First Edition: Wednesday, July 23, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Republicans Call Medicaid Rife With Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice But To Break The Rules
As congressional Republicans finalized Medicaid work requirements in President Donald Trump’s budget bill, one man who relies on that government-subsidized health coverage was trying to coax his old car to start after an eight-hour shift making sandwiches. James asked that only his middle name be used to tell his story so that he wouldn’t lose health coverage or be accused of Medicaid fraud. He found his food service gig a few weeks into an addiction treatment program. The man in his late 30s said his boss “hasn’t been disappointed.” (Houghton, 7/23)

KFF Health News: States Pass Privacy Laws To Protect Brain Data Collected By Devices
More states are passing laws to protect information generated by a person’s brain and nervous system as technology improves the ability to unlock the sensitive details of a person’s health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive functioning. Colorado, California, and Montana are among the states that have recently required safeguarding brain data collected by devices outside of medical settings. That includes headphones, earbuds, and other wearable consumer products that aim to improve sleep, focus, and aging by measuring electrical activity and sending the data to an app on users’ phones. (Ruder, 7/23)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is threatening nursing home staff, and the country’s largest health insurers say they’ll simplify the process they use to decide whether to pay for doctor-ordered care. Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Federal funding cuts have left some of the nation’s most popular beaches without lifeguards this summer, and new research shows vaccines are good at keeping older adults out of the hospital. (Cook, 7/22)

MEDICARE

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage House Hearing Provokes Criticism Of Program
Republicans may be falling out of love with Medicare Advantage, a program the party has long championed. Medicare Advantage needs an overhaul and the health insurance companies that administer benefits for more than half of Medicare enrollees need to be reined in if the privatized system is to be preserved, GOP lawmakers said at a House hearing Tuesday. (McAuliff, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare, Humana Rule Medicare Advantage Markets: Study
Medicare Advantage competition was meager in 97% of counties last year, where beneficiaries could choose among just a handful of dominant insurers. The health policy research institution KFF analyzed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data on the plans available across the U.S. and Puerto Rico in 2024. The findings indicate that Medicare enrollees have few options in most areas. (Broderick, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: Physician Fee Schedule Proposal Hits Specialist Billing Codes
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has set in motion a quiet transformation in how Medicare pays doctors. Tucked inside the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule for 2026 that the agency issued last Monday is a plan to move away from calculating rates using survey data from the Relative Value Scale Update Committee. (Early, 7/22)

FEDERAL REORGANIZATION AND FUNDING CUTS

The New York Times: Amid Fear Of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter Of Dissent 
More than 140 employees of the National Science Foundation have signed a letter denouncing what they described as efforts to undermine one of the country’s main science funding agencies. They accused the Trump administration of abruptly firing workers, withholding funds and decimating the agency’s budget. Out of fear of retaliation, all but one of the employees’ signatures are redacted. The letter, addressed on Monday to Representative Zoe Lofgren, the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, petitioned it to defend the mission of the N.S.F. and its employees. (Robles-Gil, 7/22)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Is Said To Draft A Plan To End Its Ability To Fight Climate Change
The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration known as the “endangerment finding,” which scientifically established that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane endanger human lives. (Friedman, 7/22)

Bloomberg: Trump To Pull US Out Of UNESCO Again Over 'Woke' Agenda
President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the US from the United Nations body that deals with education, science and culture for a second time, citing an ideological agenda that it says doesn’t serve US national interests. ... State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce highlighted what she called UNESCO’s “outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy.” (Martin, 7/22)

AP: US Labor Department Picks More Than 60 Rules For Trump's Deregulation Mandate
The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances. If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and in mines, and limit the government’s ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training. (Bussewitz, 7/22)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

AP: Hegseth Tightens Rules On Getting Medical Waivers To Join The US Military
People with congestive heart failure, undergoing treatment for schizophrenia or who have a history of paraphilic disorders will no longer be eligible for a medical waiver to serve in the military, according to new rules issued by the Pentagon on Tuesday. The guidance signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth updates a list of conditions that disqualify potential recruits from serving in the armed forces. The decision comes after the Pentagon announced earlier this year that it would ban transgender troops and review other medical conditions that are currently eligible for a waiver. (Klepper, 7/22)

AP: NJ Law Banning Immigration Detention Contracts Overturned By US Appeals Court
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday struck down a New Jersey law that bans operators from contracting with the federal government to run immigration detention centers in the state. The 2-1 ruling means the private prison firm CoreCivic Corp. can continue to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center. The ruling marked a victory for President Donald Trump’s administration as it continues a crackdown on immigration around the country that has included efforts to expand a network of detention centers in a bid to ramp up deportations of certain immigrants. (Dale, 7/22)

CNN: Anti-Vaccine Group That Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Founded Files Lawsuit Against Him Over Vaccine Safety Task Force 
A nonprofit anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing him, in his capacity as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for failing to establish a task force to promote the development of safer childhood vaccines. (Tirrell and Owermohle, 7/22)

The Hill: MAHA Action Launches Ad Campaign For Donald Trump's Health Agenda
MAHA Action, a nonprofit that backs the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, has launched a six-figure ad campaign backing President Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts. “President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have shown incredible courage in taking on powerful interests and putting the health of American families first,” MAHA Action president Tony Lyons said in a statement. (Crisp, 7/22)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Turns To Fringe Medical Journal To Find New Hires
George Tidmarsh is a millionaire co-founder of a biotech firm, serial entrepreneur, neonatologist and adjunct professor at Stanford University. But his part in creating a fringe medical journal is the role that stands out as he takes a top post at the US Food and Drug Administration. Tidmarsh, who will lead the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, is at least the fifth person appointed to a federal health agency under the helm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this year connected to the Journal of the Academy of Public Health. (Nix, 7/22)

ORGAN TRANSPLANTS

Stat: House Oversight Panel Scrutinizes Organ Transplant System 
Members of a congressional oversight committee said Tuesday that they fear public trust in organ donation has been fractured after a federal report found that an organ procurement organization ignored signs of life in patients when authorizing attempted organ removals. (Cirruzzo, 7/22)

LGBTQ+ HEALTH CARE

The New York Times: U.S. Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions 
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly changed its eligibility rules on Monday to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports, and now will comply with President Trump’s executive order on the issue, according to a post on the organization’s website. The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of “USOPC Athlete Safety Policy” on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word “transgender” or the title of Mr. Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” referring to it instead as “Executive Order 14201.” (Macur, 7/22)

The New York Times: Under Trump, Hospitals Limit Transgender Care For Minors, Even In Blue States 
In Texas, Tennessee and other Republican-led states, legislators have passed scores of laws restricting the lives of transgender people. They have made it illegal for transgender minors to get certain medical treatments and have threatened to have their parents investigated. It made Jesse Thorn, the father of two transgender daughters, angry and sad. But he was never afraid. His family lives in California. “For months and months and months,” Mr. Thorn said, “when someone would say, ‘I’m so sorry this is happening to you,’ I would say, ‘Thank you for loving my family, but it’s not happening to me. My kids are fine. Let’s see what we can do to take care of other kids.’” All of that has changed. The clinic where Mr. Thorn’s family has received treatment for years is closing. (Cowan, 7/22)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The Hill: Toxic PFAS Found In Reusable Menstrual Products
Many reusable menstrual products that have gained increasing popularity among teens are packed with toxic “forever chemicals,” a new study has found. Among the biggest repeat offenders are washable pads and underwear, according to the study, published on Tuesday in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. And as more consumers opt for multi-use products over their disposable counterparts, the study authors expressed cause for concern. (Udasin, 7/22)

Los Angeles Times: Is Baby Getting Enough Breastmilk? New Device Helps Moms Learn
A group of university researchers at Northwestern — including a nursing mother — have come up with a way to ease one of the most anxiety-producing dilemmas of early breastfeeding: How much milk is the baby consuming? The new device — the result of a collaboration between pediatricians and engineers — is a small wireless set of electrodes worn on the mother’s breast that measures the amount of milk expressed during a feeding. (Gold, 7/22)

The 19th: The New Strategy To Restrict Abortion Nationwide — Without Saying 'Ban'
When President Donald Trump signed into law a massive spending bill that bans Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid funds for a year, the influential anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America called it “the greatest pro-life victory” since the end of Roe v. Wade. (Luthra, 7/22)

WBEZ and Open Campus: Student Group Banned By DePaul Continues To Run Birth Control Delivery Service
Maya Roman steps out of a building on DePaul University’s campus onto a public sidewalk. She pulls a brown paper bag out of a black tote and, without opening it, hands it to a classmate with bright red hair. “As long as the distribution happens on public property, it doesn’t violate DePaul’s guidelines,” Roman said on a spring day in the middle of finals week. (Philip, 7/22)

The New York Times: Sarah Morlok Cotton, Quadruplet Who Knew Fame And Suffering, Dies At 95 
Sarah Morlok Cotton, the last surviving member of a set of identical quadruplets who charmed Depression-era America with song-and-dance performances, and then took part in a landmark psychological study after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, died on July 7 in Belleville, Mich. She was 95. The Morlok Quads, as they came to be known, were a medical marvel and attracted crowds of people to Edward W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich., shortly after they were born there on May 19, 1930. (Rosenwal, 7/22)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: Humana Cuts Some Prior Authorization, Launches Gold Card Program
Humana plans to cut one-third of its prior authorization requirements for outpatient services, continuing a trend of insurers reducing requirements. The insurer said in a news release Tuesday the cuts involve authorization requirements for diagnostic services including colonoscopies, transthoracic echocardiograms as well as select computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans. (DeSilva, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: CHS To Sell Outpatient Lab Services To Labcorp For $195 Million
Community Health Systems signed a definitive agreement to sell its outpatient lab services to Labcorp for $195 million, the organizations announced Tuesday. The Franklin, Tennessee-based hospital chain plans to sell ambulatory lab services tied to CHS hospitals in 13 states. CHS and Labcorp said in a news release they expect the proposed all-cash transaction to close by the end of the year, pending customary regulatory approvals. (Kacik, 7/22)

PHARMA AND TECH

Stat: Roche Halts Some Shipments Of Duchenne Therapy Outside U.S.
Roche is following its partner Sarepta Therapeutics and stopping shipments of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevidys in some countries, amid rising safety concerns surrounding the treatment, the Swiss pharma said Tuesday night. (Joseph, 7/23)

Stat: Sarepta Therapeutics' Elevidys Faces 'Arduous' Path Back To Market
Sarepta Therapeutics, the maker of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy that is being temporarily shelved because of safety concerns, faces an “arduous and treacherous path” to try to get it back onto the market, a senior Food and Drug Administration official told STAT, suggesting the treatment’s license could be revoked. (Feuerstein and Mast, 7/22)

MedPage Today: 'Ozempic Teeth:' Another Effect Of GLP-1 Agonists?
Cases of "Ozempic mouth" and "Ozempic teeth" have recently been described in the news, with most of the problems -- inflammation affecting the gums, tooth decay, and even bad breath -- linked to a dry mouth. "All of the GLP-1 agonists that we use now cause changes in how everything is secreted in your GI tract," Ann Marie Defnet, MD, who specializes in obesity medicine and bariatric surgery at Northwell Health's North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York City, told MedPage Today. And this "definitely has an impact on saliva." (Henderson, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: Medline’s Craniotomy Kit Recall Labeled Class I By FDA
The Food and Drug Administration labeled Medline’s April recall of certain craniotomy kits as the most serious type. The kits in question are equipped with Integra LifeSciences’ 14 millimeter Codman disposable perforators, which have a defect that could cause them to come apart before, during or after a craniotomy procedure, according to a FDA notice issued Tuesday. The agency labeled the recall as Class I, meaning there is a reasonable chance that using the device will lead to serious health problems or death. (Dubinsky, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: AI Implementation Outranks EHR Fixes For Physician Execs
Artificial intelligence has unseated electronic health records systems and clinician burnout as the topic to tackle. AI is the the top strategic priority of chief medical informatics officers and other tech-focused physician C-suite leaders at provider organizations, according to a recent survey by executive search firm WittKiefer and industry group the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems. Implementing AI outranked improving electronic health records system and addressing clinical burnout, according to the survey. (Perna and Broderick, 7/22)

STATE WATCH

AP: Smoking Or Oxygen Machine May Have Caused Deadly Fire At Massachusetts Assisted-Living Home
A fire that killed 10 people at a Massachusetts assisted-living facility was unintentionally caused by either someone smoking or an electrical issue with an oxygen machine, investigators said Tuesday. The state’s deadliest blaze in more than four decades has highlighted the lack of regulations governing assisted-living facilities that often care for low-income or disabled residents. So far, investigators have remained mum on the possibility of criminal charges related to the fire at Gabriel House in Fall River, and declined to answer when asked during a Tuesday press conference. (Kruesi and Whittle, 7/22)

WUSF: Amid Ongoing Talks, Memorial Halts Florida Blue Appointments 
Florida Blue has notified about 31,000 clients they may lose in-network access to Memorial Healthcare System hospitals and doctors on Sept. 1 if the insurer and Broward County network fail to reach a new contract. As of Wednesday, Memorial is no longer scheduling appointments beyond Aug. 31 for Florida Blue customers unless an agreement is reached. Appointments before then are not affected. (Mayer, 7/23)

CBS News: Former Aramark Employee At UI Health At Large After Shooting 2 People In Chicago Home, UIC Officials Say
A manhunt continued Tuesday night for a foodservice worker at UI Health who is at large after authorities said he threatened someone at the hospital with a gun the day before, got arrested and released, and then allegedly shot two people in a Chicago home. University of Illinois Chicago police beefed up security and alerted everyone on campus Tuesday out of fears that the former contracted Aramark foodservice employee, Glenn Rhymes, could return. Campus police said they know he brought a weapon to work, and now he is accused of getting more guns and shooting two others at the West Side home of a coworker. (Tenenbaum, Terry and Franza, 7/22)

St. Louis Public Radio: Physician Group Lawsuits Affect Black, Poor ZIP Codes More 
Physician groups are disproportionately filing lawsuits against people who live in St. Louis ZIP codes with high percentages of poor people and Black residents, according to recently published research in the journal JAMA Network Open. The research found two physician groups – WashU Medicine Physicians and SLUCare Physicians – brought close to 1,000 lawsuits seeking to collect medical debt from patients between January 2020 and May 2023. (Fentem, 7/23)

Stat: Kentucky’s Rural Cancer Care, A National Model, Faces Medicaid Cuts 
The giant inflatable colon loomed over the rural health clinic, pink undulations exclaiming its presence to all who passed by. Caught by a breeze, the intestine tugged at a metal handrail where Tonya Pauley had tied it down. Those curious enough to walk inside found information about the value of screening for colon cancer, which is more prevalent in Kentucky than any other state and often treatable if detected early. (Alcorn, 7/23)

CIDRAP: Measles Traces Detected In Austin Wastewater As Other States Announce More Cases
In Texas, Austin Public Health yesterday announced that its wastewater surveillance in Travis County has detected measles, and it urged residents to make sure they are up to date with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination. The detection hints at an undetected case or cases. So far this year, only two measles cases have been confirmed in Travis County residents, both of which involved exposure during international travel. In a statement, officials said the samples that tested positive were collected during the first week of July. (Schnirring, 7/22)

Wyoming Public Radio: Third Case Of Measles In Wyoming Found, So Far No Connections 
A third case of measles has been confirmed in Wyoming. The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) said an unvaccinated adult from Carbon County was exposed out of the country. (Ouellet, 7/22)

CBS News: Nassau County, NY, Declares Rabies An Imminent Public Health Threat As Cases Rise. Here's What To Know
Nassau County is warning residents about the rise of rabies. The Department of Health declared an imminent public health threat Monday over the spread of rabies among wild animals. Health officials say 25 animals, including raccoons and feral cats, have been confirmed to have rabies since last July, with more being tested. They say it marks a significant resurgence of rabies following its eradication in the county in 2016. (Anderson and DeAngelis, 7/22)

CANCER

Newsweek: Early Warning Sign For One Of The Most Lethal Cancers Discovered
Doctors may soon have a new tool in the fight against one of the most aggressive and lethal forms of cancer—in the form of an 'early warning' signature of precancerous cells. This is the promise of a new study by researchers at the University of California San Diego, who have found a link between inflammation, cellular stress and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer. (Millington, 7/22)

Military.Com: Lawmaker Calls For Expanded Probe Of Cancer Concerns Among Nuclear Missile Troops
An amendment added to the House version of a must-pass national defense bill calls for more research and scrutiny into cancer concerns among troops who worked with America's nuclear missiles. A provision added by Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., in the House draft of the annual legislation seeks to review the occupational health and safety conditions of the facilities where troops oversee and work on the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The issue hit close to home for the retired Air Force brigadier general and commander turned lawmaker. (Novelly, 7/22)

PUBLIC HEALTH

Becker's Hospital Review: Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Tied To Surgery Risks, Higher Costs
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome, or the sudden cessation of heavy drinking among people with alcohol use disorder, is associated with higher risks of surgical complications, according to surgeons at the Ohio State University in Columbus. The condition is also linked to longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs. When adjusting for the cost per surgical patient, the excess costs exceed $165 million, according to new research. (Twenter, 7/22)

Stat: Apple-Elevance Study Shows Digital Tools Can Help Manage Asthma 
A digital intervention using the Apple Watch helped people on Medicaid better control their asthma, illustrating the potential of digital tools to help people most impacted by the condition. (Aguilar, 7/23)

CIDRAP: Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Strains Are Spreading In Poultry, Study Suggests
A genomic analysis of Salmonella isolates from retail poultry meat highlights the ongoing spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains in the food supply chain, researchers reported today in Scientific Reports. (Dall, 7/22)

CBS News: Rich's Ice Cream Bars Recalled In 23 States Due To Potential Listeria Contamination
Rich's Ice Cream is recalling 110,292 cases of frozen dessert products across 23 states due to potential listeria contamination, which can lead to serious illness. The recall, which was first initiated in June, was recently updated to a Class II threat, meaning the product "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. (Moniuszko, 7/22)