Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Thursday, July 2, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: A Mom Said Infant Formula Killed Her Baby. The Manufacturer Closed The File.
In September 2016, a distraught mother sent infant formula maker Mead Johnson a message: “REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST!!!! DO NOT EMAIL OR MAIL ME ANY MORE! It is because of your animal based pre-term artificial baby food crap that you peddle to hospital NICU’s that my son is dead from NEC.” The mother was referring to neonatal intensive care units and necrotizing enterocolitis, an often fatal condition in which intestinal tissue can die and allow infection to spread through the body of an infant born prematurely. (Hilzenrath and Hacker, 7/2)
KFF Health News: New Disease Threats Follow Trump Administration’s Health Program Cuts
As beachgoers flock to water during the busy July Fourth weekend, danger could be lurking in some areas. Researchers this spring discovered flesh-eating bacteria in water in several coastal locations across New York’s Long Island, and town officials in the Hamptons vacation destination posted an alert about the findings. Eight people in Florida have been infected this year, and Mississippi health officials in June urged people to take precautions. (Armour, 7/2)
KFF Health News: HealthQ Special: Caregiving In The Sandwich Generation
If you are taking care of a child and you have a parent over 65, you’re among millions across the U.S. in the same life stage. Nearly a quarter of all American adults — and half of all adults in their 40s — fall into this “sandwich generation” category, according to Pew research. And being in the middle of that sandwich can feel … intense. (Anthony, Farmer, Ruppelt and Siner, 7/2)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: More Americans than ever are surviving cancer and face lingering mental health issues. Plus, tips to get your health insurance company to pay for a GLP-1 drug. (7/2)
KFF Health News: 'What The Health? From KFF Health News': Supreme Court Makes Health Policy
The Supreme Court wrapped up its 2025-26 session this week with a spate of decisions, including several affecting health policy. The most significant: an immigration case that could exacerbate a shortage of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Meanwhile, two separate investigations paint in vivid detail how some doctors and hospitals are pocketing huge profits as a result of a federal law intended to shield patients from surprise medical bills. (Rovner, 7/1)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The New York Times: Trump Administration Delivers Lucrative Win For Its Kratom Allies
The Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday took steps to temporarily ban supplements containing a synthetic version of kratom, a plan that had been sought by makers of a rival product with strong ties to the Trump administration. The agency said it plans to classify an addictive psychoactive compound called 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, in the same category as heroin and LSD — drugs that are illegal to buy or sell. (Jewett and Vogel, 7/1)
Bloomberg: Trump’s Nuclear Watchdog To Ditch 50-Year-Old Radiation Guidance
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to scrap guidance on radiation exposure for power plant workers that’s been in place since the mid-1970s. The NRC has proposed replacing the “as low as reasonably achievable” standard, abbreviated as Alara, with regulations the agency considers more cost effective and less complex. The new policy would be based on existing federally regulated dose limits. The commission also proposed a range of reforms to licensing practices in an effort to streamline nuclear power plant development. (Mackler and Wade, 7/1)
ABC News: Will The Return Of The Presidential Fitness Test Improve Kids' Physical Activity Levels?
The Trump administration launched the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test this week with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. participating in fitness activities with a youth organization. It comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year reestablishing the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. "We must address the threat to the vitality and longevity of our country that is posed by America's declining health and physical fitness," the executive order reads. (Kekatos, 7/2)
ON CAPITOL HILL
Axios: Exclusive: GOP Think Tank Pushes Heavy Health Spending Cuts
An influential conservative think tank is issuing a new call for policy changes that would lower the federal government's health care spending, including several that would be guaranteed to generate political blowback. (Owens, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: House Committee Advances Tax-Exempt Hospital Transparency Act
Tax-exempt hospitals would have to reveal extensive financial data under a bill that cleared a key House committee Wednesday. The Tax-Exempt Hospital Transparency Act of 2026 passed the Ways and Means Committee on a voice vote, with some Democrats indicating opposition. Hospitals have increasingly been in the crosshairs on Capitol Hill, with Republicans going as far as floating an end to their tax exemption last year. Progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are also critical of nonprofit hospitals, contending they do not provide enough charity care to justify not paying federal taxes. (McAuliff, 7/1)
Politico: Tom Kean Jr. Kept His Depression A Secret. Colleagues Are Questioning That Decision
When Rep. Tom Kean Jr. revealed Tuesday his extended absence from the House was due to inpatient treatment for depression, he ended months of speculation but also fueled a delicate conversation: Just how much privacy are elected officials entitled to? The New Jersey Republican offered only scant details about his condition during the four months he went missing. And while colleagues of both parties expressed sympathy for his mental health challenges and gratitude that he has now returned, many hedged their comments by saying Kean could and perhaps should have said something earlier. (McCarthy and Levien, 7/1)
PUBLIC HEALTH
OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
CIDRAP: Air Force Trainee In San Antonio, Texas, Died From Flu
The cause of death for an Air Force trainee who died last month at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio was influenza, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat. Keon Talik McDaniel, 25, died June 16, according to his obituary. Influenza swept the air force base in June, one month after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the flu shots voluntary, rather than mandatory, for American troops. Nearly 300 troops have been sickened by influenza, Castro said in a press release. (Szabo, 7/1)
ABC News: Record Number Of West Nile Virus Cases Since 2004, CDC Warns Ahead Of Holiday Weekend
A record number of West Nile virus cases have been recorded for this time of year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming holiday weekend. At least 48 cases of West Nile have been reported so far this year compared to an average of 10 typically by the end of June. This is the highest number of infections reported at this point in year since 2004, according to the federal health agency. Additionally, at least 23 states are reporting West Nile activity, which is the highest number recorded over the last 10 years, CDC data shows. (Benadjaoud, 7/1)
The Hill: CDC Investigates Parasitic Illness Spreading Across US
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to find the source of a parasitic illness that’s spreading across the country. At least 145 cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported across 17 states. About 20 people have been hospitalized after suffering severe symptoms. Public health teams are investigating several clusters of cases reported in New York, Illinois and Texas. (Sitz, 7/1)
CIDRAP: Ebola Deaths In Africa Top 400 As Uganda Reports Death Of Child From Marburg
Casualties of the Ebola Bundibugyo virus outbreak in Africa continue to mount, with a total of at least 1,354 infections and 401 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as investigators track potential spread to new DRC provinces and Uganda confirms a Marburg infection in a child who died of the virus. Like Ebola, the closely related Marburg virus causes a hemorrhagic fever. (Van Beusekom, 7/1)
CIDRAP: The WHO Aims To Help Nations Confront Growing Threat Of Fungal Disease, Antifungal Resistance
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new “blueprint” to help countries respond to the growing threat of fungal infections and antifungal resistance. Released yesterday, the document provides a framework to strengthen national and regional responses to fungal diseases, which affect more than 300 million people each year yet remain widely under-recognized, underdiagnosed, and poorly managed. (Dall, 7/1)
SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS
Stat: Synthetic Biology Researchers Create First Synthetic Cell. Is It Alive?
Researchers have created what they say may count as the first synthetic cell, and have started a public benefit corporation to share the technology with other scientists. It’s a piece of science that generates as many questions as answers. They are unlike cells in nature, but have cell-like properties that are spurring a debate about whether they might even be considered alive. (Herper, 7/1)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes 2.4% Home Health Pay Increase For 2027
Home health providers would receive a 2.4% pay bump in 2027 under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Wednesday. The draft regulation also would accelerate the process for excluding any type of provider or supplier from Medicare when fraud is detected. CMS placed a moratorium on new home health and hospice provider enrollment into Medicare last month as it conducts fraud investigations. (Early, 7/1)
The Colorado Sun: Transgender Patients Seek To Hold Children's Hospital Colorado In Contempt
The transgender patients and their families who are suing Children’s Hospital Colorado are seeking to hold the hospital in contempt for failing to resume gender-affirming care as ordered by the courts. (Ingold, 7/2)
Modern Healthcare: Allegheny Health Network Closes Deal To Buy Heritage Valley
Allegheny Health Network closed its acquisition of Heritage Valley Health despite pushback from the Pennsylvania attorney general. The deal adds Heritage’s two hospitals, dozens of clinics and 500 employed and affiliated physicians to the 16-hospital provider division of Highmark Health. A final order Friday from a federal court paved the way for the transaction’s close, with conditions. (Kacik, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: Dartmouth Health Gets $10M Gift For Hospital-At-Home Program
Dartmouth Health is rewriting the script for how to start a hospital-at-home program — and potentially help rural patients — with a $10 million gift from a New Hampshire philanthropist. Most health systems are standing up the programs with internal funds. Dartmouth Health is benefiting from the largesse of one of its professors, and the gift could signal another way for health systems to secure the funding needed to get the programs off the ground in more communities. (Eastabrook, 7/1)
Cardinal News: The Pulse: Carilion Launches New Clinical Trial For Cancer Treatment
Carilion Clinic is expanding cancer research in Roanoke by bringing in new clinical trials as part of the development of the Carilion Taubman Cancer Center. (Schabacker, 7/2)
WUSF: BayCare Plans Medical Drone Delivery In The Tampa Bay Area
The Clearwater-based health system, in a partnership with Zipline, will be able to move meds, lab samples and critical supplies within minutes after the aircraft begin flying in Pinellas County in 2027. (Mayer, 7/1)
Chicago Tribune: Northwestern Medicine Plans Cancer Care Facility In Orland Park
Northwestern Medicine plans to use a whopping $225 million donation to help build a new medical office building for cancer care in Orland Park. (Schencker, 7/1)
PHARMA AND TECH
Stat: FDA Approves Orca Bio’s T Cell Therapy For Blood Cancer Patients
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a personalized T-cell therapy from Orca Bio, a private biotech company, that reduces the risk of a debilitating immune reaction in patients with blood cancers undergoing stem cell transplants. (Feuerstein, 7/1)
Stat: Cardiovascular Medicines Are Changing The Health Risks Of Obesity
People with obesity have worse cardiovascular health than people with normal weight, especially as they get older, right? Not necessarily. People over 40 with obesity appear to have both their blood pressure and cholesterol under control at levels rivaling their peers with normal body mass index, research published Wednesday in the Lancet has found. (Cooney, 7/1)
STATE WATCH
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Law Adding Restrictions To Medication Abortions Takes Effect
Iowans seeking a medication abortion will now have to see a provider in person, according to a new law that went into effect on July 1. The law requires that the abortion medications misoprostol and mifepristone be prescribed in person and dispensed at a medical center. It marks the latest restriction state lawmakers have placed on abortion. (Krebs, 7/1)
AP: New Jersey Is Set To Charge Companies With Workers On Medicaid. Other States May Follow
New Jersey is launching a new fee on companies whose workers have Medicaid health coverage instead of being covered by their employers. Other states are considering it, too. Democratic lawmakers and governors see it as a way to help pay for the joint federal and state insurance program that covers low-income residents as federal policy changes are expected to make the program more expensive for states and may lead to a reduction in the number of people with coverage. Proponents also say it’s about fairness because employers benefit from having some lower-income workers with taxpayer-funded health coverage. (Mulvihill, 7/2)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Medicaid Patients Wait More Than A Year For Dental Care
Erica Champ has a serious toothache. One tooth has erupted through her gum. Another throbs below the surface. Sometimes she suffers severe pain and facial swelling. She has to rinse her mouth frequently with mouthwash or peroxide to keep the gums from getting infected. (McCoppin, 7/1)
MPR News: Minnesota's ‘Sprint Medic' Pilot Program Aims To Get Paramedics To Rural Emergencies Faster
Lourens Nel, a contract farm laborer from South Africa, was working in the grain bins of a Grant County farm about 80 miles southeast of Fargo last August when he was injured in a terrible accident. “Foot slipped and, yeah, got caught in the auger, I suppose,” Nel said. “It cut it clean off.” (Work, 7/1)
North Carolina Health News: NC Lawmakers Consider Changes To Vehicle Child Seat Laws
North Carolina could soon have new child motor vehicle passenger safety rules that put more emphasis on the height of a child than on their weight. Legislation that has been making its way through the state legislature over the past two years could mean that some children have to return to booster seats. (Lopez, 7/2)
The New York Times: Nine Arrested In Federal Crackdown On L.A.’s Sex-Trafficking Corridor
Federal agents on Wednesday raided a section of Los Angeles that has become one of the country’s most notorious child sex-trafficking corridors, arresting nine people on charges related to selling girls as young as 14 for sex. The operation took place near a 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street known as “the Blade,” where girls go from car to car in stilettos, soliciting customers for sex to reach their traffickers’ nightly quotas. The girls can be seen wearing hair bows and dangling condoms from Hello Kitty lingerie, their faces tattooed with their traffickers’ monikers. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 7/1)
DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER'S
TODAY.com: Danny Glover Reveals Alzheimer’s Diagnosis On TODAY: EXCLUSIVE
Legendary actor Danny Glover revealed in a TODAY exclusive interview that he has been living with Alzheimer’s disease for multiple years. Glover, 79, and his family spoke with former NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt in an interview aired July 1. They gave a glimpse into what life is like now for the four-time Emmy winner and why he decided to publicly share his diagnosis now. “I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” Glover said. (Stump, 7/1)
GLOBAL WATCH
CNN: Canadian Boy, 11, Died From Rabies After Waking Up With Bat On His Mouth
An 11-year-old Canadian boy has died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his nose and mouth. The episode occurred during a visit to a cottage in northern Ontario in 2024, according to a report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday. (Orie, 7/1)
