First Edition: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Lost In Transmission: Changes In Organ Donor Status Can Fall Through Cracks In The System
When Raven Kinser walked into a Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles office two summers ago, she completed a driver’s license application that included the option to register as an organ donor. The form provides a checkbox to opt in, but not one to opt out. Kinser left the donor registration box unchecked, reflecting her decision to reverse an earlier donor registration. Six months later, after she was declared dead at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Virginia, her parents say, they learned that her decision did not prevent organ procurement. (Gounder, 3/17)

KFF Health News: Psychiatrists’ Use Of Biomarkers Could Open A New Window Into Mental Health Diagnoses
Amanda Miller was 30 and pregnant with her second child in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she developed depression. After she gave birth, her depression worsened. It was joined by a slew of unexplained health problems. Miller, a neuroscientist, said she saw several psychiatrists and got prescriptions for drug after drug. Over two years, she tried four antidepressants and two antipsychotics. None of that helped — until her primary care doctor noticed high levels of an autoimmune marker in her blood. (Ducharme, 3/17)

KFF Health News: Birth Control Skepticism, Teen Fertility Education Center Stage At Trump's Women's Health Summit
Surrounded by hot pink lights and cherry blossom pink drapes on a ballroom stage, family doctor Marguerite Duane offered a seemingly simple solution to infertility: Doctors should have conversations with young girls about whether they want to have children one day. “I have these conversations with children starting at 8, 10, 12 years old: What do you want to be when you grow up?” Duane said. If you’re a child who wants to be a doctor, for instance, “there are things you need to put in place. If you hope to have children one day, there are things that you need to consider and have the conversation early.” (Seitz, 3/16)

VACCINES

The Washington Post: Federal Judge Block RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Policy Overhaul For Now
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from implementing sweeping changes to the nation’s childhood immunization schedule, siding with major medical organizations that argue Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unlawfully altered vaccine policy and improperly reconstituted a federal vaccine advisory panel. Under Kennedy, the federal government has cut the number of shots routinely recommended to children, including for flu, hepatitis A, rotavirus and meningococcal disease. (Sun and Roubein, 3/16)

The Boston Globe: Massachusetts Health Officials Hail Vaccine Ruling
Massachusetts health officials hailed a ruling Monday by a federal federal judge blocking the Trump administration from implementing sweeping changes to the nation’s childhood immunization schedule. “The judge’s decision includes language and analysis that makes it really clear that it’s a win for public health, that it’s a win for science-based vaccine policy,” said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. (Laughlin, 3/16)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Guardian: Trump Chief Of Staff Susie Wiles Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
Susie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, has been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer but plans to continue working while undergoing treatment. The 68-year-old revealed on Monday that the illness had been detected in the past week. Both she and Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone, saying doctors expect a strong recovery. (Smith, 3/16)

Stat: NIH Grant Funding Slowdown Stalls New Awards And Training Grants 
The last time Jay Bhattacharya testified before Congress, in early February, the biomedical research community watched optimistically as the National Institutes of Health director downplayed the impact of last fall’s government shutdown on the pace of grant funding. Coming on the heels of lawmakers passing an appropriations bill that pushed back on the most drastic changes to the agency proposed by the Trump administration, scientists were hopeful that 2026 would treat them better than 2025. (Oza, 3/17)

The New York Times: No H.I.V. Aid Without More Access To Minerals: U.S. Ponders ‘Sticks’ Against Zambia
The State Department is considering withholding lifesaving assistance to people with H.I.V. in Zambia as a negotiating tactic to force the government of the southern African country to sign a deal giving the United States more access to its critical minerals. “We will only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale,” a draft of a memo prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio by the department’s Africa Bureau staff says. A copy of the memo was obtained by The New York Times. (Nolen, 3/16)

ON CAPITOL HILL

Roll Call: Trump Lets Slip Rep. Dunn’s Medical Diagnosis 
Republican Rep. Neal Dunn was diagnosed with a “terminal” heart illness, President Donald Trump said Monday, adding that doctors initially predicted the North Florida lawmaker would “be dead by June.” “OK, that wasn’t public,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in an awkward moment. Trump patted him on the back. Johnson said Dunn has “a new lease on life” after seeing White House doctors. Trump added that his doctors went to see Dunn and he was “on the operating table like two hours later. … They gave him more stents and more everything that you can have.” (Yurk, 3/16)

Stat: Most-Favored Nation Drug Prices Divide Trump, Congress In Health Care Talks
Despite a cool reception from Congress, the White House is looking to intensify its pressure campaign on lawmakers to pass legislation that would codify a “most-favored nation” drug pricing policy, according to two Trump administration officials briefed on the conversations. (Payne, 3/17)

Stat: Senator: Asthma Patients Suffered As GSK Pursued 'Egregious' Price Hikes
After GSK replaced a popular asthma inhaler with an identical product at a much higher price in order to avoid paying Medicaid rebates, many families reported substantial financial and treatment problems, according to a new report from a U.S. senator. (Silverman, 3/16)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Fierce Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare Expands Doula Benefit To Employers Nationwide
UnitedHealthcare is expanding its doula benefit to employer plans nationwide, the insurance giant announced Monday. The company said in the announcement that it intends to continue expanding the reach of its Doula Support program to additional employer groups throughout this year and expects that 7.2 million members would be eligible by Jan. 1, 2027. (Minemyer, 3/16)

NPR: Dems Call For Full Funding Of Reproductive Health Clinics After HHS Stalled
A group of 128 Democratic members of Congress are calling on the federal government to prevent a funding shortfall for reproductive health clinics in two weeks. The letter, first shared with NPR, was drafted by the House Democratic Women's Caucus and Reproductive Freedom Caucus and sent to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday. "We call on HHS to immediately award a one-year full funding extension to all current Title X grantees as the funding process cannot be effectively executed before their funding runs out on March 31," the letter says. (Simmons-Duffin, 3/17)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

St. Pete Catalyst: Global Virus Network's International Headquarters Opens In USF Research Park 
Many of the world’s most respected virologists will now have a home at the University of South Florida. Leaders and stakeholders celebrated the opening of the Global Virus Network’s international headquarters this month at the USF Health Institute for Translational Virology and Innovation. (Connor, 3/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Kaiser Nurses Join Northern California Strike Over AI
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses plan to strike Wednesday at several locations across Northern California, including in the Bay Area, in solidarity with mental health workers who are slated to strike the same day. The California Nurses Association said more than 23,000 of its members will participate in a one-day sympathy strike starting Wednesday at 6 a.m. and ending Thursday at 6 a.m. The nurses’ union is joining the National Union of Health Care Workers, which represents Kaiser therapists and social workers, in their strike to protest Kaiser’s use of artificial intelligence. (Ho, 3/16)

Healthcare Dive: GuardDog Telehealth Admits To Improper Record Sharing In Epic Court Case
A defendant in the lawsuit brought by Epic accusing health information network Health Gorilla and several of its clients of improperly accessing patient records has admitted to fraudulently requesting patient data, according to a new legal filing released Friday. Beginning in 2024, GuardDog Telehealth — a client of Health Gorilla — improperly accessed patient records in order to provide them to law firms, while falsely asserting it was using the data to treat patients, according to the filing. (Halleman, 3/16)

PHARMACEUTICALS

MedPage Today: Hold GLP-1s Before Endoscopy? Clinical Trial Finds Retained Gastric Contents
Patients on GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP agonists had significant residual gastric volume (RGV) if the medication wasn't held prior to upper endoscopy unless they were on a clear liquid diet the day before, the OCULUS randomized trial showed. (Monaco, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: When ‘Food Noise’ Returns For GLP-1 Users So Does Dieting To Keep Off The Weight
Cyndy Dowling struggled with her weight for decades until she found what she thought was a lifelong solution: a monthly injection of one of the popular new weight-loss drugs. The 69-year-old easily lost 60 pounds in the span of a year and a half. But in early 2025, something changed. (Reddy, 3/16)

Stat: Structure's Obesity Pill Shows Weight Loss Promise In Phase 2 Trial
Structure Therapeutics said Monday that its daily obesity pill led patients to lose about 16% of their body weight relative to placebo after 44 weeks. (Mast, 3/16)

MedPage Today: GLP-1 Drugs Show Growing Promise For Afib Control
For patients with obesity and atrial fibrillation (Afib), GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs may be the weight loss approach that better addresses their arrhythmia, observational data suggested. (Lou, 3/16)

NPR: Sleeping Sickness Could Be Wiped Out With This New Drug
Sleeping sickness is a notorious disease — immortalized in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. A single bite from a tsetse fly carrying the parasite is all it takes to infect someone. Without treatment one form of the illness can progress from mild symptoms to death in a matter of weeks. Now, a new drug holds the promise of helping the World Health Organization meet its goal of eliminating the disease by 2030. A committee of the European Medicines Agency has given an important green light to the first single-dose treatment — a medication called acoziborole, which could be in use by early next year. (Kritz, 3/16)

CIDRAP: Vitamin D Supplements Don’t Cut COVID Health Care Use, Symptom Severity, Trial Shows
While a randomized controlled trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in COVID-19 patients didn’t yield a significant reduction in monthly related health care use or disease severity, the authors say its role in reducing persistent symptoms warrants further study. (Van Beusekom, 3/16)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Use Linked To ‘Persistent’ Gut Microbiome Changes
It’s long been known that antibiotics can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut, typically causing short-term symptoms like diarrhea. Some research suggests the disruption can last for several months. But a new study led by researchers in Sweden indicates certain antibiotics may have a far longer impact on the gut microbiome. (Dall, 3/16)

STATE WATCH

The New York Times: Poverty In New York City Inched Higher In 2024 For Third Year In A Row 
More than a quarter of New Yorkers lived in poverty in 2024, and more than 50 percent said high costs prevented them at least once that year from doing things like buying food, paying their utility bills or seeing a doctor, according to a report released on Monday on the affordability crisis in New York City. (Harrism, 3/16)

Fox News: First Severe Mpox Clade I Case Identified In New York City Health Advisory
The first case of severe mpox (formerly monkeypox) has been identified in New York City, according to an advisory issued by the NYC Health Department. One resident has tested positive for mpox clade I, one of the two main genetic groups (clades) of the mpox virus, which causes the illness. (Rudy, 3/16)

Valley News: Dartmouth Health To Open New Addiction Treatment Center In Claremont 
Nearly two years after Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont joined the Dartmouth Health system, providers are set to begin seeing patients at an outpatient substance use treatment center Monday. (Shanahan, 3/16)

The Colorado Sun: Providing Health Care To Immigrants Who Are Children Or Pregnant Is Costing Colorado 611% More Than Expected 
Providing health care to children and pregnant people who would qualify for Medicaid if not for their immigration status will cost Colorado more than six times what was projected this year. Because of higher-than-forecast enrollment, the state is expecting that the Cover All Coloradans program will cost the state $104.5 million in the fiscal year that began July 1. (Paul and Ingold, 3/16)

The New York Times: Colorado Funeral Home Owner Is Sentenced To 18 Years On Federal Fraud Charges 
A Colorado funeral home owner who, with her husband, improperly stored the remains of nearly 200 decomposing bodies and in some cases gave families the incorrect remains was sentenced on Monday to 18 years in prison. Judge Nina Y. Wang of the U.S. District Court in Colorado announced the prison term for Carie Hallford, 49, who owned the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., about 100 miles south of Denver, with Jon Hallford, offering services that included cremation and burials in biodegradable caskets and shrouds. (Hauser, 3/16)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

VTDigger: Vermont Lawmakers Narrowly Advance Bill Increasing Gun Restrictions And Crimes
Representatives in the House Judiciary Committee narrowly advanced a bill to increase restrictions on guns in Vermont, with members divided along party lines. Committee members passed the bill Friday just in time to meet a deadline that day, when bills generally must make it out of committee to get a chance at becoming law. All six Democrats on the committee, including chair Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, voted in favor of the bill, H.606, while the five Republicans on the committee voted against it. A fiercely debated provision would bar people from owning or buying guns while they are under a current court order to receive outpatient mental health treatment. (Oliver, 3/16)

Mississippi Today: Mississippi Leads In U.S. Gun Deaths Among Pregnant And Postpartum People
Before dawn one warm Sunday in June 2021, Renata Flot-Patterson and her husband turned a street corner in their Biloxi neighborhood to a scene she remembers as “lit up like Las Vegas.” Police officers crouched on neighbors’ roofs. Dogs sniffed the yard outside the house where her daughter, Keli Mornay, lived. Immediately, Flot-Patterson suspected the worst. (Paffenroth, 3/16)

MENTAL HEALTH

CNN: Scientists Say Marijuana Doesn’t Ease Anxiety Or Other Mental Health Conditions 
Using medical or recreational marijuana to ease symptoms of numerous mental health conditions doesn’t work, according to two new analyses of existing gold-standard research. (LaMotte, 3/16)

Stat: Experimental Brain Implant Lets People Type With Their Mind 
A brain implant could help people type — using just their minds. Two people with paralysis were able to type strokes on a virtual keyboard using an implant that decodes attempted finger movement, with one patient typing up to 80% as quickly as an able-bodied person, according to a new study. (Broderick, 3/16)

AP: Oregon QB Moore Says He Battled Depression And Asks Governor To Protect Mental Health Services
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has revealed he struggled with mental health issues associated with the pressures of major college football. Moore shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive in a story published Monday a letter he wrote to Gov. Tina Kotek this month in which he disclosed his struggles with depression. In the letter, he asked the Oregon governor for support for mental health services in the state. (3/16)

AP: Group Screams Offer A Unique Outlet To Relieve Stress, Frustration Or Grief
With a gut-wrenching wail that rippled from her body, Amber Walcker joined about a dozen screaming people in West Seattle who let their frustrations float away over the Puget Sound. It was just the start. The two group screams that followed, each one longer and more intense, released the pain from Walcker’s recent job loss. Her added stress from raising two young children dissolved as it blended with the sound of lapping water, and a deep sense of calm descended upon her. (Stumm, 3/17)

PUBLIC HEALTH

CNN: Teens Using AI To Diet May Be Told To Eat Almost 700 Fewer Daily Calories Than They Need 
Lunch of grilled chicken, brown rice and steamed broccoli, and then dinner of salmon, sweet potato, and a green salad dressed with only olive oil. Oh, and keep each element under 4 ounces and the whole day of eating at about 1,500 calories. Does that sound like enough food for any 15-year-old boy you know? Well, it is what AI recommended for one. (Holcombe, 3/16)

NBC News: FDA Investigating Illnesses Linked To Raw Cheddar Cheese From California Farm
A raw cheese producer has declined to issue a recall of two of its products after the Food and Drug Administration linked the cheeses to a multistate outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli. The FDA said Sunday that Raw Farm’s raw cheddar cheese has been linked to seven cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections, a strain of the bacteria that can cause serious kidney problems and lead to hospitalization or death. (Ozcan and Edwards, 3/16)

ABC News: Hotter Temperatures May Push Millions Toward A More Sedentary Lifestyle, Add Hundreds Of Thousands Of Deaths
As global temperatures rise, people are becoming less physically active, and this shift could lead to hundreds of thousands of additional premature deaths worldwide in the coming decades, a new study finds. Researchers from a group of Latin American universities analyzed World Health Organization (WHO) global health surveys and temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit dataset at the University of East Anglia that included 156 countries between 2000 and 2022. (Kusztos, 3/16)