First Edition: Tuesday, May 20, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: This News Might Ruin Your Appetite — And Summer
It’s a marvel of food technology: ice cream that resists melting. In a video explaining the science behind it, a seller of food chemicals shows scoops of ice cream holding their shape under hot lights. The super ingredient? Polysorbate 80. ... Recently, such ingredients have been showing up in scientific studies for another reason: Researchers say they may cause a variety of health problems. (Hilzenrath, 5/20)

KFF Health News: How The Trump Administration Aims To Slash Health Care Spending
Health care has proved a vulnerable target for the firehose of cuts and policy changes President Donald Trump ordered in the name of reducing waste and improving efficiency. But most of the impact isn’t as tangible as, say, higher egg prices at the grocery store. One thing experts from a wide range of fields, from basic science to public health, agree on: The damage will be varied and immense. “It’s exceedingly foolish to cut funding in this way,” said Harold Varmus, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist and former director of both the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. (Rosenthal, 5/20)

KFF Health News: Trump Exaggerates Speed And Certainty Of Prescription Drug Price Reductions
President Donald Trump expressed high hopes for an executive order to reduce drug prices. On May 11, the day before he held a White House event to sign the executive order, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.” However, the executive order’s text, unveiled May 12, undercut the president’s description of how soon consumers could experience this potential boon. (Jacobson, 5/20)

MEDICAID AND THE GOP 'MEGABILL'

AP: Trump Heads To Capitol Hill To Push 'Big, Beautiful' Bill
President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill early Tuesday to seal the deal on his “big, beautiful bill,” using the power of political persuasion to unify divided House Republicans on the multitrillion-dollar package that is at risk of collapsing ahead of planned votes this week. Trump has implored GOP holdouts to “STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE.” But negotiations are slogging along and it’s not at all clear the package, with its sweeping tax breaks and cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs, has the support needed from the House’s slim Republican majority, who are also being asked to add some $350 billion to Trump’s border security, deportation and defense agenda. (Mascaro, Freking and Askarinam, 5/20)

The Hill: Scalise: GOP Eyeing Medicaid Work Requirements For ‘Early 2027’
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Monday that Republicans are eyeing early 2027 as the target date for the new Medicaid work requirements in the large budget package intended to advance and solidify President Trump’s agenda. The timeline for the bill’s new work requirements remains up in the air, as Republican leadership continues to negotiate with warring factions of the conference over details of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which would extend Trump’s tax cuts and boost his border funding priorities while reforming Medicaid and food assistance programs. (Fortinsky, 5/19)

Politico: Debt Cloud Suddenly Hangs Over Megabill Talks
Republicans knew they’d have to overcome fierce internal divisions, thorny policy trade-offs and rock-solid Democratic resistance to pass their massive domestic policy bill. They didn’t count on a Wall Street backlash, too. A softening Treasury bond market and surprise downgrade Friday of U.S. creditworthiness are the latest forces weighing on the GOP megabill — an unmistakable nudge to lawmakers that investors are growing increasingly concerned about legislation that could pile trillions of dollars more onto an already staggering national debt. (Guggenheim, Sutton and Lee Hill, 5/19)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

AP: Trump Signs The Take It Down Act. What Is It?
President Donald Trump on Monday signed the Take It Down Act, bipartisan legislation that enacts stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called “revenge porn,” as fell as deepfakes created by artificial intelligence. The measure, which goes into effect immediately, was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and later gained the support of First Lady Melania Trump. Critics of the measure, which addresses both real and artificial intelligence-generated imagery, say the language is too broad and could lead to censorship and First Amendment issues. (Ortutay, 5/20)

MedPage Today: Senate Dems Urge HHS To Undo Rule Barring Some Public Comments 
Senate Democrats are urging the Trump administration to reconsider its recent move to get rid of public comment periods for certain proposed HHS regulations. "Robert Kennedy promised radical transparency when he became HHS secretary -- instead he has delivered radical secrecy," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a press release issued earlier this month. (Frieden, 5/19)

Stat: Trump OSTP Director Calls For Return To 'Gold-Standard Science' 
President Trump’s science adviser, Michael Kratsios, called for a return to reproducible and transparent research to kickstart what he characterized as years of stalled scientific progress, in his first detailed public remarks on science policy since taking office in March. (Wosen, 5/19)

CBS News: RFK Jr. Told Congress No Working Scientists Were Fired, But These Top NIH Brain Scientists Are Still Facing Job Cuts
Some of the National Institutes of Health's top brain scientists received layoff notices last month, weeks before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified to Congress that no working scientists had been cut from his department. While the researchers were asked to continue working for a few more weeks in the labs they run at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, multiple sources familiar with the situation say their layoff notices have not been revoked. (Tin, 5/19)

The New York Times: The U.S. Under Trump: Alone In Its Climate Denial
When the Trump administration declared two weeks ago that it would largely disregard the economic cost of climate change as it sets policies and regulations, it was just the latest step in a multipronged effort to erase global warming from the American agenda. But President Trump is doing more than just turning a blind eye to the fact that the planet is growing hotter. He is weakening the country’s capacity to understand global warming and to prepare for its consequences. (Gelles, 5/19)

Politico: Kennedy Set For Another Hill Face-Off 
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will again make the case this week for an unprecedented downsizing of federal agencies — this time before a Senate Appropriations panel on Tuesday. The panel’s chair is someone who’s already found fault with the downsizing: West Virginia Republican Shelley Moore Capito. ... Kennedy will need Capito, whose state still has a significant mining industry, on his side to enact President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal 2026. It calls for a more-than-$30 billion cut to HHS’s budget — more than a quarter of the agency’s funding. (Zeller, 5/19)

Politico: MAHA To Reveal Plan On Kids' Chronic Diseases
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again commission is set to release its much-awaited report this week that should shed light on its strategy to combat the chronic disease epidemic among American children. The report, to be released Thursday, is expected to identify the key drivers of chronic childhood illness, such as asthma and autoimmune diseases, in the U.S. It could indicate how HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might shift key health policy and research focuses within the nation’s health agencies as he seeks to further his MAHA agenda. (Hooper and Cirruzzo, 5/19)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr.’s Food Dye Ban Effort Gets Pushback From Dum Dums Maker Spangler
The US government is pushing food companies to switch their bright synthetic dyes to natural colors — but the maker of Dum Dums lollipops and Sweethearts candy hearts is in no rush. Kirk Vashaw, chief executive officer of Spangler Candy Company, said a key problem with changing ingredients is taste. Take beet juice: “That’s a nice red, but it tastes like beets,” he said. (Kubzansky, 5/19)

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Stat: WHO Members Adopt Pandemic Treaty, As U.S. Shuns Meeting
World Health Organization members on Tuesday adopted a treaty aimed at preparing for and responding to future pandemics, what countries say is both a tangible example of how they’re learning the lessons of Covid-19 and a marker for the continued importance of international collaboration. (Joseph, 5/20) 

NPR: U.S. Is Absent From WHO's Annual Assembly. What's The Impact?
It's the biggest global health meeting of the year. And the United States won't be taking a seat at the table. This week, representatives from the 194 countries of the World Health Organization — minus the U.S. — are gathering in Geneva to discuss and vote on policies that will shape global health in the years and decades to come. The topics will range from preparing for the next pandemic to preventing lung cancer by cutting air pollution. (Lambert, 5/19)

CANCER

The Wall Street Journal: Joe Biden Had Unrivaled Medical Care. How Did His Cancer Go Undetected?
How was Joe Biden’s cancer not caught earlier? The news that the former president is battling an aggressive, stage-4 prostate cancer that has spread to the bone ignited a public debate about why a person with peerless access to medical care was diagnosed at such an advanced stage with a disease that is quite common in men his age. (Abbott and Linskey, 5/19)

NBC News: Trump Allies Suggest Biden Hid Cancer Diagnosis
An initial wave of bipartisan sympathy for Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis has started to ebb, giving way to suggestions from Donald Trump’s allies that the former president’s inner circle masked his condition while he was in office to create an illusion that he was still up to the job. In a social media post Sunday showing a picture of Biden with the caption, “Politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery,” the president’s eldest son, Don Trump Jr., wrote, “Agreed 100%.” Come Monday, he posted a darker message: “Everyone was in on the coverup! Who was running the country? We need accountability!” (Nicholas and Korecki, 5/19)

The Hill: Biden Thanks Supporters For Support Amid Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Former President Biden expressed gratitude Monday morning for the outpouring of support following the news of his prostate cancer diagnosis over the weekend. “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden, 82, wrote Monday morning in a post on the social platform X, along with a photo of him, former first lady Jill Biden and their cat, Willow. “Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.” (Crisp, 5/19)

MedPage Today: Biden Has Reason For Optimism, Despite Advanced Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Despite his age and an ominous-sounding disease, former President Joe Biden has reason for optimism about his aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis, announced over the weekend. According to the unsigned announcement or window, the cancer is stage IV, Grade Group 5 (Gleason 9), and has metastasized to bone, a disease state more commonly known as metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Unspecified urinary symptoms prompted Biden, 82, to see a doctor. The apparent absence of other symptoms, particularly bone pain, is a potentially favorable finding, prostate cancer experts told MedPage Today. (Bankhead, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Biden’s Cancer Renews Debate About Prostate Screenings For Older Men
Former president Joe Biden’s newly diagnosed prostate cancer, an aggressive form that has spread to his bones, has renewed the debate about who should receive annual screenings for signs of the disease. Prostate cancer, the second most common cause of cancer deaths for men, kills 35,000 a year. ... His medical records as president do not indicate whether his blood tests included screening for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which, when elevated, can indicate a higher risk of prostate cancer. (Eunjung Cha and Achenbach, 5/19)

The Washington Post: New Clues Point To Why Colorectal Cancer Is Rising In Young People
While the overall numbers are still relatively low, colorectal cancer will become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s by 2030. Get concise answers to your questions. New evidence suggests the reason may trace back to early childhood. In a study recently published in Nature, scientists unveiled a link between the rise in young colorectal cancers and a toxin called colibactin. For years, we’ve known that colibactin, produced by certain strains of bacteria like E. coli, can mutate our DNA and potentially cause colorectal cancer. (Pasricha, 5/19)

Boston Herald: Glioblastoma Brain Cancer Research: Study Provides Glimmer Of Hope 
A new study by Mass General Brigham researchers provides a glimmer of hope for patients with glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of brain cancer in adults. The researchers found that glioblastoma patients who received a common anti-seizure and pain drug — gabapentin — ended up living longer. (Sobey, 5/19)

MEASLES

Bloomberg: Texas Measles Outbreak Slows After Vaccine Shot Push
The rate of new measles infections in Texas has slowed as immunity to the virus builds and vaccinations rise. Texas – the epicenter of the outbreak in the US this year – reported just one new measles infection on May 16, bringing the state’s total to 718 cases. (Nix, 5/19)

CIDRAP: Poll: 83% Of Americans Say Benefits Of MMR Vaccines Outweigh Risks
A new Annenberg Poll shows that 87% of Americans say the benefit of childhood measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination outweighs the risk, and 67% say they know that MMR vaccines don't cause autism. 2025 may see the highest measles case count in the United States since the disease was officially eliminated in 2000. (Soucheray, 5/19)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Military.Com: Veterans' VA Referrals To Private Medical Care Will No Longer Require Additional Doctor Review
The Department of Veterans Affairs has changed its process for veterans to get medical care from non-VA providers, removing a requirement that a referral to community care be reviewed by another VA doctor. The VA announced Monday that it is enacting a provision of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act that will help ease veterans' access to medical services from private providers. (Kime, 5/19)

The Boston Globe: Brain Tumors In Newton-Wellesley Hospital Workers Investigated
A Needham woman who worked for several years in Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s fifth floor maternity unit has become the seventh nurse to report being diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. Debbie Connolly, 58, formerly a nurse in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit for more than a decade, was diagnosed with meningioma in her right frontal lobe in April, she told the Globe. (Thornton, 5/19)

Fierce Healthcare: Ascension Operations Improving Since Cyberattack, But Remain Red
Ascension reported Monday a $466 million loss from operations (-2.3% operating margin) and $195 million of net income for the nine months ended March 31. The large nonprofit painted these results progress as it adjusts its hospital portfolio and recovers from last year’s major cybersecurity attack. The performance is a step back from the $238 million operating loss (-1.1% operating margin) and $343 million net income Ascension had logged across the first nine months of its prior fiscal year, even when including that period’s more substantial net impairment and nonrecurring losses ($85 million in nine months of FY 2025 versus $253 million in nine months of FY 2024). (Muoio, 5/19)

WUSF: AdventHealth Orlando's $1 Billion Investment In Main Campus Includes A New Medical Tower
AdventHealth Orlando has announced plans to erect a $660 billion, 14-story medical tower on its main campus that includes expanded specialty treatments. It’s part of a long-term, multiphase $1 billion investment that the nonprofit health system calls Central Florida’s “largest single investment in health care.” (Mayer, 5/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospitals Step Up Efforts To Curb Workplace Violence
As reports of violence at hospitals and medical centers continue to reverberate across the U.S., healthcare leaders are focusing on the safety of employees, patients and visitors. To this end, hospitals and health systems are more tightly integrating violence prevention into their broader human resources and well-being strategies. At Carson City, Nev.-based Carson Tahoe Health, leaders and front-line staff volunteer to participate in the system’s workplace violence prevention committee. (Gooch, 5/19)

PHARMA AND TECH

Bloomberg: 23andMe Sells Gene-Testing Business To DNA Drug Maker Regeneron
Bankrupt genetic-testing firm 23andMe agreed to sell its data bank, which once contained DNA samples from about 15 million people, to the drug developer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for $256 million. The sale comes after a wave of customers and government officials demanded that 23andMe protect the genetic data it had built up over the years by collecting saliva samples from customers. Regeneron pledged to comply with 23andMe’s privacy policy, which allows customers to have their personal information deleted upon request. (Church and Smith, 5/19)

Becker's Hospital Review: Mayo Clinic Discovery May Extend Donor Heart Preservation: 4 Study Notes
Researchers from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with researchers from Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan, have identified a potential path to improving donor heart preservation, according to a study published May 19 in Nature Cardiovascular Research. Here are four notes on the study: The team found that mineralocorticoid receptor proteins within heart cells “clump together” during cold storage in a process called liquid-liquid phase separation,” according to a May 19 news release from the health system. (Gregerson, 5/19)

MedPage Today: Best Intensive Care Unit Sedative? Head-To-Head Trial Weighs In
Alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonists didn't get critically ill patients off the ventilator quicker than propofol in the head-to-head A2B trial. (Phend, 5/19)

CIDRAP: Better Outcomes Found In Hospitalized Pneumonia Patients Treated With Azithromycin
An observational study of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) found that azithromycin was associated with lower mortality and more hospital-free days compared with doxycycline in combination with beta-lactams, Mayo Clinic researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. With macrolide resistance rising, doxycycline in combination with beta-lactams has become a frequently used alternative treatment for hospitalized CAP patients, but data on its effectiveness are limited. (Dall, 5/19)

STATE WATCH

AP: Nebraska To Ban Soda And Energy Drinks From SNAP Under First USDA Waiver
Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps. The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries. “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. (Aleccia, 5/20)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Reverses Course, Will Continue To Cover Cost Of Weight-Loss Drugs Like Wegovy For State Employees 
Colorado has reversed course and decided to continue covering the cost of GLP-1 medications for state employees who are already using the class of drug for weight loss — with an asterisk. Starting July 1, their copay will increase to $120 from $30. (Paul, 5/20)

North Carolina Health News: NC Works To Expand Availability Of Donor Breast Milk As Demand Rises
Demand for pasteurized donor breast milk is rising. More than 10 percent of babies born in North Carolina are premature, according to state data. In 2023, that meant 12,885 premature infants. Breast milk helps protect premature babies’ guts and helps facilitate their growth. The increased demand is due to growing recognition of the health benefits, as well as an uptick in premature infants in North Carolina receiving the milk. (Crumpler, 5/20)

Politico: Cuomo Campaigns On Covid
Mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo has hit the airwaves, leaning into his record on an issue his opponents are trying to use against him. This morning, Cuomo released a six-figure, 30-second ad titled “Crisis,” which emphasizes his leadership during the pandemic. “It was the greatest health crisis in our history — and when New Yorkers were desperate for leadership — Andrew Cuomo delivered,” a narrator says in the ad, which will appear on digital and streaming platforms. (Beeferman, 5/19)

SCIENCE AND INNOVATIONS

The New York Times: A Genetic Clue To Why Men Are Taller Than Women
Men are taller than women, by an average of about five inches. But why? It’s not a genetic inevitability — there are many species in the tree of life where females outclass males. A new study, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that involved genetic data from a million people, has found a partial explanation. (Kolata, 5/19)