First Edition: Monday, Oct. 27, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Doctors Muffled As Florida Moves To End Decades Of Childhood Vaccination Mandates
Florida plans to end nearly a half-century of required childhood immunizations against diseases that have killed and maimed millions of children. Many critics of the decision, including doctors, are afraid to speak up against it. With the support of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on Sept. 3 announced his plan to end all school-age vaccination mandates in the state. (Allen, 10/27)

KFF Health News: As Sports Betting Explodes, States Try To Set Limits To Stop Gambling Addiction
It isn’t easy to promote moderation and financial discipline from the bowels of a casino. But that’s what Massachusetts state workers try to do every day, amid the clanging bells and flashing lights of the slot machines. At the MGM Springfield in western Massachusetts, workers wearing green polos stand outside their small office, right off the casino floor. Above them, a sign reads “GameSense,” the state’s signature program to curb problem gambling. A mounted screen cycles through messages such as “Keep sports betting fun. Set a budget and stick to it.” (Brown, 10/27)

KFF Health News: Reporters Cover The Shutdown And The Use Of AI In Health Care
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire this year and the ongoing federal shutdown on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour With Stephanie Ruhle” on Oct. 18. ... Rovner also discussed the shutdown and health care costs on WYPR’s “Midday” on Oct. 20. (10/25)

HEALTH CARE COSTS AND COVERAGE

NPR: A Health Insurance ‘Death Spiral’ Looms If Young People Drop Out As Prices Spike
Chloe Chalakani has a lot at stake in the health care fight at the heart of the government shutdown. Chalakani runs a small culinary business with her partner in the coastal town of Thomaston, Maine. As temperatures drop and the height of her busy tourist season winds down, she's hitting her list of fall administrative tasks, including health insurance enrollment. She uses CoverME.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace in Maine, also known as Obamacare. (Simmons-Duffin, 10/26)

NBC News: Is It Cheaper To Pay For Medical Care Without Health Insurance?
With the cost of health insurance set to rise, some Americans are asking a surprising question: Is it actually cheaper to get medical care without it? The short answer: Sometimes. But not often. And it may require a little — or a lot — of homework. Some hospitals and clinics offer self-pay or cash only discounts for patients who pay without insurance, skipping the paperwork and administrative fees that come with having coverage. Hospitals are required by federal law to make their discounted cash prices publicly available online. (Lovelace Jr., 10/26)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Roll Call: USDA Says It Can't Use Contingency Fund For Food Stamps 
The Agriculture Department said Friday it can’t use a special reserve fund to pay food stamp benefits during the partial government shutdown because the money is meant to be used when appropriations fall short, not when the funding doesn’t exist. (Bridges, 10/24)

The 74 Million: Parents Worry As WIC Funding Dwindles During The Government Shutdown
April Perez was 22 years old when she had her first daughter. Enrolling in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, was a lifesaver. “With her being my first child,” she said, “I was still finding my way through motherhood.” The program helped her access healthy foods for her family, get formula when she wasn’t able to produce enough breastmilk to breastfeed her daughter, and even get a referral to sign up her daughter, now 4 years old, for health insurance. (Covert, 10/25)

The New York Times: ‘No Idea How Long People Can Hold Out’: Federal Workers Feel Brunt Of Shutdown 
As the shutdown stretches toward its fifth week, those government employees are confronting an increasingly acute and stressful scenario. Their bills are mounting, and there is no clear resolution in sight. Some are turning to side hustles like delivering food, walking dogs and selling personal items to bring in a bit of income. Others are relying on food banks that have been hastily organized to provide federal workers and contractors with free groceries — efforts that community service providers say reflect a broadening food insecurity caused by the shutdown. (Sullivan and Atkins, 10/26)

The Hill: Rand Paul Suggests Bipartisan Panel To Tackle Health Subsidies Amid Shutdown
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called on President Trump to appoint a select group of bipartisan senators to a commission tasked with addressing the expiring health care subsidies — the issue at the core of the ongoing shutdown standoff. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” the libertarian senator suggested Democrats could agree to reopen the government for a one-month period, during which the commission would formulate proposals to address the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits set to expire at the end of the year and raise health insurance premiums for millions of Americans. (Fortinsky, 10/26)

Politico: Republicans Are Barreling Toward An Obamacare Subsidy Cliff — With No Unified Plan
Republicans are barreling toward the upcoming Obamacare enrollment period without a unified plan to address the sticker shock that millions of Americans are likely to experience due to the expiration of key federal subsidies. The lack of direction comes from the top, with President Donald Trump not providing clear guidance to his party on how he wants to deal with the expiring subsidies that could result in dramatic out-of-pocket price hikes for enrollees. (Gangitano, Lee Hill, McCarthy and Ward, 10/24)

MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY

AP: Social Security Recipients Will Get A 2.8% Cost-Of-Living Boost In 2026
The Social Security Administration’s annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month, agency officials said Friday. The benefits increase for nearly 71 million Social Security recipients will go into effect beginning in January. And increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income will begin on Dec. 31. (Hussein, 10/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Medicaid Cuts Put California Disability Care At Risk
Luca-Amine Hadir was 4 days old when his parents raced him to the ER. His mother, Jill McDonald, had wanted her child to have a gentle transition into the world, and Luca’s first four days were just that. He was born at home in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, in spring 2020 — Jill, now 46, described his birth as “unremarkable.” She and Luca’s father, Najib Hadir, basked in the glow of newfound parenthood, imagining his first words and first steps, high school graduation and world travels. (Allday and Connors, 10/26)

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL

MedPage Today: NIH Institute Director Abruptly Replaced
Researchers are raising concerns that an institute director at the NIH was abruptly replaced with a friend of Vice President JD Vance. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, sent an email to staff late last Friday announcing that Kyle Walsh, PhD, a neuroepidemiologist, became director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) the Friday prior, ScienceInsider reported. (Fiore, 10/24)

CIDRAP: Quality Of Decisions Made By CDC Vaccine Advisers Has Nose-Dived, Former Voting Members Say
An independent review of recent decisions made by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reveals that its policymaking maturity rating fell from an overall score of 100% to 58% from April to September this year. "Since 1964, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has shaped US vaccine policy but recently underwent significant structural and procedural changes affecting recommendation quality," the authors wrote. (Van Beusekom, 10/24)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Hill: Trump Offers New Warning On Tylenol For Pregnant Women
President Trump on Sunday once again urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol unless “absolutely necessary,” to avoid giving the over-the-counter drug to children “for virtually any reason” and to break up certain vaccine dosages. Trump’s renewed call comes a month after he and top health officials said pregnant women should not take acetaminophen — one of the most widely used medications in the world — for pain relief because of a potential risk of autism, despite no new evidence proving the drug directly causes it. (Limon, 10/26)

The 19th: Domestic Violence Nonprofits Are Winning Against The Trump Administration In Court
Nonprofits working to combat domestic violence and sexual assault have notched a string of legal wins as they push back against efforts by the Trump administration to put restrictions on work that goes against the administration’s views. (Barclay and Mithani, 10/24)

Bloomberg: Trump Says He Received ‘Perfect’ MRI During Walter Reed Visit
President Donald Trump said he got a MRI during his October visit to Walter Reed Medical Center, without sharing more details on what prompted the imaging test. “I got an MRI; it was perfect,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Monday. “I gave you the full results.” (Dlouhy and Wingrove, 10/27)

TARIFFS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: Pharma Companies Reveal How They Won FDA Priority Review Vouchers 
Commissioner Marty Makary wants the Food and Drug Administration to move more quickly. The launch of a new priority review voucher program in June was no exception. (Lawrence, 10/24)

Undark: What Will The Trump-Era Crackdown On Drug Ads Accomplish?
Late last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., drew a line in the sand over direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies: In a post on X, the agency declared that drug ads “can push people to take drugs they don’t actually need. Americans often end up harmed instead of helped. ”That’s why, the post continued, President Donald Trump and Kennedy “are taking action.” (Cohen, 10/27)

Stat: Chinese Biotech Industry Shows No Signs Of Slowing As Threat Of U.S. Restrictions Loom
As the U.S. government moves to guard against an increasingly competitive Chinese biotech industry, Chinese drugmakers are striking major deals with their global counterparts — including some in the U.S. (Yang, 10/27)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

CalMatters: California Gives Planned Parenthood $140M To Help Keep 109 Clinics Open
After months of financial strain, Planned Parenthood will get a $140 million lifeline to offset losses it sustained after Congress in July cut funding for the health system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. The money will help Planned Parenthood keep 109 California clinics open. In a statement, Newsom said the move reflects the state’s continued commitment to abortion and reproductive health care.“ Trump’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood put all our communities at risk as people seek basic health care from these community providers,” Newsom said. (Hwang, 10/24)

AP: More Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers Offer Medical Services As Clinics Close
Pregnancy centers in the U.S. that discourage women from getting abortions have been adding more medical services — and could be poised to expand further. The expansion — ranging from testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections to even providing primary medical care — has been unfolding for years. It gained steam after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, clearing the way for states to ban abortion. (Mulvihill and Kruesi, 10/25)

ABC News: Wyoming Bill Preventing Regulation Of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Advances
A bill in Wyoming that would essentially prevent regulation of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), which sometimes counsel patients against receiving abortion care, is slowly making its way through the state legislature. HB0273, also known as the Wyoming Pregnancy Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression (CARE) Act, would prohibit "the state and specified governmental entities from adopting any law, rule or policy that targets pregnancy centers for oversight or regulation based on the centers' stance against abortion." (Kekatos, 10/25)

Politico: ‘The Pro-Life Movement Still Has Some Real Juice’: How Trump’s Promise Of Free IVF Fizzled
Social and religious conservatives spent more than a year lobbying first the Trump campaign and then the administration against mandating or subsidizing insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, which they consider akin to abortion. Last week, their work paid off. (Ollstein and Messerly, 10/25)

CNN: New Menopause Drug To Target Hot Flashes Without Hormones Gets FDA Approval
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved another once-a-day pill that works without hormones to treat moderate to severe hot flashes in menopausal women, drugmaker Bayer said Friday. The drug, elinzanetant, is expected to be available in the United States beginning in November under the brand name Lynkuet, Bayer said. (Howard, 10/24)

MedPage Today: Tirzepatide-Hormone Therapy Combo Tied To Weight Loss In Postmenopausal Women
Postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT) saw significantly greater weight loss while taking the dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide than their counterparts not using HT, according to a retrospective study. (Henderson, 10/26)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Minnesota Public Radio: Doctors And Clinicians At Allina Health Announce Nov. 5 Strike 
Primary care nurse practitioners, doctors and physician assistants at 61 Allina Health clinics could strike next month if an agreement is not reached at two upcoming bargaining sessions. (Zurek, 10/24)

St. Louis Public Radio: Family Of Teacher Killed In CVPA Shooting Sues BJC Health 
The family of a teacher killed in a 2022 St. Louis school shooting three years ago has sued a major health care provider, saying it did not tell the district the attacker had expressed thoughts of violence against his former school. (Lippmann, 10/24)

Modern Healthcare: Elevance To Penalize Facilities For Out-Of-Network Providers
Elevance Health has notified healthcare facilities they face penalties for assigning out-of-network clinicians to its members. Starting Jan. 1, hospitals and other inpatient and outpatient facilities must ensure that all providers involved in care for members of Elevance Health’s Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield commercial plans in 11 states are under contract with the insurer, Anthem said in a notice. (Tepper, 10/24)

The CT Mirror: Judge OKs Hartford HealthCare Purchase Of Prospect CT Hospitals
A judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas approved on Friday Hartford HealthCare’s $86.1 million purchase of two Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings — Manchester Memorial and Rockville General. (Golvala, 10/24)

STATE WATCH

AP: Trans Rights Are Flashpoint In Virginia Gubernatorial Election
René Harvey and her wife arrived at a Roanoke Valley pride celebration in October carrying deep-seated worries about all that could go wrong. The couple had been to the region’s annual pride festival before, but this year felt different. Harvey keeps up with the news, and the headlines describing political violence and LGBTQ+ hate linger with her. She’s been following Virginia’s statewide elections, including a race for governor that has heavily focused on trans youth. “It’s scary, the way things are heading,” said Harvey, sitting at a booth for her LGBTQ-friendly parish. “We had a fear coming here today.” (Diaz, 10/26)

The Texas Tribune: Dallas Doctor Sued Over Transgender Care Surrenders License
A Dallas pediatrician has surrendered her medical license, a year after becoming the first target of a law that banned providing gender-transitioning hormones to minors. Last October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against adolescent medicine physician May Lau for prescribing testosterone to at least 21 patients. Her license was cancelled by her request early this month, according to the Texas Medical Board. (Byman, 10/24)

The Hill: New Mpox Cases In California Raise Concerns Among Experts
More than two years after the mpox outbreak in the U.S. was declared over, a new crop of cases in California has infectious disease experts on edge. The mpox outbreak that spread through men who have sex with men was declared over at the start of 2023, though low-level transmission has persisted since then. A collection of three unrelated mpox cases recently detected in California is raising concerns, as they were caused by a more infectious, more dangerous strain of the virus called clade I mpox. (Choi, 10/26)

Bloomberg: Measles Outbreaks In Utah, Arizona Spread As US Vaccination Rates Fall
Measles outbreaks have spread across the US to reach 41 states. The largest ongoing cluster in Utah and Arizona has now grown into the second-biggest outbreak of the year. Utah reported a total of 58 infections Thursday, bringing the tally for Utah and Arizona to 142 so far this year. The Arizona Department of Health has reported 84 cases and three hospitalizations. A total of 1,618 infections have been reported nationwide by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this year, the largest outbreak in three decades. (Nix, 10/24)

The Baltimore Sun: Marijuana Use Doubles On Maryland Roads After Legalization, Study Says
A sedan drifts past. The driver’s window rolls down, unleashing a billowing plume of white smoke into the chill air as they light up, driving with one hand on the wheel. It’s not tobacco, said Bob Reilly, a rideshare driver from Laurel, who described his daily experience working on Maryland’s highways and neighborhood roads. “You see it all the time,” Reilly said. “They just got off work and they’re lighting up for the ride home.” (Hille, 10/27)

AP: Blood Tests Turn Up Forever Chemicals Near New Mexico Base
It’s a name many people have trouble pronouncing, but these synthetic chemicals have been used in everything from fast-food packaging to nonstick cookware, clothing, household cleaning products and even firefighting foam. PFAS — or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — resist breaking down and as a result have found their way into drinking water, soil, air and the bloodstreams of 99% of Americans. This is certainly true for people who live or work near a plume of contamination that has seeped beyond the boundaries of Cannon Air Force Base, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was used for years. (Montoya Bryan, 10/24)

ProPublica: Phoenix Mail Room For Homeless People Loses Funding
Carl Steiner walked to the window of a small gray building near downtown Phoenix and gave a worker his name. He stepped away with a box and a cellphone bill. The box is what Steiner had come for: It contained black and red Reebok sneakers to use in his new warehouse job. Steiner doesn’t have a permanent address. His letters and packages are delivered to a mail room for homeless people in the building at the Keys to Change campus, a collaborative of 15 nonprofit organizations that serve those like him. (Santa Cruz, 10/27)

AP: South Carolina Jury Awards $18M In Concussion Case Against NCAA
The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports’ major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions. Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end. His wife, Debra, was awarded $8 million, according to a court document. (10/27)

PUBLIC HEALTH

The Washington Post: Cancer Rates Among Young Adults Are Rising Fastest In The Corn Belt, New Data Show
Mackenzie Dryden’s happiest childhood memories are of running barefoot through the sunlit corn fields of her hometown. But when she was diagnosed with cancer 2½ years ago at 18 years old, a disturbing thought began to take hold. Could something in the land she loved have made her sick? Dryden went to social media for answers, and stumbled upon a deeper mystery: Within just two years, four other recent graduates from her high school — home to only 500 students — had also been diagnosed with advanced cancers. (Eunjung Cha, Keating, Chikwendiu and Melgar, 10/27)

Chicago Tribune: Abbott Laboratories Wins Lawsuit Over Safety Of Baby Formula
A federal judge handed Abbott Laboratories another win [last] week in its yearslong battle over the safety of its formulas for babies born prematurely — a decision that could have implications for hundreds of other cases. (Schencker, 10/24)

CNN: Why Many Americans Who Are In The ER On Halloween End Up There 
Not all the scares and frights and bumps in the night are imaginary on Halloween. Each year, thousands of people land in the emergency room due to Halloween-related injuries. One of the biggest culprits may come as a surprise: It’s pumpkin carving, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. (Hetter, 10/24)

CBS News: Sisters With Mysterious Symptoms Diagnosed With Same Rare Brain Condition: "You've Got To Be Kidding"
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham knew what was and wasn't normal for their kids. As the parents of six, they had seen a lot of illnesses and tantrums. But they were baffled by the behavior of their youngest daughter, Austyn. Austyn was "just not happy" and "never content," Ashlee said. As an infant, she never slept and cried constantly. She was "never smiling, never laughing," the toddler's mother said. She had mild developmental delays and a tremor. At 18 months old, genetic testing found she had a genetic condition called Chiari malformation. (Breen, 10/25)

RECALLS

AP: 4.9 Million Pounds Of Frozen, Boneless Chicken Have Been Recalled
Hormel Foods is recalling nearly 4.9 million pounds of frozen boneless chicken products it sold to restaurants, cafeterias and other outlets, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. Customers reported finding metal in the chicken breast and thigh products. Hormel concluded that the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production, the food safety service said. There have been no reports of illnesses or injuries. (10/25)

AP: Company Recalls 2M Pounds Of Barbecue Pork Jerky That May Contain Wire
A South Dakota company is recalling more than 2.2 million pounds (998,000 kilograms) of Korean barbecue pork jerky sold at Costco and Sam’s Club stores because the product may be contaminated with pieces of metal, federal health officials said Friday. LSI, Inc., of Alpena, voluntarily pulled the product after customers complained about finding pieces of wiry metal in the jerky, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Company officials said the metal came from a conveyor belt used in production. No confirmed injuries have been reported. (Aleccia, 10/25)

The New York Times: Neutrogena Recalls Makeup Wipes Over Bacterial Contamination Concerns 
More than 15,000 packages of Neutrogena makeup wipes were recalled last month over concerns of potential bacterial contamination, federal safety regulators said. Kenvue, Neutrogena’s parent company, issued the voluntary recall after finding that some cases of its makeup towelettes tested positive for Pluralibacter gergoviae, a bacterium that can cause infections, according to a report from the Food and Drug Administration. (Ziegler, 10/25)