Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Thursday, June 18, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Arrests Of Immigrant Parents Create Mental Health Crisis For Children
Damian Zermeño, 15, sensed something was wrong the moment he got home from school. His aunt sat at the dining table, sobbing. His father, who’d walked him to the bus stop that morning and promised to take him to dinner when he got back, wasn’t there. Saúl Zermeño, a 45-year-old single dad, had gone to a routine check-in appointment at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office that morning, a requirement he’d complied with for years. (Boyd-Barrett, 6/18)
KFF Health News: Sandwiched Between Caring For Kids And Aging Parents? Reach Out For Resources
Being a family caregiver is hard work. On June 17, KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony joined WAMU’s Health Hub to discuss her experience with parenting while also caring for aging parents. Listen in as she shares tips for other members of the “sandwich generation.” Are you juggling the responsibilities of raising children and having aging parents? Navigating that role can come with new responsibilities, stressors, and unexpected expenses, but claiming the caregiver identity can help. Researchers have found that people who identify as caregivers are more likely to use support services and feel a sense of community with others. (Anthony, 6/18)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘Letters To The Editor’: Readers Curse Medical Debt And Defend Spelling Therapy
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (6/18)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: New rules that require millions of Americans to work to access Medicaid are stricter than many expected. Plus, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act protects many people’s jobs — but there’s a big catch. (6/18)
COVERAGE AND ACCESS
AP: Poll: Only About Half Of Americans Say They Can Afford Quality Healthcare
Twannetta Weaver felt like she made the responsible choice when she enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan through her employer, an option that avoided high premiums and allowed her to save for retirement. Then, in 2025, she slipped a disk in her back, requiring medication and physical therapy. Suddenly, the medical bills were so overwhelming that Weaver, an adult learner working toward a leadership degree on the side, had to delay graduation by a year. (Swenson and Thomson-Deveaux, 6/18)
Modern Healthcare: Dems Favor ACA Subsidies Over Medicare For All In 2026 Elections
With affordability concerns driving the midterm elections, there is no bigger affordability hack politicians could promise than universal healthcare — but such grand pledges don’t appear to be on the menu for Democrats should they win control of Congress. Instead, most Democrats and Democratic leaders in Washington are setting expectations at easing the more than $1 trillion in healthcare cuts from President Donald Trump’s tax law and restoring enhanced tax credits for people buying coverage on the Affordable Care Act of 2010’s health insurance exchanges. (McAuliff, 6/17)
Fierce Healthcare: OIG Warns About Maternal Health 'Ghost Networks' In Medicaid
A pair of new reports from the Office of Inspector General raises concerns about "ghost networks" for maternal services in Medicaid. (Minemyer, 6/17)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
The Hill: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces $700M For Addiction Services
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced a $700 million investment into behavioral health programs, indicating an emphasis on faith-based recovery organizations. Kennedy, a recovered heroin addict, announced a $96 million funding opportunity for the Trump administration’s Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program, along with $612 million in funding opportunities for additional behavioral health programs. (Choi, 6/17)
NBC News: An Experimental Fentanyl Vaccine Showed Promise In An Early-Stage Trial
An experimental vaccine aimed at preventing fentanyl overdoses showed promise in an early-stage clinical trial, the drugmaker, ARMR Sciences, said Wednesday. It’s the first fentanyl vaccine to be tested in humans, and if it proves effective in larger trials, experts say it would mark a major breakthrough in efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in the United States. (Lovelace Jr., 6/17)
MedPage Today: Short-Acting Opioids For Withdrawal May Keep Patients From Leaving Hospital Early
Treating opioid withdrawal with short-acting opioids showed a dose-dependent association with a reduction in early patient-directed discharge in hospitalized adults receiving medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), according to a retrospective cohort study. (Firth, 6/17)
SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
Bloomberg: Online Cyberbullying Group 764 Torments Teenage Girls As Blood Sport
Sam was 15 when a friend he’d met playing Call of Duty invited him to join a private Discord forum where girls his age were sharing nude selfies and teens were trading violent images better than any horror movie. To get in, Sam needed to prove he could find someone to carve his username on their body. His friend said he had a girl who could help. Once inside, Sam says, he discovered hundreds of girls, many of them being manipulated into posting graphic clips. (Murphy, 6/17)
NBC News: Why Smartphones Aren’t To Blame For The Falling Fertility Rate
Too many Americans are “under-babied,” Dr. Mehmet Oz has said. He and other Trump administration officials frame the falling fertility rate as a crisis, fueling debates about what’s causing the decline. One argument gaining traction recently is that smartphones have made people less social and therefore less likely to have sex. (Bendix, 6/18)
The New York Times: Mental Health Can Complicate Family Planning
Deciding whether to have a child is one of the most consequential choices that someone will make. In many ways, it’s a leap of faith: Nobody can know ahead of time exactly what parenthood will look or feel like. Prospective parents often worry about problems like economic uncertainty, global crises or the difficulty of balancing parenting responsibilities with career. And for those with mental illness, there are additional considerations that can make the choice feel especially fraught. (Caron, 6/17)
AP: Mangione To Assert Psychiatric Defense At Insurance CEO Murder Trial
— Luigi Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a judge said Wednesday. It wouldn’t absolve him of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing, but could free him from prison sooner. If a jury accepts that defense, the panel would convict Mangione of manslaughter and he would face up to 25 years in prison. Alternatively, the jury could reject the extreme emotional disturbance defense and convict him of murder, which carries a potential life sentence. That defense isn’t available in his federal case. (Sisak, 6/17)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Politico: FTC Sues Transgender Care Group, Arguing It Deceived Parents And Patients
The Federal Trade Commission is suing the leading transgender health care group in federal court. The agency argued on Wednesday that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health made “deceptive claims” in its health care guidelines for transgender children. The group’s members include psychiatrists, surgeons, pediatricians, endocrinologists and primary care doctors who work with transgender patients. The FTC, like the Health Department, has been on a monthslong legal tear to clamp down on providers and hospitals that offer gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care refers to medical interventions for minors experiencing distress that their bodies do not align with their gender identity. (Levien, 6/17)
Stat: NIH Diversity Programs Doubled Chances Of Researcher Success
The path to becoming a scientist is long and twisting, making it difficult to assess whether programs intended to help those careers along are successful. But on Wednesday, the results of one such study are being published after 20 years of research. The paper in the journal Science Advances found that two diversity-oriented programs supported by the National Institutes of Health doubled the odds that an undergraduate student would earn a Ph.D. (Oza, 6/17)
The New York Times: New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work On Diseases Abroad
Even as the world is racing to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan that could decimate support for programs that detect and snuff out exactly such outbreaks. The new plan, proposed by the State Department, aims to overhaul the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on a landmark global H.I.V. program that also helps countries manage surveillance for emerging diseases, strengthen laboratory networks and support childhood immunizations. (Mandavilli, 6/17)
Modern Healthcare: How CMS’ Oversight Rule Could Affect Accrediting Organizations
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ final rule bolstering oversight of accreditors came as no surprise, and some organizations already have been making changes to their processes. CMS said Friday it finalized a rule aimed at enhancing accountability and quality among nine accrediting organizations that work with providers and suppliers participating in Medicare and Medicaid. CMS proposed the rule in 2024 due to concerns about inaccurate surveys, conflicts of interest and other issues. (Hudson, 6/17)
The Washington Post: Inside The Push To Keep RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Alive
In February at Republicans’ private Capitol Hill clubhouse, President Donald Trump’s chief pollster delivered a message about voters and their desire to hear about affordability. The briefing, attended by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., additional Cabinet members and others, didn’t focus on immunizations, as Republican strategists had concluded vaccine skepticism carried political risks. (Roubein and Sun, 6/17)
CIDRAP: White House Autism Announcement Triggers Surge In Online Searches For Leucovorin, Tylenol
After a White House press conference last fall promoted the use of leucovorin (folinic acid) for autism and raised concerns about acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy, Google searches for leucovorin were nearly 380% higher than expected over the next 14 days, according to a study by Yale researchers published last week in JAMA Network Open. Searches for leucovorin together with terms indicating an intent to purchase (like “buy” or “order”) rose more than 200%, and those connecting acetaminophen with autism and pregnancy soared, increasing 1,322%. (Bergeson, 6/17)
The Hill: Sen. Susan Collins Stands By Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Vote, Opposes Roe V. Wade Ruling
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) says she does “not regret” her vote to confirm conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, but she says she is “disappointed” that he ruled with the conservative majority in 2022 to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Collins told News Center Maine in a televised interview that she does not rue her support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation, arguing he was qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, but she disagreed with his decision to give states the power to set their own laws restricting abortion. (Bolton, 6/17)
PUBLIC HEALTH
AP: Education Dept. Changes Hurt Disability Rights Process, Families Say
For months, and sometimes longer, parents of kids with disabilities say they have waited for the Education Department to make progress on their complaints of bullying or other discrimination. Now that the department is offloading civil rights enforcement and special education, some parents and advocates warn a process that has largely been stalled since President Donald Trump took office will see only more chaos and roadblocks. (Hollingsworth, Ma and Balingit, 6/18)
ABC News: Some Cancer Patients Turn To Ivermectin Despite Lack Of Evidence It Works For That Purpose
Ivermectin, which surged in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic amid unproven claims that it could help fight COVID-19 infections, has now found a new following among some cancer patients. Prescriptions for the antiparasitic drug among cancer patients more than doubled in the first half of 2025, following the airing of a popular podcast episode promoting the drug, according to a study published in JAMA. (Osunsami, Geho, Romero, Christie and Benadjaoud, 6/17)
AP: Here's What Experts Say About FIFA's Hydration Breaks
For the first time in World Cup history, FIFA is mandating all soccer players take hydration breaks to protect them from the threats of extreme heat. But the new rule has sparked criticism from two very different groups. Some experts have warned that this summer’s World Cup — co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada — could be the hottest in the tournament’s history. In response to concerns about extreme heat, FIFA implemented three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half regardless of temperatures. But some critics say they’re interrupting the game’s flow and give coaches a chance to shift momentum in their team’s favor, while some scientists have said the breaks are too short to make a significant impact on cooling and rehydration when conditions are sizzling. (Pineda and McDermott, 6/18)
SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS
CIDRAP: Long-COVID Patients More Likely To Develop Heart Disease, Study Finds
Long-COVID patients are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a recent analysis of a national survey published in the journal Clinical Medicine Insights: Cardiology. Long COVID is a chronic illness in which people experience lingering symptoms after an initial COVID-19 infection. The diagnosis is not well understood, though many patients report cardiovascular complications. (Boden, 6/17)
CIDRAP: Measles, Chickenpox Vaccines Not Tied To Relapse In People With Multiple Sclerosis
People diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS) often worry about their symptoms intensifying or returning after receiving a live attenuated vaccine, which can cause vaccine hesitancy. But a recent study published in JAMA Network Open found that MS patients can receive live attenuated measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and chickenpox (varicella) vaccines without an increased chance of symptom relapse. (Holohan, 6/17)
Newsweek: Popular Supplement Ingredient Linked To Shorter Lifespans In Men
A nutrient often promoted for boosting focus and brain performance may carry an unexpected downside for men’s long‑term health, according to a new study. Published in the journal Aging‑US on June 15, 2026, the research suggests that higher levels of the amino acid tyrosine in the blood could be linked to a shorter lifespan in men. (Volpe, 6/16)
MedPage Today: Real-World Study Backs Menopausal Hormone Therapy For Stronger Bones
Menopausal hormone therapy was associated with a reduced risk of low bone mineral density (BMD) among postmenopausal women in a retrospective cohort study. (Monaco, 6/17)
MedPage Today: First Oral Carbapenem Approved For Complicated UTIs
The FDA approved oral tebipenem pivoxil (Utebzi) as the first oral carbapenem antibiotic to treat complicated urinary tract infections (UTIs), the agency announced on Wednesday. (Rudd, 6/17)
Newsweek: Trial Drug Could Clear Toxic Alzheimer’s Proteins And Restore Memory
A copper-based drug could offer a new route to tackling Alzheimer’s disease, after researchers found it reduced toxic proteins in the brain while improving memory in laboratory studies. Scientists at Monash University reported that the compound, known as Cu(ATSM), not only lowered levels of amyloid-beta—a protein strongly linked to Alzheimer’s—but also improved long-term spatial memory. (Azzurra Volpe, 6/17)
MedPage Today: Four-Year Data Confirm Anifrolumab Efficacy In Lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in the registration trials for anifrolumab (Saphnelo) who were followed for 4 years showed sustained improvement in hematologic and serologic parameters, as well as clinical symptom relief, researchers said. (Gever, 6/17)
MedPage Today: Cefazolin Proves Its Mettle For Methicillin-Susceptible Staph Infections
Cefazolin was effective for the treatment of bacteremia caused by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), findings of an international open-label platform trial showed. (Rudd, 6/17)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Bloomberg: UniQure Jumps As FDA Allows Huntington’s Gene Therapy Filing Without New Trial
UniQure NV shares soared after the company announced it will be able to seek US approval for its Huntington’s disease gene therapy before conducting a new study, a dramatic reversal that shows the Trump administration is relaxing its previous hard-line stance on drug reviews. The US Food and Drug Administration told the company during a recent meeting that data from its existing study would be acceptable for an expedited approval filing, UniQure said in a statement. It plans to submit an application in the third quarter of this year. (Langreth, 6/17)
Bloomberg: Johnson & Johnson Shifts Focus To Cancer, Skips Obesity Drug Market
Johnson & Johnson has no plans to enter the booming obesity market, opting instead to focus on diseases such as cancer, Chief Executive Officer Joaquin Duato said in an interview for an upcoming episode of The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations. The comments set J&J apart from many of its rivals trying to develop or acquire obesity medicines following blockbuster weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S. (Muller, 6/17)
Fierce Healthcare: Whoop, HealthEx Connect Medical Records And Biometric Data
Fitness wearable company Whoop announced Wednesday a partnership with health platform HealthEx that allows users to connect their medical records directly within the Whoop app, combining medical history with biometric data. (Gleeson, 6/17)
Becker's Hospital Review: AdventHealth Is Retrofitting 13,000 Rooms Across 57 Hospitals — The Largest Smart Room Rollout Ever
The modern healthcare visit typically comprises a clinician facing a computer monitor and the patient waiting to be looked at. Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth is hoping to reverse this trend. The health system is rolling out smart technology across 13,000 acute care rooms at 57 hospitals in nine states — the largest on record. (Bruce, 6/17)
Bloomberg: AI Startup Midjourney Pivots To Health With Ultrasound Machine
AI startup Midjourney Inc. announced its first hardware project at an event in San Francisco, outlining an unexpected move into the personal health and medical industries. Chief Executive Officer David Holz revealed what he described as a “full-body ultrasound machine” called the Midjourney Scanner. “No such device has ever been built until now,” he claimed, touting the new technology as superior to MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in numerous ways. (Welch, 6/18)
Bloomberg: AI Health Startup Telepatia Aims To Reach 950,000 Latin American Doctors By 2027
An Andreessen Horowitz-backed healthcare startup born in Latin America wants to put its AI assistant in the hands of half the region’s 1.9 million doctors by the end of 2027, a bet that technology can help bridge a shortage of medical professionals across strained health systems. Telepatia, launched in Colombia in July 2025 and now headquartered in Sao Paulo, sees the region’s overstretched hospitals and physicians as both a growth opportunity and a testing ground for technology that promises to make them more productive. (Dahl, 6/17)
STATE WATCH
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Budget Cuts Could Reverse Progress On HIV, Advocates Say
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, one of the largest and oldest HIV nonprofits in the country, anticipated that the Trump administration would slash its funding. But it wasn’t expecting significant cuts to come from the leaders of San Francisco, the birthplace of prevention methods that have guided the nation’s response to the AIDS epidemic for decades. The foundation’s Castro health clinic, Strut, is already staring down the loss of $1 million in federal grant dollars it doesn’t expect to be renewed under the Trump administration over the next two years. Now, the city’s proposed budget includes $1.2 million in new cuts. (DiNatale, 6/17)
Modern Healthcare: Kansas Rural Hospitals Form Clinically Integrated Network
Rural hospital clinically integrated networks are gaining steam and with the latest addition, there are hundreds of organizations in groups designed to boost their negotiating leverage with insurers, increase access to care and lower expenses. Seven Kansas rural hospitals have formed the Kansas High Value Network, a clinically integrated network meant to give providers the benefits of scale while remaining independent. The Kansas rural hospital coalition, announced Wednesday, follows other member-owned networks convened by rural hospital consultancy Cibolo Health in North Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Montana, Nebraska and Wisconsin. (Kacik, 6/17)
AP: US Tells States To Deal With Unemployment Fraud
The U.S. Labor Department told all 50 states on Wednesday that they need to get serious about fighting fraud and waste in unemployment insurance, or else they won’t get more money for those programs from the federal government. It’s the latest example of President Donald Trump ’s administration scrutinizing potential theft or misuse in state programs that get funding from Washington. While the letters went to all governors, the public announcement about them focused on issues in three states where Democrats are in charge. That’s been the case for many similar announcements from the Republican administration. (Mulvihill, 6/17)
