Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: ‘MAHA Report’ Calls For Fighting Chronic Disease, But Trump And Kennedy Have Yanked Funding
The Trump administration has declared that it will aggressively combat chronic disease in America. Yet in its feverish purge of federal health programs, it has proposed eliminating the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and its annual funding of $1.4 billion. (Hilzenrath, 7/2)
KFF Health News: Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs For Many Americans
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts federal spending on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces by about $1 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, threatening the physical and financial health of tens of millions of Americans. The bill, which the Senate passed Tuesday, would reverse many of the health coverage gains of the Biden and Obama administrations, whose policies made it easier for millions of people to access health care and reduced the U.S. uninsured rate to record lows. (Galewitz, Appleby, Rayasam and Wolfson, 7/2)
KFF Health News: As Mosquito Season Peaks, Officials Brace For New Normal Of Dengue Cases
As summer ushers in peak mosquito season, health and vector control officials are bracing for the possibility of another year of historic rates of dengue. And with climate change, the lack of an effective vaccine, and federal research cuts, they worry the disease will become endemic to a larger swath of North America. About 3,700 new dengue infections were reported last year in the contiguous United States, up from about 2,050 in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Reese, 7/2)
KFF Health News: To Cut Medicaid, The GOP’s Following A Path Often Used To Expand Health Care
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill would make some of the most sweeping changes in health policy in years, largely affecting Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans — with reverberations felt throughout the health care system. With only a few exceptions, the budget reconciliation process — which allows the political party in control to pass a bill with only 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the usual 60 — is how nearly every major piece of health legislation has passed Congress since the 1980s. (Rovner, 7/2)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' - KFF Health News
Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: Gatherings called “memory cafés” can help both people with dementia and their caregivers reduce depression and isolation, and the looming end of some Affordable Care Act subsidies will make ACA plans much more expensive. ... Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Cannabis use could be riskier for older adults, and research shows covid vaccines in pregnancy can protect pregnant women as well as newborns. (7/1)
Fierce Healthcare: Senate Bill Cuts Medicaid Funding For Planned Parenthood
The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s "big beautiful bill," which narrowly passed Tuesday, includes a provision that would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for any healthcare services provided by clinics that also provide abortion services for one year. The Senate parliamentarian Monday ruled that the language banning federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year does not violate the chamber’s Byrd Rule, clearing the way for the provision to be included in the bill. (Landi, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: Tax Bill Passing Senate Draws Reactions From Healthcare Industry
The Senate brought the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 and its more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare programs one critical step closer to President Donald Trump’s desk Tuesday. Healthcare organizations have sharply criticized the legislation since Trump and the Republican majority in Congress began working on the measure in January. Following the Senate action, trade associations slammed the bill, saying it would devastate providers and patients. (Hudson, 7/1)
The Washington Post: What Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Means For Your Health Care
If you’re among the 78 million people on Medicaid or the 24 million with a health plan from the insurance marketplaces, changes to how you qualify for and enroll in coverage — and what medical providers are available to you — could be on the way. Republicans are looking to squeeze savings from these two major programs that provide many lower-income and disabled Americans with health coverage, as they hustle to pass a huge, tax-cut-extending legislative package President Donald Trump has demanded before July 4. (Winfield Cunningham and Abutaleb, 7/1)
The New York Times: Poorest Americans Would Be Hurt By Trump’s Big Bill
Millions of low-income Americans could experience staggering financial losses under the domestic policy package that Republicans advanced through the Senate on Tuesday, which reserves its greatest benefits for the rich while threatening to strip health insurance, food stamps and other aid from the poor. For many of these families, the loss of critical federal support is likely to negate any improvements they might have seen as a result of slightly lower taxes, experts said. (Romm, 7/1)
The Wall Street Journal: What Medicaid Work Requirements Mean For Enrollees’ Coverage
President Trump’s tax-and-spending megabill seeks to implement a policy long championed by Republicans: work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. Policy analysts expect millions of people to lose coverage either because they won’t bother to comply with the new rules or because they aren’t able to keep up with the paperwork and other bureaucratic hurdles states will erect for proving eligibility. (Walker and Mosbergen, 7/1)
FEDERAL REORGANIZATION AND FUNDING CUTS
The New York Times: Federal Judge Halts RFK Jr.’s Mass Firing Efforts At H.H.S. For Now
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a dramatic reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services, finding that the mass firings and organizational changes were probably unlawful. In an opinion accompanying the order, Judge Melissa R. DuBose of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to wipe out entire programs and reorient the agency’s priorities and work far exceeded his authority. (Jewett and Montague, 7/1)
The Hill: 16 States Sue Trump Over School Mental Health Cuts
Sixteen Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday challenging the Department of Education’s cuts to mental health funding for schools. In April, the Education Department announced the $1 billion cut to mental health funding, citing concerns with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives embedded in the contracts. The states allege the contracts were unlawfully terminated under the Administrative Procedure Act and that the cancellation goes against congressional mandates. The lawsuit says the cuts would cause “immediate and devastating harm” to schools. (Cochran, 7/1)
MedPage Today: HHS Confirms Contracts With Springer Nature Have Been Terminated
The Trump administration has terminated contracts with publishing giant Springer Nature, according to a report by Axios and confirmed to MedPage Today by an HHS spokesperson. German-owned Springer Nature has long received payments for subscriptions totaling millions of dollars from the NIH and other federal agencies, Axios reported. However, in a statement provided to MedPage Today in an email, a spokesperson for HHS said: "All contracts with Springer Nature are terminated or no longer active. Precious taxpayer dollars should not be used on unused subscriptions to junk science." (Henderson, 7/1)
CNN: These Women Dedicated Almost 50 Years To Science. Their Efforts May Soon Be Trashed
For decades, researchers have been collecting samples from hundreds of thousands of women and tracking their health. The work has deepened our basic understanding of human health, but now the entire project is in danger. (LaMotte, 7/1)
AP: 20 States Sue After The Trump Administration Releases Private Medicaid Data To Deportation Officials
The Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged on Tuesday, saying he and 19 other states’ attorneys general have sued over the move. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security, The Associated Press first reported last month. (Seitz and Kindy, 7/1)
The New York Times: Social Security Backs Off Listing Living Migrants As Dead
The Trump administration has backed away from a maneuver in which it sought to classify thousands of living immigrants as dead in a critical Social Security database, part of a strategy to pressure them to self-deport. In April, the Social Security Administration placed roughly 6,300 migrants whose legal status had been revoked on its “death master file,” a vital data set that gets distributed to banks, lenders and other financial institutions. (Berzon, Siegel Bernard and Nehamas, 7/1)
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
AP: Democrat Mayors Sue Over Trump Effort To Restrict Obamacare Enrollment
New Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act’s health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country. The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance, commonly called “Obamacare” or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment. (Seitz, 7/1)
HEALTH INDUSTRY AND PHARMACEUTICALS
CNN: Insurer And Cancer Center Reach Agreement In Contract Dispute That Left Thousands Of Patients In Limbo
Tuesday morning, the nation’s largest insurance company, UnitedHealthcare and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center announced they had reached a multi-year agreement that will allow some 19,000 UnitedHealthcare and Oxford health plan customers to remain in-network for their cancer care. (Goodman, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: Ascension Sells 4 Hospitals To Beacon Health System
Ascension Health has sold four Michigan hospitals to Beacon Health System. The transaction closed Tuesday and includes four hospitals — Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Borgess Allegan in Allegan, Borgess-Lee in Dowagiac and Borgess-Pipp in Plainwell — plus 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory surgery center, according to a Tuesday news release from Beacon. Beacon is rebranding the Ascension Southwest Michigan hospitals to Beacon Kalamazoo, Beacon Allegan, Beacon Dowagiac and Beacon Plainwell. (Hudson, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: Sharp HealthCare Layoffs To Hit 315 Employees
Sharp HealthCare will lay off 315 employees and reduce executive pay as the nonprofit health system grapples with rising costs and reimbursement pressure. The layoffs largely affect nonclinical workers, including senior leadership, and amount to 1.5% of its workforce, the San Diego, California-based system said in a statement Monday. Sharp President and CEO Chris Howard plans to reduce his compensation by 25%, and other senior executives will take a 15% pay cut. (Kacik, 7/1)
Modern Healthcare: Health Systems Are Restructuring Leadership To Save On Costs
Health systems are revamping leadership teams and organizational structures to operate more efficiently, but some may fall for a short-sighted cash grab if restructuring isn’t handled carefully. Reimbursement pressures and potential funding cuts are leading many systems to rethink their governance models and trim their ranks. At the same time, growing industry consolidation and an aging workforce are leading to executive reshuffling. (Kacik and Hudson, 7/1)
Stat: Woebot Health Shuts Down Pioneering Therapy Chatbot
Woebot Health this week shut down its core product, a pioneering therapy chatbot. Its demise was hastened by the new wave of conversational artificial intelligence that Woebot foreshadowed. (Aguilar, 7/2)
Modern Healthcare: How Mass General Brigham Is Testing Virtual Reality For Training
Hospitals are experimenting with virtual reality headsets to better train staff on infection-control procedures by keeping portable equipment clean. About one in 31 patients in acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term acute care hospitals contract those infections every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and other federal agencies such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are working to develop tools, recommendations and programs for infection-prevention strategies. Health systems are too. (Dubinsky, 7/1)
AP: Anne Wojcicki's Nonprofit Gets Court Approval To Buy 23andMe For $305 Million
Anne Wojcicki’s bid to buy 23andMe, the genetic testing company she cofounded nearly 20 years ago, has received the court greenlight. That means Wojcicki’s nonprofit TTAM Research Institute will purchase “substantially all” of San Francisco-based 23andMe’s assets for $305 million. The transaction — which arrives more than three months after 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — is set to officially close in the coming weeks. (Grantham-Philips, 7/2)
CNN: Major Insurance Changes Are Coming To GLP-1 Drugs For Weight Loss. Here’s How That Could Affect Patients
Last week, Tara Eacobacci had an appointment with her doctor that was devoted exclusively to the topic of health insurance. A major change to her prescription benefits meant the medication she was using to manage her weight – a treatment that had taken years of trial and error to get right – would no longer be covered by insurance. (McPhillips, 7/1)
STATE WATCH
Health News Florida: DeSantis Signs Budget That Includes More Than $1.16 Billion For Health Care Initiatives
With the clock ticking on Tuesday’s start of the fiscal year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the state's 2026-26 budget totaling $117 billion on Monday. The finalized spending plan includes more than $1.16 billion for health care initiatives that support mental health and addiction services, cancer research, maternal and child health, elder care, and veterans’ services. (Mayer, 7/1)
The New York Times: Penn Agrees To Limit Participation Of Transgender Athletes
The University of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday that it had struck a deal with the federal government that will limit how transgender people may participate in its athletic programs, bowing to the Trump administration’s new interpretation of the law that bans sex discrimination in education. The government also said the Ivy League school had pledged to “adopt biology-based definitions for the words ‘male’ and ‘female’” that comply with the Trump administration’s reading of Title IX and a pair of executive orders that the president issued this year. (Blinder, 7/1)
North Carolina Health News: NC To Get $150M From New Opioid Settlement With Purdue Pharma
North Carolina is poised to receive $150 million from a new multi-state legal settlement with pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, for their alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic. (Knopf, 7/2)
AP: Philadelphia Workers Strike, Affecting Trash Pickup, Pools And 911
Striking city workers waved signs at traffic near Philadelphia City Hall and formed picket lines outside libraries, city offices and other workplaces as nearly 10,000 blue-collar workers walked off the job Tuesday. Seeking better pay and benefits, District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees announced the strike on its Facebook page early Tuesday. ... Police and firefighters are not on strike, but the DC33 membership includes 911 dispatchers, trash collectors, water department workers and many others. (Dale, 7/1)
Chicago Tribune: Alleged Co-Conspirator In Hospital Scandal Pleads Not Guilty
The owner of two allegedly fraudulent COVID-19 testing labs linked to a disgraced former executive of Loretto Hospital pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he was part of a sprawling fraud scheme that siphoned more than $290 million in federal funds for testing that never occurred. (Kubzansky, 7/1)
MEASLES
Wyoming Public Radio: Measles Case Confirmed In Casper, The First In Wyoming In 15 Years
A measles case has been confirmed in Natrona County, the first in the state since 2010. According to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), an unvaccinated child contracted the illness from an unknown source. (Tan, 7/1)
CIDRAP: New Mexico, Texas Confirm More Measles Cases
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDH) today reported eight more measles cases, all from Luna County, where officials last week announced an outbreak at a detection facility in Deming. The new cases push the state’s total, some of which are linked to the large West Texas outbreak, to 94 cases. Last week, health officials announced that five detainees at the facility had tested positive for measles. The facility houses 400 inmates and employs 100 staff. (Schnirring, 7/1)
LIFESTYLE AND HEALTH
CNN: Microplastics Found In Human Semen And Follicular Fluid
Scientists have detected microplastics — the tiny and pervasive fragments now found in our seas, drinking water, food and, increasingly, living tissue — in human semen and follicular fluid, according to new research. (Rogers, 7/1)
CIDRAP: Livestock Manure Contains Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Posing Health Threat, Global Study Finds
Livestock manure around the globe is packed with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that could threaten human health, according to a new study in Science Advances. The study was published by Chinese and US researchers, who sampled 4,017 manure specimens from pigs, chickens, and cattle in 26 countries over 14 years. Overall, the searchers found a substantial reservoir of known (2,291 subtypes) and latent ARGs (3,166 subtypes). The detections conferred potential resistance to 30 antibiotic classes. (Soucheray, 7/1)
Fox News: Study Links Frequent Daytime Napping To Higher Mortality In Older Adults
A new study linking daytime napping to increased mortality rates in older adults may have some rethinking that midday snooze. The study, presented last month at SLEEP 2025, the 39th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, Washington, found that frequent, longer and irregular daytime naps — especially in the early afternoon — were linked to a higher risk of death over an eight-year period. (Quill, 7/1)
Newsweek: 'Inflammatory' Diet During Pregnancy Linked To Child Diabetes Risk
Pregnant women who consume a diet high in inflammation-promoting foods may be increasing their child's risk of developing type 1 diabetes, a study found. The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, suggest that an expectant mother's diet could have long-term implications for her child's immune health. (Gray, 7/1)
Newsweek: Eating Vegetables Might Permanently Damage Your Teeth
Packed with essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and fiber, vegetables are at the heart of a healthy diet, with doctors recommending consuming multiple portions a day. However, while good for the body, they may not necessarily be good for the teeth. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València, in Spain, which found that plant-based diets can have a permanent, damaging effect on your tooth enamel. (Azzurra Volpe, 7/1)
