First Edition: Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES

KFF Health News: Doctor Tripped Up By $64K Bill For Ankle Surgery And Hospital Stay
Physician Lauren Hughes was heading to see patients at a clinic about 20 miles from her Denver home in February when another driver T-boned her Subaru, totaling it. She was taken by ambulance to the closest hospital, Platte Valley Hospital. A shaken Hughes was examined in the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with bruising, a deep cut on her knee, and a broken ankle. Physicians recommended immediate surgical repair, she said. (Appleby, 10/29)

KFF Health News: So Your Insurance Dropped Your Doctor. Now What?
Last winter, Amber Wingler started getting a series of increasingly urgent messages from the local hospital in Columbia, Missouri, letting her know her family’s health care might soon be upended. MU Health Care, where most of her family’s doctors work, was mired in a contract dispute with Wingler’s health insurer, Anthem. The existing contract was set to expire. (Sable-Smith, 10/29)

KFF Health News: Trump Team Takes Aim At State Laws Shielding Consumers' Credit Scores From Medical Debt
The Trump administration took another step Tuesday to weaken protections for Americans with medical debt, issuing new guidance that threatens ongoing state efforts to keep that debt off consumers’ credit reports. More than a dozen states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland, New York, and most of New England, have enacted laws in recent years to keep medical debt from affecting consumers’ credit. (Levey, 10/28)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: More men are developing osteoporosis, but insurance often won’t pay to screen them, and the Trump administration’s cuts to a digital equity program are setting back efforts to help some rural committees access telehealth. (10/28)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

AP: Judge Indefinitely Blocks Firings Of Government Workers During Shutdown
A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday. (Har, 10/28)

Axios: Scoop: Trump Admin Pushes Back On Rising Health Care Costs
The Trump administration is arguing there will be lower premiums and more health care plans for Affordable Care Act enrollees next year compared to before the pandemic, according to a memo sent to congressional offices on Tuesday, obtained by Axios. It's the first real rebuttal to Democratic warnings about skyrocketing premiums — a key driver of the now 28-day government shutdown. (Kight, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Trump Administration Sued Over Food Aid Cutoff During Shutdown 
Democrat-led states sued the Trump administration over food aid benefits set to end for tens of millions of Americans, accusing US officials of unlawfully refusing to tap alternative sources of money during the federal government shutdown. The US Department of Agriculture announced it won’t fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting in November as the budget impasse in Congress approaches the one-month mark. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the attorneys general and governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia argued the department must use nearly $6 billion in contingency funding to keep the program operational for as long as possible. (Tillman, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Some Republicans Back ACA Subsidies. Their Districts Explain Why
Some rank-and-file congressional Republicans, especially those who anticipate challenging reelections next year, have broken with party leadership by calling for an extension of the enhanced health insurance exchange subsidies that expire at the end of the year. GOP leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) have shown no signs they will give in to Democratic demands that the subsidies be renewed as part of a deal to end the government shutdown that started Oct. 1. More than two dozen Republican lawmakers have publicly expressed support for some form of extension. (McAuliff, 10/28)

THE LATEST FROM HHS

The New York Times: Steven Hatfill, Covid Vaccine Critic, Is Ousted From H.H.S.
Steven J. Hatfill, a biosecurity expert whose views helped form the basis for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine research, was fired over the weekend from his job as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, he and a senior department official said. The official said Dr. Hatfill was let go because he had misrepresented himself as the “chief medical officer” for the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, and was “not coordinating policy-making with leadership.” (Gay Stolberg, 10/28)

The Hill: Warren Has ‘Serious Doubt’ About Trump’s HHS Inspector General Nominee
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told President Trump’s nominee for inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that his professional history has raised “serious doubt” about his ability to be an “impartial investigator” for the agency. In a letter provided first to The Hill, Warren addressed Thomas March Bell, Trump’s nominee for HHS inspector general, and brought up accusations that he mismanaged taxpayer funds as well as her own misgivings that his “highly partisan positions” will influence his conduct should he be confirmed. (Choi, 10/28)

MORE ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

AP: Trump Administration Moves To Overrule State Laws Protecting Credit Reports From Medical Debt
The Trump administration is moving to overrule any state laws that may protect consumers’ credit reports from medical debt and other debt issues. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drafted what’s known as an interpretative rule related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, interpreting the law in a way that says the FCRA should preempt any state laws or regulations when it comes to how debt should be reported to the credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. (Sweet, 10/28)

AP: Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Pulling Funding For Sex Ed On Gender Diversity
A federal judge in Oregon has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from pulling sexual education funding over curricula mentioning diverse gender identities. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken issued the preliminary injunction Monday as part of a lawsuit filed against the Health and Human Services Department by 16 states and the District of Columbia, which argued that pulling such money violated the separation of powers and federal law. (Rush, 10/28)

ProPublica: VA Makes It Harder For Male Veterans With Breast Cancer To Get Coverage
The Trump administration is making it more difficult for veterans with a rare but deadly cancer to get their health care needs covered by the government. The new policy, involving breast cancer in men, is laid out in a Department of Veterans Affairs memo obtained by ProPublica. The previously undisclosed document does not cite any evolving science. Rather, it relies on an order that President Donald Trump issued on his first day in office titled: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” (Umansky, 10/29)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Orders CDC To Study Alleged Harms Of Offshore Wind Farms
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff to probe the potential harms of offshore wind farms, according to people familiar with the matter, as President Donald Trump marshals his administration to thwart the clean energy source he loathes. (Eidelson and Natter, 10/28)

The New York Times: Radiation Fears Bring MAHA And MAGA Movements Into Conflict
The Trump administration is considering tighter safety rules on the weak radiations of cellphones even as it pursues looser regulations on the deadly emanations of the nuclear industry. (Broad, 10/28)

ABC News: Surgeon General Nominee Casey Means Says She'll Focus On 'Healing And Prevention' Instead Of 'Overmedicalization'
Dr. Casey Means, the wellness entrepreneur President Donald Trump nominated in May to be his surgeon general, will testify Thursday at her confirmation hearing that she would work to put "Americans back on the road toward wholeness and health," according to a copy of her prepared testimony obtained by ABC News. Means, whom Trump nominated in May to the position often referred to as America's top doctor, would be one of the last major health nominees to appear for a Senate hearing and confirmation vote. (Benadjaoud and McDuffie, 10/28)

MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

The Hill: Medicare Staffing Raises Alarm With Open Enrollment Underway
Health policy experts on Tuesday urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to boost staffing, noting that the government shutdown has only hindered services. This staffing shortage couldn’t have come at a worse time, as open enrollment for Medicare plans began earlier this month. (Anderson, 10/28)

Modern Healthcare: Unite Us CEO Daniel Brillman Named Director Of Medicaid, CHIP
Daniel Brillman, former CEO and co-founder of Unite Us, has been named deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Services. In his new role, Brillman is tasked with overseeing major changes to Medicaid slated to roll out over the next several years, including a $1.1 trillion funding cut to the program and work requirements for recipients. Brillman succeeds Caprice Knapp, who was serving as acting director of Medicaid and CHIP. Knapp is now principal deputy director. (DeSilva, 10/28)

Stat: Bausch Health Exits Medicaid, 340B Programs. Will Other Drugmakers Follow?
In an unexpected move, Bausch Health recently stopped participating in Medicaid and a federal government drug discount scheme known as 340B, a step that suggests more drugmakers may rethink whether to provide their medicines to these widely used programs. (Silverman, 10/28)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS

San Francisco Chronicle: Moderna Lower-Dose COVID Shot Debuts For Seniors, At-Risk Patients
You may have seen ads for a new, lower-dose Moderna COVID vaccine marketed to “the senior class” — adults 65 and older. The new vaccine, which goes by mRNA-1283 or mNexspike, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, so this is the first fall respiratory virus season that it’s available for. It is approved for adults 65 and older and people 12 to 64 with an underlying medical condition that puts them at higher risk for severe COVID. (Ho, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Found In Brazilian Bats Expands Global Map Of Risk
A coronavirus carrying a genetic feature found in the viruses that cause Covid-19 and MERS has been discovered in bats in Brazil, expanding the known global range of batborne viruses capable of jumping into other species. The virus, named BRZ batCoV, was detected in Pteronotus parnellii — a small insect-eating “mustached” bat common across Latin America. The samples were collected in the states of Maranhao and Sao Paulo. (Gale, 10/29)

CIDRAP: Louisiana Officials Waited Months To Alert Public About Deadly Pertussis Outbreak, Investigation Finds
Louisiana officials waited 2 months after the state's first pertussis (whooping cough)-related deaths in years—which occurred by late January—to encourage vaccination and more than 3 months to issue a statewide health alert on May 1 this year, NPR, in conjunction with KFF Health News, reported today. Such delays for a record outbreak are not typical, according to Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association. (Wappes, 10/28)

The Baltimore Sun: MD Releases Online Dashboard To Track Respiratory Illness
The Maryland Department of Health has released a public data tool to provide detailed information on three common respiratory illnesses — COVID-19, Flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — that together make up the threat of flu season, which lasts through March. (Hille, 10/28)

CNN: Common Viral Infections Like Flu And Shingles Can Raise Your Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke, Analysis Finds 
Covid-19 infections have been strongly linked with cardiovascular conditions like heart disease and stroke, but new research shows that other viral infections such as influenza, HIV, hepatitis C and shingles can also increase the risk of heart problems and cardiovascular disease. (Koda, 10/29)

The Washington Post: This Device May Reduce Viruses At Home — And It’s Not An Air Purifier
Humidifiers add moisture, which is like a ‘heavy blanket’ that brings viruses to the ground level, away from noses and mouths, an expert said. (Bever, 10/28)

AUTISM

HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY

Modern Healthcare: Samsung, HealthTap To Partner On Virtual Primary Care
Samsung doubled down on its strategy to connect wearable and clinical data, announcing a partnership with virtual care provider HealthTap on Tuesday. The partnership will bring HealthTap’s virtual urgent and primary care services onto the Samsung Health app, the companies said Tuesday. Samsung Health users will be able to book, conduct and follow up on virtual care consultations without leaving the app. Following the visit, patients will be able to review the clinician’s notes and instructions directly within the Samsung Health application. (Perna, 10/28)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealth Sees 2026 Growth As It Navigates Historic Meltdown
UnitedHealth Group Inc. nudged its outlook for the year up in a sign that it’s working its way out of a historic meltdown, though executives said it would likely face billions in charges to make changes planned to stabilize its business. The health conglomerate is planning for “durable and accelerating growth in 2026,” UnitedHealth said in a statement Tuesday. Adjusted profit topped analysts’ estimates. A key gauge of medical expenses, while still elevated, was more favorable than analysts expected. (Tozzi, 10/28)

Stat: UnitedHealth Shifts Strategy With Its Massive Physician Network 
After assembling the largest collection of doctors in the U.S., UnitedHealth Group is switching strategies in an effort to improve its financial performance. The company plans to revamp its enterprise of 90,000 clinicians into one more heavily weighted toward employed physicians, rather than affiliated doctors, executives said on Tuesday. (Bannow, 10/28)

Becker's Hospital Review: Radiologists Likely Subspecialize After Practice Closure
Radiologists are 10% more likely to practice as subspecialists than as generalists after experiencing a practice closure, a recent study found. The Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study, published Oct. 27 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, used data from nearly 240,000 radiologist-years between 2014 and 2021. (Taylor, 10/28)

PHARMACEUTICALS

Stat: Eli Lilly, NVIDIA Partner On Pharma's Biggest AI Supercomputer 
Eli Lilly announced a partnership with chipmaker NVIDIA on Tuesday to build what it claims will be the “most powerful supercomputer owned and operated by a pharmaceutical company.” Lilly’s technology investment is meant to help the drugmaker tap into the potential of artificial intelligence for drug discovery. (Trang, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Lilly Makes Billions Of Weight-Loss Pills Before US Approval
Eli Lilly & Co. has already produced billions of doses of its next-generation weight-loss pill, anticipating massive global demand ahead of a potential launch next year. “We’ve already made, actually, billions of doses preparing for the launch,” Chief Executive Officer Dave Ricks said Monday at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago. “That will make this sort of the ‘GLP-1 for all,’ and I think really makes a difference in human health at a global level.” Lilly hasn’t yet submitted the pill, called orforglipron, to US regulators but expects to do so before the end of the year. (Muller, 10/28)

STATE WATCH

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Receives $100 Million Gift To Boost Dementia Care
UCSF has received a $100 million donation for its memory and aging center, a gift that doctors at the dementia care clinic say comes at a critical moment in the development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions. The gift from the Edward Fein Charitable Trust, announced Wednesday by UCSF, comes without restrictions other than that it must be spent in the newly named Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, located on UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. (Allday, 10/29)

AP: West Virginia Landmark Opioid Lawsuit Returns To Lower Court After US Appeals Court Ruling
A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark decision in West Virginia that had rejected attempts by an opioid-ravaged area to be compensated by U.S. drug distributors for a influx of prescription pain pills into the region. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that a lower court judge erred when he said West Virginia’s public nuisance law did not apply to the lawsuit involving the distribution of opioids. (Raby, 10/28)

North Carolina Health News: Some Paramedics Are Changing The Front Line Of Addiction Care 
A life lost in Buncombe County in 2022 still weighs on — and motivates — Shuchin Shukla, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine. A community paramedic had responded to an overdose involving a person recently released from jail. After reviving them, the paramedic told the patient about a soon-to-launch program that would start people on a medication used to treat opioid addiction after an overdose. (Crumpler, 10/29)

PRISONS AND HEALTH

CNET: FCC Votes To Nearly Double Rates For Prison Phone Calls
The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to dramatically increase the price limit that jails and prisons are allowed to charge for phone and video calls. ... The downstream effects of the change are alarming. The benefits of incarcerated people making phone calls are well documented: they reduce the likelihood a person will commit a crime when they’re released, promote relationships with children and improve jail safety. “That means children who won't be able to hear ‘I love you’ from their parents. That means spouses who won't be able to communicate about parenting. That means people won't be able to prepare for their release,” Bianca Tylek, the executive director of Worth Rises, told CNET. “It has huge implications for individuals, families, communities and public safety.” (Supan, 10/28)

The Marshall Project: Ohio Lawmakers Propose Bill To Track Pregnancies Behind Bars
A bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced legislation requiring all Ohio jails and prisons to report the outcomes of every pregnancy that ends behind bars. The proposal comes following a Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 investigation that detailed how a Cleveland woman’s pregnancy ended after her repeated cries for help went unanswered for hours in the troubled Cuyahoga County jail in 2024. (Puente, 10/27)

The Marshall Project: These Families Wanted To Lay Their Loved Ones To Rest. They Had To Bring Them Home From Prison First. 
Each year, thousands of people die in U.S. prisons and jails. Over the last six months, The Marshall Project has heard from dozens of families across the country about their experiences bringing loved ones home after dying behind bars. In case after case, they told The Marshall Project they felt as if their loved ones remained under lock and key, even in death. (Abdullahi, 10/29)

CLIMATE AND HEALTH

Bloomberg: Heat Deaths Around The World Top Half A Million A Year, Scientists Find
Soaring temperatures are killing nearly 550,000 people around the world each year, part of a heat death toll that’s climbed more than 20% on a population-adjusted basis since the 1990s, according to the latest edition of the Lancet’s annual report on climate and health. “That’s approximately one heat-related death every minute throughout the year,” says Ollie Jay, a heat and health expert at the University of Sydney and a co-author of the new report. “So this is a really startling number.” (Court, 10/29)

AP: Global Warming Spurs Anxiety About Having Kids
Younger generations of Americans are increasingly citing climate change as making them reticent to have children, according to several studies. They are worried about bringing children into a world with increasing and more intense extreme weather events, a result of climate change, which is caused by the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide when oil, gas coal are burned. And they are concerned about the impact their offspring will have on the planet. In a 2024 Lancet study of people 16 to 25 years old, the majority of respondents were “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change. The study also found that 52% said they were hesitant to have children because of climate change. (Wells, 10/28)

GLOBAL WATCH

AP: Germany To Extend Caregiving Support For Holocaust Survivors 
The organization that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis said Wednesday that Germany has agreed to extend another $1.076 billion (923.9 million euros) for Holocaust survivors ' home care around the globe for the coming year. The compensation was negotiated with Germany’s finance ministry and is the largest budget for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivor home care in the organization’s history. (Grieshaber, 10/29)

Bloomberg: China Closing In On US As Leader In Global Science, Study Shows
China is on track to lead the world in science — at least by one revealing measure. An analysis of almost 6 million research papers shows that Chinese scientists are taking the helm in almost half of all collaborations with US counterparts, a shift that underscores Beijing’s growing influence in setting the global research agenda. (Gale, 10/28)

CBS News: 'Fertility Tourism' Booming As U.S. Couples Seek Affordable Treatments Abroad
After two years of trying to get pregnant, Maggie Quinn and Ricardo Escobar faced a financial obstacle they hadn't expected: the cost of in vitro fertilization in the United States. "It was astronomical, and you don't know how many rounds you're going to need," Quinn said. With limited insurance coverage, the Florida couple started researching what's known as "fertility tourism," where patients travel abroad for more affordable fertility care. (Novak, 10/28)