First Edition: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Religious Anti-Abortion Center Finds Opportunity In Town Without OB-GYNs

An anti-abortion pregnancy center on the outskirts of this Idaho Panhandle town greets visitors with an abridged Bible verse painted on the wall of its waiting area: “Come to me & I will give you rest.” 7B Care Clinic has been operating in Sandpoint since 2001 and was previously called Life Choices Pregnancy Center and Sandpoint Crisis Pregnancy Center. It is an affiliate of a nationwide network of Christian evangelical centers called Care Net. 7B, one of about 1,200 pregnancy centers affiliated with Care Net, offers pregnancy tests, limited ultrasounds, parenting and life skills classes, community support groups, and other free resources, such as children’s clothing. (Orozco Rodriguez, 5/20)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Watch: The Tug-Of-War Over Taxpayer Dollars

Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent and host of the What the Health? podcast, recently spoke with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) about the ongoing fight between President Donald Trump and Congress over control of federal spending. Baldwin, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said lawmakers have been forced to take unprecedented action to ensure the Trump administration properly spends taxpayer dollars. (Rovner, 5/20)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'

Rachel Spears reads the week’s news: The Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding if hospitals don’t get in line with its new dietary rules. Plus, tips to get the most out of prescription drug coupons. (Cook, 5/19)

HEALTHCARE COSTS AND COVERAGE

The Washington Post: Millions May Lose Their ACA Coverage As Costs And Premiums Spike, Report Finds

The affordability crisis for many people who have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act came into sharper focus Tuesday, with a new analysis projecting that higher premiums will cause millions more people to lose insurance this year. Another sign of economic distress: Average deductibles for policyholders are now the highest ever, a result of people switching to the exchange’s cheapest “bronze plans” in response to premium hikes, according to the report released Tuesday by KFF, a health policy research organization. (Rowland, 5/19)

Stat: This Spine Surgery Usually Costs $1,400. Under No Surprises Act Arbitration? $34,000

When health insurers contract with providers, they agree on prices for all kinds of procedures. For a lumbar laminectomy, a common spine surgery for ailments like herniated discs or arthritis, the median price is $1,400. Out-of-network providers, those that don’t contract with health insurers, are getting 24 times that amount for the same surgery at the median — nearly $34,000 — through the No Surprises Act’s arbitration process. Some are even getting north of $100,000. (Bannow, 5/19)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

AP: Vice President Vance Targets Ohio In Medicaid Fraud Crackdown

Vice President JD Vance ‘s decision to extend his fight against Medicaid fraud beyond Democratic states to his red home state of Ohio has set off a scramble among the state’s Republicans — including his close ally Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s nominee for governor. A day before Ramaswamy won the state’s May 5 primary, Vance posted to X that he was directing the anti-fraud task force he leads for President Donald Trump to turn its sights on the Buckeye State. The decision came the same day an investigation by the conservative Daily Wire revealed apparent rampant abuses within Ohio’s Medicaid-funded home health program. (Carr Smyth and Swenson, 5/19)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Taps Stephanie Haridopolos As Temporary Surgeon General

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. enlisted health official Stephanie Haridopolos to temporarily take on some of the responsibilities of the US surgeon general, he said in an email to staff viewed by Bloomberg News. The Trump administration has not had a confirmed surgeon general because two nominees for the role were pulled before confirmation votes in the Senate. President Donald Trump nominated radiologist and former Fox News contributor Nicole Saphier to the role last month. (Nix and Cohrs Zhang, 5/19)

Stat: NIH Slow To Name Permanent Directors At 15 Of Its 27 Institutes

Across the Department of Health and Human Services, top leadership positions are being filled with acting directors. There is no permanent director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or at the Food and Drug Administration. President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general is yet to be confirmed, and HHS’ top spokesperson resigned last week. (Oza, 5/20)

Politico: Abortion Clinic Protesters Eligible For Payouts From New Trump ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund

The Justice Department’s new $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund — created by a legal settlement between President Donald Trump and his own administration — could funnel money to activists who broke into and blocked patients from entering abortion clinics. The text of the settlement and recent statements by DOJ leaders stress that any people who believe they are “victims of lawfare and weaponization” by any presidential administration past or present could be eligible for payouts. (Ollstein, 5/19)

Stat: Trump’s Cuts To Foreign Aid Are Undermining The Ebola Response, Insiders Say

For years, the United States has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into programs to prevent and control infectious diseases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But in the months leading up to a fast-moving Ebola outbreak, the Trump administration slashed aid to the country, leading to a cascade of consequences that probably hampered the detection of the outbreak and the response to it, six people involved in or familiar with the efforts in the region said. (Payne, 5/19)

ABC News: 'We’re Working On It': HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Ebola, Hantavirus Response

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Monday that his agency is working to address the recent hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, marking the first time he’s commented publicly on the Ebola outbreak since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed than an American had been infected with the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Yeah, we’re working on it,” Kennedy told ABC News when asked if he was worried about the outbreaks. The secretary’s comments come after the CDC said a “small number of Americans" are directly affected by the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC. (Jones II, 5/19)

The Washington Post: This U.S. Doctor Went To Congo To Heal Others. Then Ebola Hit His Hospital.

The American missionary doctor who contracted Ebola may have gotten infected while performing surgery on a patient for what he thought at the time was a gall bladder infection. (Weber and Sun, 5/19)

CIDRAP: WHO Rep: ‘Significant Uncertainty’ About How Far Ebola Has Spread

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Anne Ancia MD, MPH, told reporters today there were at least 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths in a growing Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda. “We have significant uncertainty about the number of infections and how far the virus has spread,” Ancia said. “I don't think that we have the ‘patient zero’ for now.” (Soucheray, 5/19)

Bloomberg: Ebola Vaccine May Need Months Of Work Before Human Trials

Doctors battling a rare strain of Ebola in central Africa will probably need to wait many months for a vaccine to be ready for human trials, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said, underscoring the challenges health authorities face in combating the outbreak. CEPI and its partners will start the vaccine development process immediately for multiple candidates, Chief Executive Officer Richard Hatchett said in an interview Tuesday. However, lab testing and evidence from animal trials will be needed before human studies can begin, he said. Some potential candidates have undergone initial animal testing. (Kresge, 5/19)

HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK

Fox News: Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passenger Forced Into Federal Quarantine In Nebraska

An American woman who may have been exposed to hantavirus on board the MV Hondius cruise ship is now being forced to quarantine at a facility in Omaha, Nebraska. Angela Perryman, 47, anticipated having to stay at the National Quarantine Unit for a short time after arriving last week, but on Monday she was served with a federal order to remain quarantined for at least two more weeks, she shared with The New York Times. (Rudy, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Cruise Environments Amplify Virus Transmissions, But Ships Are Still Full

One might think the recent outbreaks of hantavirus aboard the Hondius and norovirus on the Ambition would rattle Colleen McDaniel’s enthusiasm for the mode of travel. Not so. “I’m currently on a European river cruise, and no one is talking about illness,” the Colorado-based editor in chief of review site Cruise Critic wrote in an email. “People are enjoying their excursions along the Rhine River, chatting socially and having a great time.” (Craw and Sampson, 5/15)

ON CAPITOL HILL

MedPage Today: Who Will Replace Cassidy On The Senate's Health Committee?

Two physician senators -- Sen. Rand Paul, MD, (R-Ky.) and Sen. Roger Marshall, MD, (R-Kan.) -- are among the leading contenders to take over Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R-La.)'s role as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee after his primary loss. Paul is the next Republican in line for the position, though it's worth watching to see if he instead opts to stay on in his role as chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, as reported by Axios. ... But Politico has reported that Marshall, a big fan of Kennedy, is angling to become chair of the HELP committee. (Henderson, 5/19)

Stat: Senate Democrats Push For First New Medicare Benefit In Decades

A group of Senate Democrats is proposing that Medicare cover in-home care, which would create the first new benefit in the program since the Part D retail drug benefit more than 20 years ago. (Wilkerson, 5/20)

The Hill: Rep. Jack Bergman Pushes For Psychedelic Treatment Research Breakthroughs

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) said on Tuesday that “the time is now” to push for breakthroughs in psychedelic treatments given President Trump’s recent support for this field of research. At The Hill’s “Rethinking Psychedelic Treatment for America’s Mental Health Crisis” event sponsored by Definium Therapeutics, Bergman, co-founder and co-chair of Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, said he was “excited” that an executive order issued last month is encouraging more people to take the “risk” in researching psychedelic drugs. (Choi, 5/19)

The Hill: Noah Wyle Rallies For Health Workers On Capitol Hill

Noah Wyle is taking on the real-life role of advocate — “The Pitt” star is making a return trip to Capitol Hill to lead a rally pushing for bipartisan legislation focused on healthcare workers. The 54-year-old actor, who plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on the hit HBO Max medical drama, is poised to join lawmakers and more than 400 doctors, nurses, medical students and healthcare professionals at a gathering at Upper Senate Park on Thursday. (Kurtz, 5/19)

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

MPR News: Capitol Cash Injection Will Keep HCMC Open, Hennepin Co. Commissioner Says

Millions of dollars are on the way to HCMC, Minnesota's largest trauma center, now that the state legislative session has ended and lawmakers approved a healthcare bill. The safety-net hospital serves more low-income and uninsured patients than any other facility in Minnesota and is expected to lose more than $1 billion in the next decade. (Bright and Levin, 5/19)

The Washington Post: Health Worker Shortage Will Worsen With Student Loan Limit, 25 States Say In Suit

A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued the Education Department on Tuesday over new graduate student loan limits, arguing the restrictions will worsen the health care workforce shortage. (Douglas-Gabriel, 5/19)

The Boston Globe: MGB Home Care Clinicians Vote To Authorize Strike

Clinicians who provide home care for Mass General Brigham on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to give their union’s bargaining unit clearance to call a strike amid negotiations for their first contract, union officials said. The clinicians of MGB Home Care, an estimated 450 nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers, dieticians, and others, are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. They have engaged in 26 bargaining sessions over the last year in their fight for a contract to improve caseloads, working conditions, patient safety, and pay. (Alanez, 5/19)

Kansas City Star: KU Med Settles More Lawsuits Involving Heart Surgery Devices

The University of Kansas Hospital Authority has settled six lawsuits alleging that a contaminated device used during open-heart surgeries led to serious and sometimes fatal infections in patients. (Thomas, 5/19)

Chicago Tribune: UChicago Medicine Performs Rare Quadruple Organ Transplant

It took some time for Jasmine Jones to absorb the news that doctors wanted to replace four of her organs at once. She had been through so much already because of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that can damage the lungs and other organs. The 28-year-old South Side woman had become almost numb to the situation. (Schencker, 5/20)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Revamp Operating Rooms As Surgery Demand Grows

Health systems are revamping their operating rooms to protect a key revenue driver as demand for surgeries increases and reimbursement declines. Providers are deploying new technology, redesigning surgical suites, reorganizing scheduling models and strengthening oversight as part of broader operating room overhauls. Even modest efficiency gains can significantly increase health system margins as they treat more patients, direct the most complex procedures to hospitals and reduce costs. (Kacik, 5/19)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Stat: OpenEvidence Makes Its Pitch To Hospitals: 'We’re Not Crazy Monsters'

OpenEvidence rode the wave of early enthusiasm for large language models by building a free chatbot for doctors. Physicians, especially trainees, have flocked to the platform to help make patient care decisions; the company claims that about 650,000 U.S. physicians use it actively. (Palmer, 5/20)

Stat: How AI Helped Find A Treatment For A Newborn With An Ultra Rare Disease

In the first, tenuous weeks of her life, Jorie Kraus and her parents faced her possible death repeatedly. Muscles throughout her tiny body simply didn’t work properly. Her heart. Her legs. Her larynx. Even the involuntary action of breathing was labored, and constantly faltering. (Ross, 5/19)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals See Promise In AI Tools Detecting Sepsis Cases

Artificial intelligence has shown promise in flagging sepsis cases in hospitals, and new AI models are focusing on earlier detection of the condition responsible for one in three deaths of hospitalized patients. Detecting sepsis is a compelling use case for AI because it can present differently depending on the patient, creating diagnostic uncertainty. Sepsis occurs when the body has an adverse response to an infection. In the U.S., 1.7 million adults develop sepsis annually, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Famakinwa, 5/19)

Stat: 23andMe Offers To Connect Users’ DNA Data With Medical Records

23andMe plans to give its customers the capacity to import their medical records, allowing what it calls “a 360-degree view of their personal health.” The offering will include an AI-written 23andMe Health Summary, which the company said is in development and will be available to some beta testers. (Herper, 5/19)

STATE WATCH

Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming’s Plan For $205M In Rural Health Transformation Funds Approved

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Wyoming’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) for the first year. The state will get $205 million for the first year of the five-year program. (Kudelska, 5/19)

Cardinal News: Spanberger Signs Bill To Prohibit Assault Weapons; NRA And Virginia Organizations Sue

Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill to effectively ban the manufacture, sale and transfer of assault weapons in the commonwealth late Thursday with little fanfare, and lawsuits brought by the National Rifle Association and others immediately followed. (Beyer, 5/15)

ProPublica, The Texas Tribune: Texas AG Ken Paxton Filed At Least 30 Cases In Counties With Little Connection To Allegations

In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued pharmaceutical companies tied to Tylenol in state court, repeating claims made a month earlier by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the pain relief drug was linked to autism and ADHD in children. Paxton, a close ally of the Trump administration who had already announced a U.S. Senate bid, accused drugmakers of marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers without disclosing its dangers. “The reckoning has arrived,” the state’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue Brands and Kenvue Inc. (Despart and Harris, 5/20)

ABC News: Texas Reports State's 1st Human Case Of West Nile Virus This Year

Texas health officials on Tuesday confirmed the state's first human West Nile virus case this year, an indication that mosquito season is beginning in the United States. Public health officials have been warning that rising temperatures have allowed mosquitoes to thrive, increasing the risk of the diseases that they spread, including West Nile. Last year, the U.S. reported 2,076 cases of West Nile across 47 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado had the highest number of cases (285), followed by Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and California. (Benadjaoud, 5/19)

The New York Times: Doctors Asked Officers To Unshackle A Patient. They Refused For 26 Days.

A lawsuit challenges the police practice of shackling mentally ill arrestees in New York, sometimes for long periods, while they await arraignment in locked psychiatric wards. (Newman, 5/20)

The CT Mirror: CT Department Of Correction Plans To Address Healthcare Delays

The Connecticut Department of Correction on Tuesday announced a slate of reforms focused on improving the quality of healthcare for people who are incarcerated, including a new director of inmate medical services, a team to oversee the implementation of reforms and investments in technology advancements. (Golvala, 5/19)

Verite News: Vending Machine With Birth Control, Plan B Opens In N.O.

There’s a new vending machine in the New Orleans Healing Center (2372 Saint Claude Ave). Instead of sodas and snacks, it provides free access to birth control, emergency contraceptives, condoms, fentanyl test strips and Narcan. Seven reproductive health advocacy organizations unveiled the “Your Body, Your Choice” vending machine in April. The initiative, which was announced in 2025, aims to expand access to reproductive healthcare, and provide other life-saving supplies for people using substances. (Parker, 5/19)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

AP: San Diego Mosque Shooters Met Online, FBI Says

Two teenagers who shot and killed three people in an attack on a California mosque were radicalized online where they first met and shared white supremacist views, according to authorities and writings they authored. The pair “didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” Mark Remily, the lead FBI agent in San Diego, said Tuesday. The writings, obtained by The Associated Press, include hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women, and both the political left and right. Both express beliefs that white people are being eliminated, and one writes about mental health struggles and being rejected by women. (Watson, Biesecker and Seewer, 5/20)

Los Angeles Times: Suspects Charged San Diego Islamic Center Wearing Armor, Firing On Multiple People, Witnesses Say

The two gunmen who opened fire at a San Diego mosque and killed three people inside Monday were “fully armored” and rushed toward the entrance with handguns and rifles before a security guard shot at and struck one of them, a witness and member of the mosque said. But in the chaotic exchange of gunfire Monday morning, the gunman who was shot by the security guard appeared unfazed, and continued to charge toward the mosque. (Winton, Fry, Hernandez and Harter, 5/18)

ProPublica: Range USA Dogged By Accusations Of Straw Sales Of Guns

Launched as a new kind of gun retailer in 2012, the Range USA chain was built to look and feel different from the smaller, unwelcoming shops and gun ranges often associated with the industry. Its founder and president, Tom Willingham, wanted to make the experience of buying and shooting firearms more mainstream. So he modeled his company on big box chains, striving for bright, comfortable outlets that would be inviting to women, novices and others put off by some older gun stores. (Coleman, 5/20)

PUBLIC HEALTH

CNN: 2026 ‘Dirty Dozen’ Produce: Nearly 100% Tested Positive For Pesticides, Including ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Experts Say

Leafy greens such as spinach and kale and perennial kid favorites such as strawberries and grapes held the highest levels of potentially harmful pesticide residues based on government tests, according to the 2026 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. (LaMotte, 5/19)

The Baltimore Sun: Popular Low-Calorie Sweetener Carries Hidden Liver Danger

The common sugar-free sweetener sorbitol may damage your liver in the same way as the older sweetener fructose, researchers found, triggering processes linked to fatty liver disease in people without a history of drinking alcohol. (Hille, 5/19)

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