First Edition: Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Nevada Debuts Public Option Amid Tumultuous Federal Changes To Health Care
More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada’s new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market. Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada is the third state so far to launch a public option plan, along with Colorado and Washington state. The idea is to offer lower-cost plans to consumers to expand health care access. (Orozco Rodriguez, 2/19)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: Personal Finance Guru Faces Down An Insurance Denial
Less than 36 hours before his wife was scheduled to undergo major surgery, New York Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber got an unwelcome letter from his family’s insurance plan: It was denying prior authorization for the procedure. With no time to lodge an appeal, Lieber and his wife decided to proceed and bet on her doctors’ ability to reverse the decision post-surgery. They succeeded, but the experience troubled Lieber. Why had no one warned them sooner? He set out to find answers to help people avoid scrambling to deal with a last-minute denial. (Weissmann, 2/19)

CDC LEADERSHIP

Politico: Jay Bhattacharya Named Acting CDC Director
Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health, will become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention following the dismissal last week of Jim O’Neill, according to a White House official and an administration official. President Donald Trump will name O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation, one of the officials said. (Haslett, Lim and Gardner, 2/18)

FDA

AP: FDA Drug Approvals: Makary And Prasad Say One Study Will Be Enough
The Food and Drug Administration plans to drop its longtime standard of requiring two rigorous studies to win approval for new drugs, the latest change from Trump administration officials vowing to speed up the availability of certain medical products. Going forward, the FDA’s “default position” will be to require one study for new drugs and other novel health products, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and a top deputy, Dr. Vinay Prasad, wrote in a New England Journal of Medicine piece published Wednesday. (Perrone, 2/18)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The New York Times: Trump’s Order Aims To Boost Ingredient Used In Roundup 
President Trump issued an executive order late Wednesday aimed at spurring the domestic production of glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller that has figured in health lawsuits. The move immediately set off alarms among supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, and appeared to put Mr. Kennedy in an awkward position. (Tabuchi and Stolberg, 2/18)

The Hill: Groups Sue Trump Over Repeal Of Climate Regulations
A coalition of health and environmental organizations sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over its decision to repeal a landmark legal finding that climate change poses a threat to the public. The groups also challenged the administration’s move to eliminate all climate rules for motor vehicles, which were repealed along with the endangerment finding. The filing did not lay out their reasons for the challenge, but in public statements, the groups argued that the move threatens public health and the environment. (Frazin, 2/18)

The Washington Post: Colleges Quietly Cut Ties With Organizations That Help People Of Color  
The Trump administration’s objection to a program that helps people of color pursue doctorate degrees has prompted colleges to cut ties with a range of organizations associated with racial minority groups, a Post investigation has found. (Wallack, 2/19)

AP: US Rep. Joaquin Castro Says The US Deported A Baby With Bronchitis
U.S. immigration authorities deported a 2-month-old baby with bronchitis to Mexico along with his family, a U.S. representative from Texas said. The child was so sick he had been unresponsive “in the last several hours” but was discharged from the hospital anyway, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Tuesday in an X post. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported the baby along with his 16-month-old sister, his mother and his father, Castro said. The Democratic lawmaker said he confirmed this with the family’s attorney. (McAvoy, 2/19)

North Carolina Health News: Dentists, Oral Health Advocates Urge EPA To Use ‘Gold Standard Science’ In Its Fluoride Review 
When Lee Zeldin, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced almost 10 months ago that the federal regulator would reevaluate research on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water, he said “sound science” would be used to “advance our mission of protecting human and health and the environment.” (Blythe, 2/19)

The Baltimore Sun: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Faith, Recovery And President Trump
In a wide-ranging interview with The Baltimore Sun, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reflected on his Catholic upbringing, his decades in recovery, enduring public criticism — including from his own family — and his working relationship with President Donald Trump. (Williams, 2/18)

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH

Axios: Zuckerberg Testifies In Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday was grilled for past statements about his company's role in child safety and knowledge of alleged harms. This is the first time Zuckerberg has faced a jury in a courtroom alongside families who say that Meta's products harmed their children. (Curi, 2/18)

Bloomberg: California’s TikTok Child Addiction Suit Gets Boost From Judge
A judge said TikTok Inc. should have to face California’s claims that the platform’s features are addictive and harmful to kids. In a tentative ruling Wednesday, the judge said the company isn’t immune from the state’s allegations that the platform preys on young people through algorithms that keep them scrolling to maximize profits. (Burnson, 2/19)

TRANSGENDER CARE

CBS News: NYU Langone Ending Transgender Youth Health Program, Drawing Ire Of Advocacy Groups
NYU Langone announced Tuesday it is discontinuing its Transgender Youth Health Program, leaving families frustrated and advocates fighting back. There's outrage in New York City's LGBTQ+community over the decision to end that treatment at NYU Langone. The move comes in the wake of President Trump's Jan. 2025 executive order banning gender-affirming health care, and a December Trump administration proposal to withdraw federal funds from hospitals providing gender transition treatments to young people. (Zanger and DeAngelis, 2/18)

The New York Times: Kansas, Idaho, Utah, Oklahoma In New Push To Restrict Transgender Rights
After a year in which the Trump administration has pressed to limit the ways Americans can identify as transgender in public life, Republicans are pushing the issue at the state level with new zeal. With legislative sessions underway in most states, hundreds of bills restricting transgender rights are under consideration as social conservatives seek to capitalize on Trump administration tailwinds and a shift in public opinion to codify an understanding of sex and gender as binary and fixed. (Harmon, 2/18)

REPRODUCTIVE AND MATERNAL HEALTH

AP: Early US Prenatal Care Is On The Decline, Reports Finds
Early prenatal care improves the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby. But a new federal report shows it’s been on the decline. The share of U.S. births to women who began prenatal care in the first trimester dropped from 78.3% in 2021 to 75.5% in 2024, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Meanwhile, starting care later in pregnancy or getting no care at all has been on the rise. Prenatal care beginning in the second trimester rose from 15.4% to 17.3%, and starting care in the third trimester or getting no care went from 6.3% to 7.3%. (Ungar, 2/19)

CNN: Abortion Clinics Are Closing, Even In States That Have Become Key Access Points 
Dozens of abortion clinics closed in the US after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion in June 2022 — mostly in states that enacted bans. But the churn has continued, leaving even states with some of the most protective abortion policies to do more with less. (McPhillips, 2/18)

CBS News: Roots Family Center Opens New Space In Denver To Expand Doula Support For Families
The Roots Family Center has opened a new space in Denver aimed at expanding its community programs, including a growing doula program that supports families through pregnancy and childbirth. Leaders say the new location will serve as a hub for community support, training, and drop-in services for families navigating pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. For many families, especially those adjusting to a new country, language, or health care system, pregnancy can feel overwhelming. (Arenas, 2/18)

Stat: Should Semen Analysis Become The Pap Smear For Men? Some Men’s Health Experts Say Yes
In his 1694 review of magnifying lens technology, “Essai de Dioptrique,” Dutch naturalist Nicolas Hartsoeker included a drawing destined to make a lasting impression on future students of human reproduction. Inside a drop-like form with a long, straight tail is the lower part of a human body, crouched and holding its knees below a large sphere with an open perforation at the top. It’s the most accurate depiction of what sperm was believed to be at the time: containing a full, minuscule human, ready to be implanted and grow in the womb. (Merelli, 2/19)

MedPage Today: Mortality After Menopausal Hormone Therapy: Study Weighs In
Women who used menopausal hormone therapy did not have an increased risk of death, and some even had longer survival, according to a large Danish cohort study. (Monaco, 2/18)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Becker's Hospital Review: In A Cooling Strike Climate, Healthcare Heated Up
Healthcare remains a focal point for work stoppages, despite a broader national decline, as hospital and health system employees continue to cite pay and staffing concerns. Union activity in 2026 has already seen notable labor actions, such as the largest nurses strike in New York City history and an open-ended walkout by 31,000 United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals members at Kaiser Permanente facilities. In total, Becker’s has reported on nearly a dozen strikes since the beginning of 2026 and nearly 40 in 2025. (Gooch, 2/18)

MedPage Today: Med School, UnitedHealth Partnered On A Course. It's Now Being Revised
The University of Minnesota (UMN) will change a medical school course offered in partnership with UnitedHealth Group (UHG) in response to feedback from students. (Henderson, 2/18)

Forbes: Elon Musk’s AI Pushes Back As He Encourages Users To Upload Medical Information
Over the last year, Musk has repeatedly encouraged people to use Grok, developed by his company xAI, to solicit a second opinion or seek medical advice and he has shared several testimonials from users who say the bot has helped them solve a medical problem. This week however, when Musk encouraged people to “just take a picture of your medical data or upload the file to get a second opinion from Grok,” the chatbot pushed back. (Whitfill Roeloffs, 2/18)

HEALTH CARE COSTS AND COVERAGE

Modern Healthcare: National Specialty Care Access Coalition To Target Rural Patients
More than 20 health systems have teamed up in a bid to use technology to improve access to care in rural and underserved areas. The National Specialty Care Access Coalition, which launched Wednesday, will prioritize standardizing care models, reforming policy and deploying pilots to speed innovation, a news release said. The model enables shared learning and a unified perspective, among other advantages, according to its website. (DeSilva, 2/18)

Fierce Healthcare: Family Premiums Account For 10% Of Income In 19 States: Study
Middle-income workers and their families are spending an average of 10.1% of the median income on their health premiums and deductibles, according to a new report. The Commonwealth Fund analyzed national data from 2024 on the employer-sponsored insurance market and found that the premium contributions for family coverage ranged from an average of $5,584 in Oregon to $9,148 in California. In 19 states, the average premium and deductible contribution topped 10% of that state's median income. (Minemyer, 2/18)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Enrollment 2026: Winners And Losers
Medicare Advantage enrollment growth slowed over the past year, new data from the Centers from Medicare and Medicaid Services show. As of Feb. 1, 35.5 million people were enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, a 3.2% increase from a year before, according to a Modern Healthcare analysis of CMS data. That compares to a 4% increase in 2025.Health insurance companies had projected enrollment would contract major carriers including UnitedHealth Group subsidiary and market leader UnitedHealthcare, Elevance Health, CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, and Centene shed members as they scaled back and sought to restore profit margins in the segment. (Tepper and Davis, 2/18)

The CT Mirror: Medicaid Caps Sought For Unionized Nursing Homes That Hire Family
State officials are asking lawmakers to craft a bill that would allow the Department of Social Services to limit Medicaid payments for unionized nursing homes whose owners hire family members at inflated salaries. (Carlesso, 2/18)

WUSF: Moffitt Will Be Out Of Network For Humana Medicare Advantage PPO Plans 
Effective July 1, Moffitt Cancer Center will be out of network for Humana’s Medicare Advantage PPO and HMO plans, the Tampa-based facility announced this month. The change comes seven months after Aetna’s Medicare Advantage PPO and HMO plans dropped Moffitt from their networks on Dec. 1. According to Moffitt, both insurers terminated the agreements for “business reasons that are unrelated to the quality of care provided.” (Mayer, 2/19)

The Nevada Independent: Report: 16 Nevada Insurance Carriers Give Mental Health Care Claims Short Shrift
A state report shows at least 16 insurance carriers in Nevada likely violated the federal mental health and addiction parity law last year, putting more barriers in place for people seeking mental health care than physical health care in a state that has consistently ranked last for overall mental health. Since 2008, federal law has required plans to cover mental health and substance use treatment the same way they cover medical care. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes mental health and substance abuse disorders as one of 10 essential health benefits plans need to offer. (Mueller, 2/18)

STATE WATCH

CBS News: Georgia Bill Would Allow Pharmacists To Prescribe PrEP In Effort To Expand HIV Prevention Access
A bill moving through the Georgia General Assembly could change how people in the state start HIV prevention medication. Senate Bill 195 would allow trained pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, a daily medication that can prevent HIV. Right now, patients must see a doctor to start taking the medication. Lawmakers backing the bill say allowing pharmacists to prescribe it could remove a barrier to care. (Wilkerson, 2/18)

The CT Mirror: Advocates Revive Fight To Open Overdose Prevention Center In CT
Dozens of advocates gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday to testify in support of a bill that would make Connecticut one of a few states in the country to establish an overdose prevention center. (Golvala, 2/18)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: J&J Is Building Cell Therapy Plant In Montgomery County
Johnson & Johnson plans to spend more than $1 billion to build a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Montgomery County near Spring House, the New Jersey pharmaceutical and medical supplies giant said Wednesday. ... The facility at 1201 Sumneytown Pike will add to J&J’s capacity to make cell therapy treatments for cancer, with a focus on multiple myeloma. That’s a type of cancer that attacks white blood cells in the bone marrow. Cell therapy is the use of engineered immune cells to treat disease. (Brubaker, 2/18)

ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

The Washington Post: D.C. Mayor Declares Potomac Sewage Spill An Emergency 
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) declared the Potomac River sewage spill a public emergency Wednesday and requested federal assistance with cleanup as the Trump administration continued to criticize local leaders for allegedly mishandling the environmental disaster. (Gathright and Hedgpeth, 2/18)

CBS News: DTE Energy Ordered To Pay $100 Million For Clean Air Act Violation At Detroit-Area Facility
DTE Energy and three subsidiaries are ordered to pay $100 million for failing to comply with the Clean Air Act at a Zug Island facility between River Rouge and Detroit. According to the Department of Justice, a court ruled in an August 2025 order that the EES Coke facility violated the Clean Air Act after a June 2022 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleged that the facility made changes without complying with the Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program. (Booth-Singleton, 2/19)

Inside Climate News: Texas Sues Dow Alleging Pollution Problems At Chemical Plant
The Texas Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit Friday against Dow Chemical Co., North America’s largest chemical manufacturer, describing hundreds of water pollution violations from its industrial complex on the rural Gulf Coast in Seadrift. (Baddour, 2/18)

CBS News: Philadelphia Launches Real-Time Air Quality Monitoring System: 'This Is Public Health In Action'
A new air quality monitoring system will allow Philadelphia residents to track air pollution in their neighborhoods in real time. Mayor Cherelle Parker and other officials announced Wednesday the launch of Breathe Philly, a series of 76 ground-level air quality monitors that provide hourly air quality measurements across each of the city's districts. "You can access up-to-date information about the air that you and your family are breathing right where you live," Parker said. (Simon and Sanders, 2/18)

PUBLIC HEALTH

The Washington Post: Blood Tests Show Potential For Predicting Start Of Alzheimer’s Symptoms
Scientists showed in a new study published Thursday that they could use blood draws to build a “clock” for Alzheimer’s disease that could roughly predict when symptoms will develop, findings that could eventually transform how the illness is diagnosed and treated. A simple blood test can help diagnose Alzheimer’s, but the study in the journal Nature Medicine shows how these kinds of tests could one day play a greater role in preventing the insidious, memory-robbing illness. In the new study, researchers built a model that could use blood test results to forecast symptom onset within a margin of three to four years. (Johnson, 2/19)

CIDRAP: Kids With Sleep Apnea May Face Higher Risks Of Flu, COVID
Children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were twice as likely to be diagnosed as having influenza or COVID-19 in the five years following diagnosis than those without the condition, according to a large study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. (Bergeson, 2/18)

GLOBAL WATCH

The Guardian: Bill Gates Cancels Keynote Speech In India Amid Questions Over Epstein Ties
Bill Gates has pulled out of a keynote address at the AI Impact Summit in India as he continues to face questions over his relationship with the deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The billionaire Microsoft co-founder travelled to India, where his foundation works with the government on delivering AI for social good, earlier this week and was advertised as speaking at the international summit shortly after the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. (Booth, 2/19)

CIDRAP: Resistant Foodborne Bacteria Widespread In Europe, Report Finds
New data from European health and food safety agencies show that resistance to commonly used antibiotics continues to rise in foodborne bacteria, threatening treatments for foodborne illness. Published in a joint report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the data show that a high proportion of Salmonella and Campylobacter isolates collected from humans and food-producing animals (cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys) in 2023-24 were resistant to commonly used antibiotics, including ampicillin, tetracycline, and sulfonamides. Salmonella and Campylobacter are two leading causes of foodborne illness. (Dall, 2/18)

ABC News: Up To 46,000 Injuries In Gaza Require Reconstructive Surgery: Study
Tens of thousands of those injured in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war require reconstructive surgery immediately and in years to come, a new study published Thursday finds. Researchers from Duke University, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London and Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza found that about 116,000 injuries in Gaza have been sustained between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 1, 2025. Of those injuries, they estimate up to 46,000 require reconstructive surgery. (Kekatos, 2/18)