Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Nebraska Rushed Medicaid Work Rules. Then A Cancer Patient Was Told He’d Lost Coverage
Eli McCreary of Omaha, Nebraska, said he had recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer when he got a call from a local hospital run by CHI Health. He said he was informed that he wasn’t insured anymore under Medicaid — and that the hospital would cancel his appointments unless he paid out-of-pocket. McCreary, who was 64 at the time, said he phoned a call center for help. He said he was told his benefits under Medicaid, the government health program for people with low incomes or disabilities, now required that he have a job. (Pradhan, 11/10)
KFF Health News: The Ultimate Adulting Task: Signing Up For Health Insurance
Not many 22-year-olds share DJ Mikunda’s enthusiasm for health insurance coverage. “You know what sounds like a good Friday night? It’s looking at health insurance,” he joked. But Mikunda has a reason to be eager. He has gone without coverage since he left home and started working in 2023. He’s now a manager at a gas station in St. Louis. (Farmer and Anthony, 11/10)
KFF Health News: When A Gun Owner Shows Early Signs Of Dementia
He was 72, a retired health administrator who lived alone near Seattle. Laura Prater, a firearms researcher at Ohio State, was interviewing him via Zoom. She’d administered a questionnaire that indicated he had mild cognitive impairment, which is often, but not always, a precursor to dementia. His doctor had also diagnosed him with depression. As part of a study of firearm safety for older adults, Prater asked if he kept a gun in his home. (Span, 11/10)
THE LATEST ELECTION RESULTS
The New York Times: California Voters Reject Prop. 40 Billionaire Tax Measure
California voters rejected a billionaire tax, The Associated Press determined on Monday, rebuking a measure that would have created the nation’s first wealth tax by targeting the assets of residents with a net worth beyond $1 billion. Under the tax measure, Proposition 40, the state would have imposed a one-time, 5 percent tax on the personal assets of billionaires and devoted most of the revenue to health care. (Rosenhall, 11/10)
Los Angeles Times: Voters Approve Prop. 38 Medical Research Bond Measure
California voters have passed Proposition 38, authorizing the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds to fund immunology and immunotherapy research aimed at curing and preventing certain chronic diseases. The measure, which the Associated Press called on Monday evening, requires at least $4.2 billion of the funds to be used for immunology research on cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. It also authorizes the state to enter into a partnership with an unnamed immunology and immunotherapy research institute selected by the California Department of Public Health, and to allocate half of the bond revenue to it. (Garcia, 11/9)
The Colorado Sun: Proposition 135 Results: Ban On Gender-Related Surgeries For Youth Passes
Colorado voters approved Proposition 135, a measure banning certain gender-related surgeries for minors, following a campaign that featured debates about medical independence and appropriate care for young people. (Ingold, 11/6)
Jackson Hole Community Radio: Teton County Voters Provide 'Relief' To Local Hospital
Election night could have dealt a near-fatal blow to St. John’s Health’s finances. But instead, two ballot measure outcomes doubled the property tax allotment for the valley’s largest year-round employer. (McMurtry, 11/9)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The New York Times: Scientists Sue To Block Trump Administration Changes At National Science Foundation
American researchers and advocacy groups sued the National Science Foundation on Monday to halt the erosion of government funding for social sciences. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Massachusetts, seeks to block the N.S.F. from dismantling its social science funding division, known as the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. The division is “dedicated to understanding human behavior and improving people’s quality of life,” according to the science foundation’s website, and it typically funds research in topics ranging from brain mapping to economics. (Sella, 11/9)
Stat: BIO Sues Over Trump's GLOBE Drug Pricing Model For Medicare
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization is joining the legal fight against the Trump administration’s pilot program aimed at aligning drug prices in Medicare with prices charged in peer countries. (Wilkerson, 11/7)
ProPublica: Firm Tied To Trump Sons Won Federal Funds To Screen For Ebola, Other Diseases
The Trump administration awarded a small biosecurity company nearly $40 million to screen for Ebola and other infectious diseases just months after a firm linked to President Donald Trump’s elder sons invested in its parent company, according to records and interviews. The contracts, one to screen for Ebola in several U.S. airports and the other to respond to disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are seven times the total value of government contracts the company had directly received before. (Lerner, Barry-Jester and Faturechi, 11/9)
The Washington Post: ‘No Business Having A Gun’: Some ICE Recruits Had A Record Of Red Flags
A Post review of records exposed in a DHS hack found that some immigration officers quickly hired last year were involved in past misconduct or criminality. (Hesson, Sohyun Lee, Nakhlawi, Sacchetti and Schaffer, 11/10)
SUPREME COURT
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Seems Likely To Limit Prisoners’ Ability To Sue Over Claims Of Poor Medical Care
The Supreme Court appeared likely Monday to curtail lawsuits by federal inmates who claim they have received inadequate medical care from prison officials, which would further erode a legal precedent that has allowed people to hold federal law enforcement accountable for alleged constitutional violations for decades. The justices seem inclined to nix a lawsuit brought by Kekai Watanabe, a former inmate who alleged that a prison nurse failed to give him proper treatment after his tailbone was broken in a gang-related assault during a riot at the federal detention center in Honolulu. (Jouvenal, 11/9)
Bloomberg: Terror Suit Against Drugmakers Draws US Supreme Court Inquiry
The US Supreme Court asked the Trump administration for input on an appeal from pharmaceutical and medical-device companies that are trying to stop a lawsuit accusing them of helping to finance terrorist attacks in Iraq. The companies are seeking review of a ruling that let American terrorism victims sue the companies for allegedly paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure medical-supply contracts with the Iraqi Ministry of Health from 2004 to 2013. The victims say the money went to Jaysh al-Mahdi, a militant group that controlled the ministry. (Stohr, 11/9)
OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS
The New York Times: Her Death From Dengue May Signal That The Disease Is Here To Stay
On the last Friday in August, Gay Rabb Small went for her daily walk along the Tampa shore. Nearing 80, she was determined to stay healthy and walked at least five miles a day. That night at dinner, her daughter, Anna Small, noticed that her mother seemed a little off. “I thought she had overdone it,” Ms. Small said. By Saturday, Gay Small had developed a tremor, and her daughter took her to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with dengue, a viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes. She died the following Friday, Sept. 4, her 80th birthday. (Hartocollis, 11/9)
CIDRAP: New Study Links COVID To Fewer Long-Term Health Problems
A new study links COVID-19 infection to substantially fewer long-term health problems than previous research suggests. (Bergeson, 11/9)
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
MedPage Today: Common Antibiotic Tied To Pregnancy Loss Risk
Women exposed to doxycycline in early pregnancy had an increased risk of pregnancy loss compared to other antibiotics, a cohort study showed. (Robertson, 11/9)
ProPublica: Texas ER Did Not Provide Vitamin K Shot That Could Have Saved Newborn’s Life
The emergency room was a mile from their Texas home. Stephanie and Eric Biesenbach took comfort in that when their newborn daughter, Gwen, wouldn’t stop bleeding from her belly button. They buckled Gwen into her car seat and made the drive over. Medical records from that warm August evening in 2023 described her condition as a “generic problem” of a bleeding umbilical cord stump. The doctor on duty, Nicole Malouf, had treated plenty of those as an emergency room specialist. She covered Gwen’s oozing belly button with a special gauze to stanch the flow, and when it appeared to stop, she sent Stephanie, Eric and Gwen on their way. (Eldeib, 11/8)
MPR News: One In 10 Minnesota Women Of Childbearing Age Live In Counties Without A Birthing Center
Newly released data shows that about 126,000 reproductive-aged women in Minnesota live in counties without hospital-based obstetrics care, increasing the health risks for those who are pregnant and having children. (Work, 11/8)
North Carolina Health News: Report Examines Why NC Women Are Dying During And After Pregnancy
Drug overdoses, infections and homicides were the top three causes of pregnancy-related deaths in North Carolina from 2018 to 2021. That’s according to a report released last month by North Carolina’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, a volunteer group of multidisciplinary experts that examines all deaths during pregnancy or within one year of the end of a pregnancy to understand the causes and make recommendations to prevent future deaths. (Crumpler, 11/9)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
The Beam: As Automation Expands, VA Commits More Errors On Veterans’ Claims
An investigation by the Washington Bureau of The Beam, an accountability newsroom at Arizona State University’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, found that the VA’s push to use automation more often has coincided with a surge in errors made while collecting medical records needed to process veterans’ claims. (Hogan, 11/9)
Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health, AmeriHealth Caritas Expands As ACA Rivals Exit 2027
As prominent health insurance exchange carriers such as Cigna and Molina Healthcare pull back, others see an opportunity to make gains during open enrollment. Companies such as Oscar Health, AmeriHealth Caritas and Antidote Health are rolling out strategies to attract more members during this open enrollment period. Some are directing consumers to new lifestyle- and condition-focused plans. (Tepper, 11/9)
Capitol News Illinois: BJC HealthCare, Aetna Extend Access For Metro East Retirees
Thousands of Illinois retirees will maintain in-network access to BJC HealthCare hospitals and providers through the end of next year after BJC and insurer Aetna reached a one-year agreement. The deal, announced Friday, Nov. 6, applies specifically to members enrolled in the TRAIL program through the end of 2027. Discussions remain ongoing between Aetna and WashU Medicine. (Ritter, 11/9)
Fierce Healthcare: Aetna Sues To Challenge 2027 MA Star Ratings
Elevance Health is the latest insurer to sue the feds over its performance in the latest round of star ratings for the Medicare Advantage program. The company sued the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in District of Columbia federal court on Friday, arguing that the 2027 star ratings calculations violated the Administrative Procedure Act in using 11 measures that it says were adopted unlawfully. (Minemyer, 11/9)
Bloomberg: Private Credit Lenders In Talks To Fund $1.3 Billion Loan For Fullscript Deal
A group of private credit lenders is in talks to provide a $1.3 billion loan to finance L Catterton’s acquisition of healthcare platform Fullscript, after the deal was unable to drum up enough interest in the leveraged loan market. The acquisition is expected to close Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley had underwritten the debt, meaning they are on the hook to fund the transaction, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The direct lending option would replace the banks’ commitments. (Seligson and Arroyo, 11/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Major New Cancer Treatment Center About To Open In Oakland
Sutter Health and Stanford Medicine on Monday unveiled a new, five-story cancer center in Oakland that they hope will be a regional “one-stop shop” for outpatient oncology care in the East Bay. The center aims to accommodate the projected growth in cancer patients, which Stanford estimates will double in the next decade. Many patients must currently drive long distances to receive various components of cancer treatment. (Ho, 11/9)
Lake County News-Sun: Waukegan Mayor Calls For Sale Of Vista Medical Center East
Amid new reports of payroll delays at Vista Medical Center East and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) no longer allowing ambulances to transport patients there, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said he has run out of patience with Vista owner American Healthcare Systems (AHS). (Sadin, 11/9)
Chicago Tribune: Nurses At Edward Hospital In Naperville Vote To Unionize
Nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville have voted to unionize. Sixty-five percent of the ballots cast were in favor of the hospital’s 1,200 nurses being represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, according to results announced Friday. (Stein, 11/6)
PHARMA AND TECH
NBC News: FDA Orders New Warning On GLP-1s Over Rare Eye Condition Linked To Sudden Blindness
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that GLP-1 drugmakers must add a warning label about a rare eye condition that can cause sudden blindness. The condition, called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, affects the optic nerve, which carries signals from the eye to the brain. When blood flow to the nerve is reduced or blocked, it can cause sudden vision loss. The condition is permanent with no known treatment. (Lovelace Jr., 11/9)
Stat: Eli Lilly GLP-1 Pill Foundayo Helped Alleviate Sleep Apnea, Studies Show
Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 pill Foundayo helped alleviate sleep apnea in two late-stage studies, but it doesn’t appear as effective as Lilly’s injectable drug Zepbound. (Chen, 11/9)
Stat: Bayer's Novel Drug For Stroke Recurrence Wins FDA Approval
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Bayer’s drug to reduce recurrence of stroke, making available the first in a novel class of medications that hold the promise of preventing blood clots more safely. (Chen and Cooney, 11/9)
The Guardian: New Drug Could Be Cure For Common Cause Of High Blood Pressure
Millions of people with high blood pressure stand to benefit from a new drug that has stunned doctors by reversing a common cause of the condition for years after patients stopped taking the medication. Patients who took the drug, called baxdrostat, saw their blood pressure improve during a six- to 12-month course of the daily pills, but unexpectedly the benefits remained up to two years later, with some patients no longer on any hypertension drugs and potentially cured of the condition. (Sample, 11/8)
MedPage Today: Smartwatch Detection Of Reduced LVEF? Not So Fast, Study Says
The enthusiasm for smartwatch detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) was tempered by a Korean study indicating difficulties with the technology in its current state. Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-ECG model trained to detect LVSD, researchers set a threshold for a result of LVSD versus no LVSD when applied to Apple Watches and Samsung Galaxy Watches. (Lou, 11/9)
Stat: Bill Ackman Launches New Brain Research Institute
If you’re blind, Bill Ackman wants to help you see again. That is the ambitious plan the billionaire is pursuing with the Ackman Oxman Institute, a new institution in New York City that will act as a hub for brain injury research, including brain-computer interfaces that can help people move, speak, and connect to digital devices through brain activity. (Broderick, 11/9)
STATE WATCH
Florida Phoenix: Federal Appeals Court Finds That Florida’s Medicaid Termination Letters Were Insufficient
Florida has lost another round in a long-running legal battle over how the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis removed people from Medicaid. A federal appeals court ruled this week that the DeSantis administration did not provide adequate notice to people it claimed were no longer financially eligible before dropping them from the safety net program following the end of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19. (Sexton, 11/9)
Modern Healthcare: Minnesota, Oregon Target Medicaid Work Requirements In New Lawsuit
Four states are challenging Medicaid work requirements, arguing Congress violated the Constitution and is coercing states to implement unforeseen Medicaid policies. Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon arguing the Medicaid work requirement provisions in President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax law violate the spending clause of the Constitution. (Early, 11/6)
The Texas Tribune: Hinojosa Can’t Use Executive Order To Expand Medicaid In Texas
A week ago, expanding Medicaid health insurance coverage to more low-wage Texans was the quixotic dream of health policy advocates in a state where conservatives have soundly blocked it for years. Writing it off as a wasteful expense, Gov. Greg Abbott once called Medicaid expansion “a tax increase waiting to happen.” But Abbott last week was swept out of office, along with every other Republican on the statewide ballot. Expanding Medicaid could bring up to $10 billion a year in federal funds to Texas and mean health care coverage for more than 1 million additional Texans. (Langford, 11/9)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Council Approves Agency For Nonviolent 911 Calls
The Baltimore City Council approved a new $16.8 million agency Monday night to divert nonviolent 911 calls to crisis responders. The Department of Neighborhood Safety, proposed by Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council President Zeke Cohen, still requires Scott’s signature. (Pryce, 11/9)
Fox News: California Bans Some Weight Loss And Muscle Supplement Sales To Minors
Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning the sale of some "muscle-building supplements" to Californians under 18 years of age. The legislation (AB 2030), which was signed on Sept. 28, covers over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building. It will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. (Rudy, 11/9)
AP: Santa Barbara Police Investigate After 27 Half Marathon Runners Felt Sick
Police in California are investigating after more than two dozen participants in the Santa Barbara Half Marathon ended up at the hospital on Sunday. The Santa Barbara Police Department said in a statement it opened an investigation after receiving reports from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital about multiple half-marathon participants seeking medical treatment for “unusual symptoms.” Cottage Health said in a statement Sunday that it had a “larger than expected number of emergency visits ... a number of them with similar symptoms of undetermined cause.” (11/10)
Axios: Homeless Veteran Numbers See Long-Term Decline In Most States
U.S. veteran homelessness declined more than 50% over the past 15 years, according to the latest federal housing data. The widespread declines represent significant progress in addressing homelessness among those who served, although some states continue to struggle. (Jennings, 11/9)
PUBLIC HEALTH
The Guardian: Medical Breakthrough Offers Hope To People With Same Stiff Person Syndrome As Céline Dion
Doctors have made a potentially significant breakthrough in the hunt for a treatment for stiff person syndrome, the autoimmune condition that affects the singer Céline Dion. Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare disease that attacks the central nervous system and can cause devastating rigidity throughout the body and painful muscle spasms. Despite decades of research, there is no cure. (Gregory, 11/9)
ABC News: Hits To Center Of Head Are More Predictive Of Concussions For Athletes: Study
Hits to the center of the head are more predictive of concussions than hits that cause the head to rotate, a new study finds. Previously, it was believed that rotational acceleration -- which occurs when a hit to the head is off-center and causes the head to twist quickly -- was the primary risk factor for concussions. However, the new research suggests that linear acceleration -- a direct blow to the head's center -- is more predictive. The findings may highlight gaps in knowledge about what kinds of injuries are more likely to lead to concussions. (Kekatos, 11/9)
CalMatters: California Climate, El Niño Conditions Fuel West Nile Virus Fears
When temperatures rise above 70 degrees, tiny West Nile viral particles begin to rapidly replicate in the gut of Culex mosquitoes, which then go hunting for their next “blood meal,” injecting virus-laden saliva into their prey when they feast. This year, California’s warm, wet summer and fall produced the most West Nile activity in five years. As of Nov. 6, the virus has seriously sickened 528 people and killed 32, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Hwang, 11/9)
