Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: Monday, May 5, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on Agent Orange, aging, weight loss, and more.
Opinion writers tackle these public health topics.
NY Eases Requirements To Forcibly Hospitalize Those With Mental Illness
New York state will now authorize first responders to involuntarily hospitalize New Yorkers who cannot meet their own basic needs such as food, shelter, or medical care. Other news comes from Texas, Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Michigan.
CVS Chooses Novo Over Lilly, As Top GLP-1 Drugs Face Off Over Prices
Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S are competing for drug contracts in the aftermath of drug price scrutiny. Novo has managed to secure a contract with CVS, beating out its competitor. Other news is on cost-cutting; the fallout of tariffs; the quality of compounding pharmacies; and more.
Aetna Is Leaving ACA Marketplace
A million Affordable Care Act enrollees across 17 states will have to find alternate coverage in 2026. Separately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services now has a center to fight waste, fraud, and abuse. Also, the Milken Institute is creating a Women’s Health Network to study women’s issues.
Delayed Medicaid Payments Force Hospitals To Make Tough Decisions
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been unusually slow at processing state-directed payments, leading hospitals to withhold their own payments to medical suppliers and to trim staff. Plus, a look at the wrangling over Medicaid changes on Capitol Hill.
Kennedy Plans To Ask CDC To Create New Measles Treatment Guidance
According to CBS News, the new guidance he is requesting is to include existing drugs, vitamins, and other modalities. In other news: RFK Jr. renews the disproved claim of aborted fetal cells in vaccines; measles infections have reached Canada and Mexico; and more.
Child Safety Net Research Faces HHS Cuts, According To Divulged Document
More than 150 research projects at the Administration for Children and Families — including for studies of Head Start and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — were listed for cancellation on a spreadsheet mistakenly emailed to grant recipients.
New 400-Page HHS Report Condemns Gender-Affirming Care For Youths
It’s unclear who wrote the report, which snubs the advice and recommendations of top medical groups. It was immediately criticized by pediatric groups and transgender rights advocates.
First Edition: Friday, May 2, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
Opinion writers examine these public health issues.
Autism Cases Are Not Becoming ‘More Severe,’ New Research Underlines
The findings, which will be presented this week at the International Society for Autism Research, show that only mild autism cases rose between 2000 and 2016. Meanwhile, the White House has so far declined to include key autism advocacy groups and researchers in its efforts to address autism.
Diabetes Death Rates At Lowest Level Since Start Of Pandemic: CDC
Diabetes deaths peaked in 2021 at the height of the covid pandemic, but they’ve been trending down. Although levels are still higher than before the start of covid, they are the lowest they have been in years, preliminary data show. Simultaneously, breast cancer deaths among young women fell between 2010 and 2020.
Missouri Senate Panel Pushes Resolution To Reinstate Abortion Ban
A Republican effort to overturn Amendment 3 — which voters approved in November with 51.6% of the vote — advanced Wednesday, St. Louis Public Radio reported.
LA County Offers Isolated California Hospital A $3M Lifeline
Financially struggling Catalina Island Health faces insolvency as early as July. In other news from California: today’s UC health worker strike; a probe into health data sharing with LinkedIn; the soda tax in Santa Cruz; and more.
Pa. Lawmakers Request Criminal Probe Over Crozer Health Closure
A group of state lawmakers pressed the attorney general to launch an investigation for the shuttering of Crozer Health by California-based private health company Prospect Medical Holdings. Envision Healthcare, Teladoc, Two Chairs, Epic, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and the Leapfrog Group are also in the news.
Federal Funding Pulled From Campaign To Prevent Infant Sleep-Related Deaths
The Trump administration’s decision to end federal participation in the Safe to Sleep campaign comes as recent data show sudden infant deaths rising. Also: Education Department grant cuts, animals in federally funded research, PEPFAR cut impacts, and more.
‘All New Vaccines’ To Undergo Placebo Testing For Approval, HHS Says
Public health experts worry the policy change would not only cast doubt on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines but would limit production and access. Separately, a decades-long pursuit of universal vaccines gets a $500 million boost.
