First Edition: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: RFK Jr. Misses Mark In Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund As Historic Infusion Of Cash
At a September Senate hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. boasted about a rural health initiative within  President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” “It’s going to be the biggest infusion of federal dollars into rural health care in American history,” Kennedy said, responding to criticism from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders said the law would harm patients and rural hospitals. (Zionts, 10/15)

KFF Health News: In Mississippi, Medicaid Coverage Of Weight Loss Drugs Fails To Catch On
April Hines has battled with her weight since she was a teenager. But in the past couple of years, she’s fallen from 600 pounds to 385, and her blood pressure and blood sugar levels are down, too. “I’m not as fatigued as I used to be, and I’ve been able to go back to church,” she said. Hines, 46, credits her weight loss to Trulicity, part of a new class of expensive weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s, and her Medicaid coverage for it. “It’s a blessing,” she said. (Galewitz, 10/15)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Some cosmetic surgeons who have been sued multiple times for injuring patients have been able to get jobs with other clinics, and millions of people could dodge new Medicaid work rules where unemployment rates are high.  (10/14)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The Guardian: US Senate Again Rejects Republican Plan To End Government Shutdown
Congress remained deadlocked on legislation to reopen the federal government, as the US Senate on Tuesday again rejected a Republican plan to end the government shutdown that began two weeks ago. The eighth Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would fund government operations through 21 November failed on a 49-45 tally – far short of the 60 needed for advancement in the chamber. (Gedeon and Gambino, 10/14)

Politico: Senate GOP Will Try To Advance Full-Year Spending Bills Amid Shutdown 
Senate GOP leaders are looking to pressure Democrats to make progress on full-year spending bills that would fund the Pentagon and a handful of other federal agencies amid the government shutdown. Majority Leader John Thune teed up the House-passed Defense appropriations bill Tuesday for an initial procedural vote, where it will need 60 votes to advance. That vote is set for Thursday. Separately, Republicans are attempting to expedite the process of instructing lawmakers to go to conference with House counterparts on “minibus” legislation that would fund the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, the FDA and the operations of Congress, among other offices and agencies. The plan was described by three people granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. (Hill and Carney, 10/14)

Politico: Four GOP Ideas For An Obamacare Subsidies Compromise
A menu of options is starting to emerge around what a compromise might look like for extending a suite of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which have become a focal point in the current government funding standoff. With the shutdown about to enter its third week, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune continue to insist that any negotiation over the future of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies will need to happen after the government reopens. (Guggenheim, 10/14)

The Hill: CDC Union Blasts Lack Of Transparency From HHS In Layoffs
Four days after the Trump administration initiated a wave of layoffs across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s still no official accounting of how many people were eliminated. Current and former staff, as well as members of the union representing CDC employees at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters, have been crowdsourcing data from impacted employees to estimate the exact number of people and positions that have been cut. (Weixel, 10/14)

Stat: CDC Team Behind Top Survey On Health And Nutrition Is Laid Off 
Protecting the nation’s public health demands data, whether it be new measles cases, a surge in ER visits, or shifting patterns in obesity. The most recent job cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threaten the mostly unseen foundation of that research enterprise. (Cooney, 10/14)

Axios: CDC Cuts Put Injury Tracking And Prevention In Limbo
The job of tracking the ravages of the opioid crisis may come down to a bare-bones team of about 150 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers whose overdose division survived a mass firing that took out much of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control last week. (Reed and Goldman, 10/15)

AP: Shutdown Delays Social Security Cost-Of-Living Announcement
The ongoing government shutdown is delaying the announcement of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for tens of millions of beneficiaries. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the 2024 Social Security COLA announcement will now be Oct. 24. It is timed to the September Consumer Price Index, which also has not yet been released. (Hussein, 10/15)

The Hill: Poll Finds More People Are Starting To Blame Democrats For Shutdown
Americans are more likely to blame Republicans than Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, but a new YouGov/The Economist poll shows that gap is beginning to narrow. Only 6 points separate the parties in this week’s poll, which shows 39 percent of surveyed Americans blame President Trump and the Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 33 percent blame the Democrats in Congress. (Fortinsky, 10/14)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Hill: Cheryl Hines, Sunny Hostin Spar Over RFK Jr.'s Qualifications To Lead HHS
Actor Cheryl Hines defended her husband, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin challenged Kennedy’s knowledge and qualifications Tuesday. Hines appeared as a guest to discuss her memoir, “Cheryl Hines Unscripted,” when Hostin referred to Kennedy as the “least qualified person” to lead HHS. She told Hines that Kennedy spreads misinformation, chaos and confusion. (Mancini, 10/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Blue States Are Setting Up A Shadow Public-Health Alliance To Counter RFK Jr.
The public-health resistance to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is growing. Governors across 15 states including New York, California and North Carolina are forming a new public-health alliance to detect and respond to disease threats, saying federal-funding cuts and policy changes by the Trump administration are putting their citizens at risk and forcing them to find alternatives. (McKay, 10/15)

MedPage Today: Want To Call CDC To Report A Possible Disease Outbreak? Fuhgeddaboutit
Thinking of calling CDC to report a potential disease outbreak? Don't bother; no one will answer, a former CDC employee said Tuesday. "If it's an infection that is being seen in the hospital in four different patients, and the infection control nurse calls [the CDC] ... You are working with the physicians, the nurses, the schools, the restaurants, to try and sort through, 'What is going on and what can we do?'" said Karen Remley, MD, MPH, former director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. (Frieden, 10/14)

AUTISM

The New York Times: A Furious Debate Over Autism’s Causes Leaves Parents Grasping For Answers
Clinicians who treat autistic children must help their young patients’ families navigate a cacophony of theories and advice. As autism diagnoses have risen over the last decades and debate over its causes has intensified, they have been forced to explain to desperate parents the few knowns and the many unknowns about what leads to autism’s development. Now that the federal government has entered the fray, often giving advice that doctors have to dispute, some families wonder whom they should believe. (Kolata and Ghorayshi, 10/14)

The Wall Street Journal: How Autism Cases Rose As Diagnosis Morphed Over Time
More children are getting diagnosed with autism than ever before. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to find out why. The Trump administration has already touted the active ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen, as a possible cause, even as doctors and researchers say the link is unproven. (Abbott, 10/14)

HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Strike Launches With 46K Staff Members Across 4 States 
An estimated 46,000 Kaiser Permanente staff members began a five-day strike Tuesday across multiple states over staffing, pay and benefit concerns. Employees on strike include registered nurses, lab professionals, pharmacists and other skilled healthcare workers from 23 different unions, a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente said. The unions are part of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which represents an estimated 62,000 Kaiser employees. (DeSilva, 10/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Stanford Children’s Hospital To Lay Off Dozens, Restructure
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford is reducing its workforce and reorganizing operations as it faces what executives describe as “ongoing economic uncertainty in 2025. ”In a state filing and accompanying statement, the Palo Alto hospital said the operational restructuring includes workflow improvements, departmental reorganizations and the standardization of full- and part-time positions.  (Vaziri, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: CRNA Pay Cuts Could Worsen Shortage, Lead To Hospital Reductions
Health systems are grappling with a shortage of anesthetists and reimbursement cuts, a combination of factors that could limit patient’s access to care and provider’s expansion plans. They hope to stave off service reductions by training more CRNAs and simplifying clinician operations, but those strategies may not overcome mounting financial pressures, hospital executives and staffing experts said. Rural areas could be particularly hard hit. (Kacik, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: Teladoc Aims To Cut Violence Against Clinicians With New Platform
Teladoc is rolling out an artificial intelligence-based platform that focuses on preventing violence against doctors and nurses, the company said Tuesday. The company will make the AI-enabled safety platform available early next year to hospital and health system customers that use its telehealth TV Pro Cart, a connected device that allows hospitals to provide in-hospital virtual care programs. (10/14)

Wyoming News Now: Nursing Students Gain Experience At Laramie County Detention Center 
The Laramie County Sheriff's Department has partnered with the University of Wyoming and Laramie County Community College to give nursing students hands on experience with patients at the Laramie County Detention Center. (Laracuente, 10/14)

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

North Carolina Health News: Child Mental Health Center In Cary Expands 
The Lucy Daniels Center, which has provided mental health services for young children in the Triangle for 35 years, is breaking ground Friday on an expansion that will nearly triple the number of children the nonprofit can serve. (Fernandez, 10/15)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Loses Another Medicare Advantage Ratings Lawsuit
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services doesn’t have to recalculate Humana’s 2025 Medicare Advantage star ratings, a federal court ruled Tuesday. Humana, second in Medicare Advantage market share, alleged the agency improperly evaluated its foreign language call center services and assessed a 3.5 out of five rating. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas rejected the argument. (Tepper, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: The Medicare Pay Rules For Outpatient, Dialysis Services Due Soon 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is slated to publish regulations setting Medicare reimbursements for outpatient care in 2026 over the coming weeks. The final rules for physician services, hospital outpatient procedures, home healthcare and dialysis also are expected to enact significant new changes, including new policies on “site-neutral” outpatient reimbursement, 340B Drug Pricing Program payments and the system that calculates physician fees. (Early, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: Johnson & Johnson To Spin Off DePuy Synthes
Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday it intends to separate its DePuy Synthes orthopedics business into a stand-alone company. The company said it expects to complete the separation within 18 to 24 months. (Dubinsky, 10/14)

Modern Healthcare: Cleveland Clinic, Khosla Ventures To Partner
Cleveland Clinic and venture capital firm Khosla Ventures will jointly invest in and create health tech companies, the organizations said Tuesday. As part of this arrangement, Khosla and Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s venture capital arm will equally invest in healthcare startups, said Dr. Hal Paz, operating partner of Khosla Ventures. Khosla and Cleveland Clinic also plan to create their own joint company, with Khosla leading technical development and recruiting while Cleveland Clinic handles clinical operations. (DeSilva, 10/14)

PHARMA AND TECH

CIDRAP: CEPI Announces New Partnership With Indian Vaccine Maker
The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India (SII), will partner with CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) to develop a new vaccine targeting H5N1 avian flu as a prototype for Disease X, an as-yet-unknown pathogen with pandemic potential. The project will be supported by up to $16.4 million. (Soucheray, 10/14)

MedPage Today: Demand For Unapproved Weight-Loss Drug Surges On Social Media
The FDA has warned six online companies for selling compounded retatrutide, an unlicensed weight-loss drug that has gained traction among social media influencers. Five U.S. firms and one in Germany received similarly worded letters in September for selling products labeled as retatrutide, a compound developed by Eli Lilly that is still in clinical testing, without FDA authorization. (McCreary, 10/14)

Fierce Healthcare: Middlemen Offer 'Alternative Funding' For Specialty Drugs At Risk To Patients
As someone living with cardiac sarcoidosis, 60-year-old Kevin Danahy can’t afford to have bad health insurance. To control the inflammation in his heart, he needs an infusion of Remicade every other month, which he gets at Beth Israel in Boston. The infusion costs thousands of dollars out of pocket, so Danahy typically opts for costly PPO plans for reliable coverage. This past spring, when his wife got a job at nursing home operator Stellar Health Group, Danahy joined her health plan. Like always, he reached out to his doctor to start the process of getting insurance approval for his infusions. (Gliadkovskaya, 10/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: AI Models Predict Sepsis In Children Within 48 Hours: Study
Researchers at Chicago-based Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago developed AI models that identify children with high risk of developing sepsis within 48 hours using electronic health record data. The models were trained on data from the first four hours of emergency department care, before organ dysfunction developed, according to the study published Oct. 13 in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers validated the models using retrospective data from five health systems contributing to the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. (Jeffries, 10/14)

STATE WATCH

Newsweek: Gov. Tim Walz Says Accessible Rural Health Care Is A ‘Hell Of A Tall Order’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told attendees at the Summit on the Future of Rural Health Care on Tuesday that ensuring health care is accessible, high quality and sustainable in rural areas "is a hell of a tall order." The summit brought together leaders across health care, technology, business, policy and academia from around the country to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to engage in solution-driven conversations about how to improve access and quality of care in rural and underserved communities. (Giella, 10/14)

AP: New York Health Officials Confirm First Locally Acquired Chikungunya Virus Case
A person living in New York has tested positive for the chikungunya virus in what state health officials say is the first reported transmission of the mosquito-borne illness within the United States in six years. The state Department of Health said Tuesday that the virus, which has been spreading in China and elsewhere, was identified in a person living in Nassau County on Long Island. (10/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Covered California Warns ACA Premiums May Nearly Double
California this week plans to notify Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollees that their costs could rise sharply next year unless Congress extends subsidies to help people buy health insurance. Health care analysts say the nation’s uninsured population will rise significantly if federal lawmakers do not agree to renew COVID-era tax credits, which Congress authorized in 2021 to supplement ACA subsidies. (Wolfson, 10/14)

Los Angeles Times: The Key Health Bills California Gov. Newsom Signed This Week Focused On How Technology Is Impacting Kids
New laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom aim to make the artificial intelligence and social media landscape in California safer, especially for minors. Senate Bill 243, sponsored by state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista) will require AI companies to incorporate guardrails that prevent so-called “companion” chatbots from talking to users of any age about suicide or self-harm. It also requires that all AI systems alert minors using the chatbots that they are not human every three hours. The systems also are barred from promoting any sexually explicit conduct to users who are minors. (McDonald, 10/14)

GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC

The Colorado Sun: Student Critically Wounded In Evergreen High School Shooting Leaves Hospital, Tells Supporters: “I’m Still Alive!”
Five weeks after Matthew Silverstone was shot in the head and chest by a gun-wielding classmate inside Evergreen High School, the 18-year-old student is headed home to continue his long road to rehabilitation. (Prentzel, 10/14)

PUBLIC HEALTH

The Washington Post: The Protein Powders Consumer Reports Found To Have Unsafe Levels Of Lead
More than a dozen protein powders tested for toxic metals were found to have unsafe or concerning amounts of lead, the nonprofit watchdog Consumer Reports said Tuesday, adding that the average lead levels in such products appear to be worsening compared to years prior. Of 23 protein powders tested, more than two-thirds contained more lead in a single serving than is considered safe to ingest in a day, Consumer Reports said, citing its own safety standards. (Kasulis Cho, 10/15)

The Hill: Cinnamon Recall: FDA Warns 16 Brands Have Elevated Lead Levels
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded an existing recall for cinnamon that was found to contain elevated lead levels. Ground cinnamon from HAETAE, Roshni, Durra and Wise Wife have joined a dozen other brands that “may be unsafe” to consume, according to the most recent updates from the FDA. (Kutz, 10/14)

GLOBAL WATCH

CIDRAP: Report Proposes New Framework To Prepare For Future Pandemics
Nearly 5 years after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in pandemic preparedness, a new report is calling for a "paradigm shift" in how the world prepares for the next pandemic. The report from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), launched yesterday at the World Health Summit in Berlin, argues that despite advances in science and technology, the world remains highly vulnerable to future pandemics because of persistent inequities, mistrust, and underinvestment in preparedness. (Dall, 10/14)

AP: UN's World Food Program Warns Donor Cuts Are Pushing Millions More Into Hunger
The United Nations’ food aid agency said Wednesday that severe funding cuts from its top donors are hurting its operations in six countries and warned that nearly 14 million people could be forced into emergency levels of hunger. The World Food Program, traditionally the U.N.'s most-funded agency, said in a new report that its funding this year “has never been more challenged” — largely due to slashed outlays from the U.S. under the Trump administration and other leading Western donors. (Keaten, 10/15)