Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Anguished Parents. Doctors In Tears. Utah’s Long Measles Outbreak Takes A Toll.
SALT LAKE CITY — Ben Dowse hadn’t expected to treat measles when he became a doctor, but there he was, examining a newborn exposed to the virus in the womb. The infected mother had given birth just hours earlier. The hospital had alerted Dowse to the case before delivery, and he’d braced himself for the worst. Dowse wore a full-body protective suit with a plastic face mask. As a pediatrician in southern Utah, he couldn’t risk getting even a mild infection, because many of his patients are babies too young for measles vaccines or children whose parents choose not to protect them with immunizations. “I went in looking like a scientist in E.T.,” he said. (Maxmen, 6/10)
KFF Health News: Looming Medicaid Cuts Supercharge California’s Latest Labor-Industry Fight
The looming impact of federal Medicaid cuts has reignited a long-simmering, costly battle between California’s medical industry and one of its largest health worker unions. SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, with approximately 120,000 members, has put forward two ballot initiatives to cap the pay of medical executives and require community clinics to spend the vast bulk of their revenues on patient care. (Wolfson, 6/10)
EBOLA OUTBREAK
CIDRAP: Police Shoot, Kill Third Protester At US-Backed Ebola Facility In Kenya
Police shot and killed a man protesting the building of a US-funded Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya on Tuesday. The legality of the Nanyuki facility, which if completed, will have 50 beds, is still up in the air, but locals have protested the construction, saying it’s an unnecessary burden for Kenya to take on for the United States. This is the third death among Kenyan protesters who are angry over the unit, which would be built near the Laikipia Air Base. Two protesters were also killed last week in skirmishes with local police. (Soucheray, 6/9)
Reuters: No Boots, Masks Running Out: Why Congo’s Ebola Medics Are Exposed
Nearly a month into one of the world’s largest ever Ebola outbreaks, medics in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to secure basic equipment to stay safe and prevent further spread of the disease, according to more than a dozen doctors, humanitarian workers and public health officials. While major donors are surging funding, the size of the outbreak, reductions in pre-positioned stocks due to aid cuts, and logistical problems have caused shortages and driven up costs for personal protective equipment. (Farge, Rigby, Le Poidevin and Ross, 6/9)
Reuters: Congo Says Number Of Confirmed Ebola Cases Rises To Nearly 600
The Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday said confirmed Ebola cases had climbed to nearly 600, raising awareness within the local population about the importance of safety measures. (6/9)
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL
Stat: NIAID Appoints New Acting Director After Weeks-Long Questions Over Leadership
The National Institutes of Health has appointed researcher John Powers III to lead its infectious disease institute on an acting basis, after weeks of being in leadership limbo following reports that the previous director, Jeffery Taubenberger, had stepped down. (Oza and Branswell, 6/9)
Stat: NIH Bethesda Declaration: Dissenters See Little Progress On Big Issues
Last June, hundreds of staffers at the National Institutes of Health broke rank in an unprecedented move and published an open letter of dissent to agency Director Jay Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya eventually met with many of the signers of the so-called Bethesda Declaration, who hoped it would spur a course correction at an agency they saw as going down a problematic path. But in a report published Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of the letter, 71 staffers write that they feel NIH leadership “largely ignored the concerns raised in our declaration.” (Oza, 6/9)
MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Fierce Healthcare: House Appropriations Committee Takes Aim At CMS' WISeR Pilot
A key legislative panel voted Tuesday to bar the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from spending funds on a controversial prior authorization pilot. In an amendment added to the broader appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services after a unanimous vote, the House Appropriations Committee determined that "none of the funds made available in this Act or any other Act" should be used to implement the Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) model, or another model that would add prior auth to traditional Medicare. (Minemyer, 6/9)
AP: Trump Administration Warns Over 500 Hospitals To Provide More Price Information Or Face Fines
The Trump administration has warned more than 500 hospitals that they are failing to provide the public with basic pricing information — arguing that the lack of disclosure is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be. The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data. (Boak, 6/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Trump Administration Blocked From Transgender Minors' Records
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from obtaining the California hospital records of transgender minors who have undergone treatment. U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts of San Jose did not state his reasoning or the scope of his decision in the brief order he issued Monday night. But attorney Shannon Minter of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights said Tuesday the order applies to all hospitals in the state that have provided transgender care. (Egelko, 6/9)
AP: Report Finds Major ICE Detention Camp Wasted Millions, Put Detainees In Danger
Mismanagement at a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas created unsafe conditions that contributed to detainee deaths and suffering even as millions of wasted tax dollars enriched contractors, according to a federal report released Tuesday. The Government Accountability Office report documents serious problems at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso where three detainees have died in little more than six months. Evidence in one of those deaths, of a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who died in January after being held down by guards, was “missing or destroyed,” the report found. (Biesecker and Foley, 6/9)
PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS
POLITICO: Trump’s Drug Pricing War Comes For Germany
The Trump administration is launching a full-scale charm offensive across Europe to persuade governments to follow Britain’s lead to pay more for medicines. U.S. embassies across the continent are being mobilized to deliver a message to European capitals: American patients are paying too much for medicines — around three times more than Germany for new drugs — and Europe better chip in. If not, the bloc risks losing out on pharmaceutical investment and access to new drugs, two industry figures with knowledge of negotiations told POLITICO. (Hug and Von Der Burchard, 6/9)
Stat: As The U.S. Looks On, European Countries Feel Growing Pressure On Drug Prices
In Europe, two divergent paths are emerging as countries grapple with what to do about drug prices, affecting pharma companies and patients across the continent — and testing the influence of the U.S. (Joseph, 6/10)
AGING
Roll Call: Trustees: Social Security, Medicare Outlook Slightly Worse
The financial health of Social Security and Medicare has worsened over the past year, with the programs’ trust funds expected to run dry three months sooner than anticipated, according to reports issued Tuesday by the programs’ trustees. (Krawzak, 6/9)
MedPage Today: Dementia May Be Worse For People Taking Popular Supplement
Glucosamine -- a popular supplement used for joint pain -- was associated with faster progression to Alzheimer's disease and worse survival among Alzheimer's patients, a retrospective study of electronic health records suggested. Glucosamine use was linked with a 25% higher likelihood of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia (P<0.001) over 5 years, reported Ramon Sun, PhD, of the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute in Gainesville, and co-authors. (George, 6/9)
PHARMACEUTICALS
The New York Times: F.D.A. Clears Sunscreen Ingredient Long Used In Europe And Asia
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a new ingredient for sunscreens on Tuesday, paving the way for American companies to begin using a compound that has long been a part of popular sunscreens in Europe and Asia. The ingredient, bemotrizinol, works by blocking ultraviolet radiation. It filters out two kinds of ultraviolet rays: ultraviolet A, which contributes to wrinkles and skin aging, and ultraviolet B, which causes sunburns. (Blum, 6/9)
Stat: Analysis: Shortage Of Many Medicines In The U.S. Remains A 'Systemic' Problem
The number of prescription drug shortages in the U.S. fell by 23% last year, marking the second consecutive year of declines and the lowest level since 2017, according to a new analysis that otherwise found troubling signs about medicines that are in short supply. (Silverman, 6/9)
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
Stat: Diabetes Group's Expulsion Of Protesting Doctors Sparks Uproar
It didn’t have to be this way. The condemnations keep coming four days after security officers escorted five diabetes experts out of the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans for handing out copies of an editorial criticizing federal cuts to biomedical research. Expelling the doctors and scientists has shocked people in the field, and the ADA’s communications explaining it have only made matters worse, leaders in diabetes research and practice told STAT. (Cooney, 6/9)
Healthcare Dive: VA Deploys Oracle EHR To 4 Medical Centers In Ohio, Kentucky
The rollout marks the second wave of deployments in 2026 after the VA largely paused the project for years to fix technical issues and errors. (Olsen, 6/9)
Wyoming Public Radio: Campbell County Health Evaluates How To Fill Gaps After Announcement Of Closure Of A Major Gillette Clinic
Hoskinson Health and Wellness Clinic announced it will close on July 31. Starting in August, Campbell County Health (CCH) will be the only large healthcare provider in the area. CCH CEO Matt Shahan said they are evaluating whether and how the provider can absorb the primary and specialty care needs of Hoskinson patients. (Kudelska, 6/9)
MPR News: University Of Minnesota, Fairview And M Physicians Reach Long Term Funding Deal
The University of Minnesota, Fairview Health Services and M Physicians have finalized a 10-year deal to fund the U’s medical school and support physician training and research, following a tumultuous negotiation process. This agreement formalizes the mediated resolution reached by the three parties in January and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. (Zurek, 6/9)
NBC News: After Years Of Failed Treatments, This Psych Program Finally Worked. Now Her Family Owes $1 Million.
A specialized psychiatric treatment program helped this 24-year-old with her complex OCD. Now, her family owes the facility more than $1 million. (Bendix, Kane and Snow, 6/9)
STATE WATCH
Healthcare Dive: Illinois Awards New Medicaid Contracts
The state said it intends to divvy out new contracts, which represent tens of billions of dollars in revenue for each awardee, to six insurers. Winners are mostly incumbents, except for Humana. (6/9)
Chicago Tribune: 92,000 Illinois Consumers Lost Or Dropped Obamacare Insurance
More than 92,000 Illinois consumers lost or dropped their Affordable Care Act health insurance in recent months — an unusually large number — following the expiration of generous tax credits that had helped to curb the plans’ costs. (Schencker, 6/9)
Maryland Matters: Report Shows Suicides Up In Md. While Dropping Nationally
A new report says states are finally seeing reductions in fatal drug overdoses, alcohol-induced deaths and suicides after two decades of increases across the nation, leaving some hopeful of a potential “turning point” in those types of deaths. While the 2026 edition of “Pain in the Nation: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths” released this week said deaths by suicide fell 3% nationwide from 2023 to 2024, Maryland actually saw a 4% increase, one of more than a dozen states to see a rise that year. (Brown, 6/10)
CIDRAP: Study Finds Resistant Bacteria In Maryland Homes With Sewage Backup
The research, conducted by scientists from the University of Maryland (UMD), found that Enterococcus bacteria were present in nearly half (46%) of 86 Maryland homes that had sewage backups from clogged, broken, or overwhelmed pipes from October 2023 to June 2025. Analysis of sewage water samples found that multidrug-resistant (MDR) enterococci were present in 12% of the homes with backups. (Dall, 6/9)
The Guardian: US Federal Judge Blocks Alabama From Executing Man By Nitrogen Gas
A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing a man with nitrogen gas after declaring the method violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Alabama became the first state in the nation to use the execution method in January 2024, but has faced repeated legal challenges to its use. Emily C Marks, a US district judge, permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas. Lee was scheduled to be executed Thursday at an Alabama prison. (Nowell, 6/9)
The New York Times: 18-Year-Old Dies at Grand Canyon National Park Hiking in Extreme Heat
An 18-year-old man on a daylong hike at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona died after experiencing “heat-related symptoms” as temperatures spiked beyond 100 degrees in some parts of the canyon, the National Park Service said on Saturday. The authorities received reports on Wednesday afternoon of a man in need of help on a popular hike, the Bright Angel Trail, the service said in a news release. (Desai, 6/8)
