First Edition: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Trump’s Idea For Health Accounts Has Been Tried. Millions Of Patients Have Ended Up In Debt
Sarah Monroe once had a relatively comfortable middle-class life. She and her family lived in a neatly landscaped neighborhood near Cleveland. They had a six-figure income and health insurance. Then, four years ago, when Monroe was pregnant with twin girls, something started to feel off. “I kept having to come into the emergency room for fainting and other symptoms,” recalled Monroe, 43, who works for an insurance company. The babies were fine. But after months of tests and hospital trips, Monroe was diagnosed with a potentially dangerous heart condition. (Levey, 12/9)

KFF Health News: Out-Of-Pocket Pain From High-Deductible Plans Means Skimping On Care
David Garza sometimes feels as if he doesn’t have health insurance now that he pays so much to treat his Type 2 diabetes. His monthly premium payment of $435 for family coverage is roughly the same as the insurance at his previous job. But the policy at his current job carries an annual deductible of $4,000, which he must pay out-of-pocket for his family’s care until he reaches that amount each year. “Now everything is full price,” said the 53-year-old, who works at a warehouse just south of Dallas-Fort Worth. “That’s been a little bit of a struggle.” (Huff, 12/9)

KFF Health News: Rural Health Providers Could Be Collateral Damage From $100K Trump Visa Fee
Bekki Holzkamm has been trying to hire a lab technician at a hospital in rural North Dakota since late summer. Not one U.S. citizen has applied. West River Health Services in Hettinger, a town of about 1,000 residents in the southwestern part of the state, has four options, and none is good. The hospital could fork over $100,000 for the Trump administration’s new H-1B visa fee and hire one of the more than 30 applicants from the Philippines or Nigeria. The fee is the equivalent of what some rural hospitals would pay two lab techs in a year, said Holzkamm, who is West River’s lab manager. (Zionts and Reese, 12/9)

INFANT HEALTH

The Hill: CDC Adviser: Newborn Vaccine Rollback ‘Wasn’t Based On Data’
Joseph Hibbeln, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), said Monday that a vote to axe a recommendation that every newborn get the hepatitis B vaccine “wasn’t based on data.” “I repeatedly asked for it, and no data of harm was presented. There were speculations, ‘Oh, we need to have future studies of hundreds of thousands of people and we have to examine the possibility of an unknown unknown.’ Well, to me, that’s speculation, and that’s not data,” Hibbeln told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “The Situation Room.” (Suter, 12/8)

NBC News: More Parents Refusing Vitamin K Shots For Newborns, Study Finds
More parents are refusing vitamin K shots for their newborns, a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found. It’s a trend that experts worry could have deadly consequences. Babies are born with very low levels of vitamin K, a nutrient the body needs for blood to clot, leaving them at risk for severe bleeding early in life. In the early 1960s, hospitals in the United States began giving newborns shots of the vitamin within the first six hours of birth to prevent bleeding, including bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract or brain. (Sullivan, 12/8)

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

AP: Affordable Care Act Enrollment Is Slightly Ahead Of Last Year So Far
The number of Americans signing up for Affordable Care Act health insurance for 2026 is moderately higher than it was at a similar time last year, initial new federal data shows, even as subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025 will make the coverage more expensive for many. Seen at face value, the data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services seems to defy predictions that many Americans facing pricier plans would drop out of marketplace coverage altogether next year. But experts caution that the numbers are an incomplete snapshot of total enrollment, which could still show a decline by the end of the open enrollment period. (Swenson and Forster, 12/8)

The New York Times: Obamacare Users Will Be Asked To Pay More For Plans That Cover Less
Millions of Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years. For those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills. More and more people are discovering that their deductibles are rising significantly, worsening fears that they will no longer be able to pay for medical care. That’s on top of higher premiums; they could more than double. (Abelson, 12/8)

Axios: Senate Republican Chairs Circulate Health Plan As ACA Subsidies Hang In The Balance
Two key Senate Republican chairmen are circulating the outline of a health care plan to Republican offices ahead of a crucial week that could decide the fate of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, multiple sources tell Axios. (Sullivan and Kight, 12/8)

Politico: Why Senate Republicans Aren't Uniting Behind A Health Care Plan
Senate Republicans have no shortage of health care plans. The challenge is getting all 53 of them to rally behind one. Three days before a high-profile vote on a Democratic proposal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, GOP senators are nowhere near coalescing behind any single alternative that could be put up alongside it. Instead, Republican leaders appear happy allowing their members to freelance, even as Democrats and some in their own ranks fume at the lack of clear direction. (Carney, 12/8)

The Hill: GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick: Doing Nothing On Health Care 'Not An Option'
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), the author of a bipartisan health care plan and a moderate Republican whose district voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, said taking no action on the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies is “not an option.” In an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” Fitpatrick pushed back against those in his party who oppose his plan to extend the enhanced ObamaCare tax credits, challenging them to counter with their own proposals. (Fortinsky, 12/8)

AP: Swing District Republicans Brace For Fallout Over Health Care
Republicans in key battleground U.S. House districts are working to contain the political fallout that may come when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the Republican majority, the impending expiration of what are called enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 is a pressing concern as they potentially face headwinds in a 2026 midterm election that will be critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. (Levy and Freking, 12/8)

COVID, FLU, AND MPOX

CIDRAP: US Reps Berate FDA Head, Demand Data For Proposed Vaccine Regulation Changes, Purported Link To Child Deaths
Late last week, three US congressional representatives sent a scathing letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary, MD, MPH, condemning an agency email that contained “inaccuracies, misinformation, and unsupported claims regarding the agency’s regulation of vaccines, and asserting an unproven link between COVID-19 vaccines and pediatric deaths.” (Van Beusekom, 12/8)

The New York Times: Youth Mental Health Improved When Schools Reopened, Study Finds
A study of nearly 200,000 California schoolchildren found that their mental health had improved significantly after schools reopened for in-person learning in 2021, evidence that its authors said shows that the risks of prolonged shutdowns were greater than policymakers understood at the time. The study, published on Monday in the journal Epidemiology, tracked medical claims for 185,735 privately insured children ages 5 to 18 in California over the months before and after their schools reopened. (Barry, 12/8)

Newsweek: Scientists Warn Schools Will Needlessly Boost Flu Cases This Winter
A study has found that the close contact between children in classrooms alongside issues with indoor air quality may contribute to the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza in the coming months. While it is known that close contact with others can increase the transmission of certain viruses, the study highlights in greater detail how improving classroom ventilation could have notable impacts in reducing transmission. (Laws, 12/8)

CIDRAP: UK Health Officials Warn Of New Mpox Variant
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified a new recombinant mpox virus in England in an individual who had recently travelled to Asia. Genomic sequencing revealed that the new virus strain had elements of clade 1b and 11b mpox, which are both currently circulating. “Our genomic testing has enabled us to detect this new mpox strain. It’s normal for viruses to evolve, and further analysis will help us understand more about how mpox is changing,” said  Katy Sinka, MSc, head of sexually transmitted infections at UKHSA, in a press statement. (Soucheray, 12/8)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The Hill: Johnson Slammed After Military IVF Expansion Dropped From Defense Bill
Congress’s annual defense policy bill does not include a provision expanding coverage of assisted reproductive technology for military members, including in vitro fertilization, sparking the ire of lawmakers and advocates. Currently, service members’ Tricare insurance only covers fertility services for military members whose infertility was caused by a serious or severe illness or injury while on active duty. (Weixel, 12/8)

Bloomberg: FDA Slow Walking A Long-Awaited Abortion Pill Safety Study 
The Food and Drug Administration has delayed a promised review of safety data for the abortion drug mifepristone at Commissioner Marty Makary’s request to put it off until after the midterm elections, according to people familiar with the matter. Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have told lawmakers and state attorneys general for months that they are actively conducting a review of mifepristone. But behind the scenes, Makary has told agency officials to delay the safety review, people familiar with the discussions said. (Gorrivan, Griffin and Cohrs Zhang, 12/8)

The New York Times: Three Years After Dobbs, The State Divide Over Abortion Deepens 
“The U.S. is becoming a tale of two countries in terms of abortion access and abortion policy,” said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a professor and a public health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. But, she added, “All of this legislation will never take away from the fact that women will continue to need abortion care, and continue to get abortion care.” (Karlamangla, 12/9)

The Washington Post: ‘Forever Chemicals’ Could Cause More Infant Deaths And Preterm Births
Mothers in New Hampshire who were downstream of sites contaminated with “forever chemicals” experienced triple the rate of infant deaths and had more premature births or babies with low birth weights, according to a new study released Monday. The analysis by a team of economists, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sampled data from more than 11,000 births between 2010 and 2019. Researchers looked at how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, affected fetal health after these chemicals contaminated the drinking water supply. (Ajasa, 12/9)

The 19th: Why Are So Many Americans Worried About Falling Birth Rates?
Half of Americans think we should be at least somewhat worried about the impact of falling birth rates on society, according to the 2025 19th News/SurveyMonkey Poll fielded in September. Mary Aured, a 65-year-old based in Florida, indicated in the poll that she was “very worried” about the country’s falling birth rate and told The 19th: “I’m desperately afraid that there will not be a generation that can support the generation above it.” (Padilla and Mithani, 12/8)

Post-Tribune: Experts Debate New Infants In The Workplace Policy In Indiana Government
Taking care of a newborn child is a “full-time job,” said a women’s health professional. “Coupling that with returning to work could be really difficult for some people to do,” said Usha Ranji, associate director of KFF’s Women’s Health Policy Program. “Getting work done while you’re caring for anything is difficult.” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, on Tuesday, announced a “Family First Workplace” policy that would allow some state employees to bring their infants to work until they are six months old. (Wilkins, 12/6)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Politico: HUD Temporarily Pauses Homelessness Funding Overhaul Just Ahead Of Court Hearing 
The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday temporarily revoked a controversial policy change that would significantly cut permanent housing funding for people experiencing homelessness. HUD withdrew the notice of funding opportunity about 90 minutes before a Monday afternoon court hearing regarding two lawsuits challenging the agency’s recent changes to the Continuum of Care program — one from a coalition of 21 attorneys generals and governors and another from a group of 11 local governments and non-profit organizations. (Hapgood, 12/8)

The Guardian: US Civic Health Rating Downgraded After Year Of ‘Restrictive‘ Trump Actions
A coalition of global civil society organizations has downgraded the United States’ civic health rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed.” In a report released on Tuesday, Civicus, a non-profit that monitors civic freedoms in 198 countries, placed the US in its “obstructed” category. The group cited a “sharp deterioration of fundamental freedoms in the country … following a year of sweeping executive actions, restrictive laws and aggressive crackdowns on free speech and dissent.” (Yang, 12/9)

AP: UN Cuts 2026 Humanitarian Aid Funding Request To $33B
The U.N.'s humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Western governments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking $33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and food shortages. This year, it took in $15 billion, the lowest level in a decade. (12/9)

Bloomberg: Chinese Biotech, Investments Are On Track To Face New US Curbs
The US Congress is poised to enact bipartisan legislation that would block some Chinese biotechnology companies from government-funded contracts and authorize the Trump administration to bar US investment in Chinese AI and advanced computing. (Dennis, 12/8)

IMMIGRATION CRISIS

The New York Times: Wrenching Pain, A Severe Infection: An ICE Detainee Is Ordered Released 
A judge blamed “deliberate indifference” for the illness of a man held by immigration officials. Across the country, several courts have blasted conditions in U.S. facilities. (Ley, 12/9)

Verite News: Residents Deliver Food To Those Affected By DHS Raids
Pantries across New Orleans have responded to the arrival of ICE officials by directly distributing food to people in fear of leaving their homes to shop for groceries or go to restaurants. (Yehiya, 12/8)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

San Francisco Chronicle: Sutter Health Retreat On Teen Gender Care Draws Protest
On her son’s 14th birthday, a few days before Thanksgiving, Nikki got a call from his pediatrician at Sutter Health: In December, the doctor said, Sutter would stop providing all gender-affirming care for transgender children and teens like hers. Sutter, along with major Bay Area providers Kaiser Permanente and Stanford, had already stopped offering gender-affirming surgeries for young patients. But Sutter’s new ban would also apply to puberty blockers and hormone therapy for patients under 19. (Allday, 12/8)

Stat: Trans, Nonbinary Researchers See More Than Funding Threatened 
Medical student Tyler Harvey was planning to take the high-stakes Step 1 exam in about a week. It’s the first and perhaps most difficult hurdle on the way to becoming a doctor. But after taking a practice exam, their score wasn’t where they wanted it to be. Something inside them shifted. (Gaffney, 12/9)

The CT Mirror: A Billion-Dollar Plan To Bolster Rural Health In CT
Connecticut officials have crafted a five-year, billion-dollar strategy to improve the health of the state’s rural residents. Last month, the Department of Social Services requested roughly $938 million from the federal government for the effort. The funding would come from the Rural Health Transformation Program — created as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or H.R. 1, that President Donald Trump signed into law in July. (Golvala, 12/9)

ProPublica: These Health Centers Are Supposed To Make Care Affordable. One Has Sued Patients For As Little As $59 In Unpaid Bills.
This past June, Ashley Voss-Barnes received a court summons in the mail. PrairieStar Health Center, a nonprofit community health center in south-central Kansas, was suing her for $675 and her wife for $732 in unpaid medical bills. Voss-Barnes knew the clinic received federal funding to make preventive health care accessible in a region where many families, including her own, needed financial help. (Swaby, 12/9)

Los Angeles Times: Nation's Largest All-Electric Hospital To Open In Orange County
A new hospital at UC Irvine opens Wednesday and it will be all-electric — only the second such medical center, and the largest, in the country so far. People live through some of the toughest moments of their lives in hospitals, so they need to be as comfortable as possible. Hospitals traditionally connect with natural gas lines several times bigger than those connected to residential homes, to ensure that rooms are always warm or cool enough and have sufficient hot water. (Lobet, 12/8)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Weighs In On Medicare Advantage Marketing Commission Disputes
Federal regulators are stepping into a fight between insurers and state commissioners over Medicare Advantage marketing practices. Insurers in recent years have sought to limit potentially costly Medicare Advantage enrollment by reducing or ending commissions to brokers and third-party marketers and narrowing access to online portals. In response, roughly a dozen state commissioners have urged insurers to reverse such actions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states Friday that regulation of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans should ultimately rest at the federal level. (Tong, 12/8)

PHARMA AND TECH

Axios: Slow Mail Delivery Hurts Medication Access: Study
Mail delivery slowdowns could leave people with asthma, diabetes and other chronic illnesses without needed medications, particularly in rural areas, a new report from the Brookings Institution concludes. (Goldman, 12/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Drugmakers Are Ditching Middlemen To Sell Directly To Patients
Drugmakers are moving to sell their medicines directly to patients, abandoning the middlemen they have long relied on. The shift is a huge departure from how pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer have sold drugs for decades and threatens the multibillion-dollar business of firms that have traditionally filled prescriptions. (Loftus, 12/8)

The New York Times: Why Some Doctors Say There Are Cancers That Shouldn’t Be Treated 
The statistics are incontrovertible: Since 1992, the diagnoses of eight cancers has doubled in the United States in patients under age 50, including cancers in the thyroid, anus, kidney, small intestine, colorectum, endometrium and pancreas, as well as the blood cancer myeloma. Other types, including breast cancer, also are on the rise. ... What if these cancers had never been detected? Are doctors offering treatments to younger patients with early-stage diseases that may do as much harm as good? (Kolata, 12/8)

STATE WATCH

ProPublica: Wave Of Tax Cuts Has Left Many States Vulnerable To Trump SNAP And Medicaid Crisis
This fall, Americans got to see what it’s like to go without a safety net for the hungry. With the U.S. government shut down for multiple weeks and President Donald Trump refusing to fund SNAP, the federal food stamp program, a panic set in among the more than 40 million people who rely on it. Families skipped meals, and babies went unfed. Food banks ran out of food, and some people turned to dumpster diving. It was just a glimpse of what’s to come. Starting next October, Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in SNAP costs from the federal government onto states. (Hager, 12/9)

The Current: Five Years In, It’s Unclear How Louisiana’s Opioid Funds Are Spent
Louisiana took a decentralized approach, dispersing money to local jurisdictions who operate with little oversight from a task force and supporting state-run nonprofit established by then-Attorney General Jeff Landry. No other state gives as much of its power to fund opioid abatement directly to local law enforcement. Louisiana is also the only state with no state-level program, apart from operating costs for the nonprofit and task force, while directing 20% of the funds to local sheriffs. (Maschke, 12/4)

CIDRAP: South Carolina Measles Outbreak Grows; New Case Identified In Colorado
Health officials in South Carolina late last week reported eight new measles cases and exposures at four new schools. In a December 5 update, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) said seven of the new cases are household members of known measles cases, while the eighth is still being investigated. DPH notified potentially exposed students, faculty, and staff at the four schools on December 1. There are currently 281 individuals in quarantine and two in isolation. (Dall, 12/8)