First Edition: Monday, Sept. 29, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Where Jobs Are Scarce, Over 1 Million People Could Dodge Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules 
Millions of Medicaid enrollees may have a way out of the new federal work requirement — if they live in a county with high unemployment. By January 2027, President Donald Trump’s far-reaching domestic policy law will require many adult, nondisabled Medicaid enrollees in 42 states and Washington, D.C., to work or volunteer 80 hours a month or go to school. (Galewitz, 9/29)

KFF Health News: In Hepatitis B Vaccine Debate, CDC Panel Sidesteps Key Exposure Risk
The Trump administration is continuing its push to revise federal guidelines to delay the hepatitis B vaccine newborn dose for most children. This comes despite a failed attempt to do so at the most recent meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Both President Donald Trump and some newly appointed ACIP members have mischaracterized how the liver disease spreads, according to medical experts, including those working at the CDC. (Fortiér, 9/29)

KFF Health News: States Target Ultraprocessed Foods In Bipartisan Push
California Republican James Gallagher, the GOP’s former Assembly leader, has often accused the state’s progressive lawmakers of heavy-handed government intrusion, but this year he added his name to a legislative push for healthier school meals. His party followed suit, with all but one Republican voting to send a bill to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that would put into law a first-in-the nation legal definition of ultraprocessed foods, followed by a public school ban on those deemed most concerning. (Boyd-Barrett, 9/29)

KFF Health News: Journalists Recap Coverage On Organ Harvesting, Obamacare, And Medicaid Cuts
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed problems with the organ transplantation industry on Apple News’ “Apple News Today” on Sept. 23. ... KFF Health News senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed the changing availability of Affordable Care Act plans on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Today” on Sept. 19. (9/27)

AUTISM

Bloomberg: Trump Ratchets Up Pressure On Tylenol With Warning For Kids
President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his campaign against Tylenol to include young kids, posting on his Truth Social that parents shouldn’t give children the drug “for virtually any reason” without providing scientific evidence for the claim. Tylenol — and the active ingredient acetaminophen — is safe for young children to use to treat fevers, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children under 12 weeks old should not be given acetaminophen unless directed by a doctor, the AAP said. (Nix, 9/26)

ABC News: NIH To Spend $50M On Autism Cause Studies, Experts Say US Should Focus On Treatments
In the wake of the White House's announcement of a potential link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism, the administration also unveiled the launch of the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). Under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the initiative will award $50 million to about a dozen projects looking at finding the causes of autism and improving outcomes for autistic individuals. (Kekatos, 9/26)

The Conversation: Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy Not Linked To Autism, Our Study Of 2.5 Million Children Shows 
United States President Donald Trump recently claimed that using the common painkiller acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol and by the brand name Tylenol in the US) during pregnancy is fueling the rise in autism diagnoses. He then went on to suggest pregnant women should “tough it out” rather than use the common painkiller if they experience fever or pain. (Gardner, Lee and Ahlqvist, 9/28)

CNN: In Doctors’ Offices, The Consequences Of Trump’s Comments On Tylenol And Vaccines Are Immediately Clear 
Hours after President Donald Trump’s announcement linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy with autism in children, a mother sat in my office, sobbing. Had she caused her child’s autism by treating the debilitating headaches she suffered while she was pregnant? (Bracho-Sanchez, 9/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Betting That Stance On Vaccines, Autism And Tylenol Will Rally His MAGA Base
Jennifer Foskey, who has a 12-year-old daughter with autism, eagerly voted for President Trump last fall for the third time. When he labeled Tylenol use by pregnant women as a potential cause of autism on Monday, she felt a mixture of guilt and shock. “I’ve had four pregnancies, and I’ve taken Tylenol with all of them, just for all the aches and pains that come along with being pregnant,” the Jacksonville, Fla., homemaker said. “So I thought, was this my fault?” (Andrews and Li, 9/27)

NBC News: Before Trump Touted The Drug Leucovorin For Autism, These Families Had Already Tried It
Last winter, Brian Noonan read online that some doctors were prescribing an obscure drug, typically given to cancer patients, for autism. Curious, he looked into it for his son Benjamin, who had just been diagnosed with autism in October. “We jumped on it,” Noonan said. “It felt right and it made sense.” The medication was leucovorin, also called folinic acid. It’s a synthetic form of vitamin B9 or folate, which the body needs to make healthy blood cells. During pregnancy, folate is important to reduce the risk of birth defects. (Lovelace Jr., 9/28)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

The New York Times: Gunman In NYC Shooting At NFL Headquarters Had CTE
The gunman who killed four people in a Midtown Manhattan office building in July had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head injuries sustained in football and other contact sports, according to the New York City medical examiner’s office. The disease, known as C.T.E., can be diagnosed only posthumously. Shane Tamura, the gunman, killed himself after the shooting spree at 345 Park Avenue. (Belson and Marcius, 9/26)

NBC News: What We Know About Thomas Jacob Sanford, The Suspect In The Michigan Church Shooting
The person accused in a fatal shooting and fire Sunday at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, is a 40-year-old area man with a military background. Officers killed Thomas Jacob Sanford in a parking lot behind the church, police said. Sanford joined the Marine Corps in 2004. He was awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, records show. (Romero, 9/28)

NBC News: 'Highly Premeditated' Attack At North Carolina Waterfront Bar Leaves 3 Dead And 5 Wounded
A lone gunman killed three people and injured five others at a packed North Carolina waterfront bar late Saturday in what police described as a “highly premeditated” attack. Nigel Max Edge, 40, was detained by the Coast Guard and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon on Sunday morning. Southport Police Chief Todd Coring told reporters that Edge is a “self-described” combat veteran who was injured in the line of duty and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Edge served in the Marines from September 2003 through June 2009, according to military records. He attained the rank of sergeant and was deployed twice as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Madani, Gilchrist and Gallo, 9/28)

Governing: Illinois Considers Unusual Approach To Gun Regulations
An Illinois bill proposes a novel approach to gun regulation and gun violence prevention. The Responsibility in Firearm Legislation (RIFL) Act, if passed, would subject firearm manufacturers to a variable licensing fee: The more often their guns are found to have been used in injury-causing incidents, the higher their fee. The money would go toward compensating gun violence victims or to cover other costs associated with gun violence. (Pattison-Gordon, 9/29)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The Hill: Lawmakers Dig In Heels As Shutdown Deadline Looms
Lawmakers from both parties dug in their heels Sunday over government funding demands ahead of a meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders aimed at averting a shutdown this week. During various interviews on the Sunday political affairs programs, Republican and Democratic leaders signaled that health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year remain a key sticking point. (Fortinsky, 9/28)

The Washington Post: Extra Obamacare Subsidies Are At The Heart Of Government Shutdown Battle
The fight over covid-era health insurance subsidies that could trigger a government shutdown highlights what even supporters of the Affordable Care Act fight admit is a flaw in the original law: It wasn’t generous enough to make plans affordable. Democrats want to keep providing extra subsidies to enroll in plans offered through the ACA. But Republicans who control Congress say that it’s time to scale back because the pandemic is over. (Winfield Cunningham, 9/28)

MEDICARE

Modern Healthcare: Medicare To Cover Breakthrough Devices Faster Under House Bill
Medicare beneficiaries could get faster access to cutting-edge medical technology as a result of a bill that advanced through the House Ways and Means Committee. The medical device trade association AdvaMed, along with 67 stakeholders including patient advocacy groups and state medtech and life sciences associations, have pushed for the measure. It takes 5.7 years on average for medical devices granted Food and Drug Administration breakthrough device designation to receive Medicare coverage. Private insurers typically follow Medicare’s lead. (Dubinsky, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Insurers Expect Medicare Advantage Enrollment To Dip: CMS
Medicare Advantage enrollment could slip next year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Friday. Health insurance companies project Medicare Advantage membership will fall from 34.9 million this year to 34 million in 2026, CMS said in a news release. (Tepper, 9/26)

TARIFFS AND DRUG PRICES

The New York Times: Trump’s Pharma Tariffs Spare Richest Drugmakers
Mr. Trump’s 100 percent tariff, expected to go into effect on Oct. 1, would not apply to drugs imported from the European Union. Instead, most of those brand-name products from the European Union are expected to be hit by a tariff of up to 15 percent secured as part of a trade deal over the summer. It was not immediately clear when that will take effect. However, big drugmakers like Roche, Novartis and AstraZeneca do some manufacturing in their home countries of Switzerland and Britain, which are not part of the European Union. (Robbins and Swanson, 9/26)

The New York Times: How Trump’s Latest Tariffs May Affect Your Medicines
For months, as President Trump threatened to impose punishing tariffs on imported medicines, fears mounted that American patients would be harmed by higher prices and shortages of vital drugs. The details of the drug tariffs Mr. Trump announced on Thursday night are still coming into focus. (Robbins, 9/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Drug Tariffs Are A Sideshow. Trump’s Next Move Could Hit Pharma Harder.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that pharmaceutical companies can live with President Trump’s tariffs. What the industry can’t live with is uncertainty on drug prices. The sector has long traded at a discount to the broader market, but that gap has widened to its largest in decades as investors fret over Trump’s policies—ranging from tariffs and price controls to the unpredictable influence of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Wainer, 9/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Luring U.S. Drugmakers Back From This Irish Outpost Won’t Be Easy
The arrival of what locals here call the “Pfizer riser” helped put this Irish coastal village on the map. When the U.S. pharma giant started making the ingredients for the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra in a factory here a few decades ago, the international media flocked to this small cluster of pebble-dashed houses. (Colchester, 9/27)

FEDERAL FUNDING

ProPublica: Millions Could Lose Housing Aid Under Trump Plan
Some 4 million people could lose federal housing assistance under new plans from the Trump administration, according to experts who reviewed drafts of two unpublished rules obtained by ProPublica. The rules would pave the way for a host of restrictions long sought by conservatives, including time limits on living in public housing, work requirements for many people receiving federal housing assistance and the stripping of aid from entire families if one member of the household is in the country illegally. The first Trump administration tried and failed to implement similar policies, and renewed efforts have been in the works since early in the president’s second term. (Coburn, 9/29)

Bloomberg: Mozambique: US Pledges $160 Million HIV And TB Aid
The US pledged $160 million in interim assistance for HIV and tuberculosis testing and treatment in Mozambique, after months of uncertainty triggered by a foreign aid review in January that led to the closure of the US Agency for International Development. The funding will be used in some of the programs that were covered under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), the US initiative that provided life-saving HIV treatment across 55 countries and is estimated to have saved 26 million lives globally. (Cebola, 9/26)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

CIDRAP: CDC Reports Highlight 2024-25 Flu Season's Deadly Impact On US Kids
Two new reports this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide more detail on the deadliest flu season for US children in more than a decade. The reports, published yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), include data on the 280 US children who died during the 2024-25 flu season, along with information on 109 children who died from a rare and severe neurologic complication of flu during the season. (Dall, 9/26)

CIDRAP: WHO Replaces H1N1 And H3N2 Strains For Southern Hemisphere Flu Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced its advisory group’s recommendations for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2026 flu vaccines, which swap out both the H1N1 and H3N2 strains in the current vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere as well as those for the Southern Hemisphere’s last flu season. (Schnirring, 9/26)

CIDRAP: US COVID Declining After Reaching Peak
COVID activity has peaked and is now on a downward trend in many regions of the country, though emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations are still elevated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest update. The current COVID wave began in June, marked by a slow rise that never approached levels seen last summer. (Schnirring, 9/26)

CIDRAP: Nearly 7 In 10 COVID Survivors Tested Didn't Know They Had A Dulled Sense Of Smell
Even if they don't notice it, COVID-19 survivors' sense of smell may remain impaired for years after infection, the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Consortium reported yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The RECOVER-Adult study surveyed adults with and without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection about their symptoms roughly every 90 days from October 2021 to June 2025. (Van Beusekom, 9/26)

Medical Xpress: Inactive H5N1 Influenza Virus In Pasteurized Milk Poses Minimal Health Risks
Proteins and genetic material from H5N1 influenza viruses have been found in pasteurized milk in the United States, but a study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital shows those inactive viral pieces represent little to no health risk. (9/27)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

The New York Times: Medical Groups Warn Against Visa Fees For Foreign Doctors
The American Medical Association and scores of specialty groups are urging the Trump administration to exempt foreign doctors from steep new fees for H-1B visas, saying the charges will exacerbate physician shortages, worsen patient care and drive up health care costs. Doctors from abroad make up nearly one quarter of the physician work force in the United States. (Caryn Rabin, 9/26)

MedPage Today: Routine Asthma Screening During Wellness Visits May Pinpoint Kids At High Risk
Routine screening for asthma symptoms in a pediatric population with high prevalence helped to identify more diagnoses, researchers reported. Among 650 kids who were at least age 2 years, and had at least one well-child visit, less than one-fifth had a previous diagnosis of asthma; 212 who did not have a previous diagnosis had at least one risk factor for asthma, reported Karen Ganacias, MD, MPH, of MedStar Health and Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington. (Henderson, 9/28)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Maternal Health Care Shrinks As Platte County Pauses Labor And Delivery Services 
Another county will become a maternal health care desert in the state on Oct. 15. Banner Platte County Hospital announced this week that it will be pausing inpatient labor and delivery services this fall. That includes newborn patient care, postpartum care and outpatient prenatal care. (Kudelska, 9/26)

Today in Ohio: Ohio GOP Lawmakers Defy Voters With New Abortion Bill Despite Constitutional Amendment
The latest legislative maneuver, House Bill 347—ironically titled “SHE Wins” (Share Health and Empower with Informed Notices)—would require a 24-hour waiting period before abortions and mandate that doctors provide detailed information about the procedure, risks, and alternatives like adoption. (9/28)

STATE WATCH

The Baltimore Sun: MD Health Department Accused Of Failing Disabled Residents
A nonprofit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Health on behalf of people who say their Medicaid benefits and services were unlawfully terminated. (Schumer, 9/27)

Enlace Latino NC: North Carolina Students Face Reduced Access To Fresh, Local Meals Amid Federal Funding Cuts
At L. Gilbert Carroll Middle School in Robeson County, Principal Zach Jones watches the lunch line carefully, ensuring every student gets a tray. Many arrive hungry; breakfast and lunch at school may be the only meals they can count on. “Every morning, every student comes through and gets a plate for breakfast. Even if they don’t eat it, they can share it. The same goes for lunch. That way our students who we know may have some food insecurities, are getting fed,” he said. (Cotto, 9/28)

AP: States Struggle With AI Therapy App Rules Amid Mental Health Needs
In the absence of stronger federal regulation, some states have begun regulating apps that offer AI “therapy” as more people turn to artificial intelligence for mental health advice. But the laws, all passed this year, don’t fully address the fast-changing landscape of AI software development. And app developers, policymakers and mental health advocates say the resulting patchwork of state laws isn’t enough to protect users or hold the creators of harmful technology accountable. (Shastri, 9/29)

INNOVATIONS

Medical Xpress: Simple Blood Test Can Predict Risk Of Severe Liver Disease
A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal The BMJ, shows how a simple blood analysis can predict the risk of developing severe liver disease. The method may already start to be applied in primary care to enable the earlier detection of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. (9/29)

Phys.org: AggreBots: Tiny Living Robots Made From Lung Cells Could One Day Deliver Medicine Inside The Body
A brand-new engineering approach to generate "designer" biological robots using human lung cells is underway in Carnegie Mellon University's Ren lab. Referred to as AggreBots, these microscale living robots may one day be able to traverse through the body's complex environments to deliver desired therapeutic or mechanical interventions, once greater control is achieved over their motility patterns. In new research published in Science Advances, the group provides a novel tissue engineering platform capable of achieving customizable motility in AggreBots by actively controlling their structural parameters. (9/27)

RECALLS

AP: After Massive Shrimp Recalls, The FDA Finds Radioactive Contamination In Spices Too
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California. That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year. (Aleccia, 9/26)

AP: Listeria In Walmart, Trader Joe's Meals May Be Linked To Outbreak
Federal health officials are warning consumers not to eat certain heat-and-eat pasta meals sold at Walmart and Trader Joe’s because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria previously linked to a deadly outbreak. The U.S. Agriculture Department updated a public health alert Friday to include Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettucine Alfredo sold in 16-ounce plastic trays. (Aleccia, 9/27)

AP: Albertsons Recalls Some Deli Items Due To Potential Listeria Contamination
Albertsons Companies has recalled several of its store-made deli products because they may contain listeria bacteria, in a move that arrives shortly after federal health officials warned consumers to not eat certain pasta meals sold at Walmart and Trader Joe’s over similar contamination concerns. The Boise, Idaho-based supermarket giant on Saturday said it was pulling five deli items because they contain a recalled bowtie pasta ingredient made by Nate’s Fine Foods. (9/28)

AP: 58 Million Pounds Of Corn Dogs, Sausage-On-A-Stick Products Recalled
About 58 million pounds of corn dogs and other sausage-on-a-stick products are being recalled across the U.S. because pieces of wood may be embedded in the batter, with several consumers reporting injuries to date. According to a Saturday notice published by the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the recall covers select “State Fair Corn Dogs on a Stick” and “Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick” products from Texas-based Hillshire Brands, which is a subsidiary of Tyson Foods. (9/28)