First Edition: Thursday, May 8, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Meet The Florida Group Chipping Away At Public Benefits One State At A Time
As an Arizona bill to block people from using government aid to buy soda headed to the governor’s desk in April, the nation’s top health official joined Arizona lawmakers in the state Capitol to celebrate its passage. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said to applause that the legislation was just the start and that he wanted to prevent federal funding from paying for other unhealthy foods. “We’re not going to do that overnight,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to do that in the next four years.” (Houghton and Liss, 5/8)

KFF Health News: Seeking Spending Cuts, GOP Lawmakers Target A Tax Hospitals Love To Pay
On the eastern plains of Colorado, in a county of less than 6,000 people, Lincoln Health runs the only hospital within a 75-minute drive. The facility struggles financially, given its small size and the area’s tiny population. But for over a decade, the Hugo, Colorado-based health system has remained afloat partially thanks to a surprising source: special taxes on the state’s hospitals. (Galewitz, 5/8)

SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE

Stat: Trump Nominates Casey Means, MAHA Influencer, For Surgeon General
The health entrepreneur and “Make America Healthy Again” leader Casey Means has been nominated to be the U.S. surgeon general after President Trump pulled his prior nominee suddenly on Wednesday. (Cueto, 5/7)

The New York Times: Who Is Casey Means, Trump’s Pick For Surgeon General?
President Trump said on Wednesday that he would nominate Casey Means, a Stanford-educated doctor turned critic of corporate influence on medicine and health, as surgeon general. Dr. Means, an ally of the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has described becoming disillusioned by establishment medicine. She rose to prominence last year after she and her brother, Calley Means, a White House health adviser and former food industry lobbyist, appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show. (Mueller and Jewett, 5/7)

AUTISM

The New York Times: RFK Jr. Announces New Database For Research Into ‘Root Causes’ Of Autism 
After weeks of confusion about his plans for autism research, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Wednesday that his department would build a “real-world platform” that would allow researchers to hunt for causes of the disorder by examining insurance claims, electronic medical records and wearable devices like smart watches. The department will draw the records from Medicare and Medicaid, which together cover around 40 percent of Americans. (Gay Stolberg, 5/7)

Stat: Kennedy Data Plan Faces Same Obstacles That Stymied Earlier Efforts
As health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepares to investigate vaccine complication rates, chronic diseases, and autism, real patients’ health records have emerged as a coveted resource. (Palmer, 5/8)

Chicago Tribune: Pritzker Restricts Collection Of Autism Data In Response To RFK Jr. Plan
Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed an executive order that formally restricts the unauthorized collection of autism-related data by state agencies. Pritzker’s order responds to federal efforts under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create databases of personal information for those with autism “without clear legal safeguards or accountability,” according to a news release from Pritzker’s office. (Wright, 5/7)

AP: Disabled Workers Question Federal Government Inclusion Amid Trump Cuts
Spencer Goidel, a 33-year-old federal worker in Boca Raton, Florida, with autism, knew what he could be losing when he got laid off from his job as an equal employment opportunity specialist at the IRS. Because of his autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, Goidel had been able to secure his spot as one of more than 500,000 disabled workers in the federal government under Schedule A, which allows federal agencies to bypass the traditional hiring process and pick a qualified candidate from a pool of people with certain disabilities. (Hunter and Hussein, 5/6)

MORE FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

CIDRAP: FDA To Make Unannounced Inspections At Foreign Food, Drug Manufacturing Sites
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that it plans to expand unannounced inspections at foreign sites that produce food, essential medicines, and other medical products for US consumers, a move agency officials say will ensure that foreign companies receive the same level of oversight as US companies. ... Despite the advanced warning, the FDA said, serious deficiencies were found more than twice as often in foreign manufacturing sites as domestic sites. (Dall, 5/7)

Stat: Vinay Prasad's FDA Speech: Praises Staff, Embraces Evidence 
In his first address to FDA staff on Wednesday, Vinay Prasad emphasized his commitment to evidence, his admiration for agency employees, and his desire to serve the American public. (Lawrence, 5/7)

CBS News: CDC Disease Detectives Exempted From Trump Hiring Freeze, Averting Cut To Program
The Department of Health and Human Services has granted an exemption to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hire a new class of its disease detectives, multiple CDC officials said, averting a feared halving of the highly selective fellowship. Each year, the CDC usually hires a new class of its Epidemic Intelligence Service officers to replace those graduating from the agency's two-year program. (Tin, 5/7)

ProPublica: Trump’s NIH Axed Research Grants Despite Court Order
For more than two months, the Trump administration has been subject to a federal court order stopping it from cutting funding related to gender identity and the provision of gender-affirming care in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Lawyers for the federal government have repeatedly claimed in court filings that the administration has been complying with the order. (Waldman, 5/7)

CNN: Treasure Trove Of Biological Data That Transformed Science May Be Lost To Trump Funding Cuts 
A priceless treasure trove of biodata gathered from generations of Americans by Harvard University researchers may soon be lost due to additional funding cuts by the Trump administration, a leading nutrition researcher told CNN. (LaMotte, 5/8)

CBS News: West Virginia Coal Miners Lose Black Lung Screenings After Trump Slashes Worker Safety Agency NIOSH 
In West Virginia's coal country, Marion Tennant says he was destined to work in the mines. "That was the only thing in this area when I graduated high school," Tennant said. That was in 1974, when Tennant was protected by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH. For decades it offered free screenings for black lung, a chronic disease caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust. But the screenings have stopped because of President Trump's mandated budget cuts. Tennant says he's worried for the younger workers. (Duncan, 5/7)

Bloomberg: Trump's Columbia University Funding Cuts Hit Preemies, Diabetes Care
Newborn care. Reducing maternal mortality. Treatments for long Covid. These are among the slew of research initiatives at Columbia University that lost funding and stopped work after the Trump administration pulled $400 million from the New York school, according to a university official. (Cattan, 5/7)

MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

Politico: Trump To Pitch Sweeping Medicare Drug Price Plan
President Donald Trump plans to revive an effort to dramatically slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Trump early next week is expected to sign an executive order directing aides to pursue the initiative, called “most favored nation,” for a selection of drugs within the Medicare program. The idea would use the administration’s authorities to force prices down. (Traylor and Cancryn, 5/7)

Stat: Republicans At Odds Over How To Cut Medicaid To Pay For Tax Cuts
Some Republicans lawmakers are reopening the door to look for savings in Medicaid beyond waste, fraud, and abuse — but they’re hitting roadblocks. (Payne and Wilkerson, 5/7)

The Hill: Millions Of People Could Lose Insurance Under GOP Medicaid Options, CBO Finds
Millions of people would lose health insurance coverage under various Republican options to cut Medicaid spending to pay for President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, according to an analysis the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released Wednesday. For instance, a cap on Medicaid spending for beneficiaries in the expansion population would save $225 billion and result in 1.5 million additional people being uninsured by 2034. Limiting state provider taxes would save $668 billion but would mean an additional 3.9 million uninsured people by 2034. (Weixel, 5/7)

COVID AND FLU

NBC News: Moderna's Combo Covid And Flu MRNA Shot Outperforms Current Vaccines In Large Trial
Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine. (There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.) (Lovelace Jr., 5/7)

CIDRAP: Long-COVID Patients Show Signs Of Inflammation On PET/ MRI Scans
Patients with long COVID may exhibit persistent inflammation in the heart and lungs for up to 1 year following acute COVID-19 infection, even when standard medical tests return normal results, according to a new study in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The study authors, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, suggest the inflammation may increase the risk for future cardiac and pulmonary conditions. (Soucheray, 5/7)

CIDRAP: New Research Links Long COVID To Worse Health-Related Quality Of Life
Poor self-reported general health (SRGH) is substantially more common among US adults with long COVID than among those without persistent symptoms (26% vs 16%), data from Pennsylvania State University investigators suggest. Long-COVID patients also had more unfavorable mental and physical health and lower daily efficiency when completing daily activities for more than 13 days a month, according to the findings, published this week in PLOS One. (Van Beusekom, 5/7)

The New York Times: Genetic Study Retraces Covid’s Origins In Bats
In the early 2000s, a coronavirus infecting bats jumped into raccoon dogs and other wild mammals in southwestern China. Some of those animals were sold in markets, where the coronavirus jumped again, into humans. The result was the SARS pandemic, which spread to 33 countries and claimed 774 lives. A few months into it, scientists discovered the coronavirus in mammals known as palm civets sold in a market at the center of the outbreak. In a study published on Wednesday, a team of researchers compared the evolutionary story of SARS with that of Covid 17 years later. (Zimmer, 5/7)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Politico: ‘Rolling Thunder’: Inside Conservatives’ Strategy To Curb Abortion Pill Access
The nation’s most influential anti-abortion groups have a new plan to roll back access to the procedure for millions of Americans in what they’re calling the “biggest opportunity for the pro-life movement” since toppling Roe v. Wade. The effort, which the groups have privately named “Rolling Thunder,” is the movement’s first concerted attempt under the second Trump administration to target abortion pills, and aims to convince the FDA, Congress and courts to crack down on their use. (Ollstein, 5/7)

ProPublica: Sepsis Rates Vary Widely In Dallas And Houston Under Abortion Ban
Nearly four years ago in Texas, the state’s new abortion law started getting in the way of basic miscarriage care: As women waited in hospitals cramping, fluid running down their legs, doctors told them they couldn’t empty their uterus to guard against deadly complications. The state banned most abortions, even in pregnancies that were no longer viable; then, it added criminal penalties, threatening to imprison doctors for life and punish hospitals. The law had one exception, for a life-threatening emergency. (Surana, Presser and Suozzo, 5/7)

The Hill: Economists Question Efficacy Of $5,000 Baby Bonus Proposal
The White House is reportedly considering a proposal to give new mothers a $5,000 “baby bonus” to help encourage Americans to have more children, but economists and social science experts are skeptical that the potential move would work. The New York Times reported last month that the White House was consulting with policy experts and pronatalist advocates about ways to incentivize American women to have more children. Cash bonuses and Fulbright scholarship allotments are among the ideas under consideration. (O’Connell-Domenech, 5/7)

NBC News: Girls Who Eat A Healthy Diet May Be Less Likely To Start Puberty Early, Study Suggests
Girls who grow up eating a healthier diet than their peers may be less likely to get their first menstrual periods at an earlier age — regardless of height or body mass index — a new study suggests. Though previous research has tied height and BMI to the earlier onset of menarche, or first period, the study, published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction, claims to be the first to explore the biological milestone’s link to specific diets. (Leake, 5/7)

CIDRAP: New Data Show Sustained Declines In Chlamydia, Syphilis Among Doxy-PEP Users
A study conducted at a sexual health clinic in San Francisco found sustained significant declines in cases of chlamydia and syphilis among those who used doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) nearly 2 years after it was introduced, with a smaller effect on gonorrhea, researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 5/7)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: The Lorna Breen Act Lapsed In 2024. Can It Pass Congress Again?
Five years to the week after Dr. Lorna Breen died by suicide, her brother-in-law could be found walking the halls of Congress trying to persuade lawmakers to renew the law named in her honor, which sought to aid healthcare workers struggling with mental health. Congress allowed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act of 2021 to expire at the end of 2024 when they bowed to pressure from Elon Musk and then-President-elect Donald Trump to kill a healthcare package that included an extension of the grant program. (McAuliff, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: Cleveland Clinic, Regent Surgical Form ASC Joint Venture
Cleveland Clinic and Regent Surgical are working together to build ambulatory surgery centers. The nonprofit health system and the ASC developer announced a joint venture Wednesday. Cleveland Clinic is the majority owner of the venture, which will feature the Cleveland, Ohio-based system's brand, according to a news release. The system did not say how many facilities will be built or when they will open. (Kacik, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: The Medtech Innovations Paying Off For Kaiser, Mayo Clinic
Artificial intelligence and digital health tools are commonplace in healthcare and they may soon be joined by other emerging technologies benefiting patients and providers. Physicians at Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente and Mayo Clinic are already using some of these technologies in clinical practice, actively testing others and eagerly awaiting those still on the horizon. The health systems are investing in the devices and tools to stay on the cutting edge and remain competitive. (Dubinsky, 5/7)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: Compounders Lose Battle Over Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug And FDA Shortage List
A federal judge has sided with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over a decision last year to remove two Eli Lilly drugs — the Zepbound weight loss medicine and the Mounjaro diabetes treatment — from a shortages list kept by the agency. The move means that patients will no longer have access to cheaper versions from compounding pharmacies. (Silverman, 5/7)

Bloomberg: Hims CEO Andrew Dudum Is A Billionaire On Weight-Loss Drug Demand
A post-earnings rally in Hims & Hers Health Inc. has turned co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Dudum into a weight-loss billionaire. Shares surged 25% since Tuesday after Hims reported better-than-expected sales for the first quarter. That sent Dudum’s net worth to $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which is valuing his fortune for the first time. (Carson, 5/7)

STATE WATCH

Modern Healthcare: ACA Subsidies Must Not Lapse, State Exchange Officials Warn
Congress has less time than lawmakers may think to renew enhanced subsidies for health insurance exchange customers before the market is disrupted, state officials are warning federal policymakers. Executives from 20 state-based marketplaces including Covered California, Connect for Health Colorado and the Massachusetts Health Connector traveled to Washington to exhort Congress to extend the more generous tax credits that drove exchange enrollment to record highs before they expire at the end of the year. (Early, 5/7)

AP: Pennsylvania House Advances Bill Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
Pennsylvanians 21 or older would be allowed to legally purchase and use marijuana under a bill that passed the state House on Wednesday, the first time a recreational cannabis proposal has been approved by either legislative chamber. Democrats voted unanimously to advance the multifaceted bill to the Senate over unified opposition from Republicans, just as lawmakers are working out which issues will be part of the budget-season dealmaking that occurs every year at this time in Harrisburg. (Scolforo and Levy, 5/7)

CBS News: Blood Testing Requirement Begins For Lead Levels Among Michigan's Youngest Children
Blood lead level testing is now required for Michigan's youngest children in an effort to prevent and mitigate the health risks of lead poisoning. The laws were signed into effect in October 2023 and have taken effect with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services having signed off on the followup administrative rules. All Michigan children will need to be tested for blood lead levels at ages 12 months and 24 months, with the testing dates noted on their immunization records, according to the state health department. (Wethington, 5/7)

ABC News: Milwaukee Struggles Through Growing Lead Crisis -- With Federal Help Nowhere To Be Found
Milwaukee's lead crisis began late last year, when a young student's high blood lead levels were traced back to the student's school. Since then, health officials have been combing through other Milwaukee schools to find deteriorated conditions that could harm more children. The plan now is to inspect roughly half of the district's 106 schools built before 1978 -- when lead paint was banned -- in time for school to return in the fall. They plan to inspect the other half before the end of the year. (Haslett and Salzman, 5/7)

PUBLIC HEALTH

AP: Smoke From Climate-Fueled Wildfires Contributed To Thousands Of US Deaths Over 15 Years, Study Says
Wildfires driven by climate change contribute to as many as thousands of annual deaths and billions of dollars in economic costs from wildfire smoke in the United States, according to a new study. The paper, published Friday in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment, found that from 2006 to 2020, climate change contributed to about 15,000 deaths from exposure to small particulate matter from wildfires and cost about $160 billion. The annual range of deaths was 130 to 5,100, the study showed, with the highest in states such as Oregon and California. (Pineda, 5/7)

CNN: Ultraprocessed Food Linked To Early Signs Of Parkinson’s Disease, Study Says
Eating about a dozen servings of ultraprocessed food each day could more than double your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. A single serving in the study was 8 ounces of diet or sugar-sweetened soda, a single hot dog, one slice of packaged cake, a mere tablespoon of ketchup or 1 ounce of potato chips — a typical small bag of chips is 1.5 ounces. (LaMotte, 5/7)

CNN: Most Americans Say Higher Food Prices Are Keeping Them From Eating Healthy, New Survey Says 
American adults say sticker shock at the grocery store is making it harder for them to have a healthy diet, according to a nationally representative survey of adults by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that conducts data-driven research. (LaMotte, 5/7)

GLOBAL WATCH

Bloomberg: Blackstone’s Jon Gray Gives $125 Million To Tel Aviv Medical School
Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray and his wife Mindy have donated $125 million to Tel Aviv University’s medical school, the largest gift ever to the school and among the largest to an academic institution in Israel. The Grays’ donation to the medical school, which will now bear their name, will enable Tel Aviv University to increase the number of students there by about 25% a year to more than 400. Israel has been grappling with a shortage of physicians, mainly due to too few spots in the country’s institutions. (Odenheimer, 5/7)