First Edition: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Ticks Are Migrating, Raising Disease Risks If They Can’t Be Tracked Quickly Enough
Biologist Grant Hokit came to this small meadow in the mountains outside Condon, Montana, to look for ticks. A hiking path crossed the expanse of long grasses and berry bushes. As Hokit walked the path, he carried a handmade tool made of plastic pipes taped together to hold a large rectangle of white flannel cloth. He poked fun at this “sophisticated” device, but the scientific survey was quite serious: He was sweeping the cloth over the shrubs and grass, hoping that “questing” ticks would latch on. (Bolton, 9/18)

KFF Health News: Health Care Cuts Threaten Homegrown Solutions To Rural Doctor Shortages
Olivia Owlett chose to do her primary care residency in this Northern California college town largely because it faces many of the same health care challenges she grew up with. Owlett is one of four residents in the inaugural class of a three-year family medicine residency program run by the local nonprofit Healthy Rural California. She is the kind of doctor the organization seeks to draw to the far north of California, a region with severe physician shortages. (Wolfson, 9/18)

KFF Health News: Watch: Fired CDC Chief Says RFK Jr. Demanded She Roll Back Vaccine Policies Without Evidence
Susan Monarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Sept. 17 in her first public remarks since she was fired. Some Republicans on the committee accused her of lying and said she hadn’t been on board with the administration’s agenda. (Allen and Norman, 9/17)

CAPITOL WATCH

Fierce Healthcare: RFK Jr. Demanded Vaccine Policy Change Without Evidence, Fired CDC Director Testifies
Ousted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D., testified Wednesday that ahead of her firing, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told her there was “no science or evidence” in support of the current childhood vaccine schedule and that he planned to change it in September. ... Monarez recounted her side of the conflict with the secretary that occurred during multiple meetings Aug. 25. “We got into an exchange where I had suggested I would be open to changing the childhood vaccine schedule if the evidence or science were supporting,” Monarez said. “And he responded that there was no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule, and he elaborated that CDC had never collected the science or the data to make it available [in relation] to the safety and efficacy." (Muoio, 9/17)

The Boston Globe: Susan Monarez Hearing: Senators Try To Divide RFK Jr. And Trump
Lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel also revived a bipartisan line of questioning that highlighted a wedge between President Trump and Kennedy during the HHS secretary’s recent appearance before the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month. Throughout that hearing, several senators took time to praise Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, the government-led effort that rapidly developed vaccines for the COVID pandemic during Trump’s first term. (Kopan, 9/17)

The Hill: Rand Paul Gets Into Testy Exchange Over Vaccines With Ex-CDC Head Susan Monarez
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) got into a heated exchange about vaccines with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez. During a Wednesday hearing about Monarez’s ouster from the agency, Paul grilled her about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and the need for newborns to get a hepatitis B shot. (Weixel, 9/17)

The Hill: GOP Senators Grill Ex-CDC Director On Attorney Choice
Republican senators Wednesday attempted to undermine the testimony of former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez by attacking the attorneys she retained after being ousted. GOP Sens. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Ashley Moody (Fla.) questioned why Monarez is being represented by lawyers who have vocally criticized President Trump. (Weixel, 9/17)

VACCINES

CBS News: Inside The CDC Vaccine Panel's High-Stakes Meeting: Science, Politics And The Future Of Vaccination
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will convene Thursday and Friday of this week under an unaccustomed spotlight. The committee, known as ACIP, usually attracts little attention as it deliberates vaccine schedules and eligibility, but suddenly finds itself navigating political scrutiny, public skepticism and internal upheaval. The stakes extend well beyond the technical details of dosing intervals or eligibility cutoffs. (Gounder, 9/17)

The New York Times: Western States Issue Their Own Vaccine Recommendations To Counter Kennedy 
Four Democratic-controlled Western states on Wednesday issued their own recommendations on who should get three common seasonal vaccines, a sharp rejection of efforts by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to upend vaccine policy at the federal level. The so-called West Coast Health Alliance — which includes health officials in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii — recommended that every resident 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine this fall. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 9/17)

CIDRAP: Insurance Trade Group Says COVID, Flu Vaccines Covered Through 2026
In a major development, AHIP (formerly America's Health Insurance Plans), the insurance company trade group, announced that it will continue to cover updated COVID vaccines and flu vaccines through the end of 2026. The announcement comes just before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is set to meet beginning tomorrow to discuss the use of and recommendations for those vaccines. (Soucheray, 9/17)

The Washington Post: Why Seniors Who Want Covid Shots Should Consider Getting One This Week
For people 65 or older considering getting a new covid shot, this week might be the best opportunity to get vaccinated without complications before a federal vaccine advisory committee’s scheduled Friday vote to issue recommendations. That’s because that panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, has been weighing revisions to coronavirus vaccine recommendations that could make it more difficult for seniors to access the shots as soon as this weekend, according to several people familiar with their deliberations. (Sun and Ovalle, 9/17)

CIDRAP: Moderna Data Show Strong Immune Response To Updated COVID Vaccine
Moderna yesterday announced promising preliminary immunogenicity data for its 2025-26 formulation of Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, which targets the LP.8.1 variant. In a press release, the company said the data are from an ongoing phase 4 clinical trial to gauge the safety, tolerability, and immune response to the updated Spikevax vaccine. The findings come ahead of a September 19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is slated to discuss and vote on vaccine recommendations. (Schnirring, 9/17)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Stat: NIH Releases New Plan For Awarding Foreign Research Grants
Starting early next year, scientists hoping to secure funding from the National Institutes of Health to pursue projects involving research partners overseas will encounter a new system for awarding and tracking those grants. Agency officials say the changes will improve the integrity, accountability, and national security of NIH-funded research. “It’s something that had been a long time coming,” Jon Lorsch, the NIH acting deputy director for extramural research, told STAT in an interview. “It was clear that we did not have good data at all for where the money was going or how it was being spent.” (Molteni, 9/18)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Dr. Oz 'Recruiting' Health Workers In Atlanta, Disputes Claims About Rural Care
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs one of President Donald Trump’s most consequential health offices, came to Atlanta on Wednesday and told a conference ballroom full of health executives and workers that he sees a world full of promise under recent Trump health initiatives. And he’s hiring. (Hart, 9/17)

AP: FDA Proposes To Ban The Food Dye Orange B From Sausage Casings And Frankfurters
Federal regulators are proposing to remove another artificial dye from the U.S. food supply — Orange B, a synthetic color that hasn’t been used in the U.S. for decades. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it would seek to repeal the regulation allowing use of the dye approved in 1966 to color sausage casings and frankfurters. No batches of the dye have been certified, or asked to be used, since 1978, FDA officials said. (Aleccia, 9/17)

HEALTH CARE COSTS AND COVERAGE

Politico: Democrats’ Shutdown Endgame Is Sketchy As Deadline Looms
Democrats are gearing up to reject a GOP stopgap funding bill and potentially spark a government shutdown. What happens then, no one seems to know. Two weeks ahead of the key deadline, party leaders are staking out a rhetorical hard line demanding that their Republican counterparts come to the negotiating table to discuss concessions on health care and other issues. (Wu and Carney, 9/18)

Politico: Trump’s Health Care Cuts May Hit Voters Sooner Than He Thinks 
The conventional wisdom in Washington is that by pushing off big changes to Medicaid until after the 2026 midterms, Republicans shielded themselves from voter backlash. Don’t be so sure. A full year before anyone casts their vote in November 2026 — meaning now, in the fall of 2025 — the American health care system will begin transitioning from an era of unprecedented expansion of coverage to an era of unprecedented cutbacks. And President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress will be easy to blame. (Kenen, 9/18)

Modern Healthcare: PBM Bill Will Pass This Winter: Rep. Buddy Carter
Bills to limit pharmacy benefit managers have been among the most popular and bipartisan pieces of legislation introduced in Congress during the last two years, yet none have passed. Is this finally the year? The House passed the Lower Costs More Transparency Act of 2023 with a PBM provision in the last Congress. The Senate, however, only advanced PBM bills as far as committee consideration. (McAuliff, 9/17)

AP: Amazon Spends $1 Billion To Increase Pay And Lower Health Care Costs For US Workers
Amazon says it’s investing more than a $1 billion to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers. The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour. Some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year. Amazon also said it will lower the cost of its entry health care plan to $5 per week and $5 for co-pays, starting next year. (D’Innocenzio, 9/17)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Fierce Healthcare: Johns Hopkins, UnitedHealthcare Call It Quits On Contract Talks
Johns Hopkins Medicine and UnitedHealthcare (UHC) officially ended contract talks after failing to reach common ground on a new contract agreement. More than eight months of negotiations came to a head at the end of August when the prior agreement between the academic health system and the nation’s largest private health insurer came to an end. The organizations continued their negotiations past the deadline, but were unable to strike a new deal and the academic medical center will not return to the insurer's network. (Muoio and Landi, 9/17)

WUSF: Tallahassee Memorial, FSU Reach Deal To Establish Academic Health Center
Under the agreement, FSU and TMH will work with the city of Tallahassee on the transfer of the hospital assets to the university. The partnership needs to be approved by the city commission. Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare have approved the framework of a long-planned partnership that would create an academic health center and slowly rebrand the hospital to FSU Health. (Mayer and Wood, 9/17)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Occupancy Rates Rise, But Discharge Issues Remain
Nursing homes are emerging from a years-long financial funk as more beds are filled, but that can make things tougher for health systems eager to discharge patients. Occupancy at skilled nursing facilities is ramping up to pre-pandemic levels as staffing stabilizes and growth in the number of people over age 65 ratchets up demand. That, in turn, is leading to higher margins for some nursing homes. But facilities are being cautious about how they add beds — and how they fill them — in the face of rising costs, leaving some hospitals in a tough spot. (Eastabrook, 9/17)

Modern Healthcare: Where Medicare Advantage Ratings Stand Ahead Of 2026 Release
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is not scheduled to publicly release the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings for several weeks. The drama, however, already has begun. On Sept. 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided insurers with a private preview of their individual ratings, but accidentally disclosed every company’s preliminary rating in the file, according to sources familiar with the matter. (Tepper, 9/17)

The Washington Post: U.S. Organ Transplants Corrupted By Greed And Bias, Whistleblower Says
In early 2020, a director of the kidney transplant program at Parkland Health in Dallas noticed a problem. Patients were languishing on the waiting list for donated kidneys. One patient, he said, had waited nine years for a kidney transplant, and by that time he had become too sick for the procedure. Others died waiting. “No one should have to wait that long,” he said in a recent interview. (Whoriskey, 9/17)

PHARMA AND TECH

FiercePharma: GSK Plots $30B Investment In US Manufacturing, R&D
British Big Pharma GSK is welcoming President Donald Trump to the U.K. with a hefty gift: a five-year, $30 billion planned investment in U.S. R&D and manufacturing. ... The planned American venture includes $1.2 billion earmarked for advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital technologies, according to the release. That means beginning construction next year on a new biologics "flex" factory in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, and expanding AI capabilities at the company's five manufacturing sites in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland and Montana. (Incorvaia, 9/16)

Bloomberg: Blackstone And TPG Revive Interest In Acquiring Medtech Hologic
Blackstone Inc. and TPG Inc. have revived their interest in acquiring medical device maker Hologic Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The investment firms have re-engaged with Hologic’s board in recent weeks about a potential takeover of the company, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Blackstone and TPG are in the process of conducting due diligence, they said. (Gould, Davis, and Baigorri, 9/17)

MedPage Today: Medical Imaging Linked To Blood Cancers In Kids
One of every 10 blood cancers in children may result from radiation exposure associated with medical imaging, according to a large retrospective analysis. ... A key takeaway from the analysis is to avoid unnecessary imaging in children. (Bankhead, 9/17)

MedPage Today: Potentially Groundbreaking CAR-T Product Shows Early Promise In Lupus
Five patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in China have been treated with a potentially groundbreaking form of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, researchers reported, with encouraging results after 3 months. Their approach differs from previous applications of CAR T-cell therapy in autoimmune diseases, in which patients' T cells are harvested and transformed ex vivo to destroy B cells and thereby "reset" the immune system. (Gever, 9/17)

MedPage Today: Brain Shunt Improves Walking In Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting improved walking speed, gait, and balance in older adults with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus, the PENS trial showed. At 3 months, gait velocity increased in patients randomized to an open-shunt valve setting of a noninvasively adjustable shunt, and did not change in the placebo valve group ... according to Mark Luciano, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and co-authors. (George, 9/17)

MedPage Today: Noninvasive Retinal Scans Can Flag Silent Heart Disease
Noninvasive retinal scans may flag underlying subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, according to a retrospective study in healthy Korean volunteers. (Lou, 9/17)

WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS

Bloomberg: Lilly Seeks Mounjaro Approval For Diabetic Kids On Positive Study Results
Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro helped kids as young as 10 control their blood sugar and lose weight in a study that may give doctors another tool to fight childhood diabetes. The shot that’s been embraced by adult diabetics proved similarly beneficial for younger patients, reducing their blood sugar levels by an average of about 2%, according to results released at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Vienna. They also lost more than 10% of their body weight after a year of treatment. (Muller, 9/17)

Medical Xpress: Antipsychotic-Treated Patients With Schizophrenia See Benefits From Semaglutide, Study Claims
A multicenter collaboration of Danish researchers reports that once-weekly semaglutide for 30 weeks lowered blood sugar levels and body weight and improved physical quality of life in antipsychotic-treated adults with schizophrenia and prediabetes. Cardiometabolic illness cuts life expectancy in schizophrenia, with lifestyle risks and barriers to physical care adding to the burden. Second-generation antipsychotics can accelerate weight gain and impair glucose tolerance. (Jackson, 9/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Pill Shows Similar Weight-Loss To Its Shot, Study Finds
Novo Nordisk’s experimental daily Wegovy pill helped patients lose about as much weight as its weekly injection, according to data from a late-stage trial. The pill has already been sent to U.S. regulators for approval, with a decision expected by the end of the year, positioning it as the first GLP-1 pill approved specifically for weight loss. Production is under way in the U.S. (Chopping, 9/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Eli Lilly’s Diabetes Drug Tops Novo Nordisk’s Oral Pill In Trial
Eli Lilly said new data from its Phase 3 trial of its investigational diabetes pill showed positive results in improving blood sugar levels, outperforming Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide. The pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday that it received positive top-line results from Achieve-3, the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of orforglipron. (Marchese, 9/17)

Fox News: GLP-1 Medications Could Cut US Mortality By 6.4%, New Study Finds
A new study has discovered that drugs for diabetes and weight loss could significantly reduce mortality for Americans. Researchers at Swiss Re, a reinsurance company in Zurich, Switzerland, released estimations that GLP-1 drugs could lead to a 6.4% reduction in all-cause mortality in the U.S. by 2045. (Stabile, 9/17)

STATE WATCH

CIDRAP: US Measles Cases Near 1,500 As New Case Confirmed In Chicago Area
Today in its weekly update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there are 1,491 confirmed measles cases in the United States this year in 42 jurisdictions, an increase of 37 cases in the past week. Eighty-six percent of cases have been linked to one of 38 reported outbreaks, and roughly 12% of all case-patients have required hospitalization. Last year the country recorded only 285 measles cases, and 2025 has been the worst year for measles activity in the United States since the virus was officially declared to be eliminated in 2000. (Soucheray, 9/17)

Iowa Public Radio: Blind Iowans Protest Changes To A State Program That Trains People With Limited Vision To Live Independently
Blind Iowans marched outside of the Iowa Department for the Blind in Des Moines Tuesday as they protested changes to a state program that prepares people with impaired vision to live independently. The department recently ended the requirement for blind Iowans to use sleep shades — eye masks that block out all light — while learning to navigate the world without vision at its Orientation Center. (Sostaric, 9/17)

Los Angeles Times: As California Installs More Artificial Turf, Health And Environmental Concerns Multiply
Fields of plastic, or fake turf, are spreading across the Golden State from San Diego to Del Norte counties. Some municipalities and school districts embrace them, saying they are good for the environment and promote kids’ activity and health. But some cities, including Los Angeles, are considering banning the fields — citing concerns about children’s health and the environment. (Rust, 9/17)

PUBLIC HEALTH

Bloomberg: US Science Panel Says Greenhouse Gas Dangers Are ‘Beyond Dispute’
A panel of experts convened by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said the evidence that greenhouse gases harm human health is “beyond scientific dispute” — a conclusion that could impede the Trump administration as it seeks to roll back the federal government’s authority to regulate climate pollution. (Roston, 9/17)

NPR: Vitamin B3 May Help Prevent Skin Cancer, New Study Finds
Doctors who perform skin cancer surgeries often recommend nicotinamide — which is a form of Vitamin B3 — to their patients. It's been shown to protect cells from UV radiation damage. Now, a new study of nearly 34,000 veterans, finds this over-the-counter supplement is linked to a reduction in non-melanoma skin cancers among people who've already had skin cancer. The research was published in JAMA Dermatology. (Aubrey, 9/17)

Bloomberg: Mysterious Diabetes Variant With 25 Million Cases Gets A Name
Almost two decades after David Phillips noticed a disturbing trend of young, lean people who were under-nourished as children showing up at clinics in northern Ethiopia with diabetes, the unusual form of the disease is finally getting a name. Type 5 diabetes affects about 25 million people, mostly in poorer countries, and has been neglected and under-researched, a group of experts wrote in The Lancet Global Health on Thursday, calling for the development of diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines. (Kew, 9/18)