First Edition: Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Louisiana Took Months To Sound Alarm After Two Babies Died In Whooping Cough Outbreak
When there’s an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, state health officials typically take certain steps to alert residents and issue public updates about the growing threat. That’s standard practice, public health and infectious disease experts told KFF Health News and NPR. The goal is to keep as many other vulnerable people as possible from getting sick and to remind the public about the benefits of vaccinations. But in Louisiana this year, public health officials appeared to have not followed that playbook during the state’s worst whooping cough outbreak in 35 years. (Westwood, 11/4)

KFF Health News: Congressional Stalemate Creates Chaos For Obamacare Shoppers
This year’s Obamacare open enrollment period, which started Nov. 1 in most states, is full of uncertainty and confusion for the more than 24 million people who buy health insurance through the federal and state Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Even with sign-up season underway, the fate of the enhanced premium tax credits that make coverage more affordable for 92% of enrollees remains up in the air, with the prospect of significantly higher premiums looming. But there are steps marketplace shoppers can take to ensure they make the right choices for the upcoming plan year. (Andrews, 11/4)

FOOD AID AND SNAP

Axios: Trump Administration Plan To Partially Fund SNAP Benefits Could Take Months
The Trump administration announced it plans to partially fund SNAP benefits on Monday, after two federal judges ruled on Friday that the funds must be released. A supplementary declaration noted that the changes states have to implement to roll out reduced benefits could "take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months." The process of distributing SNAP benefits varies from state to state, and some states' "decades old" systems may slow down the process of doling out the money, according to the declaration. (Walker, 11/3)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Governor Releases $62 Million To Cover November SNAP Benefits
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that Maryland will release $62 million to ensure full November SNAP benefits for recipients across the state affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown. The funding, authorized by executive order, comes after federal courts ordered the Trump administration to provide contingency funds for the program. (Ibrahim and Schumer, 11/3)

NPR: How One Tech Startup Is Giving Cash To SNAP Recipients 
Propel CEO Jimmy Chen knows how it feels to go hungry. When he was growing up in Kansas City, his parents sometimes struggled to put food on the table. Today, his Brooklyn tech company makes a free app for people on the federal government's anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. About 5 million people use Propel's app to check their SNAP balances, and get coupons and discounts on groceries. (Aspan, 11/4)

NPR: Agriculture Secretary Claims SNAP Program Is 'Corrupt' 
In an appearance on Fox and Friends on Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed SNAP is a "corrupt" program riddled with "massive fraud." But some of her claims need more context. (Joffe-Block, 11/4)

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Politico: House Members Release Bipartisan 'Principles' For Extending Obamacare Subsidies 
A bipartisan quartet of House lawmakers released a “statement of principles” Monday for a potential compromise on an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which would include a two-year sunset and an income cap for eligibility. The compromise framework from Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, is the first public tangible offering on health care policy since the government shutdown began 33 days ago. (Guggenheim and Hill, 11/3)

Politico: Senate Democrats Head To Trump’s ‘Backyard’ To Press Him On Obamacare 
A trio of Senate Democrats descended on South Florida on Monday to highlight how badly high health insurance prices will hit area residents as the government shutdown drags on. The soaring insurance costs in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces are among the issues at the center of the shutdown, which is set to become the longest in U.S. history if it continues into Tuesday night. Florida has 4.7 million people who use marketplace, or “Obamacare,” plans for coverage, more than any other state. But the subsidies that made them affordable to many customers are set to expire at the end of the year. (Leonard, 11/3)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: BJC Teams With UnitedHealthcare For 2026 Marketplace Plans
BJC Health System says that its hospitals and providers will accept UnitedHealthcare insurance plans purchased on the Affordable Care Act individual marketplace for 2026.UnitedHealthcare is the only marketplace insurer for 2026 with BJC in its coverage network. (Suntrup, 11/3)

WUSF: Broward Hospitals Partner To Provide Health Insurance On ACA Marketplace 
Broward County’s two largest public health systems have teamed up to offer residents a new health insurance option for 2026 on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System, which operate a total of 11 hospitals, are partners in a venture called 22 Health, according to the insurers’ website. (Mayer, 11/3)

Central Florida Public Media: Floridians Face 'Impossible Choices' As ACA Premiums Skyrocket 
With Affordable Care Act tax credits scheduled to expire at the end of year, thousands of Floridians will face paying significantly more for health insurance. (Duerig, 11/4)

HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Specialty Physician Pay Cut For 2026 Under Fire
Nearly three dozen physician specialty groups have called on Congress to halt a new policy that will reduce Medicare payments for thousands of billing codes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule Friday setting Medicare reimbursements to physicians in 2026. Although the regulation grants a 2.5% overall rate increase, it also introduces a “efficiency adjustment” that will trim payments for some specialty services by 2.5%. One of the agency’s stated goals is to increase support for primary care. (Early, 11/3)

Stat: UnitedHealth Pays Optum Physicians 17% More Than Outside Providers 
UnitedHealth Group pays its own physician practices much more than it pays competing practices, a new study finds, reinforcing STAT’s own analysis on the subject and presenting fresh evidence that the conglomerate may be skirting a rule designed to curb health insurer profits. (Bannow, 11/3)

North Carolina Health News and The Charlotte Ledger: Atrium Health’s New Surgical Training Hub Attracts 900+ Doctors In Six Weeks 
Atrium Health’s new surgical training center in Charlotte is off to a fast start. In just six weeks, IRCAD North America has brought in 932 health care providers from 14 countries for training, said Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation and commercialization officer at Advocate Health, Atrium’s parent company. (Crouch, 11/4)

MedPage Today: Joint Commission Includes Nurse Staffing In Updated Hospital Performance Goals
A leading nurse organization applauded the Joint Commission's latest hospital performance goals, which elevated the issue of nurse staffing and linked it to patient safety. In a press release, the American Nurses Association (ANA) said that it "proudly celebrates a historic victory for nurses and patients alike: for the first time ever, nurse staffing has been elevated within the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, now renamed the National Performance Goals." (Firth, 11/3)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: Lumeris Launches Rural Health Transformation Program Coalition
Technology and consulting companies have teamed up to try to expand the reach of rural providers and the Rural Health Transformation Program. Lumeris, Teladoc Health, Nuna, Deloitte and Unite Us on Monday launched the Collaborative for Healthy Rural America. The coalition aims to use artificial intelligence-backed technology and the scale of those companies to boost care and lower costs for rural hospital operators and other providers. (Kacik, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: Ensign Group Expands Footprint Across Two States
The Ensign Group has expanded its reach across Alabama and Utah with the acquisition of eight skilled nursing facilities. The senior living operator said in a news release Monday it acquired the real estate and operations of seven Stonehenge skilled nursing facilities across Utah, including properties in American Fork, Cedar City, Washington Terrace, Orem, Richfield, South Jordan and Springville. The Ensign Group purchased the real estate assets through its subsidiary Standard Bearer Healthcare REIT, according to the release. Ensign-affiliated operators will manage the nursing homes. (Eastabrook, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: Why Cardinal Health Is Eyeing Physician Management Acquisitions
Pharmaceutical wholesalers are poised to grow their physician management businesses as private equity investment slows. Backing from companies like McKesson, Cencora and Cardinal Health can help physician groups weather drug shortages and inflation, among other clinical and financial hurdles, some doctors said. Wholesalers are filling a void left by private equity firms that have retreated due to economic headwinds and rising regulatory scrutiny, advisers said. (Kacik, 11/3)

The Colorado Sun: UCHealth Will Receive Direct Taxpayer Funding In Estes Park Merger
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office earlier this fall signed off on a merger between UCHealth and Estes Park Health, a critical access hospital, expanding the footprint of a system that has grown to be the largest health care provider in the state. (Ingold, 11/4)

WUSF and Jacksonville Today/ WJCT: Children’s Hospitals Share $30M Boost For Cancer Research 
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday backed his commitment to pediatric cancer research in Florida with grants of $7.5 million annually to four specialty children’s hospitals over the next five years. (Mayer and Brown, 11/3)

PHARMA AND TECH

Bloomberg: Kimberly-Clark Tanks On Deal To Buy Tylenol Maker Kenvue
Kimberly-Clark Corp. shares fell the most in a quarter century after agreeing to buy Kenvue Inc., whose biggest product, Tylenol, is in the crosshairs of the White House. Kimberly-Clark said it would buy Kenvue for roughly $40 billion, snapping up the embattled company’s storied brands in a gamble that would vault the Kleenex owner into consumer health’s top tier. Kimberly-Clark agreed to pay a total consideration of $21.01 per share, a 46% premium to Kenvue’s closing price on Friday. (Brown and Tse, 11/3)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Sues Novo, Metsera Again In Brewing Buyout Clash
Pfizer Inc. accused Novo Nordisk A/S of trying to stifle competition in the weight-loss market by attempting to acquire obesity startup Metsera Inc., the second lawsuit Pfizer has filed in four days as it tries to retain its grip on a deal Novo upended last week. Pfizer brought its latest complaint Monday in Delaware federal court on antitrust grounds, saying it seeks to “stop Novo Nordisk from illegally paying off Metsera and its controlling stockholders to gain control of, and impair and potentially kill, an emerging US competitor.” Metsera called Pfizer’s new arguments “nonsense” and Novo called them “absurd” in statements. (Muller and Feeley, 11/3)

Stat: Microdosing GLP-1s Could Help Telehealth Firms More Than Patients
Noom, Found, and Hims & Hers have all launched programs to prescribe “microdosed” GLP-1s in the last three months, following in the footsteps of many smaller direct-to-consumer telehealth companies. Microdosing is getting a shot of promotion from Hollywood, too: Noom has promoted its program alongside a new celebrity spokesperson, actor Rebel Wilson, and TV host Andy Cohen has been doing the rounds talking about his microdosing habit. (Palmer, 11/4)

Stat: Novo Nordisk Spent Millions On Weight Loss Searches 
Over a recent two-year period, Novo Nordisk spent an estimated $7.5 million on more than 15,000 paid keywords related to weight loss searches and generated more than 2.4 million visits to Ozempic.com, even though the medicine is not approved to combat obesity, a new analysis found. (Silverman, 11/3)

NPR: Searching 'Weight' Can Bring Up Ozempic In Results. It's A Drug Advertising Loophole
If you've googled "weight loss," there's a good chance that one of the first search results that came up was a website for Ozempic. But Ozempic hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss — it's only approved to treat Type 2 diabetes. So why is it showing up there? (Lupkin, 11/4)

AP: First Clinical Trial Transplanting Pig Kidneys Into People Begins 
The first clinical trial is getting underway to see if transplanting pig kidneys into people might really save lives. United Therapeutics, a producer of gene-edited pig kidneys, announced Monday that the study’s initial transplant was performed successfully at NYU Langone Health. It’s the latest step in the quest for animal-to-human transplants. A second U.S. company, eGenesis, is preparing to begin its own pig kidney clinical trial in the coming months. (Neergaard, 11/3)

STATE WATCH

Chicago Tribune: Gov. JB Pritzker Undecided On Medical Aid-In-Dying Bill
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said he was still deciding whether he’d sign legislation that would permit doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives, after the bill narrowly passed the General Assembly last week. “It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker said. (Olander, 11/3)

Chicago Tribune: Bill Strengthens Illinois' Ability To Set Vaccine Guidelines
Lawmakers have passed a bill to strengthen Illinois’ ability to make its own vaccine guidelines — legislation that follows months of tumult over vaccines at the federal level. (Schencker, 11/3)

AP: Maine Voters Consider Red Flag Gun Law Inspired By Lewiston Mass Shooting
Two years after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, Maine residents are voting on whether to make it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person’s access to guns. A statewide ballot question Tuesday asks residents if they want to build on the state’s yellow flag law, which allows police officers to initiate a process to keep someone away from firearms. Approval would add Maine to more than 20 states that have a red flag law empowering family members to take the same step. (Whittle, 11/4)

ABC News: Maine Health System Accidentally Sends Letters To More Than 500 Patients Stating They're Dead
A large health care system in Maine said it "sincerely regrets" an error that mistakenly sent condolence letters to patients about their deaths. MaineHealth, a nonprofit system that includes hospitals, health care facilities and clinics in Maine and New Hampshire, sent letters to 531 patients, expressing condolences that included information on how next of kin could resolve their estates. (Kekatos, 11/3)

The Colorado Sun: An El Paso County Program Is Reducing Suicides Among Veterans
Sitting outside on a warm July day in a white polo, his black ballcap backward, Heath Miller recounts his military career. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Miller spent 12 years in the Marine Corps, including multiple deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan as a heavy machine-gunner. After an injury and the loss of multiple friends to suicide, Miller decided he was ready for the next step in his life. He was discharged in 2008 and moved to Colorado. (Singer, 11/4)

NPR: A Gun Violence 'Action Plan' Calls For A New Emphasis On Prevention
In the past 25 years, the U.S. has seen more than 800,000 deaths from gun violence, and another 2 million or more injuries. A new report offers a roadmap to reduce the human toll of this crisis by 2040. Sixty leading experts from a range of fields, including medicine, public health, criminology, law and the technology sector, convened earlier this year to create an action plan to address the problem. The report was published in JAMA on Monday. (Chatterjee, 11/3)

LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH

The Washington Post: New Study Links Melatonin And Heart Failure. Don’t Panic, Experts Say
A study that reviewed health records for tens of thousands of adults with chronic insomnia found that people who took prescribed melatonin for more than a year had a higher chance of heart failure over five years compared with people who were identified as nonusers, the American Heart Association announced Monday. The researchers behind the study also reported that people taking melatonin were more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure and die of any cause than those who did not use the supplement. (Chiu, 11/3)

MedPage Today: More Teens Vape Daily, Struggle To Quit
Though the percentage of U.S. teenagers who vape nicotine has declined in recent years, daily vaping among those already doing so increased, as did unsuccessful quit attempts, a cross-sectional study suggested. (Henderson, 11/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: Have Efforts To Curb Opioids Left Nursing Home Residents In Pain? UCSF Study Raises Concerns
Opioid prescriptions for U.S. nursing home residents dropped sharply between 2011 and 2022, according to a new UCSF study — a potentially negative consequence of the nation’s yearslong efforts to reduce opioid overprescribing. Nursing home residents often have multiple medical conditions and chronic pain, including joint and back pain. (Ho, 11/3)

Fox News: Erratic Blood Pressure Tied To Brain Aging In Older Adults, Study Finds
A new study from the University of Southern California suggests that the way blood pressure fluctuates from one heartbeat to the next may be just as important as the overall blood pressure reading — especially when it comes to brain health in aging adults. Researchers found that older adults who experienced greater beat-to-beat changes in blood pressure had smaller brain volumes in areas tied to memory, and higher levels of a protein linked to nerve-cell injury. (Quill, 11/3)

Stat: Take Steps To Slow Alzheimer's Progression: 5,000 Of Them, Actually 
New research bolsters evidence that people with early signs of Alzheimer’s can take steps to slow the devastating neurologic disease — literal steps. (Wosen, 11/3)

GLOBAL WATCH

NBC News: Maldives Becomes The First Country To Impose A Generational Ban On Smoking
The Maldives has become the first country in the world to impose a generational smoking ban, barring anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, from ever smoking, purchasing or using tobacco. “The ban applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify age prior to sale,” the health ministry said Saturday as the ban came into effect. The step “makes the Maldives the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide generational tobacco ban,” it added. (Aggarwal, 11/4)