First Edition: Tuesday, May 6, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: HIV Testing And Outreach Falter As Trump Funding Cuts Sweep The South
Storm clouds hung low above a community center in Jackson, where pastor Andre Devine invited people inside for lunch. Hoagies with smoked turkey and ham drew the crowd, but several people lingered for free preventive health care: tests for HIV and other diseases, flu shots, and blood pressure and glucose monitoring. (Maxmen, 5/6)

KFF Health News: At Social Security, These Are The Days Of The Living Dead
Rennie Glasgow, who has served 15 years at the Social Security Administration, is seeing something new on the job: dead people. They’re not really dead, of course. In four instances over the past few weeks, he told KFF Health News, his Schenectady, New York, office has seen people come in for whom “there is no information on the record, just that they are dead.” So employees have to “resurrect” them — affirm that they’re living, so they can receive their benefits. (Tahir, 5/6)

KFF Health News: Despite Historic Indictment, Doctors Will Keep Mailing Abortion Pills Across State Lines
When the news broke on Jan. 31 that a New York physician had been indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. “It’s scary. It’s frustrating,” said Angel Foster, co-founder of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, a clinic near Boston that mails mifepristone and misoprostol pills to patients in states with abortion bans. But, Foster added, “it’s not entirely surprising.” (Westwood, 5/6)

PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS AND TARIFFS

Stat: Trump Signs Order In Bid To Boost Pharma Manufacturing In The U.S. 
Amid ongoing anticipation over tariffs on pharmaceuticals, President Trump on Monday signed an executive order designed to lower regulatory hurdles and make it faster for drug companies to manufacture their products in the U.S. The move also includes plans to place more pressure on foreign drugmakers to comply with quality control inspections. (Silverman, 5/5)

Modern Healthcare: How Drug Tariffs Could Boost 340B Discounts For Hospitals
Hospitals could get higher 340B drug discounts if tariffs kick in for pharmaceuticals, potentially adding fuel to policymakers’ efforts to curb the program’s growth. Under a potential tariff policy, drugmakers would have to pay more for pharmaceutical ingredients, many of which are sourced from China and India, possibly resulting in higher production costs and drug prices. If drug prices rise, hospitals eligible for discounted drugs could generate more savings through the federal 340B drug pricing program, legal and policy experts said. (Kacik, 5/5)

The Hill: Bipartisan Senators Offer New Bill Aimed At Lowering Drug Prices
A bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation to lower prescription drug prices by prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs in the U.S. at higher prices than the international average. The bill from Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) is a riff on the “most favored nation” policy President Trump pushed in his first term, which tried to tie domestic prices for certain prescription drugs in Medicare to the lowest level paid by comparable countries. Drug companies sued shortly after the effort was launched as an interim final rule, and it was blocked in federal court. (Weixel, 5/5)

Axios: Out-Of-Pocket Drug Spending Hit $98B In 2024: Report
Americans spent $98 billion out of pocket on prescription drugs in 2024, marking a cumulative 25% increase over five years, according to an annual report from analytics firm IQVIA. (Goldman, 5/5)

FUNDING AND RESEARCH CUTS

NPR: Trump Restricts Funding For Controversial 'Gain-Of-Function' Research
President Trump issued an executive order Monday restricting federal funding for research that involves a controversial field of scientific study known as "gain-of-function" research. The research, which is also known as "dual-use" research, involves experimenting with viruses and other pathogens that have the potential to trigger a pandemic. Those studies could discover how infectious agents might become more transmissible or make people sicker. (Stein, 5/5)

Politico: Trump Administration Bars Harvard From New Federal Research Funding 
The Trump administration announced Harvard University is ineligible to receive new research grants from the federal government, the latest escalation in the battle between the White House and the prestigious university. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, in a letter sent Monday to Harvard President Alan Garber, slammed the institution for “engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law” and advised him that the university won’t be eligible for the funds. (Quilantan, 5/5)

CBS News: National Institutes Of Health Lays Off Hundreds More Staff, Including At Cancer Research Institute
The National Institutes of Health has laid off hundreds more staff, multiple current and laid-off employees of the health agency told CBS News, including at its cancer research institute. Around 200 employees began receiving layoff notices Friday evening, said three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The move surprised NIH officials, since the department previously claimed no further cuts were planned at the agency. (Tin, 5/5)

Bloomberg: DOL Cutting Mental Health, Child Care Benefits For Own Employees
The US Department of Labor has told staff it is terminating benefit programs supporting mental health and dependent care, with most of the cuts scheduled to take effect this week. DOL’s Worklife4You program, which offers prenatal kits for expecting parents, nurse visits to help with eldercare, and personal finance and wellness advice, is being discontinued effective May 9, a DOL labor relations specialist informed union officials in a March message viewed by Bloomberg News. (Eidelson, 5/5)

ProPublica: Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Jeopardizes Veterans’ Care
Earlier this year, doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Pennsylvania sounded an alarm. Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration, they told higher-ups in an email, were causing “severe and immediate impacts,” including to “life-saving cancer trials.” The email said more than 1,000 veterans would lose access to treatment for diseases ranging from metastatic head and neck cancers, to kidney disease, to traumatic brain injuries. (Umansky and Coleman, 5/6)

Modern Healthcare: FEMA Cuts Leave Hospital Disaster Preparedness Funding In Limbo
The federal government's cuts to disaster preparedness grant funding will cost providers millions of dollars and potentially jeopardize patient care. President Donald Trump’s administration last month eliminated roughly $3.3 billion in annual federal grants when the Federal Emergency Management Agency ended the 2025 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs. (Kacik, 5/5)

CNN: More Than A Dozen States, DC Sue Trump Administration Over ‘Dismantling’ Of Federal Health Agencies
Democratic attorneys general across 19 states and Washington, DC, have filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other federal health officials, alleging that the agency’s restructuring endangers the American public after several public health programs were dismantled and thousands of federal health workers fired in the process. (Howard, 5/5)

Stat: Europe Unveils $565 Million Package To Retain Scientists, And Attract New Ones
The European Commission on Monday unveiled a roughly $565 million package to retain and attract scientists, as other countries try to leverage the Trump administration’s dismantling of research programs in the U.S. to build up their own enterprises. (Joseph, 5/5)

MORE FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

CBS News: FDA's Top Inspector Abruptly Retires
The Food and Drug Administration's top official overseeing drug and food safety inspections told staff on Monday he has decided to leave the agency, and multiple federal health officials told CBS News it comes amid frustration from inspectors with the FDA's new commissioner. Michael Rogers had worked for the FDA for more than three decades, culminating in a role as the agency's associate commissioner for inspections and investigations. Colleagues said they were surprised to learn that his final day in the office will be May 14. (Tin, 5/5)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. to Pay $1,000 to Migrants Who Self-Deport
The Trump administration plans to begin paying immigrants in the country illegally a stipend of $1,000 to self-deport, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday. The administration has set up a mobile app that migrants can use to make departure plans. The app provides assistance in booking flights whose costs the government would cover in addition to facilitating payment of the stipend. (Hackman, 5/5)

MedPage Today: Who Are The Authors Of The HHS Report On Gender Dysphoria?
Noticeably missing from the 400-page report on gender dysphoria issued by HHS late last week were the names of any of its authors. In its press release announcing the report, HHS stated that the names of the contributors "are not initially being made public, in order to help maintain the integrity of the process." A White House fact sheet on the report noted that "eight distinguished scholars" worked on the report, which was mandated by a Jan. 28 executive order and given a 90-day reporting deadline. (Fiore, 5/5)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

CIDRAP: North Dakota Reports First Measles Case Since 2011
An unvaccinated child in Williams County, North Dakota, is the state’s first measles case since 2011. According to state health officials, the child is believed to have contracted the illness from an out-of-state visitor. The child is recuperating at home in isolation. (Soucheray, 5/5)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure At St. Louis Aquarium
A person with a confirmed case of measles visited the St. Louis Aquarium and a local restaurant last week, potentially exposing others to the highly contagious virus. (Bernhard, 5/5)

AP: New Salmonella Outbreak Is Linked To Backyard Poultry, CDC Says
A new salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry has sickened at least seven people in six states, health officials said Monday. Two cases were identified in Missouri, and one each in Florida, Illinois, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. People got sick in February and March of this year, the CDC said. They all had the same strain of salmonella — a version that has been traced to hatcheries in the past. The investigation is continuing, health officials said. (Stobbe, 5/5)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Politico: Health Care Union President Ousted In Upset Election
Longtime labor leader George Gresham was toppled by his former lieutenants in a contentious race to lead the nation’s largest health care union. Gresham, who became president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in 2007, lost his reelection bid by a resounding margin to challenger Yvonne Armstrong, who leads the union’s long-term care division, according to data reviewed by POLITICO. (Kaufman, 5/5)

Bloomberg: Cheap Healthcare Plans Use Obamacare Loophole, Sign People Up For Fake Jobs
Joe Strohmenger, a self-employed contractor in Rocky Point, New York, had never shopped for health insurance before. So last year, when he needed to, he did what a lot of people do: He Googled it. The internet search led him to a website that offered free quotes. He typed in his number, and his phone rang immediately. It rang hundreds of times over the next few days as telemarketers vied to reach him. (Mider and Faux, 5/5)

The New York Times: Cyberattack On UnitedHealth Leaves Medical Providers In Debt
Two independent medical practices in Minnesota once hoped to expand operations but have spent the past year struggling to recover from the cyberattack on a vast UnitedHealth Group payment system. Odom Health & Wellness, a sports medicine and rehabilitation outfit, and the Dillman Clinic & Lab, a family medicine practice, are among the thousands of medical offices that experienced sudden financial turmoil last year. The cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a division of United, paralyzed much of the nation’s health-care payment system for months. (Ryan, 5/5)

Modern Healthcare: Oregon Health And Science University, Legacy Call Off Merger
Oregon Health and Science University and Legacy Health have called off their merger. The health systems mutually agreed to end the deal, according to a Monday news release. "After careful consideration of the evolving operating environment, the organizations have determined that the best way to meet the needs of the communities they serve is to move forward as individual organizations," the Portland, Oregon-based systems said in a statement. (Hudson, 5/5)

Modern Healthcare: Aya Healthcare Names Emily Hazen As CEO
Staffing firm Aya Healthcare said Monday its CEO and founder, Alan Braynin, has died — a few days after the company announced he would be stepping into an advisory role and naming a successor. The company declined to answer when Braynin died. He founded Aya Healthcare in 2001. Emily Hazen, chief operations officer for workforce solutions and executive vice president of process optimization, will succeed Braynin as CEO, according to a news release Friday. (DeSilva, 5/5)

Bloomberg: Hims & Hers Health Taps Amazon Veteran Kabbani To Lead Operations
Hims & Hers Health Inc. is tapping former Amazon.com Inc. executive Nader Kabbani to be chief of operations as the telehealth company expands into new areas like blood testing. Kabbani led the acquisition of PillPack and the launch of Amazon Pharmacy during his nearly two decades at the e-commerce giant, before leaving in 2023 for stints at startups Flexport Inc. and Symbiotic Inc. He will replace Melissa Baird, who is stepping into an advisory role after more than seven years with Hims. (Muller, 5/5)

WLRN Public Media: Five Palm Beach County Hospitals Sue Leapfrog Group, Claim Safety Rankings Are Misleading 
Five Palm Beach County-based hospitals have filed a federal lawsuit against the nonprofit Leapfrog Group, accusing the watchdog group of publishing misleading safety rankings. According to the lawsuit, Leapfrog Group pressures hospitals to volunteer their data and pay for memberships. The claims indicate that Leapfrog's highest-rated hospitals are paying members, according to the Miami Herald. (Cooper, 5/5)

PHARMA AND TECH

Chicago Tribune: Judge Throws Out Case Against Abbott Over Preterm Baby Formulas
In a win for Abbott Laboratories, a federal judge in Chicago sided with the company Friday in the case of a woman who alleged that Abbott’s formula for preterm infants led to her daughter’s death. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in the next week, and was supposed to be the first to be heard in federal court in Chicago over the issue of whether Abbott’s specialized cow’s milk-based formula for preterm babies causes a life-threatening intestinal disease called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). (Schencker, 5/5)

FiercePharma: After Striking Out In Bankruptcy Court, Johnson & Johnson Goes After Expert Witness In Talc Cases
After failing to resolve tens of thousands of talc lawsuits with three unsuccessful bankruptcy attempts, Johnson & Johnson is resuscitating another strategy—seeking to discredit an expert witness who has supported claimants who say that the company’s talc products caused their cancer. In U.S. District Court in New Jersey, J&J has filed a motion to reopen a lawsuit against Jacqueline Moline, M.D. It accuses her of falsifying information used in hundreds of talc cases. (Dunleavy, 5/5)

Modern Healthcare: Labcorp To Acquire Select Testing Assets From Incyte Diagnostics
Testing services company Labcorp has entered into an agreement to acquire certain clinical and anatomic pathology assets from Incyte Diagnostics, another testing company, as it seeks to expand its oncology portfolio. Financial terms were not disclosed. Assets involved in the transaction include several Incyte Diagnostics same-day testing laboratories, its main anatomic pathology lab in Spokane, Washington, and additional labs in Tukwila and Richland, Washington, as well as Missoula, Montana. (DeSilva, 5/5)

Fierce Healthcare: Insurers Question Cell And Gene Therapy Costs As New Model Nears
In June, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will name the participating states for the agency’s new Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model. One state has already started participating, the CMS said, and 35 states are agreeing to participating, reported Bloomberg. These states represent about 84% of Medicaid beneficiaries with sickle cell disease. (Tong, 5/5)

STATE WATCH

WLRN: Funding Extended For The Middle Keys' Only Hospital, Fishermen’s Community In Marathon
Local governments will continue funding the only hospital in the Middle Keys as the region continues to face a shortage in medical personnel. The Key Colony Beach City Commission recently voted to continue funding Baptist Health Fishermen’s Community Hospital in Marathon. (Ceballos, 5/5)

North Carolina Health News: NC Bill Would Diminish Medical Confidentiality For Minors
Patient-doctor dynamics in an exam room could soon change for minors. Republican lawmakers in the state House of Representatives have introduced a bill seeking to limit confidentiality between minors and their health providers — and to grant parents greater access to their children’s medical records and decision-making. (Crumpler and Vitaglione, 5/6)

News Service of Florida: Florida Senate OKs Changed Mental Health Bill 
Going along with changes made by the House, the state Senate voted 34-3 on Friday to pass a measure that backs a series of recommendations from Florida’s Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder. The House unanimously approved the measure (SB 1620) Tuesday, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. (5/5)

NPR: Meet The Florida Group Chipping Away At Public Benefits One State At A Time
As an Arizona bill to block people from using government aid to buy soda headed to the governor's desk in April, the nation's top health official joined Arizona lawmakers in the state Capitol to celebrate its passage. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said to applause that the legislation was just the start and that he wanted to prevent federal funding from paying for other unhealthy foods. (Houghton and Liss, 5/6)

Los Angeles Times: Hepatitis A Outbreak Declared In L.A. County. What You Need To Know
Los Angeles County has declared a communitywide outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious viral disease that can lead to lasting liver damage or even death. Although cases of hepatitis A are nothing new in the region, health officials are now expressing alarm both at the prevalence of the disease and who is becoming infected. The total of 165 cases recorded in 2024 was triple the number seen the year before, and the highest in the county in at least a decade, officials say. Seven deaths have been linked to the now-13-month-old outbreak. (Lin II, 5/5)

PUBLIC HEALTH

Bloomberg: 22.5% Of Patients On Opioids Like OxyContin Develop Addiction: FDA Study
More than one in five people prescribed extended-release painkillers such as OxyContin developed an addiction within a year, according to a newly released study mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration. The study, repeatedly delayed by more than a decade and released Monday, revealed a far higher percentage of pain patients addicted to opioids than drugmakers’ sales reps claimed in their marketing materials and representations to physicians. (Hornblower, 5/5)

CNN: Marijuana Is Extremely Dangerous To The Fetus In The Womb, Study Finds
Using marijuana during pregnancy is linked to poor fetal development, low infant birth weight, dangerously early deliveries and even death, according to a new meta-analysis of research. (LaMotte, 5/5)

CBS News: Shingles Vaccine Lowers Risk Of Heart Disease For 8 Years, Study Finds
Getting a shingles vaccine may help with more than the viral infection that causes painful rashes — new research shows it can also lower the risk of heart disease. In the study, published Monday in the European Heart Journal, researchers found people given the shot had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure and coronary heart disease, for up to 8 years. ... The protective effect was particularly prominent in men, people under 60 and those who smoke, drink or aren't active, the study found. (Moniuszko, 5/5) 

ABC News: Bird Flu Is Continuing To Spread In Animals Across The US. Here's What You Need To Know
Bird flu is continuing to spread in animals across the United States more than a year after the first human case was detected. Since then, at least 70 people have fallen ill and at least one death was recorded in Louisiana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of confirmed cases in humans has held steady for almost two months, but hundreds of dairy cows continue to be infected and raw milk samples in several states have tested positive for bird flu, according to federal health officials. (Kekatos, 5/5)

Fierce Healthcare: New Tool Helps Employers Predict Climate-Related Health Costs
Climate-related health challenges are driving up employer spending, and a new tool built by Mercer aims to help firms anticipate the potential costs. The Climate Health Cost Forecaster was developed in partnership with the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health. It seeks to arm employers with the data necessary to estimate the long-term health costs tied to weather events like extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding and hurricanes. (Minemyer, 5/5)

Fox News: Risk Of Cancer Death Linked To How Much People Pay In Taxes, Study Finds
People who pay more in taxes could be less likely to die from cancer. The link was revealed in a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which aimed to explore how state-level tax revenue impacts cancer screenings and mortality in the U.S. (Rudy, 5/5)

Newsweek: Parents' Phone Use May Harm Kids' Health And Development
As smartphones and tablets become increasingly embedded in daily life, a growing body of research is raising alarms about their subtle yet significant effects on young children. A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that when parents use technology in the presence of their young children—a behavior researchers call "parental technology use" (PTU)—it may be harming key aspects of kids' health and development. (Gray, 5/5)

GLOBAL WATCH

BBC: Popemobile To Become Health Clinic For Gaza Children
One of Francis's popemobiles, which the late pontiff used to greet thousands of people, will be turned into a mobile health clinic to help the children of Gaza. Following a request by Pope Francis, the vehicle used during his visit to Bethlehem in 2014 is being refitted with everything needed for frontline care in a war zone, charity organisation Caritas, which is overseeing the project, said. "There'll be rapid tests, suture kits, syringes, oxygen supplies, vaccines and a small fridge for storing medicines," it explained in a statement. (Wertheimer, 5/5)

The Hill: RFK Jr.: Jordan Breaks Pledge To Take In 2,000 Sick Palestinian Children
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Politico Magazine article published Monday that the king of Jordan “cut us off” regarding a pledge to take in 2,000 sick Palestinian children. Two months ago, King Abdullah II of Jordan pledged to take in 2,000 sick Palestinian children from Gaza, but Kennedy said Jordan “took 44, and then they’ve cut us off.” “I would encourage him to put the welfare of these children first and put the politics aside,” Kennedy said, seemingly referring to the king. (Suter, 5/5)