First Edition: Thursday, April 24, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: A Chicago Hospital Bows To Federal Pressure On Trans Care For Teens
He’s 17 and lives in the Chicago suburbs. He loves theater and recently helped direct a play at his high school. He takes competitive AP courses and is working on his Eagle Scout project. And he’s been on a journey for four years. Once a week, the transgender teen injects testosterone into his body. He’s had his eggs frozen in case he wants to have his own biological children one day. He talked with his parents and his psychologist and decided he was ready for the next step of treatment: top surgery to remove breast tissue. (Schorsch, 4/24)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: Winning A Two-Year Fight Over A Bogus Bill
In July 2022, “An Arm and a Leg” listener Meagan experienced a bout of vertigo that landed her in the emergency room. For more than two years after, Meagan endured what felt like a never-ending series of communications with the hospital over a medical bill she knew she didn’t owe. Meagan spoke with host Dan Weissmann about what kept her motivated to keep fighting and the legal tactic that finally led to a breakthrough. (4/24)

FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS AND FUNDING FREEZE

Axios: HHS Leaked Budget Draft Proposes Cutting Suicide Hotline's LGBTQ+ Services
A Trump administration budget proposal that calls to strike a number of programs from the federal health bureaucracy would also seek to eliminate funding for specialized crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth. The national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services has received more than 1.2 million crisis contacts since 2022. Scrapping the program, advocates say, would put young people at risk. (Lotz, 4/23)

The Hill: Trump Layoffs: FDA Suspends Milk Quality Testing Program
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly suspending a quality control program for testing of milk and other dairy products due to reductions in its food safety and nutrition division. According to Reuters, an internal email from the FDA’s Division of Dairy Safety stated that the agency was suspending its proficiency testing program for Grade “A” raw milk and finished products effective Monday. (Perkins, 4/23)

The Washington Post: FDA’s Milk Testing Program Pause Is Not Cause For Alarm, Experts Say
On Monday, the FDA halted its “proficiency testing program” for milk and dairy products, the agency said in an email to staff, according to news reports. Under that program, the FDA sends milk samples — some of which are intentionally tainted — to labs at dairy processing centers to test whether the labs correctly screen them. ... An FDA spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post that the program is “currently paused” but said in an email that it will resume once transferred from its current home to another FDA laboratory, which they described as “an effort that is actively underway.” “In the meantime, state and federal labs continue to analyze food samples, and FDA remains committed to working with states to protect the safety of the pasteurized milk supply,” the spokesperson said. (Heil, 4/23)

CBS News: FDA Head Falsely Claims No Scientists Laid Off, As Agency Shutters Food Safety Labs
The head of the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly claimed in recent interviews that no scientists have been laid off at his agency, but one of the scientists in a food safety lab shuttered by the FDA's cuts says he is either "blatantly lying" or "out of touch." "There were no layoffs to scientists or food inspectors," FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told CNN on Wednesday. Makary previously said in an April 17 interview with Megyn Kelly that there "were not cuts to scientists, or reviewers, or inspectors. Absolutely none." (Tin, 4/23)

Axios: Key FDA Drug Data Goes Missing Amid DOGE Cuts
Food and Drug Administration databases that physicians and public health experts rely on for key drug safety and manufacturing information have been neglected due to DOGE-directed layoffs, leaving health professionals flying blind on basic questions about certain drugs they're prescribing, current and former FDA officials tell Axios. (Reed, 4/24)

The Washington Post: The ‘5 Things’ Emails Are Going By The Wayside, As Musk Readies His Exit 
When Elon Musk and President Donald Trump commanded all federal workers to submit weekly emails listing five accomplishments, they warned of harsh consequences: Failure to comply would count as a resignation. Musk called the emails an accountability measure needed to ensure that staff even had a “pulse.” ... Some federal agencies have stopped requiring the messages. A shrinking number of departments mandate strict compliance, while others say they are requiring the emails but are not checking for compliance or tracking responses in any way that is detectable to all employees. Many federal workers who still answer the message are either churning out lightly modified versions of the boilerplate each week — or treating the whole thing as a joke, such as by submitting replies in a foreign language. (Natanson, Siddiqui and Davies, 4/21)

MedPage Today: Groups Decry Loss Of Funding For 'Critically Important' GI Disease Network
Physicians and patient advocates are sounding the alarm after the NIH abruptly withdrew a grant renewal application for the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR), the only clinical care network for eosinophilic gastroenteritis patients in the U.S. As the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) explained in a press release, the NIH earlier this month withdrew the 5-year renewal application for the "critically important" CEGIR funding, citing a new policy change and a technicality pertaining to one paragraph on foreign components. (Henderson, 4/23)

Stat: NIH Director Voices Support For Head Of Addiction Research Institute 
The director of the National Institutes of Health gave a ringing endorsement to the nation’s top addiction researcher, Nora Volkow, this week in his first public remarks on the drug overdose crisis — a potential signal that her position as leader of the National Institute on Drug Abuse is, at least for now, secure. (Facher, 4/23)

CLIMATE AND HEALTH

CNN: FEMA Losing Roughly 20% Of Permanent Staff, Including Longtime Leaders, Ahead Of Hurricane Season
The agency tasked with delivering billions of dollars in assistance to communities devastated by natural disasters is about to lose a huge portion of its workforce, including some of its most experienced and knowledgeable leaders who manage disaster response. With hurricane season just weeks away, about 20% of FEMA’s permanent full-time staff – roughly 1,000 workers – are expected to take a voluntary buyout as part of the latest staff reduction effort from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to several sources briefed on the looming departures. (Cohen, 4/23)

Harvest Public Media: Regional Climate Centers Shut Down Abruptly Last Week. Here's Why It Matters
Several U.S. regional climate centers shut down Thursday — including those in the Midwest, Great Plains and South. Those three centers are responsible for collecting weather data across 21 states, as well as sharing drought conditions and other online tools. But their operations ceased at midnight on Thursday due to a lapse in federal funding, which comes from the Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Arzate, 4/23)

The New York Times: Glitch On Apple Weather And Google Shows Scary Air Quality In Chicago
Readings from several popular weather apps had people across Chicago spending much of Wednesday wondering whether their air was safe to breathe — until the dangerously unhealthy levels were revealed to be a glitch. Early in the morning, Google’s air quality map showed that Chicago had the worst air in the country. Apple’s weather app, too, showed that the Air Quality Index had climbed into the 400s, a reading so hazardous that people are encouraged to stay indoors. (Graff, 4/23)

PUBLIC HEALTH

Bloomberg: Food Industry Says There’s No Agreement With RFK Jr.’s HHS To Cut Dyes
The US Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it plans to work with food companies to phase out use of many artificial food colorings by 2026, but industry lobbyists say there’s no agreement in place to remove the dyes, according to people familiar with the matter. In its announcement, HHS said it planned to eliminate artificial food dyes by working with companies that rely heavily on them. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his agency and the Food and Drug Administration had an “understanding” with the industry about their removal on a voluntary basis. (Kubzansky and Cohrs Zhang, 4/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Food Additives Could Combine To Boost Health Threats, Study Says
Food additives might be riskier for health than previously understood, a new study suggests. In recent years, scientists have found that some additives, like emulsifiers, dyes and artificial sweeteners are linked to health problems. Studies have generally focused on the impact of one substance or type of additive. (Petersen, 4/24)

Axios: RFK Jr.'s Autism Registry Plan: Here's What To Know
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a disease registry to track Americans with autism. Advocacy groups and experts have called Kennedy's characterization of autism as a "preventable disease" unfounded and stigmatizing. (Lalljee and Rychlewski, 4/24)

MEDICAID

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Work Requirement Lessons From Arkansas, Georgia
Republicans eyeing deep cuts to Medicaid are considering imposing work requirements on some beneficiaries. This policy's track record suggests it may not produce the savings the GOP craves without making a lot of people uninsured and subjecting providers to unpaid medical bills. (McAuliff, 4/23)

CBS News: Appeals Court Rules Against Florida In Medicaid Payment Dispute
A federal appeals court Tuesday sided with a Southwest Florida health-care provider in a years-long dispute with the state about payments for treating patients in the Medicaid program. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's decision in favor of Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, which filed the lawsuit after the state Agency for Health Care Administration largely rejected a request for an increased Medicaid reimbursement rate. (4/23)

CANCER

NBC News: Rise In Colon Cancer Among Young People May Be Tied To Gut Toxin Known To Cause DNA Damage
A gut toxin that’s been linked to colorectal cancers for more than two decades may be contributing to the sharp rise of the disease in younger people, according to landmark research published Wednesday in the journal Nature. ... Since the mid 2000s, studies have repeatedly shown that this toxin can inflict distinct DNA damage on colon cells that’s difficult to repair and can eventually lead to the development of cancer. (Cox, 4/23)

MEASLES

Capitol News Illinois: First Measles Case In State Is Confirmed In Southern Illinois
The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday afternoon the first case of measles in the state. The measles diagnosis involving an adult in far southern Illinois was confirmed through laboratory testing, according to a press release sent out by IDPH. This is the only IDPH-confirmed case in the state. (Hundsdorfer, 4/23)

Bloomberg: Measles Outbreak: Dallas Area Reports First Case, In Middle School Child
A middle schooler in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has tested positive for measles, the first known case in the urban area, a health official from Collin County confirmed. The young person is located in Lucas, about 30 miles north of Dallas. The health official said the student attends Willow Springs Middle School, in the Lovejoy Independent School District. The district reported 96% of seventh graders were vaccinated for measles in the 2023-2024 school year. (Nix, 4/23)

The Colorado Sun: New Measles Case Confirmed In Denver, The Fourth In 2025
Colorado reported a new case of measles Wednesday, the fourth one confirmed in the state this year. But the state’s top doctor earlier in the week expressed optimism about the overall measles situation in Colorado, noting that all the cases so far appear to have fizzled out, vaccinations are increasing and health care providers are more alert to the possibility of seeing an infection. (Ingold, 4/24)

COVID AND FLU

AP: Novavax Says Its COVID-19 Shot Is On Track For Full FDA Approval After Delay
Novavax’s closely watched COVID-19 vaccine is on track for full approval after additional discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said Wednesday. The news sent company shares soaring more than 21% in morning trading and appeared to resolve concerns that Trump administration officials might be holding up a decision on the shot. Novavax makes the nation’s only traditional protein-based COVID-19 vaccine. It is still being sold under emergency use authorization — unlike mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna that have earned full FDA approval for certain age groups. (Perrone and Neergaard, 4/23)

CIDRAP: Studies Detail High Rates Of Long COVID Among Healthcare, Dental Workers
Researchers have estimated approximately 8% of Americas have ever experienced long COVID, or lasting symptoms, following an acute COVID-19 infection. Now two recent international studies suggest that the percentage is much higher among healthcare workers and dental professionals. ... Globally, HCWs have been at an increased risk for COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, due to both exposure to the virus and work conducted in a high-stress environment that may exacerbate the risk of long-term post-viral symptoms. (Soucheray, 4/23)

CIDRAP: Mouse Study Suggests Prolonged Post-Mortem SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity
A study on the post-mortem infectivity of influenza A virus (IAV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in euthanized transgenic mice tissues suggests persistent contagiousness ranging from a few hours for flu to a week or more for COVID. For the study, published this week in the Journal of Infection, Chinese researchers collected tissue samples from virus-infected mouse cadavers at three temperatures ... for a predetermined period to estimate the post-mortem stability and transmission potential of the viruses. (Van Beusekom, 4/23)

MedPage Today: Antiviral Reduced Transmission Of Influenza To Close Contacts
A single dose of the antiviral baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza) led to a lower incidence of influenza virus transmission to household contacts compared with placebo, a phase IIIb randomized trial showed. Five days after receiving the intervention, the adjusted incidence of transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza was 9.5% with baloxavir compared with 13.4% with placebo, resulting in an adjusted relative risk reduction of 29%, reported Arnold Monto, MD, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, and colleagues in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Haelle, 4/23)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

CBS News: Crozer Health Hospitals Begin Diverting Patients After Judge Approves Prospect's Closure Plans
Crozer Health hospitals in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, began diverting patients from their emergency departments Wednesday morning, one day after a federal bankruptcy judge approved Prospect Medical Holdings' plan to close the health system. New patients are no longer being admitted to Crozer hospitals. Patients brought to its locations will be treated and either released or transferred to other hospitals in the area. (Dougherty, Monroe, Specht, Seiders, Wright and Holden, 4/23)

WFSU: Tallahassee Memorial CEO Speaks About Swirl Of Uncertainty Surrounding Hospital's Future 
Uncertainty about the future of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital brought a large crowd to Tuesday's meeting of the Network of Entrepreneurs and Business Advocates at the Capital City Country Club. They were there to hear from the hospital's CEO, Mark O'Bryant. (Flanigan, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare: UNM Hospital Cuts 53 Executive Positions
UNM Hospital cut 53 executive positions as the academic medical center braces for federal funding reductions. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based provider eliminated nonclinical jobs, some of which were vacant positions, a spokesperson said. UNM Hospital is one of many academic medical centers that have restructured their workforce to prepare for National Institutes of Health grant funding disruptions and potential Medicaid cuts. (Kacik, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Shortage Worsened By Retirements, As Burnout Persists
The nursing shortage shows no signs of abating. Nurses age 55 and older are retiring and burnout and stressful working conditions are prompting younger nurses to exit the field. Nearly 40% of nurses intend to leave the profession within the next five years, according to a survey of 800,000 nurses conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (DeSilva, 4/23)

Fierce Healthcare: Blue Shield Of California Exposed Data Of 4.7M Members To Google
Blue Shield of California shared members' private health information with Google for nearly three years, the insurance giant revealed earlier this month. The data leak potentially impacts the protected health information of 4.7 million people, according to the company's submission to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' breach portal. (Landi, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare: BCBS Lawsuit Settlement Stops Employer From Suing Elevance: Judge
An employer's fight to understand what it is spending on its workers' healthcare just encountered a legal hitch. A federal judge in Alabama ruled Tuesday that a landmark $2.7 billion Blue Cross and Blue Shield antitrust settlement means supply chain company Owens & Minor cannot sue Elevance Health over a program involving its employees' claims data. (Tepper, 4/23)

Stat: New England Journal Of Medicine Gets Swept Up In U.S. Attorney Inquiry
Last week, at least one scientific journal received a letter from a top U.S. attorney asking it to respond to alleged bias. Now, one of the world’s leading medical journals, has received a similar inquiry as well. (Oza, 4/23)

PHARMACEUTICALS

CBS News: UPMC Creates Treatment Blueprint For Patients With Wounds And Withdrawal Symptoms From Xylazine-Laced Drugs
UPMC in Pennsylvania is one of the first health systems to write a blueprint for treating patients experiencing gruesome side effects from drugs laced with xylazine. The UPMC team published the guidelines in the Substance Use and Addiction Journal to share the easy-to-follow roadmap for other hospitals to use. (Guay, 4/23)

Stat: Quitting Vaping With Varenicline Effective For Young People: Study
The young people who wanted to quit e-cigarettes didn’t necessarily think they were addicted. But they did think nicotine cravings were a problem. When they enrolled in a Massachusetts General Hospital trial, they told researchers they couldn’t study in the library or work at their desks for long before getting the urge to vape. “They really didn’t like that loss of control,” said Eden Evins, director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at Mass General. (Todd, 4/23)

Bloomberg: Merck Gardasil HPV Vaccine Goes From Boom To Bust On Cheaper Chinese Shots 
Merck & Co. Chief Executive Officer Robert Davis was tired of talking about China. On an earnings call in February, he answered question after question about plunging demand for his company’s vaccine against cancer-causing HPV in China, which previously powered Merck’s growth. (Garde, Kan and Tong, 4/23)

The Hill: Eli Lilly Sues Telehealth Companies Selling Compounded Zepbound, Mounjaro
Eli Lilly is suing four telemedicine companies selling compounded versions of its blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound and its diabetes treatment Mounjaro, escalating its battle against unauthorized sellers, manufacturers and distributors of copycat versions of the medicine. In lawsuits filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Lilly accused the sites — Mochi Health, Fella Health, Willow Health and Henry Meds — of deceiving consumers about “untested, unapproved drugs.” (Weixel, 4/23)

STATE WATCH

The Colorado Sun: Boulder Clinic That Offered Abortions In Later Pregnancy Closes
A 50-year-old Boulder abortion clinic that was criticized and threatened with violence over the decades for performing abortions in later pregnancy has closed. (Brown, 4/23)

The Texas Tribune: Texas House Approves $3 Billion Dementia Research Institute
The Texas House on Wednesday passed a Senate bill that would create a $3 billion Texas research fund for dementia, but another measure to activate the funding for it could face obstacles in the chamber on Monday. (Langford, 4/23)

Politico: NY Budget Deal Nears Finish Line
State lawmakers met this afternoon to hammer out the final details of the proposed $252 billion budget. And Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting some — but not all — of what she wanted. Talks are winding down around her push to lower the standard for involuntary commitment of the mentally ill to hospitals, but lawmakers are signaling they won’t relent on unresolved issues like funding for patients’ post-discharge plans. And some fellow Democratic lawmakers think the thrust of Hochul’s proposal is more bluster than effective policy. (Beeferman, 4/23)

AfroLA: Black Women Were At Increased Risk For Lead Absorption During The L.A. Wildfires
In the first three days of the L.A. wildfires, lead levels detected in the air increased 110 times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The toxic chemical burned off of old homes, businesses, and cars, filling the air with small particles that eventually rained down over large swaths of the county. (Moss, 4/23)

CBS News: Bat Found At Park In Orange County Tests Positive For Rabies
Orange County health officials on Wednesday warned the public after a bat that was found at a park last week tested positive for rabies. The bat, which was discovered on the ground near a walking path at Rancho Santa Margarita Lake on Thursday, April 17 at around 2:30 p.m., according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. (Fioresi, 4/23)