First Edition: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: ‘They Tricked Me’: A Father Was Chained After He Went To ICE To Reunite With His Kids
Carlos arrived at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Mexico in December, believing he was one step closer to reuniting with his children. By that point, his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to be with him. “I feel like I’m suffocating inside this shelter, trapped with no way out,” Carlos’ son said, according to one of the teens’ attorneys, when asked to describe how he felt after months at the Houston-area facility. “Every day, the same routine. Every day, feeling stuck. It makes me feel hopeless and terrified.” (Boyd-Barrett and Rayasam and Seitz, 3/24)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

MedPage Today: 'The 1980s Called': CMS Rule Aims To Phase Out Fax Machines For Health Claims
The rule officially takes effect on May 26 but has a 2-year timeline for implementation. The standards will apply to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-covered entities, including Medicare, Medicaid, and private health plans; healthcare clearinghouses; and healthcare providers that conduct electronic transactions. (Frieden, 3/23)

Roll Call: CDC Dilemma: Nominee May Need Both MAHA And Science Chops 
As a deadline arrives this week to nominate a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, some Republicans are skeptical the administration will find someone who can check all the boxes necessary for confirmation. The candidate will need the “Make America Healthy Again” mindset of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department, while also appeasing a set of stick-to-science senators increasingly unhappy with Kennedy’s direction. (Cohen, 3/24)

Stat: Trump’s Drug Plan Hinges On A Strategic Bet: Raising Prices Abroad 
Comments from a top Trump administration health official add to signs of a major flaw in the president’s most-favored nation drug pricing plans. The official, Chris Klomp, said last week that the most-favored nation deals aim to increase the prices of new drugs in peer countries, not lower U.S. prices. But by the time companies launch those drugs abroad, the deals might be over and Trump might be out of office. (Wilkerson, 3/24)

FUNDING AND RESEARCH CUTS

The New York Times: Inside The Turmoil At RFK Jr.’s CDC, As Told By Current And Former Employees 
Forty-three current and former C.D.C. employees on the changes they say are replacing science with ideology — and making Americans more vulnerable. (Interlandi, 3/23)

The New York Times: Takeaways From The Times’s Inside Look At The C.D.C. 
When Donald J. Trump announced that he was choosing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he promised to let Kennedy, who had amassed a large following while spreading falsehoods about vaccines, “go wild on health.” Since his confirmation in February 2025, Kennedy has tried to do exactly that. He has taken particular aim at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling it “the most corrupt agency at H.H.S. and maybe the government.” (Interlandi, 3/23)

Stat: NIH Cuts Disproportionately Affected Female Researchers, Study Says 
Academics have long referred to their field as a leaky pipeline — gradually bleeding researchers from marginalized communities as they progress through their careers. A new paper, published Monday, suggests that grant terminations from the National Institutes of Health over the past year may have further punctured that pipeline. (Oza, 3/23)

ON CAPITOL HILL

CBS News: Congress Launches Investigation Into California Hospice Fraud, Citing Millions In Taxpayer Losses
House Republicans announced Monday that Congress will mount an investigation into "rampant hospice fraud," alleging that potentially tens of millions in taxpayer funds may have been lost in improper payments to Southern California companies. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which has the authority to investigate, has sent a letter to California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, asking for documents related to the state's "oversight and internal controls to detect and prevent fraud for its federally funded hospice programs." (Geller, Yamaguchi, Gold, 3/23)

COVID

CIDRAP: New COVID Variant With Immune Escape Potential Confirmed In US, 22 Other Countries
The highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2 variant, which has been reported by at least 23 countries as of February 11, has been detected in nasal swabs collected from four US travelers, clinical samples from five patients, three airplane wastewater samples, and 132 wastewater surveillance samples from 25 states, per a study published last week in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Van Beusekom, 3/23)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccines Not Tied To Risk Of Sudden Death, Study Shows
Data show that young, healthy people have no additional risk of sudden death if they are vaccinated against COVID-19, contrary to myths that continue to circulate widely on social media. In fact, healthy adolescents and young adults vaccinated against COVID-19 were 43% less likely to experience sudden death than non-vaccinated people, according to a Canadian case-control study published last week in PLOS Medicine. (Szabo, 3/23)

The Washington Post: Four Truths About Covid That Have Become Clouded Over Time 
In the early days, the virus posed a graver threat to people and the health care system, Trump embraced lockdowns he now blasts, and the benefits of vaccines were oversold. (Nirappil, 3/22)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

NPR: Number Of Abortions In The U.S. Holds Steady At 1.1 Million, A New Report Says
Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, anti-abortion rights advocates have continuously pursued laws and court cases to make access to abortion more difficult. A report published Tuesday finds those efforts haven't worked in one basic way: the number of abortions in the country hasn't budged. (Simmons-Duffin, 3/24)

The New York Times: A Murder Charge In Georgia Exposes Complexities Of The Abortion Debate 
A woman who took medication to induce an abortion, and then delivered the baby, was arrested on a murder charge. But on Monday, a state judge expressed deep skepticism about the case. (Rojas, Belluck and Cooper Eastman, 3/23)

AP: Conservative States Focus On Banning Abortion Pills
As states that already ban abortion look to further restrict access this year, much of the focus is on pills sent by out-of-state providers. A survey released Tuesday helps explain the emphasis. It suggests that more women in states with bans obtained abortions last year using the pills prescribed via telehealth than by traveling to places where it’s legal. (Mulvihill, 3/24)

AP: Philadelphia Abortion Doctor Serving Life For Murder Dies In Prison
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortion clinic doctor sentenced to life for killing three babies who had been delivered alive, died earlier this month at a Pennsylvania hospital, prison officials said Monday. Gosnell’s grimy West Philadelphia clinic became known as the “house of horrors.” Former employees testified he routinely performed illegal abortions past Pennsylvania’s 24-week limit, that he delivered babies who were still moving, whimpering or breathing, and that he and his assistants dispatched the newborns by “snipping” their spines, as he referred to it. (3/23)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

CIDRAP: Sepsis Linked To 18% Of US Pediatric Hospital Deaths
Sepsis is a fast-moving, life-threatening condition that occurs when the body overreacts to an infection, sometimes causing permanent organ damage and death. A new study, published yesterday in JAMA, identified sepsis in 1.3% of hospitalized US children ages one month to 17 years old. The study, which included data from nearly four million admissions from 2016 through 2023, found that 10% of children with sepsis died while in the hospital. (Szabo, 3/23)

Stat: Epic Claims Patient Data Fraud In Health Information Exchanges 
In a recent court filing, electronic health records giant Epic Systems proved one of health care providers’ worst fears: Companies are posing as providers to gain access to patient records. (Trang, 3/23)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Bloomberg: Takeda, Lilly Lose Supreme Court Bid To Block Actos Racketeering Lawsuit
The US Supreme Court cleared the way for a multibillion-dollar racketeering lawsuit that accuses Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. of marketing the Actos diabetes drug without disclosing its link to bladder cancer. In a one-line order Monday, the high court refused to consider the companies’ contention that the case shouldn’t go forward as a class action on behalf of tens of thousands of insurers and other so-called third-party payers who covered the cost of Actos prescriptions. (Stohr, 2/23)

Harvest Public Media: Bayer Faces Thousands Of Roundup Cancer Lawsuits. A Supreme Court Ruling May Make It Harder To Sue 
The Supreme Court will soon hear a case that could restrict which legal claims people can bring against chemical companies like Bayer, which produces the popular weedkiller Roundup. Bayer purchased Roundup’s previous manufacturer, St. Louis-based Monsanto, in 2018. The companies have paid out billions of dollars to settle lawsuits that claim exposure to glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup, led to plaintiffs’ cancer. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal of one such case: Monsanto v. Durnell. (Marks, 3/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Pfizer’s Lyme Vaccine Misses Mark In Study, Complicating Quest For Approval
An experimental Lyme disease vaccine from Pfizer didn’t conclusively succeed in a large study, raising questions about the shot’s prospects. While the shot was more than 70% effective at preventing the tick-borne disease in the trial, not enough people contracted the disease for the findings to be conclusive. Pfizer is pushing ahead with its plans to seek regulatory approval anyway, saying the study hit a different statistical measure and the shot showed “meaningful efficacy.” (Loftus and Cheah, 3/23)

CIDRAP: Report Links ADHD Drug Shortage In US To Global Supply Chain Disruptions
A nationwide shortage of stimulant medications used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be rooted less in prescribing practices or federal production quotas than in global supply chain disruptions, according to an analysis published late last week in JAMA Health Forum. The study, led by researchers from Yale University, examined potential causes of the US stimulant shortage in 2022 and 2023, when many patients reported difficulty filling their prescriptions. (Bergeson, 3/23)

Los Angeles Times: Demand For GLP-1 Pills And Shots Surges, And Not Just For Weight Loss
Whether they’re using weekly shots or daily pills, more Americans than ever are turning to anti-obesity drugs to lose weight and boost health. About 1 in 8 U.S. adults say they are taking a GLP-1 drug, according to a recent survey by the health research group KFF. (Aleccia, 3/23)

STATE WATCH

CBS News: Oakland County Wipes Out $6 Million In Medical Debt For 6,300 Residents
Oakland County is erasing $6 million in medical debt for 6,300 county residents. "This initiative is about giving people a second chance," said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter in a statement. "By eliminating this burden for thousands more residents, we're helping people regain their financial footing." The county is working with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, which acquires the medical debts of those who are least able to pay. To qualify for debt relief, you must be an Oakland County resident and earn at or below four times the federal poverty level or have medical debt that equals 5% or more of your annual income. (Buczek, 3/23)

Minnesota Public Radio: Medicare Billing Snafu Drives New Financial Woes For Minnesota Rural Hospitals 
Medicare payment problems are generating steep financial hardships for some of Minnesota’s rural hospitals at a time when many are struggling to stay afloat. State hospital leaders and officials at several rural hospitals say they have been vexed by a recent payment processing change by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that is effectively holding back millions of dollars needed to pay the bills. (Zurek, 3/24)

Flatwater Free Press: Nebraska Seeks To End Retroactive Medicaid Coverage
From her post in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Nebraska, Dr. Ann Anderson-Berry sees some of Nebraska’s sickest and smallest patients. It’s a devastating and unexpected end to a pregnancy, where the baby’s survival is often in question. For parents who rely on Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans, filling out the pages of paperwork to get their newborn covered is rarely top of mind. (Herbers, 3/23)

Central Florida Public Media: HIV Patients Waiting For DeSantis To Sign Bill Restoring Access To Medication 
A bill that would help the HIV community is on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The measure (HB 697) would temporarily reverse an emergency rule made by the Florida Department of Health that blocks access to HIV medication for many in need. (Pedersen, 3/23)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Meat Allergy Growing In Missouri, But More Data Is Needed
The doctors tested Lyla for lupus. Then leukemia. The 10-year-old was put on migraine medication, but she continued to get headaches. Sometimes, she broke out in painful rashes that turned her skin red. “She had crazy symptoms that just didn’t make sense,” said her father, Matthew Overcast, a Republican state lawmaker from Ava representing the Missouri House district south of Springfield. (Friedheim, 3/23)

North Carolina Health News: NC Prison System Strained By Growing Need For Long-Term Care 
A 60-bed acute long-term care unit in the Central Prison Healthcare Complex houses some of the most medically fragile — and staff-intensive — men in state custody. All require help with many activities of daily living such as feeding, toileting, walking, bathing and dressing. (Crumpler, 3/24)

AP: How Notorious Billionaire Leona Helmsley’s Foundation Is Saving Lives In Rural America
When Marcy Smith’s oncologist told her she needed radiation treatment for breast cancer, her first response was no. She’d already had a lumpectomy and four rounds of chemotherapy. The radiation would require six weeks of treatment in Billings, Montana — 220 miles from her Glendive home. It was too far away to drive there each day, and she couldn’t miss work or leave her foster children to relocate. (Gose, 3/24)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

MedPage Today: Youth Eating Disorder Admissions Return To Pre-Pandemic Levels
A sharp increase in the number of young people hospitalized with eating disorders immediately after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had returned to pre-pandemic levels, a cross-sectional study of U.S. pediatric hospitals showed. (Henderson, 3/23)

The Washington Post: Exercise Can Lower Alzheimer’s Risk. Scientists May Have Discovered Why. 
Exercise can strengthen a leaky blood-brain barrier, which may improve brain health and potentially fight dementia, according to an ambitious new mouse study of exercise and neurodegeneration published this month in Cell. (Reynolds, 3/24)

MedPage Today: Brain Waves During Sleep Predict Dementia Risk
A brain age index based on microstructures of sleep electroencephalography (EEG) data predicted dementia risk, a meta-analysis showed. (George, 3/23)

The Washington Post: The Surprising Link Between Back Pain And A Sensitivity To Loud Noises 
A new study published in Annals of Neurology found that people with chronic back pain process sounds, especially ones that are unpleasant, more intensely than people without pain. (Bever, 3/24)

CNN: 2026 ‘Dirty Dozen’ Produce: Nearly 100% Tested Positive For Pesticides, Including ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Experts Say 
Leafy greens such as spinach and perennial kid favorites such as strawberries and grapes held the highest levels of potentially harmful pesticide residues based on government tests, according to the 2026 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. (LaMotte, 3/24)