First Edition: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Her Son’s Injury Never Got Its Day In Vaccine Court. Their Lawyer Is Now Advising RFK On Its Overhaul
In 2019, after a routine vaccination, 11-year-old Keithron Thomas felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and down his arm. His mother, Melanie Bostic, thought it would go away after a few days. But days turned to weeks, then months, and years. Bostic learned of a federal program designed to help people who suffer rare vaccine reactions. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was created in 1986 after a flood of vaccine injury lawsuits drove drugmakers from the market. ... She then contacted the Carlson Law Firm, which referred her to Arizona-based attorney Andrew Downing — who now serves as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Rosenfeld, 1/29)

KFF Health News: Medicare Advantage Insurers Face New Curbs On Overcharges In Trump Plan That Reins In Payments
Medicare Advantage health plans are blasting a government proposal this week that would keep their reimbursement rates flat next year while making other payment changes. But some health policy experts say the plan could help reduce billions of dollars in overcharges that have been common in the program for more than a decade. (Schulte, 1/29)

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

The Washington Post: The Cost Of Health Care, Not Food Or Rent, Is Now Americans’ Top Worry
Yes, Americans are worried about their bills for groceries, housing and utilities. But their biggest pocketbook anxiety arises from the cost of health care, according to a new poll, and their rising concern is likely to affect this year’s midterm elections. Voters say that the issue will alter their election choices, with about three-quarters indicating that health care costs will affect their choices in November, according to the poll released Thursday by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization. (Whoriskey, 1/29)

CNN: Obamacare Enrollment Drops After Enhanced Premium Subsidies Expire 
More than a million fewer people have signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage for 2026, according to federal data released Wednesday. The drop comes after the expiration of the enhanced federal premium subsidies caused monthly payments to skyrocket for many enrollees. (Luhby, 1/28)

The 19th: Soaring Premiums Force Women, LGBTQ+ People To Make Hard Choices
Their health care premiums have skyrocketed. And now, women and LGBTQ+ people across the country are scrambling. (Luthra, Rodriguez and Rummler, 1/28)

ON CAPITOL HILL

The Washington Post: Democrats Demand New ICE Restrictions As Government Shutdown Looms 
The impasse between Republicans and Democrats over the Homeland Security funding bill means a partial government shutdown is likely at the end of the week. Most of the federal government will close Saturday unless Congress passes legislation to keep it open. Democratic senators have said they will not vote for any funding bill unless Republicans agree to remove DHS funding from a larger appropriations package or include new measures to rein in the agency. (Beggin and Meyer, 1/28)

IMMIGRATION CRISIS

ABC News: 'A Very Distressing Thing To Witness': Experts Explain Psychological Impact Of Seeing Minneapolis Shootings
Over the last several days, many Americans have seen upsetting, and often violent, images and videos of protests in Minneapolis amid a flood of ICE agents entering the city for a federal immigration enforcement operation. Research has shown that images of extreme violence can impact mental health, increasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. (Kekatos, 1/28)

The Washington Post: VA Leaders Have Barely Acknowledged Alex Pretti’s Death, Workers Say 
Veterans Affairs employees have not received any agencywide acknowledgment of the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, frustrating workers already upset by Trump officials’ immediate response to their colleague’s death, according to current and former officials and employees. The 37-year-old Pretti, who worked at the Minneapolis VA, was fatally shot Saturday by federal agents participating in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown across the city. (Kornfield and Diamond, 1/28)

The New York Times: Haitians Are Vital to U.S. Health Care. Many Are About to Lose Their Right to Work.
Haitians are a vital source of employees for health care providers in many communities. The Trump administration is removing legal status next month for 330,000 of them. (Jordan, 1/29)

CNN: Case Of Measles Confirmed In Arizona ICE Facility 
The US Department of Homeland Security says a person in detention at an Arizona Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility has measles, a highly contagious virus that can cause high fevers and a distinctive rash. (Howard, 1/28)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Military.com: VA Halts Abortion Care For Veterans After DOJ Opinion
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has ended abortion services and most abortion counseling for veterans nationwide, with officials telling Military.com that a Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion leaves the agency no legal authority to provide that care. The rollback follows a DOJ opinion issued last year that VA officials said required an immediate reversal of a 2022 Biden administration policy that expanded abortion access within the VA system. (Radzius, 1/28)

Mother Jones: HHS Will Allow Pharmacies To Boycott Lifesaving Drugs Used In Medication Abortion
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Biden administration enforced a rule in 2022 mandating that retail pharmacies receiving any federal funding had to carry and dispense mifepristone, misoprostol, and methotrexate—drugs used in medication abortions and, in the case of methotrexate, the treatment of ectopic pregnancies and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus—in order not to discriminate on the basis of sex and disability. The Trump administration formally withdrew that rule on Tuesday, allowing pharmacists to refuse to stock or dispense misoprostol and methotrexate, despite their other uses. (Metraux, 1/28)

Chicago Tribune: Indiana Senate Passes Abortion Medication Ban Bill 
The Indiana Senate passed an abortion medication ban bill Tuesday, largely along party lines, with one Republican joining all Democrats present to vote against the bill. (Kukulka, 1/28)

TRANSGENDER CARE

Politico: Trump Administration Finds California’s Ban On ‘Forced Outing’ Of Students Violates Federal Law 
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that a California policy allowing school districts to withhold information from parents about their child’s gender identity violates federal law. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said a federal investigation determined state officials “egregiously abused” their authority by pressuring local districts to keep quiet about transgender students. (He, 1/28)

Chicago Tribune: Indiana Senate Passes Gender Definition Bill
The Indiana Senate gave final approval to a gender definition bill Tuesday along party lines. Senate Bill 182 defines female, male, gender, and sex for all Indiana statutes. The bill states that the Department of Correction has to assign an offender to a facility or program that is based on the inmate’s biological sex at birth. (Kukulka, 1/28)

AUTISM

Stat: Kennedy Packed Autism Advisory Council With Skeptics, Critics Say 
The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday announced the appointment of 21 new members to a federal committee that advises health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on autism. (Broderick, 1/28)

VACCINES

CIDRAP: US Pressures Gavi To Phase Out Use Of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines
The Trump administration is asking Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to phase out the use of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal if it wants future US funding. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative that’s been used in small amounts in some multidose vaccine vials since the 1930s to prevent microbial contamination. Although the preservative is no longer used in any routinely used US vaccines, it is used in some multidose vaccines in other countries. (Dall, 1/28)

Stat: Kennedy Allies Target Statehouses For Next Round Of Vaccine Rollbacks
The Trump administration’s abrupt overhaul of the federal vaccine schedule sent shockwaves through American health care earlier this month. But the biggest impacts are likely to come in the weeks and months ahead, as activists seek to use the momentum to loosen state-level vaccine requirements. (Payne and Cueto, 1/29)

Bloomberg: Senators Bash RFK Jr. On Changes To Vaccine Injury Committee
Four Senate Democrats are pushing US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to detail his plans for revamping how the federal government compensates people who are harmed by vaccines, as well as how he, his family and associates will benefit from the change. On Tuesday, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland sent Kennedy a letter highlighting his ties to a law firm that represents people suing the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. (Nix and Edney, 1/28)

Politico: A Meeting With RFK Jr. Set Off Recriminations Inside Doctors’ Lobbying Arm 
A meeting this month between the head of the American Medical Association and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has prompted infighting within the nation’s leading lobbying group for doctors. Following the Jan. 7 meeting, a contingent of member doctors wrote to the AMA’s board chair because they view Kennedy as a threat to public health whom the group should shun, according to correspondence obtained by POLITICO. (Levien, 1/28)

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

The Wall Street Journal: Drop In Drug Overdoses Boosts U.S. Life Expectancy To All-Time High
Life expectancy in the U.S. reached a record high in 2024 following a substantial decline of drug-overdose deaths, according to figures released by the federal government Thursday. The life expectancy at birth for the average American was 79 years old in 2024, up 0.6 year from the year prior, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The increase signals a rebound from declines in life expectancy during the coronavirus pandemic and progress in combating the opioid crisis. (Calfas, 1/29)

HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL

Axios: Walmart Raises Pay For Thousands Of Pharmacy Technicians, Elevates Jobs
Walmart is reshaping pharmacy jobs — raising pay and elevating thousands of technician roles as it invests more heavily in pharmacy workers, the world's largest retailer tells Axios. (Tyko, 1/28)

NPR: Home Care Workers Could Lose Wage Protections Under Trump
Caring for the elderly in America is costly – too costly for many people to afford. Now, the Trump administration is attempting to tackle that problem by rolling back wage protections for more than 3 million workers who care for seniors and the disabled in their homes. (Hsu, 1/29)

Chicago Tribune: Fugitive Former Loretto Executive Arrested In Serbia
Fugitive former Loretto Hospital executive Anosh Ahmed, who fled to Dubai before his indictment on massive fraud charges, has been arrested in Serbia and is awaiting possible extradition to stand trial in Chicago, federal prosecutors disclosed in a court filing Wednesday. (Meisner, 1/28)

AP: Manhattan Prosecutors Push For July Trial Date In Luigi Mangione Murder Case 
Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione ’s state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection in his federal death penalty case. In a letter, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann asked Judge Gregory Carro to begin the New York trial on July 1, arguing that the state’s interests “would be unfairly prejudiced by an unnecessary delay” until after the federal trial. (Sisak, 1/29)

AP: Woman Who Stole Identities To Work As Nurse Sentenced To Six Years In Federal Prison
A woman who stole identities to work as a nurse or physician’s assistant in multiple states has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Tim VerHey in western Michigan said it was a “happy accident” that Leticia Gallarzo didn’t harm anyone while starting intravenous lines, distributing medications, removing catheter lines and supervising others. (Dall, 1/28)

The Washington Post: White Biologist Sues Cornell, Alleging Illegal Race-Based Hiring
An evolutionary biologist filed a lawsuit against Cornell University this week that alleges the Ivy League school used unlawful race-based hiring practices and intentionally discriminated against qualified candidates by refusing to consider White people. (Svrluga and Meckler, 1/28)

The New York Times: Angella Ferguson, A Leader In Sickle Cell Anemia Research, Dies At 100 
Dr. Angella D. Ferguson, a pediatrician whose groundbreaking research aided in the early diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell anemia, a painful and deadly disease that disproportionately afflicts people of African descent, died on Jan. 6 at her home in Chevy Chase, Md. She was 100. Her death was confirmed by her nephew Roger W. Ferguson Jr., an economist and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. (Roberts, 1/28)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

AP: Nursing Home Reported A Gas Smell Hours Before Deadly Explosion
Hours before a deadly explosion ripped through a Pennsylvania nursing home last month, staff grew concerned about the smell of natural gas on several floors and brought in workers from the local utility company to check it out, federal regulators said Wednesday. The preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board provides details about the three hours that passed between the report of a gas odor and the thunderous blast in Bristol, just outside Philadelphia, as well as how utility workers were on the scene for much of that time. It also notes that a utility worker traced the leak to a valve in a meter set in the basement boiler room. (Scoloforo, 1/28)

Chicago Tribune: Lurie Children's Planning New Hospital In Downers Grove Area
Lurie Children’s Hospital is in the early stages of planning a new children’s hospital in the Downers Grove area, Lurie announced Wednesday. The new hospital would be the system’s first hospital with inpatient beds outside of its main facility in Streeterville. The plan follows years of closures of pediatric units at community hospitals across Illinois. (Schencker, 1/28)

Modern Healthcare: Sword Health Acquires Kaia Health In $285M Deal
Sword Health has acquired Kaia Health in a $285 million deal, the companies said Wednesday. Both companies operate in the virtual musculoskeletal care space. Sword combines artificial intelligence and motion-tracking technology to deliver virtual physical therapy services. Kaia is focused on both musculoskeletal and pulmonary care.The deal will allow Sword to expand its U.S. presence and marks the company’s entry into Germany. (Famakinwa, 1/28)

MedPage Today: New Stroke Guideline Pushes EVT For Larger Core Strokes, Mobile Stroke Units
The American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) guideline for early stroke management was updated to expand eligibility for endovascular therapy and added new recommendations for pediatric stroke, among other changes. (Lou, 1/28)

PHARMA AND TECH

Stat: Inside The Rise And Fall Of Opvee, Indivior's Nasal Overdose Antidote 
It was cast as a lifesaving medication, a “best-in-class” overdose antidote built specifically for the fentanyl era. It was far more powerful than Narcan, the nasal spray it was designed to supplant. Data suggested that the newer spray, Opvee, would restore breathing faster, averting death and brain injury for thousands of Americans who experience an opioid overdose. (Facher, 1/29)

The Hill: Yeztugo PrEP Drug Gains Wider Insurance Coverage Months After FDA Approval
HIV/AIDS activists heralded the approval of a new twice-yearly pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication last year, but these celebrations were tempered by insurers’ reluctance to cover its exorbitant cost. In the months since, payers are coming around, and more patients have access to this landmark advancement. In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved Yeztugo, an injection of the drug lenacapavir, as a form of HIV PrEP. The drug is manufactured by Gilead Sciences. PrEP medication comprises preventative medications for HIV-negative people at high risk of exposure. (Choi, 1/28)

MedPage Today: CMS Makes Push To Maximize Donor Organs, Even The Imperfect Ones
Organs from medically complex donors would get more use as part of a proposed rule for greater federal government oversight of organ procurement organizations (OPOs). The proposed rule, released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), would require OPOs to assess their performance in placing organs from older donors or donors with less-than-optimal health status, and when possible take action to improve their performance to help widen the pool of life-saving matches. (Frieden, 1/28)

Stat: DeepMind Opens AlphaGenome Code To Widen DNA Research 
When the world’s scientists finally pieced together a first draft of the human genome in 2003, one of the biggest surprises was just how little of it — only about 20,000 genes — are involved in the business of producing proteins. At first, the remaining 98% appeared not to do much of anything at all. (Molteni, 1/28)

STATE WATCH

CIDRAP: States Across The Country Report First Measles Cases Of Year
As the South Carolina measles outbreak approaches 800 cases, states across the nation are tracking their first measles cases of 2026. In Florida, three cases have been documented this year, including two from the Tampa Bay area. According to local news, health officials say measles cases were confirmed in Hillsborough, Manatee, and St. Johns counties, and all case-patents are between ages 20 and 24 years. The patient in Manatee County likely acquired the virus outside of the country, but the other two people have no history of international travel. (Soucheray, 1/28)

The Washington Post: Shirley Raines, Who Fed And Cared For The Homeless Of Skid Row, Dies At 58 
Shirley Raines, a beloved advocate for the homeless who used social media to amplify her message of respect and dignity for people on Los Angeles’s Skid Row and beyond, died Tuesday. She was 58. Her death was confirmed by the Clark County Coroner’s Office in Nevada, which said information on the cause of death was pending. Ms. Raines had lived in Las Vegas in recent years, broadening her advocacy efforts far beyond the Skid Row section of downtown L.A. where she started. (Rozsa and Hernandez, 1/28)

Bloomberg: US Winter Storms Collide With Soaring Energy Bills, Forcing Tough Choices
The deep freeze gripping much of the US is colliding with some of the highest energy costs in years — further straining households already squeezed by stubbornly high food and housing prices. Consumer prices for electricity and piped gas rose 7.7% in December from a year earlier, almost three times the pace of overall inflation. In some parts of the country, power prices have hit all-time highs, fueled by the massive buildout of artificial intelligence data centers that are driving demand to unprecedented levels. (Fanzeres and Wade, 1/28)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

Colorado Capitol News Alliance: Colorado Democrats Want To Expand The State’s Red Flag Gun Law, Impose New Restrictions On Gun Barrels 
Democrats in the Colorado legislature are pursuing an expansion of the state’s red flag law this year and are also trying to impose new rules on the sale of gun barrels. (Woods, 1/28)

MedPage Today: Gun Injuries In Parents Linked To Mental Health Issues In Kids
Firearm injuries among parents were associated with increased rates of psychiatric disorder diagnoses and mental health visits in their children, according to a study using U.S. commercial health insurance claims data. (Jeffrey, 1/28)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

Los Angeles Times: The Share Of Americans Medically Obese Is Projected To Rise To Almost 50% By 2035
On Wednesday, a new study published in JAMA by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle projected that by 2035, nearly half of all American adults, about 126 million individuals, will be living with obesity. The study draws on data from more than 11 million participants via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and from the independent Gallup Daily Survey. (Magaña, 1/28)

NBC News: People Who Naturally Stay Up Late May Have Worse Heart Health Than Early Risers
The early bird may not only catch the proverbial worm but also have a healthier heart, new research suggests. People who naturally stay up late, self-described night owls, are likelier to have poor heart health than people with more traditional sleep-wake schedules, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (Leake, 1/28)

CBS News: Gerber Recalls Some Arrowroot Biscuits Over Potential Plastic Or Paper Pieces
Gerber is recalling some of its arrowroot biscuits over potential contamination of soft plastic and paper pieces, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday. ... No illnesses or injuries have been reported, according to Gerber's voluntary recall announcement. (Intarasuwan, 1/28)