Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Tuesday, June 2, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Focused On Work, Needed At Home: A Federal Caregiving Policy Might Help
Jill Woodrow reached a tipping point as a caregiver when her mom began struggling to communicate information about her latest doctor appointments. Woodrow’s mother, a uterine cancer survivor, was seeing specialists to get to the bottom of several new, concerning symptoms. “When she would try to tell us about what happened or what the conversation was, she couldn’t remember,” Woodrow said. (Ruppelt, Anthony and Farmer, 6/2)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
NBC News: Trump Admin Outlines Who Would Be Exempt From Medicaid Work Requirements
Pregnant women, parents of young children, veterans with disabilities and several other groups will be exempt from Medicaid’s new work requirements, the Trump administration said Monday. The guidance was released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, meeting a June 1 deadline under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to explain how states should carry out the work rules. (Lovelace Jr., 6/1)
Military.com: Trump Admin Illegally Banned Transgender Troops From Military: Court Ruling
A three-panel court blocked the Trump administration from banning transgender troops from the United States military, though it did not alter precedent for new troops wanting to enlist. The 2-1 ruling, issued Monday by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, blocks the administration from removing currently enlisted transgender service members but continues to allow the policy to continue for new transgender recruits. On May 6, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court in a party-line decision granted the Trump administration’s request to enforce a Department of Defense policy banning transgender individuals from serving in the military while legal challenges in lower courts continued. Legal battles remain ongoing in lower court settings. (Mordowanec, 6/1)
Stat: As FDA Misses Deadline On Electric Shock Ban, Disability Advocates Speak Out
Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration gave itself a deadline. The agency would eventually decide whether to ban electrical shock devices that have been used for decades to manage self-injurious behavior in people with intellectual disabilities and autism. The deadline, pegged to the end of May, has now passed without a verdict, leaving disability rights activists and former recipients of these shocks worried that they will continue. The practice — dubbed a form of “torture” by United Nations officials and “punishing” by the American Academy of Pediatrics — has mostly fallen out of favor in the United States in recent decades but is still used at one institution: the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts. (Broderick, 6/1)
Politico: RFK Jr. Touts Milk Again — This Time In A District Republicans Need To Hold
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressed his love for milk again Monday. This time it was in the district of embattled GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden, whose western Wisconsin seat in America’s Dairyland is one Republicans really want to hold this November. The visit, just the latest in a string of them from Cabinet secretaries to Van Orden’s district, comes as Republicans seek to shore up incumbents in toss-up races who must win this November if the GOP is to keep its House majority. (Levien, 6/1)
EBOLA OUTBREAK
CIDRAP: Three Ebola Vaccine Candidates Fast-Tracked As African Outbreak Continues
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced it’s helping fast-track three Ebola Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates from the University of Oxford, Moderna, and the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), as the world races to control the growing outbreak caused by the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. “With Bundibugyo virus spreading rapidly and no licensed vaccines, every day counts in the race against this deadly disease,” said Richard Hatchett, MD, CEO of CEPI, in a press release. “CEPI's urgent funding and support aims to advance safe, effective vaccines to help control this epidemic.” (Soucheray, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Ebola Outbreak Is Now Third Largest In History. Here’s What To Know.
An outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is already the third largest in history, just weeks after it likely began. It is spreading rapidly in one of the most volatile and vulnerable regions of the world, worrying U.S. and international health officials. Cuts to international health aid over the past year and a half are adding to the burden, some public-health leaders say. (McKay, 6/1)
Bloomberg: Congo Reopens Airport In Ebola Epicenter As Officials Brace For Long Outbreak
Congo reopened the main airport in the eastern province hardest hit by Ebola, after health officials reported tentative signs the outbreak may be slowing despite a continuing struggle to trace exposed contacts and investigate suspected cases. The airport in Bunia — the capital of Ituri province — resumed operations immediately after health authorities determined that screening and surveillance measures were sufficient to manage travel risks, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s transport ministry said in a Monday statement posted on social media. Passengers will undergo temperature screening before departure and arrival. (Gale, 6/2)
AP: Kenyan President Defends US Ebola Quarantine Center Amid Protests
President William Ruto on Monday night said the U.S. had a long-standing partnership with Kenya on health matters and that the quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base was one of 24 facilities that had been established in the event of an Ebola outbreak in the country. (6/2)
NBC News: Brazil And Italy Rule Out Ebola In Previously Suspected Cases Amid Scramble To Contain Outbreak
The World Health Organization’s leader traveled to the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the weekend, as suspected cases and deaths continue to mount. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, visited Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, and on Monday was expected to meet with the country’s president. (Talmazan, 6/1)
COVID
FiercePharma: Shionogi's COVID Antiviral Xocova Passes Muster With FDA As Post-Exposure Preventative
Sold under the Xocova moniker—and available in Japan since 2022—Shionogi’s oral drug has been cleared for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) of COVID-19 in U.S. adults and adolescents ages 12 and older following contact with someone who has COVID. With the FDA's sign-off, Xocova has earned the distinction of becoming the first oral drug approved in the U.S. to protect against COVID after exposure, Shionogi noted in a June 1 press release. The drug is taken over five days, beginning with three tablets on day one and just one tablet on the following four. (Kansteiner, 6/1)
CIDRAP: Long COVID May Affect 1 In 6 Infected Patients
Long COVID may be affecting far more Americans than current estimates suggest, with a study published last week in JAMA Network Open estimating that roughly one in six people infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop the condition, and nearly 90% go on to experience chronic health problems. (Bergeson, 6/1)
MORE OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
NBC News: State Trooper Guards And Daily Fever Checks: Some Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passengers Go Home
Five of the 18 U.S. cruise ship passengers quarantined in Nebraska went home Monday, halfway through their quarantine after being exposed to hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said. The five passengers were permitted to leave under the condition that they stay home — no quick runs for takeout or trips to the grocery store — for the second half of the virus’ full 42-day quarantine period, set to end June 22. (Edwards and Vespa, 6/1)
CIDRAP: HHS Announces Plan To Reduce, Better Treat Lyme Disease, Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Late last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new efforts to address Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, including a pilot program to eradicate ticks on animals before they can bite people. As part of the pilot program, researchers at the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases will work with community partners, including the Indian Health Service and the Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, on ways to reduce the tick population and interrupt breeding with the hope that fewer ticks will lead to fewer tick-borne infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and HHS will helm this initiative. (Holohan, 6/1)
CIDRAP: Kids With Summer Birthdays Are More Likely To Get The Flu
Kids with autumn birthdays are more likely to get the annual flu shot and therefore less likely to catch the virus compared with those born in the summer, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed the flu vaccine from its list of recommended childhood immunizations in January, citing a lack of evidence that the vaccine prevents serious illness and deaths in children. Now the agency recommends "shared clinical decision-making" between a clinician and a patient or their guardian, though that recommendation is currently on hold following a court ruling in March. (Boden, 6/1)
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH
The New York Times: Obesity May Be More Prevalent Than Previously Thought
New research using an updated definition of obesity suggests that many more people may have the disease than previous studies have suggested. It’s estimated that 40 percent of adults in the United States have obesity. But much of the research used to produce those estimates has relied on body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height. Doctors have increasingly come to see B.M.I. as an imperfect tool for defining obesity, because it doesn’t distinguish excess weight from body fat or from bone and muscle. (Agrawal, 6/1)
MedPage Today: Obesity With A Normal BMI? Study Suggests It's Common
Over a quarter of U.S. adults with a normal body mass index (BMI) met recently proposed criteria for clinical obesity, a national cross-sectional study found. (Monaco, 6/1)
CANCER
NBC News: A Personalized Vaccine For Melanoma Cut The Risk Of Cancer Returning After Five Years
An experimental vaccine from Moderna and Merck shows promise in keeping deadly skin cancer from returning for years, according to new clinical trial results. The research, presented Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, found that a personalized mRNA vaccine halved the risk of melanoma returning after five years. The results were also published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. (Sullivan, 6/1)
The Guardian: Smart Drug That Strips Cancer Cells Of ‘Invisibility Cloak’ Can Shrink Tumours By 30%, Trial Shows
A smart drug that stops cancer cells “hiding” from treatment can shrink tumours by at least 30% in six of the world’s most common forms of the disease, early trial results show. While immunotherapy treatments have improved survival rates for many patients, their effectiveness can stall or fail when tumour cells hide and then spread. (Gregory, 6/1)
Fox News: Veterans With Cancer Face Elevated Suicide Risk After Diagnosis, Study Finds
Veterans with cancer face a higher risk of suicide attempts, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The risk is especially prevalent in the months following diagnosis and can persist for years, states the study, which was published in JAMA Oncology. (Stabile, 6/1)
Bloomberg: Covid Pandemic Left 55,000 Cancer Cases Undiagnosed Across 7 Nations, Study Says
About 55,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed across seven high-income countries during the first nine months of the Covid-19 pandemic, underscoring the extent to which lockdowns and health-system disruptions affected routine medical care, a study found. An estimated 16% of expected cancer diagnoses across Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK were missing between April and December 2020, compared with pre-pandemic trends. (Gale, 6/1)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The New York Times: Anthropic Files To Go Public, Setting Stage For Huge I.P.O.
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the chatbot Claude, confidentially filed on Monday for an initial public offering, joining what could be a once-in-a-generation, moneymaking moment on Wall Street. With its I.P.O. filing, Anthropic is expected to be among three high-profile companies preparing to go public this year, along with the rocket company SpaceX and OpenAI, which started the A.I. boom in 2022 with its ChatGPT chatbot. (Isaac, 6/1)
AP: Florida Sues OpenAI And CEO Altman Over Claims Of Danger Posed By ChatGPT
The state of Florida filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on Monday, claiming the company knowingly released and aggressively marketed ChatGPT to the public while concealing serious risks, including offering instructions to children considering suicide and helping suspects plot crimes. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said during a news conference that the company suppressed internal safety warnings and deceived users about the true nature and dangers of the product. He said Florida was the first state to sue OpenAI. (Fischer, 6/1)
NBC News: Around 1 In 5 Young People Use AI Chatbots For Mental Health Advice: Survey
Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study. The findings, from the research institute RAND, represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey. At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November, the results of which were published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. (Bendix and Yang, 6/1)
The Hill: Artificial Intelligence Use For Just 10 Minutes Can Compromise Cognitive Function, Researchers Say
Artificial intelligence continues to transform daily life, but researchers say even brief use may have downsides. A study conducted by scientists from Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Los Angeles found that the technology can affect cognitive function and problem-solving abilities in a relatively short period. “We show that just 10-15 minutes of AI interaction can result in significant impairments in independent performance and persistence — capacities that are foundational to lifelong learning,” the study said. (Taub, 6/1)
PHARMACEUTICALS
Stat: Eli Lilly Tells Hospitals To Submit Claims Data In Days Or Lose 340B Drug Discounts
Eli Lilly has told about 50 hospitals participating in a federal drug discount program to submit comprehensive claims data over the next five days or they will no longer receive the mandated price breaks. The move comes after the company announced a policy in January demanding such data in a bid to reduce what it calls duplicate discounts paid to participating hospitals. The issue has riled the pharmaceutical industry and contributed to a long-standing clash with hospitals over the 340B drug discount program. (Silverman, 6/1)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Invest In Specialty Pharmacy Programs To Boost Revenue
For Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Erlanger, investing in a specialty pharmacy program filled a noticeable care gap across its seven-hospital footprint. The safety-net health system has many patients with chronic and complex conditions, and it lacked the expertise to give them timely access to specialty medications, President and CEO Jim Coleman Jr. said. After partnering with specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions in 2024, Erlanger built a program that has grown to include treatments in 10 specialties. (Hudson, 6/1)
Stat: Servier To Buy Edgewise Therapeutics' Muscular Dystrophy Drug
The French pharma company Servier said Monday that it would buy Colorado-based Edgewise Therapeutics’ muscular dystrophy business in a deal worth up to $2.65 billion. The centerpiece of the deal is Edgewise’s sevasemten, which is being studied in a pivotal trial in Becker muscular dystrophy and in a Phase 2 trial in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The oral drug is designed to protect muscles from the damage that accrues in both rare conditions. (Joseph, 6/1)
Bloomberg: Ulcerative Colitis Drug From Abivax Achieves 40% Remission Rate In Trial
Abivax SA shares plunged after cancer cases in a crucial clinical trial for an experimental bowel disease drug threw the French biotech’s future into question. The medicine, obefazimod, was more effective than expected in the study, helping patients reach clinical remission rates of about 40% with two different doses when adjusting for placebo. But Abivax also reported cancer cases in several patients, including one treated with a placebo. (Kresge and Pham, 6/1)
Fierce Healthcare: Noom Offers At-Home Biomarker Test Kit For 17 Health Indicators
Weight loss company Noom is offering an at-home biomarker testing kit for its U.S. members, expanding its platform into diagnostics and metabolic health monitoring. It marks an expansion of the company's proactive health program, which rolled out in December, offering microdose GLP-1 medications combined with at-home biomarker testing and insights. (Landi, 6/1)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Modern Healthcare: CHS Sells 4 Arkansas Hospitals To Freeman Health System
A Community Health Systems subsidiary sold four Arkansas hospitals to Freeman Health System for $110 million. The sale includes 128-bed Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville, 222-bed Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, 64-bed Northwest Medical Center–Willow Creek Women’s Hospital and 73-bed Siloam Springs Regional Hospital, in addition to related outpatient centers and practices, CHS said in a Monday news release announcing the deal’s completion. The health systems entered into a definitive agreement March 5 for an initial sale price of $112 million. (DeSilva, 6/1)
Fierce Healthcare: UnitedHealth To Nix Nearly Two Thirds Of Pediatric Prior Auths
UnitedHealthcare is set to eliminate close to two-thirds of pediatric prior authorization requirements by the end of the year. The insurance giant announced Friday morning that it will nix prior auth on an array of diagnostic tests, routine surgeries and specialty services, including cardiology, neurology, pulmonology and orthopedics. (Minemyer, 5/29)
Fierce Healthcare: Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression Costing Medicare
A patient with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) costs Medicare 21%, or $8,000, more annually than a patient with depression that is controlled. So finds a new report from Health Management Associates (HMA), a health policy consulting firm. The report aimed to quantify the direct economic impact of the condition, looking at Medicare claims data from 2022 and 2023 for its analysis. (Gliadkovskaya, 6/1)
Stat: Legal Fights Brewing Over The Basic Business Model Of Telehealth
In less than a decade, telehealth has expanded from a sideshow of health care to an industry worth tens of billions of dollars. Companies like Hims & Hers and Teladoc have become household names, their ads interrupting streaming TV and flooding social media feeds with the promise of quick, convenient care. Despite their popularity, few patients understand who’s actually taking care of them when they click through a telehealth site. (Palmer, 6/2)
STATE WATCH
The Washington Post: Texas ‘Detransition Clinic’ To Offer Surgery, Counseling, Fertility Treatment
The nation’s first “De-Transition Clinic” will provide a multidisciplinary array of medical treatment, including surgery, fertility counseling, psychotherapy and speech pathology to patients who have received gender transition care before the age of 21, according to a previously unreleased settlement agreement with the Texas state attorney general’s office. (Hennessy-Fiske, 6/2)
Los Angeles Times: More Middle-Class Californians Cancel Health Coverage
Facing higher premiums and the loss of federal subsidies, 374,000 people with health insurance from the state marketplace known as Covered California canceled their coverage in the first three months of the year, according to government statistics. The cancellations amount to 19% of those who had renewed their policies on the state marketplace during open enrollment, state officials said. Those cancellations are higher than in the past three years when they ranged from 13% to 15% of those who renewed. (Petersen, 6/2)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Doctors Billed Medicare Millions For Unproven Chelation Therapy
It started with a curious set of healthcare data and a question that pointed to Georgia. Why were so many seniors in one corner of the state undergoing chelation, an IV therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration strictly for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning? (Robbins, 6/1)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: How Georgia’s Weak Oversight Helped Questionable Therapies Thrive
Dr. Charles Adams built his Tennessee practice by telling patients a controversial IV therapy he provides was good for everything from headaches to heart disease. So when that state’s medical board threatened to crack down, he found a work-around. He moved his practice 15 miles down the road to Georgia. In Ringgold, where he occupies two spaces in a repurposed shopping mall, he has been free to treat patients as he sees fit, without interference from state regulators. (Robbins, Teegardin and Quinton, 6/1)
NBC News: Doctor In Failed Tennessee Execution Says He Didn’t Want Prisoner To Suffer
Tennessee’s failure to execute a man by lethal injection last month after no one could locate a suitable vein led to a rare unmasking: Not only was a practicing physician identified as a participant in the death chamber, but witnesses say he played a direct role in botching the execution. (Ortiz and Brooks, 6/1)
GLOBAL WATCH
AP: FIFA Launches Women's Health And Performance Project
FIFA launched a women’s health and performance project on Monday to fill the void of of information and research into the specific needs of female athletes as women’s soccer continues to grow. The initiative, a series of online modules, provides peer-reviewed research, data and knowledge on 13 topics that impact female athletes, from pregnancy and fertility to recovery and nutrition. (Peterson, 6/1)
AP: Therapy Donkeys Help Patients At A Paris-Area Psychiatric Hospital
Therapy donkeys are helping patients with mental health conditions recover in a psychiatric hospital unit outside Paris that’s unique to France. ... The couple behind the program say more scientific evaluation is needed of animal therapy, which is practiced around the world. They would like it to be formally recognized by the psychiatric community as a complementary form of care, citing their experience with patients and caregivers. (Corbet, 6/1)
