First Edition: Wednesday, March 5, 2025

KFF Health News: CDC Firings Undermine Public Health Work Far Beyond Washington
The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources. The programs are designed to cultivate a new generation of public health leaders, many of whom have gone on to work at the CDC. That was far from its only purpose. Local and state officials said the departures threaten to undermine the nation’s constant effort to identify and control infectious disease outbreaks. (Pradhan, 3/5)

KFF Health News: Years Later, Centene Settlements With States Still Unfinished
More than three years ago, health insurance giant Centene Corp. settled allegations that it overcharged Medicaid programs in Ohio and Mississippi related to prescription drug billing. Now at least 20 states have settled with Centene over its pharmacy benefit manager operation that coordinated the medications for Medicaid patients. Arizona was among the most recent to join the ranks, settling for an undisclosed payout, Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney general, told KFF Health News in December. (Miller, 3/5)

KFF Health News: UnitedHealth Wins Ruling Over $2B In Alleged Medicare Advantage Overpayments
The Justice Department’s years-long court battle to force UnitedHealth Group to return billions of dollars in alleged Medicare Advantage overpayments hit a major setback Monday when a special master ruled the government had failed to prove its case. In finding for UnitedHealth, Special Master Suzanne Segal found that the DOJ had not presented evidence to support its claim that the giant health insurer exaggerated how sick patients were to illegally pocket more than $2 billion in overpayments. (Schulte, 3/4)

KFF Health News: Trump Vowed To End Surprise Medical Bills. The Office Working On That Just Got Slashed
As President Donald Trump wrapped up his first term in 2020, he signed legislation to protect Americans from surprise medical bills. “This must end,” Trump said. “We’re going to hold insurance companies and hospitals totally accountable.” But the president’s wide-ranging push to slash government spending, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is weakening the federal office charged with implementing the No Surprises Act. (Levey, 3/4)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
Katheryn Houghton reads this week’s news: Republicans in Congress are considering cuts to Medicaid, and the dietary supplement industry is hoping to cash in on RFK Jr.’s new role as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: Some states are turning to laundromats to reach people who could qualify for programs including Medicaid and food assistance, and cross-border telehealth is helping Spanish-speaking farmworkers get care. (3/4)

Politico: Trump Admin Moves To Drop Fight Over Emergency Abortions, Reversing Biden Admin Stance
The Trump administration is dropping a yearslong legal battle with Idaho over the right to an abortion in a medical emergency one day ahead of a major hearing — reversing its stance in one of the highest-profile cases it inherited from the Biden administration. The Boise hospital network St. Luke’s said in a court filing Tuesday that the Justice Department informed the network that it is moving to dismiss the case. (Ollstein, 3/4)

The Guardian: Trump Launches Fresh Attacks On US Abortion Rights 
The Trump administration has filed paperwork asking the US supreme court to let it join the upcoming oral arguments in a case over South Carolina’s attempt to eradicate Medicaid funding for medical services offered by Planned Parenthood. Although it is already illegal to use federal dollars to pay for abortions, South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, ordered the state department of health to block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid because, McMaster said, “payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life”. (Sherman, 3/4)

ABC4 News: Protests Erupt As SC Bill Seeks To Ban All Abortions, No Exceptions For Rape And Incest
Protesters gathered outside the South Carolina State House on Tuesday during a House hearing on a bill that would prohibit all abortions in the state, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. The House is considering a bill that would enact a total abortion ban, making it illegal for doctors to perform abortions except under a very limited set of circumstances. (Carter, 3/4)

The Guardian: Key Court Hearing As Alabama Threatens Prosecutions Over Abortion Support 
A bellwether test of states’ ability to prosecute people over abortions that take place across state lines will hold a critical hearing on Wednesday, when Alabama abortion rights supporters will square off against the state attorney general over his threats to prosecute groups that help women travel for the procedure. (Sherman, 3/5)

WyoFile: House Votes To Override Gordon’s Abortion Bill Veto
The Wyoming House of Representatives voted Tuesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of a bill to require patients to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period before taking abortion medication. (Mullen, 3/5)

AP: Judge Orders Longer-Term Nationwide Block On Trump Orders On Transgender Youth Health Care
A federal judge extended a nationwide block Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19. The judge’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president’s orders. (3/5)

NPR: In A Sudden Reversal, CDC Rescinds Some Staff Firings
Just a few weeks after summarily firing hundreds of employees, the Trump administration is now notifying some staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they're back on the job. On Tuesday, an unknown number of CDC staff began receiving emails stating that their letters of termination were being rescinded, according to emails reviewed by NPR and interviews with more than half a dozen sources at the agency who were not authorized to speak publicly. (Huang and Stone, 3/4)

Politico: GSA Prepares To Sell Over 400 Federal Properties
The General Services Administration announced Tuesday that it will begin selling off some of the federal government’s most recognizable office buildings, including the Hubert H. Humphrey Building (home to the Department of Health and Human Services). (Cai and Nguyen, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Mexico, Canada Tariffs Hit Cardinal Health, Intuitive Surgical
Makers of a wide variety of medical products will feel the pain of tariffs imposed Tuesday by the Trump administration, and they are likely to pass those higher costs along to hospitals and other providers. The tariffs include 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. That follows two other tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, a 10% one last month and one in September that varied in scope. (Dubinsky, 3/4)

FiercePharma: Pfizer Could Shift Overseas Production To US If Trump's Pharma Tariffs Take Hold, CEO Says
As biopharma players continue to parse out what the second Trump administration means for the industry, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., outlined one potential response by his company if pharmaceutical tariffs come into play. Pfizer’s local manufacturing setup is already well positioned in the U.S., and the New York-based drugmaker could bring additional resources into the country if the situation demands, Bourla said Monday at TD Cowen’s 45th annual healthcare conference in Boston. (Kansteiner, 3/3)

Stat: To Fight U.S. Tariffs, Canada Should Suspend U.S. Drug Patents, Expert Says
Now that the Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, the Canadian government is levying tariffs in return. But other measures are also being examined and one notion the Canadian government should consider is suspending patent rights held by U.S. companies, including pharmaceutical companies, according to Richard Gold, a professor of law and medicine at McGill University who specializes in intellectual property issues. (Silverman, 3/4)

Axios: CDC Sends Disease Experts To Texas As Measles Cases Rise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday sent federal disease experts to assist in the response to the intensifying measles outbreak in Texas. The move indicates that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and the Trump administration are starting to prioritize the response after Kennedy downplayed the threat last week, describing such outbreaks as "not unusual." (Singh, 3/4)

ABC News: Over A Dozen New Measles Cases In Texas Outbreak In Less Than A Week: Officials
The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in Texas has grown to 159 -- an increase of 13 cases in the past five days, authorities said on Tuesday. The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website with the new numbers Tuesday afternoon and said the majority of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 74 of unknown status. At least 22 people have been hospitalized, two more than the last update on Friday, according to the DSHS. (Hutchinson, 3/4)

The New York Times: As Measles Spreads, Kennedy Embraces Remedies Like Cod Liver Oil
As a measles outbreak expands in West Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, on Tuesday cheered several unconventional treatments, including cod liver oil, but again did not urge Americans to get vaccinated. In a prerecorded interview that aired on Fox News, Mr. Kennedy said that the federal government was shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, and helping to arrange ambulance rides. (Rosenbluth, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Measles Outbreak In Texas Sparks Concern Over Vitamin A Use
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s focus on vitamin A use to combat a growing measles outbreak in Texas is raising concerns among public health experts, who fear he is sending the wrong message about preventing the highly contagious disease and distracting from the critical importance of vaccination. (Sun and Nirappil, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Waivers Linked To Housing, Nutrition Dropped By CMS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rescinded waivers for programs that fund housing, nutrition and other social services for high-risk Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollees. The agency rolled back guidance linked to health-related social needs programs under Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers. States use these programs to pay for wraparound services such as temporary housing and meals for children and adults who may become homeless, struggle with mental illness and transition from institutional care, among other risk factors. (Kacik, 3/4)

Politico: Democrats’ Medicaid Strategy Gets A Reboot After GOP Cancels Town Halls
Democrats are scrambling to rethink their strategy of using Republican town halls to oppose GOP-led plans to slash spending on Medicaid and other government services. Left-leaning organization Indivisible, which had been spearheading the efforts to disrupt constituent town halls, is calling on Democratic lawmakers to host their own town halls during the March recess or the group will do it for them, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. (Long and Schneider, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Tariffs, Medicaid Cuts Could Hurt Hospital Credit Ratings: Fitch
The Trump administration's cuts to federal agencies could negatively impact some healthcare companies' financial stability and spark more deal activity as businesses look for additional support. The future of Medicaid is top-of-mind, as proposed cuts loom large. Decreased reimbursements could have a materially negative impact on providers' credit ratings, especially organizations that have relied on supplemental payment programs, and create revenue challenges for payers as well, according to a Fitch Ratings report published last week. (Hudson, 3/4)

Axios: Why Medicaid Cuts Could Leave Millions Without Dental Care
If Congress cuts Medicaid funding to states to help extend tax cuts, dental care for adults could be one of the first casualties as legislators and governors re-sort priorities and try to make do with less. (Goldman, 3/5)

Becker's Hospital Review: The Hardest Hit States If ACA Premium Tax Credits Expire
Texas will see the biggest economic hit if ACA premium tax credits expire at the end of 2025, according to a March 3 brief from the Commonwealth Fund. The ACA provides low- and middle-income individuals with premium tax credits to purchase health coverage on the exchange. Originally authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, enhanced PTCs were later extended by the Inflation Reduction Act. Without another congressional extension, the PTCs will expire at the end of 2025. (Emerson, 3/4)

NPR: Consumers Can Buy Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound From Eli Lilly If They Pay Cash
Every month, roughly 100,000 people buy Zepbound directly from Eli Lilly through its website. "It's about the size of a small city," says David Ricks, Eli Lilly's CEO. That's about 10% of the 1 million people who use the blockbuster obesity drug every month, though the numbers can vary, he says. (Lupkin, 3/5)

Stat: FDA Scolds Drugmaker For Touting 'Misleading' Comparison With Generics
The Food and Drug Administration scolded a company for a promotional display that falsely claimed its brand-name medicine was more effective than generic versions, which is apparently the first time the agency office responsible for monitoring advertising has cited such an issue. (Silverman, 3/4)

FiercePharma: Glenmark Issues Another Recall, This Time For 1.5M Bottles Of ADHD Drug Due To Impurities
Glenmark Pharma, an India-based drug manufacturer that has been the focal point of a spate of recalls in recent years, has issued another. This time, the product pull covers about 1.48 million bottles of the generic attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug atomoxetine. (Keenan, 3/4)

Fierce Healthcare: SCOTUS Won't Weigh In On FQHC's Liability Over Patient Data
The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case on whether a Federally Qualified Health Center is immune from liability over a former patient’s stolen personally identifying information (PII). The class-action lawsuit stemmed from a patient who received care and provided that information to Sandhills Medical Foundation, an FQHC, in 2018. (Muoio, 3/5)

Modern Healthcare: CVS Sells Medicare Shared Savings Program Business To Wellvana
CVS Health has dealt its Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization business to Wellvana, the companies announced Tuesday. As part of the all-stock transaction, CVS Health took a minority stake in Wellvana, a privately held physician-enablement vendor. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal and did not immediately respond to interview requests. (Tepper, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Monogram Health, Memorial Hermann Health Partner On Joint Venture
Value-based care provider Monogram Health is teaming with Memorial Hermann Health Plan to provide in-home services to chronically ill patients covered under the insurer’s commercial and Medicare Advantage plans. Under the joint-venture agreement, Monogram Health will provide home-based care to patients in the Houston area with complex conditions, including kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and metabolic disorders, the two organizations said Tuesday in a news release. (Eastabrook, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: The Ensign Group Acquires 5 Nursing Homes
The Ensign Group acquired the real estate and operations of five skilled nursing facilities across four states, the company announced Monday. The San Juan Capistrano, California-based company expanded its footprint in Washington and entered Alaska and Oregon with three acquisitions: South Hill Rehabilitation and Care Center in Spokane, Washington, Mt. Angel Health and Rehabilitation in Mt. Angel, Oregon, and Polaris Extended Care and Polaris Transitional Care in Anchorage, Alaska, according to a news release. (Eastabrook, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: PACE Partners With Senior Living Communities To Improve Care
Operators of a program designed to keep older adults out of nursing homes are looking to attract enrollees by integrating with senior housing communities. Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and California are locating PACE centers within or adjacent to senior housing facilities. These locations make it easier for participants to access PACE services, help operators recruit new members and help older adults remain in senior housing and their communities longer. (Eastabrook, 3/4)

Newsweek: CEOs From Best U.S. Hospitals Share How Patient Care Comes First
Companies in every industry strive for excellence. There are certain perks when you're a notch above the rest: A prestigious name attracts talented employees, a trusted brand draws a loyal customer base. But greatness often comes at a price for consumers. As the adage goes, "You get what you pay for." While many of us forego the daily luxuries for our wallets' sake, there are a few areas where no one can afford to skimp. Health care is one of them. When you or a loved one are sick, you want the utmost confidence in the care that they're receiving. But what should you look for in a hospital, and what separates the good from the great? Newsweek connected with some of the nation's top health system leaders to learn what sets their organizations apart. It turns out that they all follow similar playbooks—starting with the patient experience. (Kayser, 3/5)

Modern Healthcare: Medical Office Construction A Priority For Health Systems: JLL
High demand for outpatient care is driving growth in the medical office building sector. Health systems are increasingly looking to buy or rent medical offices to provide more complex procedures outside of the hospital, according to a new report from real estate management firm JLL. The medical office space is poised to continue to grow as providers aim to lower costs, boost patient satisfaction and treat more patients, JLL researchers said. (Kacik, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: HIMSS 2025 Is Missing Key Attendees: Federal Agencies
Uncertainty about the federal government is adding to the challenges facing providers, payers and other third-party organizations striving for health data interoperability. Attendees at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference in Las Vegas on Monday had few answers on how President Donald Trump’s administration could affect the future of healthcare interoperability. (Turner, 3/4)

Modern Healthcare: Epic Takes Aim At Oracle With Newest Product At HIMSS 2025
Epic is continuing its push to develop products outside of the electronic health record. At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference on Tuesday, the company said it was creating tools to help health systems manage a variety of functions related to staffing, procurement and accounts payable. The company also introduced at the conference a patient-facing artificial intelligence tool that will embed in its EHR. (Turner, 3/4)

ProPublica: Georgia Won’t Reveal The Names Of Its Maternal Mortality Committee Members
Georgia recently relaunched its maternal mortality review committee after dismissing all 32 of its members last year. But state officials won’t say who the current members are. The dismissals were in response to ProPublica obtaining internal reports in which the committee detailed the “preventable” deaths of two women who were unable to obtain legal abortions or timely care after Georgia banned abortion. (Yurkanin, 3/4)

The Washington Post: Dysentery Cases Are On The Rise In Oregon. Here’s What To Know
Dysentery cases are on the rise in the Portland area. In January, health officials reported 40 cases of the highly contagious bacterial infection in Multnomah County, where Portland is located — up from 17 in January 2024, according to the Multnomah County Health Department. Health officials have linked the rise in dysentery cases to the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county. (Raji, 3/4)

The Guardian: How Texas’s Bankruptcy Courts Are Used To Shield A Prison Healthcare Provider
When late last year the largest provider of healthcare to inmates in jails and prisons in the US found itself facing an avalanche of medical malpractice lawsuits, its path forward was seemingly obvious. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas’s increasingly popular bankruptcy courts, Wellpath Holdings could restructure itself, in the process staying the 1,500 lawsuits it had been facing and limiting its exposure to more than $100m in potential liabilities. (Gray Desai, 3/4)

AP: Georgia House Passes School Safety Bill After Apalachee High School Shooting
Georgia House members voted 159-13 on Tuesday for a school safety bill that supporters say is aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September that killed two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School. But some lawmakers remain uneasy about its proposed creation of a statewide student database of disciplinary, mental health and law enforcement information to evaluate students who might commit violence. (Amy, 3/5)

CNN: Sperm Quality Linked To Living Longer, Study Finds
People who have higher levels of strong, agile sperm may live nearly three years longer than those with poor swimmers incapable of making it to their destination, according to new research. The large-scale study followed more than 78,000 men for 50 years. (LaMotte, 3/4)

CIDRAP: Survey Shows Most People Unaware Of Extent Of HPV Risk In Men
While most people know women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) can develop cervical cancer, far fewer are aware the virus poses significant cancer risks to men, as well, and that men are more likely than women to have HPV. And a second study spotlights the rising incidence of cervical cancer rates in rural US counties. (Soucheray, 3/4)

The New York Times: U.S. Embassies Halt Air Quality Monitoring Abroad
What’s the air quality in New Delhi, Jakarta or Buenos Aires? Until Tuesday, the United States Embassy in those cities could have told you. But the Trump administration has effectively shut down a global air quality monitoring program, ending more than a decade of public data-collection and reporting from 80 embassies and consulates worldwide. (Friedman and Plumer, 3/4)