Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Wednesday, April 9, 2025
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Rural Hospitals And Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care
Leroy Walker arrived at the county hospital short of breath. Walker, 65 and with chronic high blood pressure, was brought in by one of rural Greene County’s two working ambulances. Nurses checked his heart activity with a portable electrocardiogram machine, took X-rays, and tucked him into Room 122 with an IV pump pushing magnesium into his arm. “I feel better,” Walker said. Then: Beep. Beep. Beep. (Tribble, Hacker and Jackman, 4/9)
KFF Health News: Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge
More than a dozen vaccination clinics were canceled in Pima County, Arizona. So was a media blitz to bring low-income children in Washoe County, Nevada, up to date on their shots. Planned clinics were also scuttled in Texas, Minnesota, and Washington, among other places. Immunization efforts across the country were upended after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly canceled $11.4 billion in covid-related funds for state and local health departments in late March. (Sable-Smith, Zionts and Fortiér, 4/9)
KFF Health News: This Bill Aims To Help Firefighters With Cancer. Getting It Passed Is Just The Beginning
As firefighters battled the catastrophic blazes in Los Angeles County in January, California’s U.S. senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, signed onto legislation with a simple aim: Provide federal assistance to first responders diagnosed with service-related cancer. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act is considered crucial by its supporters, with climate change fueling an increase in wildfire frequency and firefighting deemed carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. (Kreidler, 4/9)
KFF Health News: Federal Judge Blocks Mandate On Nursing Home Staffing
A federal judge in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule to boost staffing at nursing homes, even though many homes lack enough workers to maintain residents’ care. KFF Health News walked through the decision from the judge and what it could mean for nursing home staffing. (Lofton, 4/8)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Katheryn Houghton reads this week’s news: The Trump administration may stop using a “Housing First” approach to ending homelessness, and Medicaid rules can force people with disabilities not to work in order to keep services they need. (4/8)
TARIFFS
Politico: Trump Says ‘Major’ Pharmaceutical Tariffs On The Way
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that pharmaceutical imports will soon be hit with “major” tariffs as part of his efforts to drive manufacturing back to the U.S. Drug imports evaded the first round of tariffs that Trump imposed on countries around the world, but the president said they will not be spared. (Svirnovskiy, 4/8)
FiercePharma: As Trump Threatens Tariffs On Drugs, Industry Warns EU Of $100B-Plus Pharma Exodus To US
Unless Europe delivers “rapid, radical policy change,” pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing is “increasingly likely to be directed towards the U.S.,” pharma CEOs in the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Tuesday. (Liu, 4/8)
Axios: Tariffs Are Just Part Of Pharma's Wall Street Tumble
Even before President Trump's announcement that he plans a "major tariff" on pharmaceuticals, the sector was getting hammered in the markets — and not just over concerns about higher costs. ... Concern has been growing that drug reviews and other key functions of the FDA may be slowed in light of cuts at the agency, which could be particularly devastating for small and midsized companies that have just one or a handful of products. The markets are also reacting to leadership shakeups, most notably the high-profile ouster of Peter Marks, former director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. (Reed, 4/9)
FUNDING AND RESEARCH CUTS
AP: Trump Administration Halts $1 Billion In Federal Funding For Cornell, $790 Million For Northwestern
More than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University have been frozen while the government investigates alleged civil rights violations at both schools, the White House says. ... The moves come as the Trump administration has increasingly begun using governmental grant funding as a spigot to try and influence campus policy — previously cutting off money to schools including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. That has left universities across the country struggling to navigate cuts to grants for research institutions. (4/9)
The New York Times: Supreme Court Pauses Ruling Requiring Rehiring of 16,000 Probationary Workers
The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a ruling from a federal judge in California that had ordered the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired federal workers who had been on probationary status. The court’s brief order said the nonprofit groups that had sued to challenge the dismissals had not suffered the sort of injury that gave them standing to sue. (Liptak, 4/8)
The New York Times: Amid Tension Around H.H.S. Cuts, Kennedy Meets With Tribal Leader
At the very moment that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was set to take the stage, the governor of Gila River Indian Community was still standing at the podium, articulating his uneasiness around recent Trump administration moves. “Let me repeat that: We have spent a good part of this year providing education on why tribes have a political status that is not D.E.I.,” Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said to a room of 1,200 people, who clapped and cheered. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 4/8)
CBS News: RFK Jr.'s Cuts To CDC Lead Poisoning Team Bring Efforts To Help Tribes, Health Departments To A Standstill
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's team of lead poisoning experts remained off the job Tuesday, a week after they were first laid off by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping cuts to the nation's public health agencies. Cuts to the CDC's branch responsible for investigating and preventing lead poisoning has brought multiple efforts to help local health authorities to a virtual standstill, current and laid-off agency officials say, including for lead poisoning responses that could have helped children in Milwaukee and on an American Indian reservation. (Tin, 4/8)
Bloomberg: UAW Joins Critics Slamming RFK Jr.’s Cuts To Worker Safety Unit NIOSH
The Trump administration’s move to gut the agency tasked with ensuring workplace safety is facing intensifying pushback, including from the nation’s largest auto union and a conservative lawmaker, in one of the more prominent public fights against some of the widespread cuts last week. On Tuesday, the United Auto Workers union said it “adamantly opposes” the cuts to almost 900 workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which does research and makes recommendations to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses, including chemical hazards. (Smith, 4/8)
NPR: Coal Miners’ Health Care Hit Hard In Job Cuts To CDC
Sam Petsonk grew up around southern West Virginia's mining communities, visiting patients with his father, one of the country's first doctors to specialize in Black Lung Disease. "When I was a child, I'd look up and I'd see coal miners — seemingly larger than life, doubled over coughing, scarcely able to walk, work or breathe," Petsonk says, "I've seen it my whole life. I remember it as a kid, and still see it today." (Noguchi, 4/9)
MedPage Today: Groups Demand RFK Jr. 'Immediately' Restore CDC's Axed Blood Division
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) and nearly 100 other organizations blasted the dismantling of CDC's Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics (DBDPHG) and called for its full restoration. Nearly all staffers at DBDPHG -- which works with states, patients, and providers to reduce the impact of serious blood disorders -- were placed on administrative leave amid the mass layoffs and restructuring at HHS last week. (Ingram, 4/8)
The New York Times: All Federal Experts On H.I.V. Prevention In Children Overseas Were Dismissed
The Trump administration has dismissed the few remaining health officials who oversaw care for some of the world’s most vulnerable people: more than 500,000 children and more than 600,000 pregnant women with H.I.V. in low-income countries. Expert teams that managed programs meant to prevent newborns from acquiring H.I.V. from their mothers and to provide treatment for infected children were eliminated last week in the chaotic reorganization of the Health and Human Services Department. (Mandavilli, 4/8)
Stat: Public Health Leaders, Besieged And Regretful, Talk Of Re-Establishing Trust
For public health agencies across the country, the Trump administration has meant taking blow after destabilizing blow. Covid-19 pandemic dollars were pulled. States like Minnesota and cities like Austin cut jobs that had been federally funded. Research grants were canceled in the name of excising diversity programs. (Cooney, 4/9)
The New York Times: Pronouns in Bio? You May Not Get a Response From the White House.
The Trump administration formally barred federal workers from listing their preferred pronouns in email signatures, calling it a symptom of a misguided “gender ideology.” Some White House officials are taking a similar approach with the journalists who cover them. On at least three recent occasions, senior Trump press aides have refused to engage with reporters’ questions because the journalists listed identifying pronouns in their email signatures. (Grynbaum, 4/8)
VACCINES
MedPage Today: New Advisor To FDA Chief Pushed Back On COVID Policies
Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, who was named a special assistant to new FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, previously opposed some health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and has questioned the use of some childhood vaccines. Recent research by Høeg, a sports medicine physician and epidemiologist, includes an examination of visitation restrictions for COVID patients, which showed that current data do not support a net benefit of such restrictions, and a study that found a lack of robust evidence of benefit for the use of face masks among children to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, as well as potential harms. (Henderson, 4/8)
CNN: Anti-Vaccine Sentiments May Derail Vaccines Already Awaiting FDA Approval, Experts Fear
Concern is growing among public health experts that anti-vaccine sentiment within federal and state governments may derail emerging and cutting-edge vaccines that are now awaiting regulatory approval in the United States – essentially leaving those vaccines in limbo. (Howard, 4/8)
ABC News: RFK Jr. Claims Curve Is Flattening In Texas Measles Outbreak. Does The Data Agree?
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed to imply in recent days that the measles outbreak in western Texas was slowing down. In a post on X on Sunday, Kennedy remarked on the second death linked to the outbreak, which occurred in an unvaccinated school-aged child. About 10 minutes later, Kennedy edited the post to add that the curve has been flattening since early March, when he started sending in reinforcements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- supplying clinics with vaccines and other medications. (Kekatos, 4/8)
ABC News: Cases In Texas Measles Outbreak Surpass 500
The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 24 new cases confirmed over the last five days, according to data published Tuesday. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). (Kekatos, 4/8)
CNN: As Measles Outbreak Nears 600 Cases, Fears Grow About Spread In Day Cares And Urban Areas
In Lubbock, measles exposure in a day care center has resulted in seven cases in children under the age of 5, Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health, said Tuesday. This is a particularly vulnerable community, as many of the children are not old enough to get their second dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Under normal circumstances, the CDC recommends one dose of MMR between 12 to 15 months of age and another between 4 and 6 years. In outbreak situations, these guidelines may be updated. (Mukherjee, 4/8)
CBS News: Several Measles Cases Now Confirmed In Colorado, But No Outbreak Declared
There are now three confirmed cases of measles in Colorado -- in Pueblo, Denver and Archuleta counties -- according to public health officials. All investigations are ongoing and are typically handled at the county level with support from the state. ... As for whether this constitutes an outbreak, Bob Belknap, the executive director of the public health institute at Denver Health, says it does not -- at least not yet. This is not currently an outbreak as we do not have evidence that the cases are linked. Per public health definition, an outbreak would be once Colorado has three or more related cases of measles, according to a spokesperson for the state. (Arenas, 4/8)
HEALTH INDUSTRY AND PHARMACEUTICALS
The Wall Street Journal: Health Insurer Stocks Soar On Medicare Rate Boost
Health insurer stocks soared on Tuesday because the Trump administration said it would substantially increase payment rates for Medicare insurers next year, generating more than $25 billion in additional revenue for the industry and doubling the boost proposed in January. The news led to a rally in the shares of big Medicare insurers such as UnitedHealth Group, Humana and CVS Health, parent of Aetna. Shares in UnitedHealth rose 8% in morning trading, while Humana was up more than 11% and CVS increased 9.5%. (Mathews, 4/8)
CBS News: $9 Million Needed By Wednesday To Save Crozer Health System In Delaware County, Pennsylvania
The deal to save the Crozer Health system in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, is on the brink of collapse. An attorney for Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns Taylor Hospital and Crozer-Chester Medical Center, told the judge on Tuesday an additional $9 million is needed by 4 p.m. Wednesday to keep the hospitals open, or Prospect attorneys said they'll pursue a closure motion with the court for an orderly closure. (Holden and Kenworthy, 4/8)
Modern Healthcare: Connecticut Approves Northwell Health, Nuvance Health Merger
Northwell Health and Nuvance Health have cleared the last regulatory hurdle in their proposed merger after receiving certificate of need approval from Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy, a spokesperson for the agency said Tuesday. The two systems will follow terms outlined by New York's and Connecticut's attorneys general in August, including expansion of women’s health services through labor and delivery at Nuvance's Sharon (Connecticut) Hospital, ... according to a news release from Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy. (DeSilva, 4/8)
Modern Healthcare: Ascension St. Thomas, PathPoint Form Joint Venture
Ascension Saint Thomas and PathPoint Health formed a joint venture to open two outpatient centers in Tennessee. The centers, which will open near Ascension Saint Thomas' Midtown hospital in Nashville and near Ascension's Rutherford hospital in Murfreesboro, will focus on treating metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity. They will offer medical care, exercise and nutritional planning, lifestyle counseling, diagnostic assessments and care coordination services with in-person and virtual visits, according to a Tuesday news release. (Hudson, 4/8)
Modern Healthcare: Transcarent Finalizes $621M Acquisition Of Accolade
Transcarent closed its acquisition of Accolade for approximately $621 million, the company said Tuesday. Transcarent, which connects self-insured employer customers to behavioral health, urgent care, cancer care, pharmacy and weight management services, said it purchased Accolade for $7.03 per share in cash. The deal was first announced in January. (Turner, 4/8)
Modern Healthcare: CardioVia’s ViaOne Device Gets FDA Clearance For Heart Treatments
CardioVia announced Tuesday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its ViaOne device that can access the heart’s surface to diagnose and treat cardiac conditions without using an exposed needle. ViaOne is designed for treating cardiac arrhythmias. Conventional techniques point a needle toward the heart, which comes with the risk of puncturing it, according to CardioVia. (Dubinsky, 4/8)
MedPage Today: USPSTF Still Recommends Counseling To Support Breastfeeding
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) still recommends primary care behavioral counseling for breastfeeding, mostly in line with its 2016 guidelines. In the updated recommendation statement published in JAMA, USPSTF wrote that "providing interventions or referrals, during pregnancy and after birth, to support breastfeeding" received a B grade, indicating moderate certainty these interventions will have moderate net benefit. (Robertson, 4/8)
Stat: As More Patients Get Automated Test Results, Researchers Seek Ways To Calm Their Nerves
Since 2021, when the information blocking rules kicked in, health systems and patients have been reckoning with the impact of electronic medical records that allow instant access to test results — good, bad, and in between — sometimes before a doctor has ever seen them. (Palmer, 4/8)
STATE WATCH
AP: Alabama Approves Regulations On Pharmacy Benefit Managers In Order To Help Small Pharmacies
Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday voted to put new regulations on pharmacy benefit managers in an effort to curb the closure of small pharmacies across the state. The Alabama House of Representatives voted 102-0 for the proposal that will require pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse independent pharmacists at least at the state Medicaid rate for prescription drugs. The bill now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. (4/9)
AP: Alabama Lawmakers Pass Legislation That Could Give Pregnant Women More Access To Health Care
Alabama legislators unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would expedite access to Medicaid for pregnant women, as more states across the South attempt to stem high maternal and infant mortality rates. The “presumptive eligibility” legislation states that Medicaid will pay for a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical care for up to 60 days while an application for the government-funded insurance program is being considered. The bill will now go to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for her signature. (Riddle, 4/8)
Bloomberg: Arizona Lawmakers Approve Bill To Bar Soda From SNAP Purchases
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined lawmakers in Arizona on Tuesday to celebrate the passage of two bills targeting causes he’s championed in his so-called Make America Healthy Again agenda. Arizona will join a growing list of states seeking to stop low-income residents from using government-issued food benefits to purchase sugary beverages, including those made by Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. Arizona legislators also passed a bill banning ultra-processed food from being purchased in public schools. (Pulley and Muller, 4/8)
Military.Com: Appeals Court Wary Of Supreme Court Reversal On Case Calling For Housing LA Homeless Veterans
A California appeals court judge expressed concern Tuesday that a ruling ordering the Department of Veterans Affairs to build housing for homeless veterans on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center would be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, during oral arguments, Judge Consuelo Callahan, the presiding judge on a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, said "it's hard to say the VA has done a good job" of meeting the needs of the estimated 3,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles. (Sisk, 4/8)
Military.Com: Veterans, Service Members Detail Health Struggles From Toxic Exposure At Domestic Bases
Leading Democrats in Congress are turning their attention to service members exposed to toxins at domestic military bases and other environmental disasters who were left out of a sweeping law that extended veterans benefits to millions who were exposed to toxins in combat zones. At a roundtable on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, representatives from more than a dozen military and veterans advocacy groups and researchers detailed health battles that service members have faced after drinking tainted water, working with radiation and hazardous chemicals, living in moldy housing, and breathing toxic fumes. (Kheel and Novelly, 4/8)
Fox News: Diabetes Effects Can Mimic Alzheimer's, Study Finds
Diabetes is known to cause many medical issues, from heart disease to vision problems — and now a new study suggests it could also impact memory and other cognitive functions. After observing brain activity and behavior in rodent models, researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) determined that type 2 diabetes can "rewire" the brain in ways similar to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. (Rudy, 4/8)
NBC News: Eating Some Food Additives Together May Increase Diabetes Risk, Study Suggests
Eating combinations of common food additives may be tied to a slightly increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. A growing body of evidence has linked certain food additives to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and changes to the gut microbiome. Many of these studies, however, were focused on single ingredients. (Sullivan, 4/8)
