Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Big Companies Position Themselves For Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund
Tory Starr is worried about the people who get medical care at Open Door Community Health Centers along California’s North Coast. “They’re the folks that work at restaurants. They’re the teacher’s aides,” said Starr, a registered nurse who became Open Door’s chief executive more than six years ago. Those patients, he said, are “really the heart and soul of rural America.” (Tribble, 4/28)
KFF Health News: An Urgent Care Treated Her Allergic Reaction. An ER Monitored Her — For $6,700
Silvana Toska was playing in a grass field with her daughters late last fall when she felt a sting on her ankle. The family had come to listen for barred and great horned owls as the sun set on a large park near their Davidson, North Carolina, home. It was “just like a mosquito bite, nothing major, and I just scratched it,” said Toska, a political science professor. Then she began to itch everywhere. She couldn’t see anything in the dark, so her husband shined his phone light on her.She was covered in hives. (Jones, 4/28)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The New York Times: Charges Against Suspect In Trump Assassination Attempt Based On Shotgun Shell And A Screed
Shortly before the attack, Cole Tomas Allen sent an email to his family and a former employer in which he expressed deep anger at the administration and the president, the affidavit said. Administration officials were the suspect’s “targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to a copy of the roughly 1,000-word document shared by two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to disclose the information. (Barrett, Montague and Levenson, 4/27)
The New York Times: U.S. Government Will Stop Paying For Test Strips To Detect Deadly Drugs
A simple strip of treated paper that can swiftly signal whether a street drug contains deadly fentanyl or other contaminants is a common overdose prevention tool, distributed widely on college campuses and at music festivals and community clinics. The federal government has championed test strips since 2021 and has paid to supply them to states, a position the Trump administration publicly embraced as recently as July. But on Friday afternoon, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sent a letter to state health departments and grant recipients across the country, saying that the government would no longer pay for the strips because they are “intended for use by people using drugs.” (Hoffman, 4/27)
The CT Mirror: CT Veteran Files Federal Lawsuit Over VA Denial Of Child's Claim
A Connecticut Vietnam veteran and his daughter filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for denying her application for benefits, alleging it is discriminatory based on the sex of the parent. Ron and Michele Christoforo are challenging a federal statute that says children who have certain birth defects are eligible for VA benefits if their mother served during the Vietnam War between February 1961 through May 1975. (Hagen, 4/27)
ProPublica: Trump SSI Rule Change Targets Disabled Adults Who Live With Families
Even a glance at Shy’tyra Burton’s life reveals her need for the sort of federal government assistance that helps disabled Americans stay in their homes. Born two months prematurely into a poor family in Philadelphia, unable to breathe or swallow without tubes and largely confined to medical facilities until age 4, Burton was diagnosed with a litany of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college. (Hager, 4/28)
SUPREME COURT
The New York Times: Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Roundup Weedkiller Case
The Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday during arguments in a dispute that could determine the fate of thousands of lawsuits that claim a widely used weedkiller causes cancer. The case is the latest turn in a yearslong legal battle over safety concerns with the weedkiller Roundup. Developed by Monsanto in the 1970s, the herbicide is the focus of the lawsuits, which allege that it causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (VanSickle, 4/27)
MEDICAID
Stat: Medicaid Work Requirements: New Policy Impact May Not Be Tracked
Democrats and Republicans are at odds over a consequential health care policy embedded in last year’s tax cut law. Democrats say the law’s Medicaid work requirements will create red tape that leads to people losing their coverage. Republicans say the measure encourages work. (Wilkerson, 4/28)
AP: Medicaid Work Requirement Is About To Kick In Nebraska
Nebraska on Friday will become the first state to enforce work, volunteer or education requirements for new Medicaid applicants, eight months before the federally mandated requirements kick in. Advocates worry that the state is launching so rapidly that key details remain unresolved and some people who are eligible for coverage will lose it. State officials say they’re prepared, training staff and sending letters, emails and texts to people who could be impacted. Health policy experts, advocates and other states will be watching closely. (Mulvihill and Beck, 4/28)
MORE FROM CAPITOL HILL
The New York Times: House Republican Makes His First Statement About Mysterious Absence
Representative Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who has not cast a vote in the House in nearly two months, said on Monday that he expected to make a full recovery from what he called a “personal medical issue,” but offered no additional details about his health or when he might return to Congress. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” he said in his first public statement since he began missing votes in Washington last month. (Tully, 4/27)
The Hill: Sen. Mark Warner To Return To Senate After Daughter's Death From Diabetes
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Monday that he will return to the upper chamber this week after taking time off for the death of his daughter, Madison. The Virginia senator wrote on the social platform X, “As we remember our incredible daughter, Maddy, my family has been deeply touched by the outpouring of support we’ve received. Thank you to everyone for your kind words.” Madison Warner, 36, died earlier this month after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. Mark Warner and his wife, Lisa Collis, wrote in a statement last Monday that they were “heartbroken beyond words” by their daughter’s passing. (Rego, 4/27)
VACCINES AND OUTBREAKS
Roll Call: Immigration Debate, Upfront Costs Are Hurdles For Hepatitis C Bill
Despite bipartisan agreement on the need for testing and treatment for the life-threatening liver disease hepatitis C, potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans remain untreated or even unaware they’re infected as efforts to expand access to cures have stalled in Congress. (Hellmann, 4/27)
Stat: Eliminating Hepatitis B Shots At Birth Will Have Dire Consequences, Studies Project
A new U.S. policy that recommends offering hepatitis B vaccine at birth only to babies perceived to be at risk of neonatal infection will lead to increased numbers of infected infants and more cases of chronic hepatitis B infection in children that will generate millions of extra dollars in health care costs, two studies published Monday project. (Branswell, 4/27)
Stat: Kennedy Repeatedly Fails To Answer Questions From Democrats
Last week, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) asked health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. whether he would release — by Friday — the contract of a longtime vaccine critic who was hired by the Department of Health and Human Services. “Yeah, I’m happy to,” Kennedy responded. But Friday came and went without a response from Kennedy. (Payne, 4/27)
CIDRAP: Survey: Vaccine Scientists Held In High Regard By Most Americans
A new survey of US adults suggests that, despite the spread of conspiracy theories about vaccines in recent years, most Americans trust the work of vaccine scientists. (Dall, 4/27)
CIDRAP: CDC Confirms New Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Backyard Poultry
Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 34 people in 13 states have been sickened in an outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul tied to backyard poultry. So far no deaths have been associated with this outbreak, but 13 people have been hospitalized. (Soucheray, 4/27)
STATE WATCH
AP: Wyoming Judge Halts Abortion Law As Legal Challenge Proceeds
A Wyoming judge has blocked a new state law that bans abortions beyond the earliest stages of pregnancy while a lawsuit challenging the provision moves ahead. It’s the first court ruling affecting the legal status of abortion in Wyoming since the state Supreme Court struck down sweeping abortion and abortion pill bans in January, finding that the laws violated the state constitution. The new law, which would ban abortion after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected, is likely to be overturned on similar grounds, Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey wrote in granting a temporary restraining order against it Friday. (Gruver, 4/27)
ProPublica, The Florida Trib: Florida Jails Contract With Armor Health Despite Allegations Of Negligence
For 30 minutes, Brian Tracey lay naked and unable to breathe on the floor of the medical ward at the St. Johns County Detention Center, a low-roofed building south of Jacksonville, Florida. It was Dec. 15, 2023, the day Tracey was supposed to be released from jail. By the time deputies noticed him, it was too late. His girlfriend, who’d posted bond for Tracey after nine days, waited outside for him but was instead greeted by a deputy and chaplain, who told her Tracey was dead. (Manna, 4/28)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Fierce Healthcare: Doctors' Liability Premiums Rise For 7th Straight Year
Physicians’ medical liability insurance premiums rose for the seventh consecutive year in 2025, a first for the field since 2005, and at the second-highest rate since that same year, according to a new American Medical Association analysis. Among responses to an annual survey of leading medical liability insurers, 39.9% reported a year-to-year increase in medical liability during 2025, with 6% indicating an increase of 6% or more and 3.1% any level of decrease. Since the early 2000s, only 2024 was higher, with 49.8% of premiums rising. (Muoio, 4/27)
Modern Healthcare: Health Insurance CEO Compensation Stagnated In 2025
Health insurance CEO pay dipped slightly in 2025 as companies continued to grind their way back to peak profitability. Chief executive compensation fell at Centene, Cigna and Molina Healthcare and rose at UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health, Aetna parent company CVS Health, Humana, Alignment Health and Oscar Health, according to regulatory filings the publicly traded companies submitted in recent weeks. (Tepper, 4/27)
Becker's Hospital Review: Health System Governance Is Falling Behind: 8 Things To Know
Nonprofit health system boards are governing larger, more complex enterprises than ever before, but a report published April 27 by The Governance Institute — part of NRC Health — argues that governance capability has not kept pace with that reality. The report draws on survey data, public health spending figures and field experience to examine the question: Does the current governance model fit the operating reality of modern health systems? The answer, according to the report, is no, and the gap is widening. (Condon, 4/27)
Modern Healthcare: UPMC, Sanford Health Use APPs, Pharmacists To Expand Access
Advanced practice practitioners and pharmacists are taking center stage as health systems revamp their care teams, and the strategy is paying off. The goal of the increasingly popular workforce model is to free up nurse and physician specialists for more complex cases while reducing costs and increasing access. Team-based care initiatives have helped close access gaps in rural communities where physician recruitment remains a persistent challenge. (Kacik, 4/27)
Fierce Healthcare: Utah Doctors Call For Suspension Of AI Prescribing Pilot
Doctors in the state of Utah are challenging an artificial intelligence-powered prescription medication refill system they say puts patient safety at risk. In January, the state inked a partnership with AI doctor startup Doctronic to test out an AI-powered system to “automate routine, guideline-based prescription renewals” for Utah residents. It marked the first test of AI as an autonomous clinical decision-maker under a regulatory suspension paradigm, as Fierce Healthcare reported in January. (Landi, 4/27)
Kansas City Star: Defense Denies KU Med Surgery Device Was Source Of Infection
The factory that manufactured the device used during a Raytown man’s heart surgery at The University of Kansas Hospital was not the source of the deadly infection that his family alleges claimed his life, a defense witness testified at a trial on Friday. (Thomas, 4/27)
St. Pete Catalyst: A Robot May Soon Move Patients Around Hospitals
Rovex Technologies Corp. founder and CEO Dr. David Crabb has experienced hospital logistical challenges firsthand. He’s an emergency room physician by trade. This led Crabb to explore autonomous robots and how they could assist. In 2024, he started the Gainesville-based startup and began to develop Rovi – which can carry stretchers. (Connor, 4/27)
PHARMACEUTICALS
AP: OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Faces Sentencing
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma could be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the end of the week, as a massive legal settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits is set to take effect. A federal judge on Tuesday is expected to deliver a criminal sentence to the company to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe — a last necessary step to clear the way for the settlement. (Mulvihill, 4/28)
Stat: Erasca Touts Strong Early Results In Pancreatic And Lung Cancer Therapy Trial
The drugmaker Erasca said Monday that its RAS-targeting pill shrank tumors in 40% of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and 62% of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, results that the company said exceeded its expectations. (Feuerstein, 4/27)
CNBC: Lp(A) Drugs From Novartis, Amgen And Eli Lilly Aim To Prevent Heart Attacks
Pharma thinks it’s found the next frontier in preventing heart attacks. Novartis, Amgen and Eli Lilly are among the drugmakers betting that slashing levels of a particularly bad form of cholesterol could deliver the next blockbusters in cardiology. All three of the pharmaceutical giants are in late-stage trials to test whether drugs that cut Lp(a) can protect people from heart attacks. (Peebles, 4/27)
Stat: Veradermics’ Hair Loss Drug Succeeds In Late-Stage Trial
An oral medicine for hair loss successfully spurred hair growth in a late-stage trial, startup Veradermics announced Monday. (DeAngelis, 4/27)
Roll Call: Deadly Liver Disease, Rooted Out Elsewhere, Retains Grip On US
It was hailed as a “triumph of 21st century medicine” — a daily pill that cures a life-threatening liver disease in a matter of weeks with minimal side effects and a success rate of more than 95 percent. But more than a decade after direct-acting antivirals to cure hepatitis C hit the market, potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans are still untreated and the U.S. is lagging behind other developed nations in eliminating the virus as a public health threat. (Hellmann, 4/27)
NBC News: Patients Say They Want Alzheimer's Blood Tests. Doctors Aren't Sure They Help
The idea is straightforward: Take a blood test now, even without symptoms, and learn if you could some day develop Alzheimer’s disease. Whether you should get this test is a more complicated matter. Most Alzheimer’s blood tests work by measuring levels of amyloid or tau, proteins that build up in the brain and are thought to play key roles in the disease. Both can begin gathering in the brain decades before any symptoms appear. But it’s still an ongoing debate how well the tests can predict who will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, doctors say. (Lovelace Jr., 4/27)
The New York Times: Thanks To GLP-1s, Obesity Experts Are Trying To Understand ‘Food Noise’
Before the new obesity drugs came on the market, almost no one used the term food noise. Researchers studying and developing drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound analyzed doses, side effects, weight loss and improvements in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea. Incessant thoughts about food and internal dialogues about what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, how to resist eating — these were not on the research agenda. (Kolata, 4/27)
CNBC: Novartis CEO: Reality Of Trump's Drug Pricing To Set In Over Next 18 Months
Novartis’ CEO warned Tuesday that the U.S. drug pricing policy under President Donald Trump poses a “very difficult situation” and the reality will soon catch up with both drugmakers and patients. “The longer-term implications are significant,” CEO Vas Narasimhan told CNBC’s Carolin Roth. “The reality of MFN is going to set in in the next 18 months.” (Ohlen, 4/28)
MENTAL HEALTH
Axios: ADHD Drug Prescriptions Have Spiked Since The Pandemic
Stimulant use has spiked in the post-pandemic era, particularly among young adult women. Demand for ADHD medications is surging, but the drugs may not be reaching the people who need them the most. (Owens, 4/28)
Stat: Google Wants Gemini AI Chats To Be A Bridge To Mental Health Support
As Google faces pressure to take greater accountability for the mental health impacts of its artificial intelligence products, the company’s clinical director Megan Jones Bell welcomed the challenge of making artificial intelligence helpful to people who come to its Gemini chatbot with a mental health crisis. (Aguilar, 4/28)
AGING
The New York Times: Cellular Rejuvenation Has The Potential To Reverse Aging
Why are babies born young? The most natural phenomenon on earth is actually hard to explain — at least on a cellular level. Consider this problem: The components of conception are old. When a woman gets pregnant, she has been carrying her egg cells since birth. The sperm that joins with the egg to form a zygote might have been just a few months in the making, but it inherits markers of age from the man who produced it. It only follows that the zygote would also show signs of age — and at first it does. But then a mysterious metamorphosis begins: The cells of the zygote begin to reverse that damage, shaking off the metaphorical dust that the parents accumulated on their DNA. (Dominus, 4/27)
GLOBAL WATCH
Bloomberg: China Races To Build World's Largest Biobank To Rival US Drugs Research
As a fledgling researcher in US, Zhang Li was struck by the efficiency of extracting human tissue in the morning and mining it for data the same afternoon. Such a streamlined process had been missing from his years of training as a bio data scientist in China. Inspired, he returned home to Beijing to join the Chinese Institute for Brain Research and launch a national database that will collect blood and DNA samples from 33,000 children to help identify patterns of brain disease and their risk factors. (Kan and Tong, 4/28)
CIDRAP: Maternal Chikungunya Infections Linked To Short And Long-Term Neurologic Problems In Babies
Babies infected with the chikungunya virus during labor and delivery are at high risk of developing serious neurologic problems as newborns, as well as learning problems as they get older, according to a new study. Nearly half of newborns (48%) infected with chikungunya by their mothers develop serious neurologic problems, the study found. These include seizures; bleeding in the brain; inflammation of the brain tissue; and impairments of nerve, spinal cord, or brain function that cause problems such as weakness in one arm, facial droop, or speech difficulties. (Szabo, 4/27)
