Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Thursday, May 14, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Trump Demands Medicaid Data For Deportation. Some States Go A Step Further
Several states have joined President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts and are taking federal reporting requirements to immigration authorities a step further — by using their public health agencies as arms of enforcement. North Carolina, in late April, became the latest member of a growing group of Republican-led states to require their public health agencies to flag recipients of Medicaid to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their legal status is in question. (Jones, 5/14)
KFF Health News: License To Deliver: Some Midwives Break The Law To Assist With Home Births
In a midwife’s suburban Atlanta home with a playground and chicken coop outside, Madie Collins lay on an examination table while the midwife measured her pregnant belly. Unlike at many a doctor’s office, no crinkly paper sheet covered the table and no antiseptic chill lingered in the air. The room next door, where Collins’ appointment began, was filled with children’s toys and scented candles and warmed by a wood-burning stove. The certified professional midwife pressed the button on a handheld Doppler ultrasound machine she placed on Collins’ belly. (Rab, 5/14)
KFF Health News: Hantavirus News Roundup: From Céline Gounder Of KFF Health News
Following a recent outbreak of the deadly hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius, KFF Health News editor-at-large and infectious disease doctor Céline Gounder spoke to numerous media outlets about the risks from the disease. Here are some highlights from Gounder on the evolving story. (Gounder, 5/14)
OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
San Francisco Chronicle: Fifth California Resident Possibly Exposed To Hantavirus
State health officials identified a fifth California resident exposed to the Andes hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship last month. The California resident was a passenger on the cruise ship, the California Department of Public Health said Wednesday. They got off the ship before the outbreak was discovered, returned briefly to California, then left the state. (Hodgman, 5/13)
The Hill: Map: The States Monitoring Hantavirus Exposures After Cruise Ship Outbreak
Among those within the federal quarantine locations are two residents from California, one each from North Carolina and Oregon, and three each from New York and Utah. While officials did not identify the Oregon resident, Dr. Stephen Kornfield previously said he was aboard the cruise ship and has since identified himself as the passenger who tested positive. Health officials earlier this week called his results inconclusive – one PCR test produced a negative result, while another was positive. All of the passengers, who are now in quarantine, can remain there for 42 days, the incubation period for the Andes strain. They can also choose to quarantine elsewhere, according to health officials. (Bink, 5/13)
Bloomberg: Hantavirus Shows No Sign Of Mutation As US Cruise Case Cleared
The respiratory virus behind a deadly outbreak on a cruise ship is showing no sign of mutating to become more contagious, European health officials said, as a US patient initially treated as a potential hantavirus case has been cleared of infection. One passenger who had been taken to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit was medically cleared and moved to a quarantine facility, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said in an email Wednesday. (Fourcade and Gale, 5/13)
The Hill: CDC Not Requiring Hantavirus Cruise Passengers To Isolate At Home
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday that the hantavirus remains a low public health risk and while the agency is “encouraging” American passengers of the infected cruise ship to isolate at home, the absence of a formal quarantine order means these individuals can go out in public if they choose. “At this moment, I want to emphasize that the risk to the general public is low. Our top priority is both the passengers who are on the ship and American communities,” David Fitter, incident manager for the CDC’s hantavirus response said in a press briefing. (Choi, 5/13)
AP: British Cruise Ship With 1,700 On Board Hit By Illness, No Hantavirus Link
Over 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship were ordered to remain on board after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, French authorities said Wednesday. They dismissed any link to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on another vessel that has put European health authorities on alert. The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise from Belfast and Liverpool that was due to take in ports in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast.It reached Bordeaux on Tuesday evening, according to the operator, Ambassador Cruise Line. (Adamson, 5/13)
VACCINES
Bloomberg: Hantavirus Vaccine Research Stalls In Chile After Funding Runs Out
Virologist María Inés Barría remembers the Eureka moment from a decade ago. Barría and her team in Chile had been working for months on antibodies to treat hantavirus that kills about one-in-three people who contract it. The breakthrough came around 2016, when a telltale fluorescent green glow indicating the presence of the virus disappeared under a microscope. ... After later success in animal trials, the lab was ready to work with international partners to start testing on humans. Then they ran out of money. (Mufarech and Smith, 5/13)
CIDRAP: 1 In 4 US Kids With Travel-Acquired Malaria Face Delayed Diagnosis, Raising Risk Of Severe Disease
Delayed diagnosis of travel-acquired malaria was common among children treated at US hospitals and was linked to a higher risk of severe disease, according to a new study published late last week in Pediatrics. A team led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) reviewed 171 pediatric malaria cases across nine US hospitals from 2016 through 2023. Approximately one-third of children developed severe malaria, though no deaths occurred. (Bergeson, 5/13)
CIDRAP: Review By Vaccine Integrity Project Supports Tdap Vaccination During Pregnancy
Infants born to mothers who received the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during pregnancy are less likely to contract pertussis (whooping cough), develop complications, and die of the disease than those without such protection, a report today from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) suggests. (Van Beusekom, 5/13)
CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Intramuscular Immunoglobulin For Measles Postexposure Prophylaxis
A Public Health Alerts report today details successful administration of intramuscular immunoglobulin (IMIG) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP, for prevention) to 11 babies exposed to measles in Utah last year. IMIG is an option for preventing measles in infants after exposure to a person with the disease, wrote the authors, from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and elsewhere in Utah. Typical dose is 0.5 milliliters (mL) per kilogram (kg), but no clear PEP guidelines exist. (Wappes, 5/13)
CIDRAP: Study Highlights State-Level Differences In HPV Vaccine Uptake
A new study shows wide state-level variation in the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The study, which analyzed data from the 2023 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen), found that states in the Northeast census region had significantly higher odds of HPV vaccine uptake, while states in the South had significantly lower odds. But even within regions, there was wide variability. (Dall, 5/13)
HEALTHCARE WORKERS
Fierce Healthcare: Report Finds Docs More Burnt Out, Skeptical Of AI Than Nurses
Nurses feel they have more time with patients than doctors do, and are much more optimistic about their organizations' use of AI, a new report finds. Elsevier's Clinician of the Future report is based on a survey fielded between the end of 2025 and early 2026. The survey reached over 2,700 clinicians globally, including physicians and nurses. It found 71% of nurses globally feel they have enough time with patients, compared to 60% of doctors. (Gliadkovskaya, 5/13)
The 19th: Feeling Invisible, Caregivers With Disabilities Also Need Support
Helina Josephson retired from a career in university administration in 2017 due to autoimmune disease and chronic pain. She has ice pick headaches, which are exactly what they sound like — sudden, stabbing pain in her head. She has arthritis in her hips. (Luterman, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: Nurse Turnover An Issue Despite Stronger Engagement: Press Ganey
Nurses engagement is on the rise, but younger age groups are still leaving their jobs at high rates. For its 2026 State of Nursing report, the data analytics company Press Ganey surveyed more than 422,000 registered nurses and 41,000 advanced practice providers last year. The report found turnover is highest among early-career registered nurses, signaling the need for more investment in onboarding and development. (DeSilva and Broderick, 5/13)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Modern Healthcare: CMS Touts New Electronic Prior Authorization Plan Ahead Of 2027
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a new effort to improve electronic prior authorization uptake. The initiative announced Wednesday is meant to help work through challenges impeding the healthcare industry from broadly implementing electronic prior authorization. The government also intends the initiative to improve readiness for January 2027 data exchange deadlines included in a 2024 prior authorization and interoperability rule. (Early, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Pauses Home Health, Hospice Provider Enrollment Into Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday temporarily paused new home health and hospice enrollment into Medicare. The agency issued a six-month freeze on new provider enrollments as part of its latest effort to crack down on fraud in the healthcare system. CMS will increase investigations and accelerate the removal of hospice and home health providers suspected of fraudulent activity while the moratoria are ongoing, along with employing new data analytics to scrutinize the sector, CMS said in a news release. (Early, 5/13)
The New York Times: With A Friend In Trump, The Tobacco Industry Secures A Lucrative Win
Over lunch at his golf club in Jupiter, Fla., on the first Saturday of May, President Trump got an earful from a group of tobacco executives and lobbyists unhappy with the way the Food and Drug Administration was regulating their industry. Eventually Mr. Trump had heard enough. He interrupted the conversation to call Dr. Marty Makary, the F.D.A. commissioner. No answer. Furious, the president then dialed Dr. Makary’s boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and another top health official, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Jewett and Vogel, 5/13)
The New York Times: Rich Danker, RFK Jr.’s Top Spokesman, Resigns In Protest Over New Vaping Policy
The chief spokesman for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resigned on Wednesday in protest over the administration’s push to allow major tobacco companies to begin selling flavored vapes that appeal to children. His departure came one day after the head of the Food and Drug Administration quit for the same reason. In a letter to Mr. Trump, obtained by The New York Times, the spokesman, Rich Danker, did not blame the president, whom he said had “twice restored our prosperity and national security against all odds.” But he warned that authorizing flavored e-cigarettes would draw more children into vaping and increase their risk for a number of health issues, from addiction to cancer. (Gay Stolberg, 5/13)
AP: Makary's Resignation From FDA Widens A Leadership Gap At HHS
When the week began, several senior positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were already sitting empty. There was no Senate-confirmed U.S. surgeon general. The head of the National Institutes of Health was doubling as the acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Food and Drug Administration lacked a permanent vaccine chief after that official was ousted for a second time in a year.Then on Tuesday Dr. Marty Makary resigned as head of the FDA, leaving another major health agency with only an acting commissioner. Makary’s departure widens a leadership gap that has plagued HHS throughout Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure. (Swenson, Perrone and Stobbe, 5/13)
Stat: Search For New FDA Chief Mired In Same Issues That Drove Makary Out
The Trump administration is moving quickly to identify the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration after the resignation of Marty Makary on Tuesday, with an eye for someone who can rebuild trust with agency staff, focus on the agency’s food policy, and continue to drive drug-approval reforms. (Payne and Lawrence, 5/13)
The Hill: Donald Trump Shares Misquoted Post On Truth Social Involving Sen. John Kennedy, Barack Obama
President Trump on Monday shared a quote falsely attributed to Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), in which he accused former President Obama of earning $120 million from a healthcare scheme. ... When asked about the post, Kennedy told NOTUS, “Somebody told me there was something floating around on the internet about me accusing President Obama of stealing $120 million or something.” He added, “I didn’t say that. I don’t know the basis of it.” (Fields, 5/13)
PUBLIC HEALTH
CNN: Alcohol Is Toxic To The Body, Yet Scientists Say Much Of The Damage Can Be Reversed
Alcohol can feel deeply entwined in our lives. A beer or glass of wine while catching up with friends. A cocktail at the end of a hard day. A round of toasts at a party. It’s hard to believe that such seemingly innocent behavior reduces our immunity to infectious disease and raises the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases — but according to science, it does. (LaMotte, 5/14)
Stat: Alcohol Treatment Landscape Is Undergoing A Seismic Shift
All Jillian wanted was to regain control of her drinking. At 38, she knew alcohol had already cost her a marriage and begun to threaten her career. What had started as typical college-age shenanigans had morphed into regularly overindulging at professional happy hours, and eventually into an all-day urge to drink. Most days, a bottle of vodka journeyed from standing full in a cabinet to laying empty in a recycling bin. (Facher, 5/14)
San Francisco Chronicle: Three More Poisoned By Wild Napa Mushrooms In Unprecedented Outbreak
Three adults were hospitalized over the weekend after eating wild mushrooms in Napa County, public health officials said Wednesday, marking the latest cases in a growing and unprecedented outbreak of mushroom poisonings this year across California. The victims foraged the mushrooms in the Deer Park area near Silverado Trail, according to the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency. None of them are Napa County residents. (Bauman, 5/13)
NPR: How New Dietary Guidelines Could Impact School Meals
In a social media era rife with mouthwatering food content, kids will no longer settle for a drab school meal. "I don't have a TikTok account, but they're telling me, 'Hey, I saw this on TikTok. Can you make this? Can we do this?'" said Nichole Taylor, supervisor of food and nutrition services at the Great Valley School District in Malvern, Pennsylvania. (Hernandez, 5/14)
NBC News: Cheaper Generic Ozempic Is Coming Soon — But Not For Americans. Here’s Why
India got it earlier this year, and Canada approved it last month. But when is the United States going to get a generic version of Ozempic? Not this decade, experts say. Thanks largely to loopholes in the U.S. patent system, Americans aren’t expected to get generic forms of semaglutide, the drug in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, until at least the end of 2031.Even that timing is uncertain, said Arti K. Rai, a professor at the Duke University School of Law and former senior official in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. “It could take much, much longer than that.” (Lovelace Jr., 5/13)
SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS
MedPage Today: Personalized DNA Vaccine Shows Promise In Brain Cancer
An adjuvant personalized DNA vaccine was safe and demonstrated promising efficacy among patients with MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma in a phase I trial. The vaccine caused no serious adverse events and extended overall survival in the nine patients included in the study compared with historical outcomes, reported Tanner M. Johanns, MD, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues in Nature Cancer. (Bassett, 5/13)
MedPage Today: Next-Gen BCL2 Inhibitor Approved For Aggressive Lymphoma
The FDA granted accelerated approval to sonrotoclax (Beqalzi) as the first BCL2 inhibitor for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare and often aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A next-generation product in the drug class, sonrotoclax is indicated for adults previously treated with two or more lines of therapy that includes a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. (Bassett, 5/13)
MedPage Today: COVID Antiviral Can Prevent Household Contacts From Catching Virus
Risk of getting sick from a household contact with COVID-19 dropped by more than half among those who took the antiviral ensitrelvir compared with placebo, a randomized trial showed. (Rudd, 5/13)
The New York Times: Nancy Cox, Who Worked To Conquer The Wily Flu, Dies At 77
Nancy J. Cox, who as the longtime leader of the influenza program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention oversaw the development of a global network of forecasting and prevention, in the process earning a reputation as one of the world’s foremost experts on the flu and the constantly mutating viruses that cause it, died on April 24 at her home in Atlanta. She was 77. Her husband, Evan Lindsay, said the cause was glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. (Risen, 5/13)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Bloomberg: Atlas Co-Founder Gives WashU $200 Million For New Health School
Andrew Bursky and his wife pledged $200 million through their family foundation to name a newly created school of public health at Washington University in St. Louis. The gift from the co-founder of Atlas Holdings, a private equity firm, is the largest in the university’s history, WashU said in a statement on Wednesday. (Lorin and Singh, 5/13)
The Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Approved To Build New $50 Million Proton Therapy Center
The Massachusetts Public Health Council voted Wednesday to approve the construction of a proton therapy center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Longwood, bringing the state’s existing and future proton beams to four. Last month, the council delayed its vote on the project, citing concerns that the proposal didn’t do enough to address equitable access for patients on MassHealth and those who live outside the Boston area. (Wolf, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: How AcuityMD, MedScout Use AI To Streamline Medtech Sales
Artificial intelligence has entered the world of sales calls, and it is changing the conversations between providers and medtech companies seeking to close a deal. Large companies like GE HealthCare and Olympus Corp., as well as startups, are hiring companies such as AcuityMD and MedScout to help them sell smarter by using AI and data analytics. It’s a change from the days of sales representatives spending hours preparing for meetings and making cold calls. It also can benefit providers, as sales representatives can share information about patient referral sources and where patients continue their care after a visit. (Dubinsky, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: Optum Rx's PBM Model Changes Get A Cautious Welcome
Whether Optum Rx’s new direction marks a major shift in the pharmacy benefit manager sector remains to be seen. But when the market-leading PBM announced significant changes to its business model while promising minimal disruptions to earnings, it prompted a mix of optimism and skepticism. On Monday, Optum Rx — housed within UnitedHealth Group’s Optum subsidiary — joined CVS Health subsidiary CVS Caremark and Cigna unit Express Scripts in promising greater transparency in its operations and a shift away from compensation linked to pharmaceutical prices. (Tong, 5/13)
Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna Earnings See Medical Costs Start To Ease
The health insurance industry is showing signs of life after several tough years. Major insurers that reported first-quarter earnings in recent weeks outperformed Wall Street expectations and demonstrated improvements in medical spending, suggesting longstanding cost pressures may be receding. UnitedHealthcare parent company UnitedHealth Group, Aetna parent company CVS Health, Cigna, Elevance Health, Centene and Alignment Healthcare saw medical expenses decline during the period and upgraded their annual earnings guidances. Humana, Molina Healthcare and Clover Health bested earnings projections for the quarter. (Tepper, 5/13)
STATE WATCH
Becker's Hospital Review: Iowa Governor Signs Law To Reform Prior Authorization, Out-Of-Network Penalties
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law May 13 that enacts prior authorization reforms and prohibits insurers from penalizing providers for out-of-network referrals, according to the Iowa Hospital Association. Under the law, while initial prior authorization reviews can be done by AI, these algorithms and systems cannot be the sole basis for determining denials, downgrades or delays. Health insurance carriers cannot impose fines or other financial penalties due to a provider’s referral to an out-of-network provider, either. (Casolo, 5/13)
ProPublica: Oregon Hasn’t Blocked Any Healthcare Deals Despite Oversight Law
Dana Gibbon was 18 weeks pregnant with her first baby when her OB-GYN told her at an appointment that she wouldn’t be her doctor anymore. OB-GYN services were ending at the clinic in Corvallis, a college town of 60,000 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The doctor said all of the Corvallis Clinic’s OB-GYNs were resigning. “We have appreciated the opportunity to participate in your care and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the clinic said in a subsequent letter to patients. (Davis, 5/14)
Wisconsin Watch: Parkour For Seniors? Wisconsin Classes Help Prevent Deadly Falls
Wisconsin has the U.S.'s highest reported death rate from older adults' falls. But falls can be prevented through balance drills and classes like parkour. (Costello and Carloni, 5/7)
Newsweek: VA Reveals ‘Historic’ Investment For Veterans’ Health Care Nationwide
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced what it’s calling an “historic” investment in healthcare infrastructure, approving $596 million in upgrades during the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. The funding is part of a much larger $4.8 billion modernization plan—the biggest annual facilities investment in the department’s history. (Greenwood, 5/13)
