Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Wednesday, July 1, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Newsom Vowed To Transform Kids’ Mental Health. Many California Schools Are Still Waiting
When Taletha Washburn and the staff at Plumas Charter School first heard that California wanted to help schools treat more kids struggling with mental health, it felt like a well-timed remedy for a rural community where families struggle to find care. Getting the program funding up and running, however, has proved difficult. Employees spent two years “spinning our wheels,” attending state-led webinars, filling out countless forms, and researching electronic health record systems to prepare, said Washburn, the school’s executive director. When they reached out for assistance, she said, they waited months for a state response. (Mai-Duc, 7/1)
KFF Health News: Affordable Healthcare Emerges As A Voter Priority In Purple Nevada
One issue will decide Steven Cohen’s vote for Nevada governor this fall: Which candidate can best protect him from getting kicked off Medicaid? Cohen is a 38-year-old Las Vegas resident with autism and has dual enrollment in Medicaid and Medicare. He said he’s very concerned that he could lose his Medicaid coverage once work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks take effect in January, under congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “When you’re going to some providers, notably mental health, once a month, or in the case of one provider, a couple of times a week, those copays quickly add up,” Cohen said. (Rodriguez, 7/1)
SUPREME COURT
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Upholds Principle That Almost All Born On U.S. Soil Are American
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the principle that almost everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, a major decision that rejects a push by President Donald Trump to fundamentally redefine who is American in ways not seen for more than 150 years. The justices struck down an executive order by the president that said citizenship would not be granted to children born to parents who are in the country illegally or those on temporary visas for work, travel, school or humanitarian reasons. (Jouvenal, 6/30)
The Washington Post: Trump Says Congress Should Act To End Birthright Citizenship
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Congress to end birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right and struck down his executive order seeking to redefine who is American. (Diamond and Alfaro, 6/30)
The New York Times: Supreme Court Allows States To Bar Transgender Athletes From Girls’ Sports
A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld two state laws barring the participation of transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams. The court’s 6-to-3 ruling deals with laws from West Virginia and Idaho but has implications for the 25 other states with similar restrictions, and for athletes who compete in school and collegiate sports nationwide. (Marimow, 6/30)
The New York Times: Trans Sports Ruling Puts Pressure On States Without Bans
The Supreme Court’s ruling that states can block trans women and girls from competing in female events allows 27 states to keep their bans in place. It does not require any action from the other 23 states, though they’re already feeling pressure from advocates. “Blue states with boys on girls’ podiums … you’re next,” Kristen Waggoner, the president of the Alliance Defending Freedom, posted on social media soon after the court ruled on Tuesday. Her organization defended the laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prompted the decision, and is eager to see similar laws enacted nationwide — whether by lawmakers, judges or voters. (Harmon, 6/30)
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
AP: Trump Administration Suspends Funding For New York's Medicaid Fraud Unit
The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would freeze federal funding for New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a state agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting fraud in the safety-net government healthcare program. In a letter sent to New York officials, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Thomas March Bell accused the state of not securing enough criminal indictments and convictions and said millions of dollars in funding would be suspended through at least Sept. 30. (Swenson and Mulvihill, 6/30)
Stat: NIH All Of Us Research Program Taps Health Records To Fill Gaps
A boundary-pushing federal health research program has secured thousands of electronic medical records as it aims to plug gaps in its data, through an innovative use of patient data-sharing networks primarily used to coordinate clinical care. (Palmer, 6/30)
HealthDay: From Caffeine To 'Healthy' Labeling, FDA Sets Year-End Agenda For US Food Supply
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the food supply issues it seeks to tackle by year’s end. The FDA’s Human Food Program aims to prevent foodborne illness, reduce diet-related chronic disease and ensure chemicals in food are safe. Its proposed agenda, announced June 29, emphasizes more information for consumers about what’s inside their food, reduced health risks and clarification on how certain foods are marketed. (Neff, 6/30)
ProPublica: ACLU: Violent Policing Continues In Cities Where Trump DOJ Abandoned Reform
Last year, when the Trump Justice Department dropped its oversight of troubled police departments in cities such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, it argued that the reform efforts were “factually unjustified.” But according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union, officers in those places were continuing to engage in the very behaviors that attracted federal scrutiny in the first place, including using excessive — and dangerous — force against people experiencing mental health crises. (Sanders, 6/30)
ON CAPITOL HILL
MedPage Today: House Passes Bill To Ease Quality Reporting Requirements For Medicare ACOs
Physician practices participating in a Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) may have an easier time submitting quality data to Medicare if a bill passed Monday by the House becomes law. H.R. 5347, the Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act, would allow Medicare ACOs to continue to collect quality data through three types of measures -- electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs), Merit-Based Incentive Payment System clinical quality measures, and Medicare clinical quality measures -- through performance year 2029. Previously, ACOs were supposed to begin using only eCQMs starting last year, according to a regulation issued by CMS in 2024. (Frieden, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Private Equity Bill Would Mandate Transparency
Concern over healthcare consolidation is growing on Capitol Hill, but the private equity firms that some lawmakers blame for intensifying industry concentration have mostly escaped legislative attention. That may be about to change. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee pledged last Thursday to work on bipartisan draft legislation that would require extensive reporting of private equity investors’ healthcare holdings. (McAuliff, 6/30)
AP: Tom Kean Jr. Says He Was Treated For Depression During Absence From Congress
New Jersey Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. disclosed Tuesday that he was being treated for depression during his unexplained four-month absence from the House, suggesting in a brief floor speech that he remained silent about his condition until now because he is a “private person by nature.” Depression, Kean said, “is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.” (Catalini and Cappelletti, 6/30)
Mother Jones: Tom Kean Jr. Sought Help For Depression. He Hasn’t Made It Easy For Others To Do The Same.
During his two decades in the New Jersey Senate, Kean consistently opposed paid sick leave for his constituents. He voted against New Jersey’s historic Earned Sick Leave Act, which mandates 5 paid sick leave days per year for New Jersey workers. He also voted against New Jersey’s No Surprise Medical Bills act and two of its paid family leave laws, in 2008 and 2018. For Yarrow Willman-Cole of the nonprofit New Jersey Citizen Action, who organized for the Earned Sick Leave Act in 2018, Kean’s four-month absence is bitterly ironic. “He’s been able to rely on things he directly voted against,” Willman-Cole said. (Hurwitz and Métraux, 6/30)
EBOLA OUTBREAK
Stat: Marburg Virus Cases Reported In Ugandan Ebola Outbreak Area
Uganda formally reported to the World Health Organization on Tuesday that it had detected a Marburg disease outbreak in the western part of the country, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based global health agency told STAT. The development could further complicate the effort to contain what is already the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record in Central Africa. Both diseases are viral hemorrhagic fevers. (Branswell, 6/30)
CIDRAP: Ebola Outbreak Will Cause Major Harm To Africa’s Economies, UN Warns
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda could have a long-lasting detrimental effects on Africa’s economies, with the DRC likely being the hardest hit, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said today in a report. The outbreak could lead to an additional 985,000 people living in poverty, with women experiencing the brunt of it. The report also anticipates that the impact on healthcare services could contribute to as many as 2,520 additional infant deaths unrelated to Ebola in the DRC. (Holohan, 6/30)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Becker's Hospital Review: 130-Bed Louisiana Hospital Could Lose Medicare Funding
Northern Louisiana Medical Center, a 130-bed hospital in Ruston, La., could lose its Medicare participation status Aug. 30 if it fails to address deficiencies reported by hospital surveyors. A June 1 survey cited 24 deficiencies, according to a CMS report published June 15 and accessed by CBS and ABC affiliate KNOE. The same day, the Louisiana Department of Health penned a letter to the hospital, saying it is out of compliance with three conditions of participation for Medicare: governing body, patient rights and nursing services. (Twenter, 6/30)
Modern Healthcare: American Hospital Association Taps Steve Walsh As Next CEO
The American Hospital Association selected Steve Walsh of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association as its next president and CEO. Starting this fall, Walsh will lead one of the biggest lobbying spenders in healthcare after serving as Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association president and CEO since 2017. The organization did not specify Walsh’s start date. He will succeed Rick Pollack, who announced his retirement plans last year. (Kacik, 6/30)
PHARMA AND TECH
The Hill: Nearly 1M Bottles Of Corlanor, Used To Treat Heart Failure, Recalled Over Foreign Substance Concerns
A nationwide recall has been issued for a medication used to reduce the risk of hospitalization in patients with heart failure. Nearly 1 million bottles of Corlanor, known generically as ivabradine, are being recalled because they may contain a foreign substance, according to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall alert. Corlanor is prescribed for adults with chronic heart failure to lower the risk of hospitalization due to worsening conditions. It is also used to treat children aged 6 months and older with stable heart failure symptoms caused by an enlarged heart, according to the Mayo Clinic. (Euzarraga, 6/30)
Stat: Anthropic, AI Powerhouse, Announces It Will Begin Developing Drugs Of Its Own
AI giant Anthropic has already become a dominant player in technology and a household name for everyday users of artificial intelligence. Can it make drugs too? (Trang, 6/30)
Stat: Anthropic Releases Claude Science, Sees Claude Code Level Impact
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence firm, on Tuesday announced the availability of Claude Science, an application that optimizes the company’s large language model for use in scientific laboratories and, especially, within the research operations of pharmaceutical companies. (Herper and Trang, 6/30)
STATE WATCH
AP: California Bans 'Sell By' Food Labels To Cut Food Waste
California is making food labels less confusing by banning "sell by" dates. The new law starting Wednesday requires manufacturers to use just two labels: "Best if Used By" for peak quality and "Use By" for safety. (Rodriguez, 7/1)
Fierce Healthcare: Rural Communities Falling Behind On Medical, Cancer Screenings
New survey data show rural adults are falling behind urban and suburban adults in medical screenings. Only 48% of rural Americans have had a routine medical visit or cancer screening in the past year, as opposed to 56% of urban and suburban adults, revealing a widening care gap, according to Prevent Cancer Foundation’s 2026 Early Detection Survey. (Meyers, 6/30)
Chicago Tribune: Mental Health Teams Will Get Police Terminals, Johnson Says
Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday he’s working to get Chicago Police Department terminals back to the city’s mental health crisis teams, which have struggled to find psychiatric emergencies they can help defuse since police took the equipment away. (Yin, 6/30)
AP: Hot Weather Grips Midwest, Great Lakes States
Nature’s oven was on high Tuesday for millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes states as intense heat and humidity baked the regions with no immediate relief before the misery shifts to the eastern U.S. The National Weather Service was blunt: Conditions were “dangerous” as the heat index, a combination of air temperature and humidity, exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) in some areas. It warned about a risk for heat-related illnesses, especially among people without air conditioning. (White, 6/30)
NPR: In Florida, Swim Lessons For Kids With Autism Aim To Curb Deaths
Mackenzie Wesley sports a big grin and bright blue Lilo & Stitch swim gear as she runs into her weekly swim lessons. It's fitting, because the 5-year-old has something in common with movie character Lilo: She adores water. "Whether it's the pool or beach, she enjoys it fully," says her dad Steven Wesley. (Mehta and Lee, 7/1)
NBC News: 6-Year-Old Girl Bitten By Rabid Bat While Playing Outside Her Wisconsin Home, Family Says
A 6-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten by a rabid bat outside her Wisconsin home — before her brother killed the animal with a homemade “Braveheart”-inspired sword, her family and health officials said Tuesday. Cecilia “Cece” Kale was playing on a tree in front of the family’s home in Tigerton, about 60 miles west of Green Bay, last week when the winged mammal attacked her left thigh. (Li and Deverson, 6/30)
VACCINES
CIDRAP: Vaccine Double-Header: Same-Day Flu, COVID Shots Shown To Be Safe
Getting the flu vaccine and COVID shot on the same day doesn't increase the risk of adverse reactions, according to a review of the medication records of 2.5 million adults who receive medical care across the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. (Boden, 6/30)
CIDRAP: New US Poll Identifies Large ‘Malleable Middle’ On Vaccine Misinformation
Vaccine myths are not new. They have circulated for decades, surviving retracted studies and countless public health campaigns. Now, a new poll suggests that, while relatively few Americans fully believe those falsehoods, many remain uncertain about them—a finding that suggests opportunities to counter vaccine misinformation. (Bergeson, 6/30)
CIDRAP: Artificial Intelligence Could Usher In A New Era Of Vaccine Development
If the next coronavirus pandemic were to begin today, the wait for a vaccine could be much shorter because of artificial intelligence (AI), said Lbachir BenMohamed, PhD, an immunologist at the University of California, Irvine, and vice president of research at California-based TechImmune. (Boden, 6/30)
PUBLIC HEALTH
The Hill: Dementia Will Cost Americans $818 Billion In 2026, Mostly Paid By Families
Dementia will cost the U.S. $818 billion this year, according to a new study. Research shows that bill will be mostly footed by unpaid caregivers, not the government. About 5.7 million Americans are living with dementia, including 5.1 million who are 65 or older — another 5.2 million people are caring for them without pay. The research, published last week by the Alzheimer’s Association, found individuals and families are shouldering more than three times the cost that falls on health systems and government programs. (Fischels, 6/30)
MedPage Today: Cheerleading Head Injuries Declined After 2012 Rule Change
Head injuries among cheerleaders declined after a 2012 rule change that banned the "double down" twisting dismount in stunts performed in high school and lower-level grades, a study showed. (Henderson, 7/1)
MedPage Today: Most Adults On Social Media Engaged With Health Content
The bulk of adults who use social media reported engaging with health information via these platforms, despite not always finding it trustworthy, according to survey data. Out of over 7,000 adults, 87.8% reported using social media, and among those, engagement with health-related content was common, with 84.8% sharing personal or general health information, and 70.2% participating in online communities, reported Rohan Khera, MD, MS, of Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues. (Henderson, 6/30)
The Hill: Soft Cheese Recall Expands Due To Listeria Contamination, FDA Says
More recalls have been announced tied to a deadly listeria outbreak that has been traced back to a Maryland-based cheese producer. La Ceiba Foods Latin Market Inc. is recalling products marketed under the La Colonia and Selectos Latinos brands. It includes Requesón Salvadoreño (Salvadoran Cottage Cheese) and Requesón Mexicano (Mexican Cottage Cheese). The products were distributed to markets and restaurants in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. (Sitz, 6/30)
GLOBAL WATCH
The New York Times: Aid Workers In Venezuela Fear Disease Outbreaks After Twin Quakes
As the window of opportunity shrank in the search for earthquake survivors trapped under rubble in Venezuela, relief efforts on Tuesday began to focus on the longer-term ripple effects of disaster that are often less reported. One of the most pressing consequences is the destruction of what little infrastructure for clean water existed in affected areas, raising the risk of contamination and the spread of illnesses like cholera and typhoid fever. (Irwin, 6/30)
AP: Hospitals Gear Up For Europe's Next Heat Wave Armed With Lessons From This One
Ice. Urgently and in large quantities. At a Paris-region hospital, emergency medics needed it to plunge patients into cold-water baths to speedily bring down their temperatures so they wouldn’t join the growing tally of dead from a record-smashing heat wave. But lacking an ice-making machine, where to get it? A fast-food restaurant helped out last week, saying the hospital could take its ice. Staff also bought ice from the supermarket. The Paris-Saclay Hospital has now ordered its own ice machine, eagerly awaited in the emergency department for a future attack of sizzling heat. (Leicester, 7/1)
Bloomberg: EU Adds Palm Oil For Medicines, Soy Seeds To Deforestation Carve-Out
The EU plans to exempt palm oil derivatives used in medicines and soybeans used for sowing from its landmark rules tackling global deforestation in its latest attempt to blunt the law’s impact on sensitive sectors. The carve-outs were among amendments added by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg, which could still change ahead of its adoption. (Ramsay and Krukowska, 6/30)
