This Year
UnitedHealth Group Inc. limited employees’ raises this year to between 0% and 2%, based on performance, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meager compensation increase comes as the company recently told an unspecified number of workers they were being laid off, the person said, asking for anonymity because the matter is private. A UnitedHealth representative declined to comment. (Tozzi, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Closes $239M BrightSpring Home Health Deal
BrightSpring Health Services said Friday it had completed a $238.5 million deal to acquire 107 home health and hospice locations from UnitedHealth Group. BrightSpring closed the acquisition in December but disclosed the purchase this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company provides home health, hospice, in-home pharmacy and infusion services across 50 states. (Eastabrook, 2/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Planned Parenthood Wants You To Get Your Botox At Its Clinic
Inside an exam room at this bustling Planned Parenthood center, a clinician prepared six syringes. “I don’t want to look frozen,” said patient Nasim Adeli, a 34-year-old program manager. The aesthetics program director told Adeli to smile big before pressing a needle of Botox into the skin around her outer eye. “Now, relax.” Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the largest affiliate of the national abortion provider, is overhauling its business model with a slate of new services. (Calfas, 3/1)

AP: Feds Won't Appeal Ruling Barring Death Penalty In Luigi Mangione Case
Federal prosecutors said Friday they won’t appeal a judge’s ruling that bars them from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In a letter, Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley told Judge Margaret Garnett that the government will not ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse her decision, clearing the way for a trial beginning in September. His state murder trial is set to start in June. (Sisak, 2/27)

THE EPSTEIN FILES

Bloomberg: Mount Sinai Forms Committee To Review Epstein’s Ties To Hospital
The Mount Sinai Health System has formed a committee to review its yearslong ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the institution before his death. The group will be convened as an ad hoc committee of the board of trustees, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing non-public information. (Gordon, 2/27)

The New York Times: Elite Doctors Served Jeffrey Epstein While Treating His ‘Girls’
A plastic surgeon from Mount Sinai closed a young woman’s head wound with 35 stitches on Jeffrey Epstein’s dining room table. An internist in West Palm Beach ordered a blood test for another woman, then reported the abnormal results back to Mr. Epstein. A dentist at Columbia University asked Mr. Epstein how much work he wanted done on a “girl” with severe tooth decay. (Fahrenthold, Ghorayshi and Astor, 2/28)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: Large Hospitals Dominate 340B Drug Discount Program, Per Report 
Minnesota hospitals and clinics participating in a controversial U.S. drug discount program reaped at least $1.34 billion in revenue in 2024, and the largest institutions were the biggest beneficiaries, according to a report from the state Department of Health. Specifically, hospitals and clinics received $3.045 billion in discounted medicines under the 340B Drug Pricing Program, but paid $1.53 billion plus another $165 million to various parties for administration fees. Meanwhile, the largest hospitals received more than $1 billion, representing 80% of the total revenue collected. (Silverman, 2/27)

MedPage Today: GLP-1 Drugs Tied To Unexpected Migraine Benefits
Chronic migraine patients who used GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat conditions like obesity or diabetes had fewer emergency department (ED) visits than those on topiramate (Topamax), a real-world data analysis showed. (George, 3/1)

AP: Sanofi Sleeping Sickness Pill Wins Endorsement From Science Panel
European drug regulators on Friday endorsed a new and simpler treatment for sleeping sickness, in what could be a giant boost to efforts to eliminate the disease. A European Medicines Agency committee gave its nod to acoziborole, made by Sanofi. The decision is seen as a crucial step to making the medicine available in Congo, the country with the most sleeping sickness cases, and paving the way for its use in other African countries. The product’s proponents say three of the pills, taken together as a one-time dose, are an easier and far more accessible treatment than current regimens, which can require arduous trips to hospitals. (Stobbe, 2/27)

STATE WATCH

CNN: Austin Mass Shooting May Have Been Motivated By Iran Strikes, Officials Say. Here’s What We Know
In the early hours of Sunday morning, as a bar in a busy nightlife district of Austin, Texas, prepared to close for the night, patrons and staff were startled by the sound of gunshots. Armed with a pistol and a rifle, a man opened fire from outside the venue on the city’s bustling Sixth Street, killing two people and wounding 14 others, according to the Austin Police Department and the FBI’s San Antonio Division. It’s among at least 56 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (Mujsa and Park, 3/2)

ABC News: Florida Department Of Health Cuts To HIV, AIDS Program Enacted As Thousands Risk Losing Access
An emergency rule from the Florida Department of Health went into effect on Sunday that could restrict tens of thousands of people from accessing HIV medication. The state issued cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a federal-state partnership that provides free FDA-approved HIV medication for low-income, uninsured or underinsured people. Under the emergency rule, eligibility for ADAP was lowered to include those at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, which equals about $20,345 per year for a one-person household, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (Kekatos, 3/1)

Mirror Indy: Lawmakers Add ID Requirement To Indiana’s Needle Exchanges
Lawmakers will require people to show IDs to use Indiana’s needle exchange programs under legislation heading to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk. Senate Bill 91 also extends the program for another five years. Previously, a person could anonymously swap used needles for clean ones at approved sites in six counties. The programs are credited with curbing bloodborne infections across the state, including HIV and hepatitis C cases. (Molloy, 2/27)

AP: Black Fathers Train As Doulas To Help Address Racial Disparities In Maternal Health
Cradling his newborn daughter in his lap in their Indianapolis home, JaKobi Burton’s love for the new lady in his life is evident with each caress. The first-time dad’s commitment started months earlier. Burton attended every medical appointment and took classes with Dads to Doulas, a program created by the organization Dear Fathers that teaches Black fathers-to-be how to provide physical, mental and spiritual support up to and after childbirth. (Tang and Lamy, 2/27)

PUBLIC HEALTH

MedPage Today: Substantial HIV Prevalence In U.S. Teens With Syphilis, But Cases Are Declining
An estimated one in 12 U.S. adolescents with early syphilis also have HIV in a national surveillance sample, but the burden of co-occurring syphilis and HIV in teens is decreasing, according to a study. (Haelle, 3/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: That Pricey Sunscreen May Be Costing You Protection, Study Says
With springlike warmth returning to the Bay Area, people may be stocking up on sunscreen — and new research suggests cheaper may actually be better. A year’s worth of sunscreen can cost as little as $40 or as much as $1,400, according to a new study from UCSF dermatologists that encourages consumers to get inexpensive sunscreen — which may prompt people to use more of it. (Ho, 2/28)

GLOBAL WATCH

CNN: Taliban Allows Men To Beat Their Wives As Long As They Don’t Break Bones Or Leave Open Wounds
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have issued a draconian decree that makes sodomy punishable by death and allows men to beat their wives so long as they don’t break bones or leave visible, lasting wounds. Human rights campaigners have decried the move as “devastating” and warned that women’s recourse to justice would be further curtailed. The decree was issued last month but has only recently come to international attention after it was leaked to the Afghan rights group Rawadari, which published it in the original Pashto. The Afghanistan Analysts Network then translated the document into English. (Krever and Yeung, 3/2)