Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Monday, Oct. 19, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: GOP Focuses On Fraud, Seeking To Redirect Voters’ Ire Over Healthcare Costs
Heading into the midterm elections, high healthcare costs rank among voters’ biggest concerns. But lately, there’s a twist giving the issue new momentum on campaign agendas: a focus on fraud in government health programs. The administration of President Donald Trump has used claims of widespread wrongdoing to justify investigations, suspensions of billions of dollars in payments to states, and the cancellation of Affordable Care Act health coverage for hundreds of thousands of people. (Armour, 10/19)
KFF Health News: Four Red Flags And One Truth Amid The Peptide Hype
Experimental peptides have become darlings among influencers, chiropractors, and doctors focused on longevity, antiaging, or “body optimization,” even though the FDA hasn’t approved them for safety or effectiveness. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement have pushed to make unproven peptides more accessible — and they’ve gained traction. (Maxmen, 10/19)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘Letters To The Editor’: Readers Are Pleading To Make American Healthcare Greater
Why doesn’t world-class medicine produce world-class health? Hayat Norimine’s reporting gets at something that has bothered me for a long time about American healthcare (Priced Out: “As Health Insurance Costs Soar, Healthcare Workers Also Feel the Pinch,” Sept. 22). We are very proud of U.S. medicine, and we should be. We are at the forefront of new treatments, our clinician workforce is unmatched, and we deploy technologies that seemed impossible just a few years ago. Yet we are in the middle of the pack compared with other countries, in terms of healthy lifespan and many markers of quality care.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The New York Times: N.I.H. Hospital Board Rebukes Kennedy Over New Vaccine Injury Clinic
The board overseeing the National Institutes of Health research hospital delivered a harsh rebuke of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday, voting unanimously to support a statement by its chairman accusing Mr. Kennedy of undermining trust in science and politicizing the hospital’s work. The chairman, Jack Leslie, opened the board’s quarterly meeting by reading aloud a six-minute statement that said he was “troubled” by Mr. Kennedy’s recent unannounced visit to the N.I.H., where the secretary held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new clinic to study vaccine injuries and led a round table discussion with patients who said they had been injured by vaccines. (Gay Stolberg, 10/16)
New Hampshire Bulletin: In Concord, RFK Jr. Renews Attack On Hep B Vaccine That Inspired State Anti-Vaccine Bill
In a visit to Concord Friday, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cast doubt on the safety of the hepatitis B vaccine but wouldn’t comment on state legislation in New Hampshire that his agency inspired. (Skipworth, 10/18)
The Texas Tribune: Migrant Found Dead At Laredo Processing Center Run By ICE
A 56-year-old Mexican man held at a federal immigration facility in Laredo was found dead in his cell Saturday morning, his daughter and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, confirmed to The Texas Tribune. (Deguzman and Nguyen, 10/18)
MEDICARE AND MEDICAID
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Medicare Advantage Provider Directory, PBM Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to shed new light on the operations of Medicare Advantage insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers. The agency on Friday proposed a rule that would codify portions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. (Tepper, 10/16)
NBC News: Some Medicare Enrollees Could Pay Hundreds Of Dollars More In Premiums Next Year
Older adults shopping for Medicare coverage this fall could be in for some sticker shock: Premiums for some Part D prescription drug plans are rising by $50 or more a month next year, adding at least $600 to what people pay annually if they stick with their current coverage. (Lovelace Jr., 10/17)
The Guardian: Some Conservative States Aren’t Using Medicaid Hardship Exemption – For Political Reasons
Some conservative states that have rejected hardship exemptions for the new Medicaid requirements may be choosing not to due to political reasons, experts say. New federal work requirements for Medicaid, slated to come into effect on 1 January, mean that adults enrolled through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion will have to work, attend school, volunteer, or take part in another qualifying activity at least 80 hours a month to maintain their coverage. (Thomas, 10/18)
The CT Mirror: CT Kids With Medicaid Coverage Can Face Long Waits For Eye Care
Cassidy Friedl remembers like a vivid dream the day her son Luca was born. She held him tight to her chest, hesitant to let go even when he needed to get weighed. She gazed at him in disbelief, taking in his chubby cheeks, big lips and orange hair that would eventually soften to strawberry blond. A few months later, Friedl began noticing something else about Luca. One of his eyes would sometimes drift inward. (Golvala, 10/18)
CalMatters: Medi-Cal Fraud: A State Report Says California Isn’t Doing Enough
Is California doing enough to curtail Medi-Cal fraud? The state auditor doesn’t think so. A report released Thursday by Grant Parks, the state auditor, suggests the Department of Health Care Services is ill-equipped to stop pervasive abuse in Medi-Cal, a program that serves about 14 million Californians and pays out $200 billion annually. (Wiener, 10/16)
The New York Times: At A Last-Hope Health Clinic, Desperation, Kindness And Fear For What’s Next
Full Circle Health, where Dr. Hershman practices family medicine, has long been a last-hope safety net in the American health system. It is one of 1,400 networks known as federally qualified health centers with thousands of sites that receive federal funds to care for patients regardless of their ability to pay. Now their caseloads are growing, even as revenues are falling. With cuts to Medicaid mounting and the cost of Obamacare insurance plans soaring, the clinic’s doctors and counselors are going to new lengths to patch together care for people with complex medical issues who are underinsured and uninsured. (Hoffman, 10/19)
OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
The New York Times: Kenya Confirms Four New Ebola Cases
Kenya confirmed four new cases of Ebola on Saturday, as the country’s Health Ministry sought to assuage fears that the virus could spread among the public at large. The new infections, which bring the total in Kenya to seven, come days after the country announced its first-ever Ebola case on Oct. 6. A relative of the first patient and three health workers who treated him are among those infected, the Health Ministry said. (Baskar and Otieno, 10/17)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
NC Health News and Charlotte Ledger: Atrium Announces New Behavioral Health Hospital In Charlotte
It’s one of several recent projects that aims to address the state’s shortage of psychiatric beds. (Crouch, 10/17)
WUSF: BayCare Opens Proton Therapy Center At St. Joseph’s Hospital
BayCare has opened a $33 million proton therapy center at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, adding another option for cancer patients in the Tampa Bay region who need the radiation treatment. (Mayer, 10/16)
Modern Healthcare: DispatchHealth Scales Back ED Alternative Program, Cuts Jobs
DispatchHealth is scaling back clinical services offered through its emergency department alternative program. The home care company confirmed the change Friday, which affects six health system partners and resulted in job losses for an undisclosed number of DispatchHealth employees. (Eastabrook, 10/16)
Modern Healthcare: Why Hospitals Face More Risk In Sale-Leaseback Real Estate Deals
Health systems are increasingly selling their real estate to ease financial pressure and fuel expansion, and regulators are pushing back. Health systems are seeking relief from higher costs and lower reimbursement by selling the buildings and land that house their hospital and outpatient facilities. Those deals provide an immediate capital infusion to shore up finances and fund growth, but can expose providers to higher long-term costs as buyers become more selective and state and federal policymakers increase oversight. (Kacik, 10/16)
MedPage Today: PAs Hoping To Ease State Restrictions On Their Practice In 2027
As the year comes to a close, the nation's physician associates (PAs) are looking forward to pursuing their state legislative agenda for 2027, including easing scope-of-practice restrictions. "What's interesting about state practice laws and licensure is they're not a partisan issue," said Chantell Taylor, chief of public affairs and advocacy at the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), during an online interview at which a press person was present. "Even though the midterms will shape health policy top to bottom, there won't be a ton of shift in our priorities or our coalition partners. Practice modernization and the healthcare workforce don't tend to fall into a partisan camp." (Frieden, 10/16)
Stat: How No Surprises Act Arbitration Became A Health Care Cash Cow
Before it won a lucrative government contract, iMPROve Health’s very future was in question. The Michigan-based nonprofit lost over $2 million in 2022 alone — over a third of its revenue — on top of losses in previous years. There were budget cuts; it ditched the office, went remote, and even discussed selling the company. (Bannow, 10/19)
PHARMA AND TECH
MedPage Today: ACOG Guideline Backs Early Hormone Therapy For Menopause Symptoms
Updated guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) expand on previous recommendations and align with a growing cross-specialty consensus on how to manage menopause symptoms. For managing vasomotor symptoms and related sleep disturbances, ACOG strongly recommended systemic hormone therapy with estrogen and a progestogen for women with a uterus, or estrogen alone for those who do not require endometrial protection. This applies to women without contraindications to hormone therapy and is based on moderate-quality evidence. (Robertson, 10/16)
Newsweek: Millions Of Surgery Records Raise New Questions About GLP-1 Drugs
For most people, GLP-1 drugs are associated with diabetes and weight loss. But their potential benefits may go much further. Researchers found that people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists before elective surgery were less likely to experience serious cardiovascular complications or postoperative infections than those who were not using the drugs. (Gray, 10/18)
MedPage Today: First At-Home Thyroid Eye Disease Shot Approved
The FDA approved satralizumab (Enspryng), the first and only at-home subcutaneous treatment option for adults with thyroid eye disease (TED), developer Roche announced on Thursday. (Monaco, 10/16)
San Francisco Chronicle: Why It’s Still Hard To Find The Right OTC Hearing Aid
Only about half of people who use OTC hearing aids get the full range of professional services like evaluation, device selection and fitting, and 1 in 5 don’t get any professional assistance at all, according to one 2025 market analysis. (Ho, 10/18)
The Boston Globe: Jury Rules In Favor Of David Sabatini In Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit
A Suffolk County jury on Friday awarded $6 million in damages to ousted star scientist and former MIT professor David Sabatini, whose career imploded after he was accused by a much younger colleague of inappropriate sexual conduct in his Cambridge research lab. (Swearing, Hecht and Alanez, 10/16)
STATE WATCH
Stat: Top Immunology Association Divided Over $8.4-Billion California Ballot Measure To Fund The Field, Emails Show
Internal emails obtained by STAT show that the American Association of Immunologists, the field’s leading scientific society, is sharply divided over California’s Proposition 38, even though it would provide $8.4 billion in taxpayer dollars for the type of research its members do. (Wosen, 10/19)
San Francisco Chronicle: Rabies Reports Are Rising In California. Experts Can’t Explain Why
Rabies reports are up across the United States this year, including in one greater Bay Area county where human exposures to rabid animals have tripled, prompting a local advisory to stay away from sick or injured creatures. Scientists can’t yet explain the uptick in rabies, which could be due to climate change, more awareness among the public or some unknown factor. Nationally, the number of rabies inquiries after a potential exposure is up 17% this year over last, and use of post-exposure prophylaxis also has increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Allday, 10/17)
The Baltimore Sun: Annapolis Recovery House Issued 'Keep Out' Health Notice
The city of Annapolis has determined that Stella’s House, a recovery house on Marda Lane, is “unfit for human habitation” after the discovery of “suspected microbial growth.” According to documentation posted on the door of the residence, the home was condemned Thursday, with residents required to relocate within 48 hours. (Rothstein, 10/16)
The New York Times: Food Pantry Patrons Face ‘Too Much Month At The End Of Their Money’
Food inflation, gas prices and cuts to federal benefits have created a “perfect storm” for food pantries, which have become vital parts of the family budget for millions of Americans. (Burch, 10/18)
The Washington Post: West Virginia Officials Offered To Store Nuclear Waste. Then Residents Found Out.
The jagged limestone rocks of Old Standard Quarry have weathered many eras of history. The property was the site of a Civil War battle, then a quarry and is now a popular destination for bungee jumping, its dark green water fed by a natural spring. Recently, the state proposed yet another use for the land: as storage for radioactive nuclear waste from around the country. “I thought it was a joke,” said Pasha Majdi, president of the Jefferson County Commission. “It doesn’t make any sense.” (Halper, 10/19)
MENTAL HEALTH
HealthDay: Frequent Napping Linked To Higher Dementia Risk, Study Finds
For the new study, researchers followed over 990 Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older for up to 10 years starting in 2013. All of the participants were free of dementia at the beginning of the study. Results showed that people who napped most days or every day had a 48% higher risk of dementia compared to those who rarely or never napped. (Thompson, 10/16)
San Francisco Chronicle: Why Men Struggle To Make Friends — And How Experts Say To Change That
When Jonathan Mandel attended his first gathering of the Men’s Circle at Ocean Beach nearly two decades ago, he hardly imagined that he was embarking on an Aristotelian path toward forging lasting friendships. Rather, Mandel said recently, he was drawn to the organization’s reputation for creating a space in which men could speak openly with peers about their doubts, concerns, areas of their lives they wanted to improve — and then be held accountable for making positive changes in those areas. (Kreidler, 10/18)
Katie Couric Media: Schools Could Teach Children How To Be Happy — But They Foster Competition Instead
In the United States, mental health challenges affect millions of school-age children. According to the CDC, approximately 11 percent of children ages 3 to 17 had a current anxiety diagnosis in 2023–2024, while 4 percent had depression and 8 percent had a behavioral disorder. While home life, friends, social media, and body image all have an impact on the mental health of children, school itself can also be a source of unhappiness. Yet a growing body of research from around the world shows that schools can actually help children lead happier lives — if they value such outcomes. (Urbina-Garcia, 10/16)
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH
The Washington Post: Dental Floss Is Shedding Potentially Harmful Chemicals
The question popped up earlier this year in a Reddit discussion on dental hygiene: Anyone notice that Oral-B floss suddenly seemed different? “It feels more plastic-like, rougher, less smooth,” the Reddit user noted. ... Some dental floss manufacturers have indeed been quietly moving away from the synthetic material PTFE, which helped their product slip smoothly between teeth. Their decisions follow studies raising concerns as well as consumer worries and state regulation of consumer products containing PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” (Hetherman, 10/18)
Los Angeles Times: Microplastics And Water Create Free Radicals, New Study Finds
Scientists have found microplastics in virtually every part of the human body. Yet many questions remain about what exactly these infinitesimal flecks of synthetic polymers do to human health, and how they might cause disease. A new paper looking at the chemical reactions between water and disintegrating plastic offers a potential hypothesis for how microplastics might make us sick. (Purtill, 10/17)
The Washington Post: Researchers Have Uncovered A Likely Origin Of Our Allergies
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, a move to a far-flung location can deliver a reprieve from the pollens and molds that caused you torment. But in many cases, it’s only a matter of time before this new environment’s changing seasons elicit itchy eyes and a runny nose. Researchers have uncovered a probable origin story for emerging and reemerging allergies. (Eisenstein, 10/19)
The New York Times: The New Science Of Stuttering
Gerald Maguire always knew there was something different about his brain. He remembers raising his hand in grade school to answer a question and struggling to say the words in his mind. Somewhere between his brain and his mouth, his words were diverted or damaged. The sounds that made it through were garbled and bracketed by extended bouts of strained silence. (Tamisiea, 10/18)
GLOBAL WATCH
AP: Pope Leo XIV Greets Faithful At St. Peter’s Square After Surgery
Pope Leo XIV thanked thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for their prayers while he was hospitalized for an operation to remove a malignant tumor, and said he plans to gradually return to his usual duties. The crowd erupted in cheers when the pontiff showed himself in the window overlooking the square. (Barry and Thomas, 10/18)
