First Edition: Monday, May 5, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Trump Team’s $500 Million Bet On Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists
The Trump administration’s unprecedented $500 million grant for a broadly protective flu shot has confounded vaccine and pandemic preparedness experts, who said the project was in early stages, relied on old technology, and was just one of more than 200 such efforts. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted the money from a pandemic preparedness fund to a vaccine development program led by two scientists whom the administration recently named to senior positions at the National Institutes of Health. (Allen, 5/5)

KFF Health News: Alabama Can’t Prosecute Groups Helping Patients Get Abortions Elsewhere, Judge Rules
Reproductive rights groups in Alabama wasted no time resuming their work after a federal judge ruled in early April that the state’s attorney general can’t prosecute — or threaten to prosecute — people or organizations who help Alabama residents seek an abortion by traveling to another state. One of the plaintiffs, the reproductive justice nonprofit Yellowhammer Fund, wasted no time in returning to one of its core missions: to provide financial support to traveling patients. (Hawkins, 5/5)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: Why ‘The Pitt’ Is Our Fave New Drama - KFF Health News
People who work in real-life emergency rooms have raved about how the new TV drama “The Pitt” accurately captures the complex dynamics of their workplaces and the medical details of their cases. Host Dan Weissmann talks with Alex Janke, an emergency medicine doctor and health policy researcher, about how the show stacks up against his experiences in the ER. They also discuss its depictions of the financial forces that shape day-to-day problems inside ERs. (Weissmann, 5/5)

KFF Health News: In Reversal, FDA Rehires Staff Tasked With Releasing Public Records
The FDA has rehired at least some workers tasked with releasing public records generated by the agency’s regulatory activities, two employees said. The recall reverses firings carried out roughly a month ago by the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency. Workers who process records about medical device and tobacco regulation under the Freedom of Information Act received notices from an FDA official May 1 that they were no longer being fired as part of the department’s mass layoffs, according to the employees and documents reviewed by KFF Health News. (Pradhan, 5/2)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Explore Medicaid Work Rules, CDC Layoffs, And RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' Mission
KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani gave an update on how Ohio is using its opioid settlement funds on WOSU Public Media’s “All Sides with Amy Juravich” on April 30. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the future of the Affordable Care Act on April 23, for C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” She also discussed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” tour on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on April 15. (5/3)

FUNDING AND RESEARCH CUTS

Stat: Trump Proposes Billions In Cuts To Federal Health Agencies From NIH To CDC
President Trump on Friday proposed massive cuts to the federal government’s health agencies in his 2026 budget request, arguing that Congress should reduce spending by tens of billions from current levels. The request would be a 26% cut to the Department of Health and Human Services’ discretionary budget, which doesn’t include spending on health coverage programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which starts in October, is a request to Congress and is rarely passed without major changes. (Payne, 5/2)

AP: Cuts Have Eliminated More Than A Dozen US Government Health-Tracking Programs
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s motto is “ Make America Healthy Again,” but government cuts could make it harder to know if that’s happening. More than a dozen data-gathering programs that track deaths and disease appear to have been eliminated in the tornado of layoffs and proposed budget cuts rolled out in the Trump administration’s first 100 days. ... Among those terminated at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were experts tracking abortions, pregnancies, job-related injuries, lead poisonings, sexual violence and youth smoking, the AP found. (Stobbe, 5/4)

CBS News: Worker Safety Agency NIOSH Lays Off Most Remaining Staff
Nearly all of the remaining staff at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health were laid off Friday, multiple officials and laid-off employees told CBS News, gutting programs ranging from approvals of new safety equipment to firefighter health. Much of the work at NIOSH, an arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had already stalled after an initial round of layoffs on April 1 at the agency ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Tin, 5/3)

Politico: More Than 15,000 USDA Employees Take Trump's Offer To Resign
At least 15,000 Agriculture Department employees have taken the Trump administration’s offers to resign, according to a readout of a USDA briefing with congressional staff that was shared with POLITICO. The departures represent a drastic contraction of a department that handles a diverse portfolio including flagship federal nutrition programs, food safety, farm loans and rural broadband initiatives. (Brown, 5/3)

ABC News: CDC Allegedly Cancels Emory's HIV Self-Testing Program After Not Enough Workers Left To Oversee It
A local HIV program has allegedly been canceled as a result of funding cuts, firings and layoffs that have recently hit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a program lead. On April 22, the federal health agency informed Emory University in Atlanta that its large HIV self-testing program, called Together TakeMeHome, was being canceled two years early. (Kekatos, 5/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Guaranteed Income Study Halted By Trump Cuts Before It Concluded
Tremon Chandler, a 25-year-old from Ohio, moved to San Francisco four years ago with $3,000 in his pocket to chase his dream of becoming a rapper. Quickly realizing his savings would not go far in California, he slept in his car and crashed with a co-worker before finding housing. But life stabilized when Chandler enrolled as a participant in the Black Economic Equity Movement, a clinical trial run by UCSF, which aimed to measure the impact of guaranteed income on local Black young adults. (Bauman and Lee, 5/4)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Slashes Research Into L.G.B.T.Q. Health
In keeping with its deep opposition to both diversity programs and gender-affirming care for adolescents, the administration has worked aggressively to root out research touching on equity measures and transgender health. But its crackdown has reverberated far beyond those issues, eliminating swaths of medical research on diseases that disproportionately afflict L.G.B.T.Q. people, a group that comprises nearly 10 percent of American adults. (Mueller, 5/4)

The New York Times: V.A. Mental Health Care Staff, Crowded into Federal Buildings, Raise Patient Privacy Alarms
In a Boston V.A. hospital, six social workers are conducting phone and telehealth visits with veterans from a single, crowded room, clinicians say. In Kansas City, providers are planning patient care while facing each other across narrow, cafeteria-style tables in a large, open space, according to staff members. ... The cramped conditions are the result of President Trump’s decision to rescind remote work arrangements for federal employees, reversing a policy that at the V.A. long predated the pandemic. (Barry and Nehamas, 5/4)

TARIFFS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: MilliporeSigma To Add Tariff Surcharges On Products Shipped To The U.S.
MilliporeSigma, one of the largest suppliers of medical research products, will start adding a temporary tariff surcharge to all product orders shipped to the United States. (Silverman, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: Tariffs Force Cardinal Health, Intuitive Surgical To Adapt
Major medtech companies are wasting no time implementing strategies — ranging from moving production to stocking up on inventory — to mitigate the big blow each of them expects from tariffs. Raising prices to the hospitals and health systems they sell to is viewed as a last resort, executives said during recent quarterly earnings calls. (Dubinsky, 5/2)

MEDICAID

Bloomberg: Trump Seeks To Lower Drugmakers’ Medicaid Prices To Pay For Tax Cuts
President Donald Trump has set his sights on the pharmaceutical industry to shoulder part of the cost of his tax cuts, pressing congressional Republicans to force drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions covered by Medicaid. Trump asked House Republicans to mandate the government health program for low-income and disabled Americans get the lowest price for drugs that certain foreign countries are charged, the White House confirmed in an email to Bloomberg. (Cohrs Zhang, 5/2)

The 19th: With Medicaid Cuts, Republicans Target Men In The Name Of Protecting Women
As House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to sell massive Medicaid cuts, he is leaning on a messaging strategy straight from the White House playbook: a policy in the name of protecting women. But while the Republican lawmaker claims he’s targeting men who are allegedly freeloading off of the program, the changes could be detrimental to the very people he says he wants to protect. (Rodriguez, 5/2)

Stat: Hospitals, Doctors, Patients Push Back On Medicaid Cuts 
Hospitals, health centers, and patient advocates this week plan to escalate their pressure on federal lawmakers to oppose cuts to the Medicaid program. The groups are increasing their public calls to lawmakers, standing up new collaborations, and increasing investments in advertising to discourage lawmakers from cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in the program. (Payne, 5/5)

MORE FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Washington Post: Trump Says He Will Reopen Alcatraz As A Federal Prison
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has ordered several agencies to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, an infamous federal penitentiary that closed in the 1960s and has since become a popular tourist destination. Built on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz opened in 1934 as a “maximum-security, minimum-privilege” facility dedicated to holding the “most incorrigible inmates,” according to the Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners had only four rights: food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Everything beyond that — family visits, correspondence, access to books or recreational activities — was treated as a privilege to be earned, the Prisons Bureau website says. (Masih, 5/5)

The Washington Post: As Trump Rushes To Deport Migrants, Many Worry Children’s Rights Are Being Violated
The administration has fast-tracked deportations via executive orders and escalated gang accusations against immigrants, often with scant evidence or formal charges — and in some cases, experts say, prioritizing their deportation even if it means separating families and eroding parental rights. (Foster-Frau, 5/3)

Politico: Trump Asks Supreme Court To Let DOGE Access Sensitive Social Security Data
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing sensitive personal information about millions of Americans. Solicitor General John Sauer argued in an emergency appeal that DOGE has a legitimate need to access the data in order to advise the White House and federal agencies on updating technology and eliminating waste and fraud. (Ali Kanu, 5/2)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

The Washington Post: U.S. Preparedness Agency Hires Scientist Who Pushed Failed Covid Drug
Steven J. Hatfill, a virologist and White House adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term who pushed hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus despite what most researchers said was a lack of scientific evidence, has joined the second Trump administration in a senior role at the Department of Health and Human Services. Hatfill will begin his second week Monday as special adviser in the director’s office at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, a small agency responsible for preparing the U.S. for disasters such as pandemics and biological and chemical attacks. (Sun, Rein and Johnson, 5/4)

CIDRAP: HHS, NIH Announce Universal Vaccine Platform, Promote Placebo Trials For New Vaccines
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health  (NIH) today announced a next-generation, universal vaccine platform called Generation Gold Standard, using a beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated, whole-virus platform. “Generation Gold Standard is a paradigm shift,” said NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, in a press release. “It extends vaccine protection beyond strain-specific limits and prepares for flu viral threats – not just today’s, but tomorrow’s as well – using traditional vaccine technology brought into the 21st century.” (Soucheray, 5/2)

CBS News: Weekly Measles Cases Hit New Record Amid Worst Outbreak Since 1990s
Weekly measles cases have set a new record, according to figures published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, topping the peak of an outbreak in 2019 that ranked as the worst since the 1990s. The number of cases that had their symptoms start during the week of March 30 has grown to 111, according to the agency's latest update. Authorities backdate newly reported measles cases based on when their rash began, to account for delays in reporting and diagnosis. (Tin, 5/2)

AP: CDC Reports 216 Child Deaths This Flu Season, The Most In 15 Years
More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It’s the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic. It’s a startlingly high number, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn’t counted until autumn. (Stobbe, 5/2

AP: A Community Rallied To Share Flu Shot Experiences. Then The Government Stopped The Study
Some Denver parents got texts during this winter’s brutal flu season with videos sharing why people in their neighborhoods chose flu shots for their kids, an unusual study about trust and vaccines in a historically Black community. But no one will know how it worked out: The Trump administration canceled the project before the data could be analyzed -- and researchers aren’t the only ones upset. (Neergaard, 5/3)

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Modern Healthcare: Why HCA, Tenet, UHS Are Seeing More ACA Exchange Patients
Big for-profit health systems are seeing double-digit growth in exchange volumes, signaling a larger industry trend as the number of enrollees balloons to record highs. At least 24.2 million people purchased insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange marketplaces during open enrollment for 2025, beating the record 21.3 million people in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The increase is showing up in health systems' latest financial reports and catching interest from analysts on first-quarter earnings calls, largely due to continued uncertainty surrounding ACA subsidies. (Hudson, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: What Aetna's Exchange Exit Means For The ACA Market
Aetna's decision to exit the health insurance exchanges next year seems to say more about the CVS Health subsidiary than it does about the marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act of 2010. “It's never a good thing when you have an insurer pulling out of 'Obamacare,' but we haven't heard other companies talk about scaling back,” said Duane Wright, a senior research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, a market research firm. (Tepper, 5/2)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth, Amedisys To Sell Home Health, Hospice Locations
UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys have agreed to sell certain home health and hospice locations to BrightSpring Health Services and The Pennant Group to help mitigate antitrust concerns over the insurer’s planned acquisition of Amedisys. Amedisys disclosed the proposed divestitures in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, but the company did not include the number of locations the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based home care provider or UnitedHealth Group plan to sell or the financial terms. (Eastabrook, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: Google's Karen DeSalvo To Retire
Dr. Karen DeSalvo is leaving Google after more than five years as the company's first chief health officer. DeSalvo in a Friday LinkedIn post said she is departing Google this summer. She will retire after nearly 35 years in various healthcare leadership roles, including a stint as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under President Barack Obama. (Perna, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: GE HealthCare's AI Tool For MRI Images Cleared By FDA
GE HealthCare said Friday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its artificial intelligence tool that uses deep learning to outline organs at risk in MRI images and help improve radiation therapy planning. MR Contour DL can outline 37 organs and structures in the head-neck and pelvic areas. The process previously had to be done manually. (Dubinsky, 5/2)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Chapters Sue Over Ten Pregnancy Prevention Program Restrictions
Planned Parenthood chapters across several states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging new terms that would hinder their continued participation in a long-standing program aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified recipients of national Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) funds on March 31 that to continue in the program they must show they are in “alignment with current Presidential Executive Orders,” according to the lawsuit. (Crisp, 5/2)

The Washington Post: More Babies Are Being Admitted To NICUs 
Nearly 10 percent of infants were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit in the United States in 2023, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, a 13 percent increase from admissions in 2016.The report drew on birth certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System, which includes detailed demographic and health information on mothers and infants for all U.S. births each year. (McMahan, 5/5)

STATE WATCH

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mega Clinic Will Provide Free Health Services Over Four Days At America’s Center In St. Louis
America’s Center downtown will be turned into a massive health clinic next week, offering free medical, vision and dental care to whoever needs it, including those without insurance. More than 1,800 health care professionals and volunteers will be able to care for up to 1,200 people a day, starting at 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday, organizers say. Care will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and the clinic will close each day when capacity is reached. (Munz, 5/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Breast Cancer Memorial In Golden Gate Park First Of Its Kind In Nation
Vanessa Onsurez of Santa Cruz is fatigued and in pain from treatment for metastatic breast cancer, but she wasn’t going to miss the opening of the first permanent memorial in the country dedicated to lives lost to the disease. So Sunday morning, she was sitting cross legged on cold concrete in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, with no place she would rather be than the Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden, a $1 million monument dedicated to all people who have died of breast cancer with an emphasis on those who were under age 45 when diagnosed with the disease. (Whiting, 5/4)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

The Washington Post: Cinnamon Might Affect Some Prescription Meds’ Effectiveness, Study Finds
“Overconsumption” of cinnamon could interfere with some medications, a recent study suggests. Published in Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences, the study cited a lack of scientific data on cinnamon’s effects on human metabolism and questions about how the spice interacts with medications. The study did not specify what amount equates to overconsumption but noted that while limited consumption could have health benefits, prolonged use might raise the risk of drug interactions. (Blakemore, 5/4)

NBC News: Stomach Cancer Being Diagnosed Earlier, As Cases Rise Among Younger People
Doctors are increasingly detecting stomach tumors at an early stage, raising hopes for lifesaving treatment for one of the deadliest types of cancer. Stomach cancer, the disease that killed country music star Toby Keith last year, is typically difficult to catch early and tends to be discovered at an advanced stage when cancer cells have spread, researchers reported Saturday at Digestive Disease Week, a major international conference for doctors and researchers in gastroenterology, liver diseases and endoscopy. (Carroll, 5/3)

The Guardian: People With Coeliac Disease Should Not Fear Kissing Gluten-Eaters, Say Scientists
People with coeliac disease can kiss gluten-eaters without concerns for their health, researchers have said after finding only trivial amounts of the protein are transferred during a french kiss. About 1% of people around the world are thought to have coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, although many do not have a clinical diagnosis. (Davis, 5/5)

CNN: 1 In 5 Adults Forget Or Choose Not To Wash Their Hands 
Some Americans are still not doing their due diligence when it comes to washing their hands. That’s according to a new survey that found nearly half of its respondents forget or choose not to wash their hands at key times, such as after visiting grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and health care settings including a doctor’s office or hospital. (Rogers, 5/5)