First Edition: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: In The Fallout From Trump’s Health Funding Cuts, States Face Tough Budget Decisions
Patients begin lining up before dawn at Operation Border Health, an annual five-day health clinic in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Many residents in this predominantly Latino and Hispanic region spanning the Mexican border lack insurance, making the health fair a major source of free medical care in South Texas for more than 25 years. Until this year. The Trump administration’s plan to strip more than $550 million in federal public health and pandemic funds from Texas helped prompt cancellation of the event just before its scheduled July 21 start. (Armour and Mai-Duc and Whitehead and Zionts, 9/9)

KFF Health News: Instead Of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
Retta Jacobi stepped onto a metal platform that lifted her to an entrance on the side of a custom-designed semitrailer. Once inside, she lay down on a platform that technicians slid into an MRI machine. ... The mobile MRI unit visits Southwest Healthcare Services, the hospital in Bowman, North Dakota, each Wednesday. Without it, the community’s 1,400 residents would have to drive 40 minutes to get to an MRI machine, an expensive piece of medical equipment the hospital couldn’t afford on its own. (Zionts, 9/9)

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND ANTITRUST ISSUES

Fierce Healthcare: SCOTUS Temporarily Allows Firing Of FTC's Lone Democrat
The Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump a temporary green light on his removal of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, one of two Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) members he fired in March. Slaughter, shortly after her ordered removal, sued to block what she described as “direct violation of a century of federal law and Supreme Court precedent.” She cited a 90-year-old decision, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, that gave statutory tenure protections to FTC commissioners by requiring demonstration of cause under most circumstances. (Muoio, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: FTC To Drop Noncompete Ban Lawsuits
The Federal Trade Commission plans to drop lawsuits that sought to preserve the agency’s ban on most noncompete agreements, as well as eliminate the regulation. The FTC on Friday filed motions to dismiss its appeals of district court rulings that found the agency’s noncompete ban exceeded its regulatory authority. The agency also voted 3-1 to vacate the April 2024 rule. Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter cast the dissenting vote. She said in statement that tossing the regulation and related legal cases is another attempt by President Donald Trump to “throw workers under the bus to ingratiate himself with corporations and their billionaire CEOs.” (Kacik, 9/8)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hospital Group Urges Federal Probe Of Drugmakers' 340B Rebate Models: 5 Notes
The American Hospital Association is calling on federal regulators to launch an antitrust investigation into its claims of drug manufacturers’ actions regarding 340B rebate models. In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, the AHA accused several pharmaceutical giants of undermining the 340B drug pricing program through behavior the association said may violate federal competition laws. (Murphy, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: Epic Antitrust Lawsuit Can Continue, Federal Judge Says
A federal judge dismissed some of Particle Health’s antitrust charges against Epic, but allowed a portion of the lawsuit to continue. Judge Naomi Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Epic’s motion to dismiss antitrust claims alleged by digital health startup Particle Health. In a ruling issued Friday, Buchwald said Particle Health had sufficiently done enough to continue the antitrust litigation. (Perna, 9/8)

AUTISM

Politico: Trump Shares Video Highlighting Discredited Theory Linking Vaccines To Autism
President Donald Trump on Monday posted a video to his social media account promoting the discredited theory that vaccines cause autism. The decades-old video, in part, features David Geier, who Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tapped this spring to investigate links between vaccines and autism, alongside his father, Dr. Mark Geier, whose medical license was suspended following claims he endangered children with autism. (Messerly, 9/8)

Bloomberg: FDA Head Says Government Hasn’t Started Writing Autism Report
US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said the federal government has not yet started writing a report on the possible causes of autism but reaffirmed a longstanding promise that it will be released “within a month.” Makary said last week’s Wall Street Journal story about the autism report was “premature.” (Cohrs Zhang, 9/8)

Fortune: RFK Jr.'s Planned Report Linking Tylenol To Autism Crashes Shares Of Parent Company Kenvue
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preparing a report that will allegedly claim a link between prenatal Tylenol (acetaminophen) use and autism, but current evidence does not support a causal relationship, and major medical groups continue to recommend prudent acetaminophen use in pregnancy when indicated; meanwhile, Tylenol parent Kenvue’s shares sold off sharply following the reports and remain volatile. (Lutz, 9/8)

Newsweek: Human Evolution May Explain High Autism Rates
Scientists have uncovered new evidence suggesting that autism may have it roots in how the human brain has evolved. "Our results suggest that some of the same genetic changes that make the human brain unique also made humans more neurodiverse," said the study's lead author, Alexander L. Starr in a statement. (Notarantonio, 9/9)

RFK JR. AND VACCINES

The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Considering New Vaccine Advisers Who Criticized Coronavirus Shots
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been weighing whether to appoint new members to the committee that recommends which vaccines Americans should receive, according to two former federal health officials, most of whom appear to have been highly critical of coronavirus vaccines. Kennedy in June fired every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own picks, most of whom have criticized coronavirus vaccine policies. (Weber and Sun, 9/8)

Stat: Kennedy Allies Rally As Vaccine Policies Pose Possible Rift With Trump
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s aggressive moves to change vaccine policy — adopted by leaders at other federal health agencies — may be putting him at odds with President Trump himself. Now Kennedy’s allies are rallying to support him, believing the coming weeks and months will be key to cementing the Make America Healthy Again agenda in Washington. (Cirruzzo and Payne, 9/8)

The Hill: Democrats Urge Caution In Battle Over Vaccines, RFK Jr.
Democrats are jumping into the fray to voice their disapproval about Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the broader debate of rolling back vaccines, which was announced in Florida this past week. But after the public pushback on COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines on the heels of the pandemic, some voices in the Democratic Party are urging restraint, even as public opinion leans toward them and Republicans show their own divisions. (Parnes, 9/8)

CIDRAP: CDC Upheaval Triggers Global Concern Amid Ongoing US Vaccine Policy Debate
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday called for efforts to protect public health excellence at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which follows massive staff layoffs, the firing of its newly confirmed director, recent resignations of top scientists, an armed attack, and the gutting of its vaccine advisory group under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary. (Schnirring, 9/8)

MedPage Today: NIH Chief Becomes Loomer's Next Target
The latest Trump administration official to field criticism from far-right activist Laura Loomer is NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. Last week, Loomer posted a video on X showing Bhattacharya being confronted about the topic of animal testing as he entered the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C. Along with the video, Loomer alleged in her post that the NIH is extending animal testing grants and "issuing tens of millions of dollars in new grants that fund testing on dogs, cats and primates." (Henderson, 9/8)

CIDRAP: Minnesota, New York Issue Executive Orders Promoting Access To COVID Vaccines
Governors in Minnesota and New York are issuing executive orders in an effort to protect vaccine access in those states, in the wake of chaos and confusion over the availability of COVID-19 vaccine boosters at the federal level. In Minnesota, the executive order from Governor Tim Walz directs the state epidemiologist to issue a standing order for the COVID-19 vaccine, which offers flexibility for healthcare providers and pharmacists to provide the vaccine. (Soucheray, 9/8)

The Boston Globe: COVID Booster Confusion Eases In Mass. After Healey's Order
Sasha Singh walked into the Fenway Target Sunday morning with one goal: to get COVID shots for herself and her 82-year-old mother. She left disappointed. Singh, 49, of Fenway, was told that the pharmacy is reserving vaccinations for those who are elderly or at-risk, per guidelines from the federal government. Her mother left with a vaccine appointment, but she left empty-handed. (Coultoff, Schmeiszer and Tokhi, 9/8)

Central Florida Public Media: DeSantis Says He's Anti-Mandate, Not Anti-Vax As GOP Pushes Back On Plan For Florida Kids 
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he's anti-mandate, not anti-vaccine. His comments on Monday come after high-ranking Republicans opposed his plan to end shot requirements for schoolchildren in the state. (Prieur, 9/8)

NPR: This Is What Could Happen To A Child Who Doesn't Get Vaccinated
Pneumonia struck first. Then tonsillitis spiraled into sepsis. Malaria battered him next, and after treatment, the other illnesses flared back up again. This unvaccinated 2-year-old boy is trapped in a relentless cycle. "I was very sad. I knew these things could be prevented by vaccines," his mother, Alzhraa Fadul, says through an interpreter. (Ruprecht, 9/8)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The 19th: Trump Downplays Domestic Violence
President Donald Trump on Monday downplayed the severity of domestic violence crimes, saying that were it not for “things that take place in the home they call crime,” the administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., would have resulted in a bigger statistical reduction in crime. (Barclay, 9/8)

Axios: White House Looking To Cut Certain Disability Benefits
Hundreds of thousands of poor Americans are poised to get their disability benefits cut, as the Trump administration moves to reverse a Biden-era change. It would hurt low-income and disabled Americans at a time when inflation is driving up the cost of food and shelter; and further cuts to Medicaid and food benefits are on tap. (Peck, 9/8)

MILITARY HEALTH CARE

Military.com: Transgender Military Kids Face 'Profound Harm' From Health Care Restrictions, Lawsuit Alleges
Military families with transgender children are suing the Pentagon over the Trump administration’s efforts to cut off gender-affirming health care to military dependents. In a lawsuit filed Monday, three families are alleging that the administration’s moves go beyond a law that was passed last year to restrict gender-affirming care for military children and violate a separate law that says federal regulations cannot be “arbitrary and capricious.” (Kheel, 9/8)

Chicago Tribune: Lawsuit: The VA's Failure To Treat An Infection Forever Changes Man's Life
Anthony Walker always liked to think of himself as “the man.” He always liked to think of himself as “tough Tony.” That’s how he felt jumping out of planes while in the Army and stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He felt it later, too, as a small-business owner, husband and a father to six children. (Carter, 9/8)

ABORTION

The 19th: Telehealth Abortion Could End Up In Front Of The Supreme Court
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday that she will defend her state’s abortion protections in a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas. James’ involvement sets up the first interstate fight over abortion laws since the fall of Roe v. Wade, opening the door for the Supreme Court to weigh in on a key legal mechanism that has helped people in states with bans access abortion. (Luthra, 9/8)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

CalMatters: North Central California Hospital Faces Closure After Losing Federal 'Critical Access' Status
Absent a Hail Mary, Glenn County, California’s only hospital is set to close its doors in October. Tucked between two national forests, the rural county is home to 28,000 people. Without a local emergency room, they’ll instead have to travel at least 40 minutes to a neighboring county for critical care. One hundred and fifty health workers will lose their jobs; they’re already resigning to seek work elsewhere. (Ibarra, 9/8)

Keene Sentinel: Cheshire County Ambulance Service Loses Money On 1 In 10 Calls, Chief Says
Sometimes, when a Cheshire County EMS first-responder rushes to save a life, the department ends up losing money. That’s because the county’s ambulance service responds to every call it receives for support, but may not get paid if the patient is uninsured, or refuses transfer. It’s an issue that Deputy Chief Mark Kreamer has dealt with for years in the departments he’s worked at. (del Castro, 9/8)

Minnesota Public Radio: Mayo To Consolidate Services In Southern Minnesota 
Mayo Clinic Health System will transition care from several of its clinics to alternate locations by early December. Outpatient clinical services in Belle Plaine, Caledonia, Montgomery, Northridge, St. Peter and Wells will move to nearby Mayo Clinic sites. Elective surgeries and procedures in orthopedics, podiatry, endoscopy, ophthalmology and gynecology will be relocated from Albert Lea to the Austin and Waseca campuses. (Zurek, 9/9)

Modern Healthcare: Why Ascension, OhioHealth Are Selling Hospitals, Lab Services
Imminent reimbursement cuts are prompting health systems to look at selling ancillary businesses and real estate, as well as exit certain markets. Providers have increasingly turned to divestitures and joint ventures with companies that specialize in real estate management, long-term care, home health, labs and other services. Hospitals are ramping up these strategies with the hope that increasing cash reserves and simplifying operations will help them weather federal funding reductions under the new tax law. (Kacik and Hudson, 9/8)

Becker's Hospital Review: Hundreds Of California Kaiser Workers Strike
Hundreds of healthcare workers across multiple Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California began a one-day strike Sept. 8. Here are five things to know: 1. The strike involves more than 600 nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists across more than 20 hospitals. They are negotiating over issues including “unsafe staffing, burnout, and the risk to patient care,” according to a Sept. 8 news release from United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. (Kuchno, 9/8)

Modern Healthcare: August Jobs Report Shows Healthcare Jobs May Be Slowing
Healthcare was one of the few upbeat spots in the most recent jobs report but the shine may be starting to wear off. Labor Department employment data released Friday noted that job gains in healthcare helped offset weakness in other parts of the economy. That said, even in healthcare, the gains aren’t what they once were, as evidenced by new and revised figures. The report comes as the industry’s employers trim jobs up and down the ladder and hold positions open, preparing for the implications of the federal tax bill and uncertainty over tariffs. (DeSilva, 9/8)

North Carolina Health News: Helpline Aids NC Pediatricians In Mental Health Care 
In North Carolina, the odds of finding a child psychiatrist  depend too often on your ZIP code. Even in urban counties such as Wake or Mecklenburg, families may wait months for an appointment. In much of rural North Carolina, the wait is indefinite: There is simply no one to see. (Chambliss, 9/9)

PHARMA AND TECH

The Wall Street Journal: Novartis Agrees To Buy Tourmaline Bio In $1.4 Billion-Dollar Deal
Novartis agreed to buy New York-based Tourmaline Bio in a roughly $1.4 billion-dollar deal that boosts its cardiovascular drug pipeline with access to the targeted therapy drug pacibekitug. The Swiss pharmaceutical company said Tuesday that it would offer Tourmaline Bio shareholders $48 a share, valuing the company at approximately $1.4 billion on a fully diluted basis. Tourmaline’s board has approved the deal. (Whittaker, 9/9)

Stat: Summit Therapeutics Hits Possible Snag On Lung Cancer Drug Seen As Blockbuster
Summit Therapeutics may have a geography problem with its lung cancer drug ivonescimab. In a study update reported Sunday, patients from North America and Europe treated with the drug saw their lung cancer return and progress faster than patients from China — a discordant result that could complicate Summit’s plans to secure approval of ivonescimab in the U.S. and Europe. (Feuerstein, 9/7)

Fierce Healthcare: Omada Touts Strong Results Of GLP-1 Companion Program
Despite the hype about weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s, serious questions have remained about their efficacy when patients wean off the drugs. To date, studies have cast doubt on whether patients who stop taking the drugs can keep off the weight long-term. Some data suggest that those who discontinue regain between 14% and two-thirds of what they lost. (Gliadkovskaya, 9/8)

Medical Xpress: Squishy 'Smart Cartilage' Could Target Arthritis Pain As Soon As Flareups Begin
Researchers have developed a material that can sense tiny changes within the body, such as during an arthritis flareup, and release drugs exactly where and when they are needed. The squishy material can be loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs that are released in response to small changes in pH in the body. During an arthritis flareup, a joint becomes inflamed and slightly more acidic than the surrounding tissue. (University of Cambridge, 9/8)

Phys.org: Scientists Harness The Power Of Collapsing Bubbles To Propel Tiny Robots
A team of scientists from China and the U.S. is pioneering the development of bubble-powered robots, which could one day replace needles for painless drug delivery into the body. Inspired by nature, the researchers developed a new technique that harnesses the energy released by a collapsing bubble in a liquid, a process known as cavitation. (Arnold, 9/8)

CNN: Pig Kidney Transplants Take A Step Forward With Approval Of Human Trials 
Scientists continue to make progress with research on how well pig organs might perform in humans, and now they’re ready for the next step: larger-scale clinical trials. (Kounang, 9/8)

STATE WATCH

San Francisco Chronicle: California COVID Hospitalizations Double As Vaccine Access Tightens
California is seeing a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections. Hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past month, and wastewater data shows “very high” levels of the virus circulating across the state. The spike comes just as access to updated vaccines is becoming more complicated under the Trump administration, leaving many wondering how they’ll navigate the fall respiratory virus season. (Vaziri, 9/8)

CIDRAP: South Carolina, Utah Report Measles In Unvaccinated Residents
Both South Carolina and Utah confirmed new measles cases in unvaccinated residents. South Carolina officials said this is the state’s third measles case this year, and the patient, who lives in the Upstate region, was unvaccinated and had no prior immunity from measles exposure. (Soucheray, 9/8)

Wyoming Public Radio: West Nile Virus On The Rise In Wyoming 
The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) says West Nile Virus cases are on the rise. As of September 4, 11 have been reported statewide. There’s been one death and six people were severely sick. (Kudelska, 9/8)

AP: Invasive, Disease-Carrying Tick Found In Maine
Researchers have confirmed the presence of an invasive species of tick in Maine for the first time, marking the farthest northeast in the United States the pest has been discovered. The University of Maine and state conservation officials said Monday they confirmed the presence of the Asian longhorned tick in the state in July. The tick is native to east Asia, where it is capable of spreading tickborne infections such as spotted fever. (Whittle, 9/8)

CBS News: Chagas Disease, Or Deadly "Kissing Bug" Disease, Has Spread In The U.S. Here's What To Know
Chagas disease, a potentially deadly condition caused by an infected triatomine insect or "kissing bug," may be becoming endemic in the United States, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. In the report, which was originally published last month for the September issue of the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, the authors said the disease is already endemic to 21 countries in the Americas, and growing evidence of the parasite is challenging the non-endemic label in the U.S. (Moniuszko, 9/8)

The New York Times: Gunman In Manhattan Shooting Claimed To Have CTE. How Do Doctors Search For It? 
In July, a gunman in Midtown Manhattan left a note that referred to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., a brain disease that can be diagnosed only after death. “Study my brain please,” the note said. The New York City medical examiner’s office is examining the shooter’s brain, a process that can take weeks, or months. A visit to the Neuropathology Brain Bank at Mount Sinai in New York City reveals the many steps required to prepare brain tissue for analysis and diagnosis. (Corum, 9/4)

PUBLIC HEALTH

MedPage Today: Large Jump In Poison Center Calls Tied To Self-Harm In Preteens
Exposures to medications, dietary supplements, or psychoactive substances increased among children from 2000 to 2023, particularly exposures associated with suspected self-harm or suicidal intent, according to data from U.S. poison centers. Among children ages 6 to 12 years, the overall rate of exposure increased non-linearly by 53.8% over this time period, while the exposure rate associated with suspected self-harm or suicidal intent increased by 311%, reported Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues. (Firth, 9/8)

MedPage Today: Alzheimer's Disease Exacerbated By Air Pollution, Autopsy Study Suggests
Worse outdoor air quality was tied to worse Alzheimer's disease pathology in older adults, an autopsy study showed. Among 602 autopsy cases, higher exposure to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) before death raised the odds of more severe Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.28), said Edward Lee, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and co-authors. (George, 9/8)

CNN: Diabetes Symptoms: Nearly Half Of People Living With The Disease Are Undiagnosed 
When was the last time you had your blood sugar checked? It might be worth looking into, a new study says. Forty-four percent of people age 15 and older living with diabetes are undiagnosed, so they don’t know they have it, according to data analysis published Monday in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. (Park, 9/8)

AP: Study Finds That In A Warming World, Americans Eat More Sugar
Global warming in the United States is amping up the country’s sweet tooth, a new study found. When the temperature rises, Americans — especially those with less money and education — drink lots more sugary beverages and a bit more frozen desserts. It amounts to more than 100 million pounds of added sugar (358 million kilograms) consumed in a year, compared to 15 years earlier, according to a team of researchers in the U.S. and United Kingdom writing in Monday’s Nature Climate Change. (Borenstein, 9/8)

GLOBAL WATCH

Newsweek: Russia Cancer Vaccine: What To Know About Enteromix Claims
Russia has reported that its cancer vaccine "Enteromix" has completed preclinical trials—demonstrating both safety and high efficacy. Veronika Skvortsova, head of the Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA), made the announcement on Saturday at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, according to a report by Russian news agency TASS. (Millington, 9/8)