Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Improperly Reshaped US Policy On Trans Health Care, Judge Rules
AP: Judge Rules The Government Overreached With Transgender Health Care Declaration
A federal judge said the government overreached by issuing a declaration that called treatments like puberty blockers and surgeries unsafe and ineffective for young people experiencing gender dysphoria, according to a ruling Thursday in Oregon. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai’s ruling was centered on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. not going through the proper administrative procedures when issuing the declaration in December. The declaration also warned doctors that they could be excluded from federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid if they provide these treatments. (3/20)
On vaccines —
The Wall Street Journal: HHS Weighs Replacing CDC Vaccine Advisers
Days after a federal judge said the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine committee members were improperly appointed, the agency is now considering whether to find a new slate of members for the panel or appeal the court’s ruling, panel members said. The future of the committee was thrown into question after one member of the panel on Thursday announced that the committee would be dismantled. Hours later he said his earlier conclusion was based on miscommunication. The panel is charged with making vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Calfas and Essley Whyte, 3/19)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Schedule Changes Blocked — For Now
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s effort to change how the federal government recommends vaccines against childhood diseases was dealt at least a temporary setback in federal court this week. A judge in Massachusetts sided with a coalition of public health groups arguing that changes to the vaccine schedule violated federal law. The Trump administration said it would appeal the judge’s ruling. (Rovner, 3/19)
On autism and MAHA —
Stat: Autism Scientists, Advocates Take First Step In Countering RFK Jr.
Autism scientists and advocates met Thursday to develop an agenda for autism research, the first gathering of a group that hopes to command the attention of Congress and private organizations, in response to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reshaping the federal autism advisory committee to support his agenda. (Broderick, 3/19)
MedPage Today: Here's Why Dozens Of Autism Publications Were Retracted
Springer Nature has retracted more than three dozen publications that relied on a problematic dataset, the publisher confirmed to MedPage Today. All 38 of the papers, conference proceedings, and book chapters involved a dataset that purported to offer images of the faces of children with and without autism. However, there were major problems with how it was put together. (Robertson, 3/19)
Stat: MAHA Movement Dismay: 2026 Farm Bill Backs Tobacco, Pesticides
The 2026 farm bill now working its way through Congress contains a number of provisions at odds with the Make America Healthy Again movement, particularly when it comes to pesticides and factory farming. One less-noticed amendment would allow tobacco farmers to receive more disaster and emergency funds — a move critics say is out of step with public health goals and MAHA’s vow to lower chronic disease rates in the U.S. (Todd, 3/20)
More news about the Trump administration —
The New York Times: ICE Released Hundreds Of Children From Immigration Detention
The number of children being held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined dramatically in recent weeks, as the Trump administration scaled back some of its most aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Earlier this year, after a surge of arrests in Minnesota and elsewhere, hundreds of children were being held with their parents at a federal detention center in Dilley, Texas, where families described poor medical care, inadequate food and water and little education for children. (Mervosh, Jordan and Aleaziz, 3/20)
Politico: Federal Workforce Unhappy, Disengaged, New Survey Finds
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought reportedly said in 2023 and 2024 he wants to put federal workers “in trauma.” He appears to have done it. A new survey of federal workers found that, government wide, only 32 percent of the federal workforce is satisfied with and engaged in their jobs. The numbers are particularly stark at certain larger agencies: Only 20 percent of the Department of Health and Human Services staff is satisfied; along with 22.5 percent of the Treasury Department and 8.1 percent of the few employees remaining at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (Johansen, 3/19)
The Hill: ‘Rogue Employee’ At HHS Changed Voicemail To Domino’s Pizza Recording
Callers hoping to voice complaints about federal animal testing with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this week instead reached what sounded like the voicemail for a popular pizza chain after a “rogue” staffer changed the phone’s outgoing message. The White Coat Waste Project (WCWP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “expose and close the U.S. government’s $20 billion animal testing business,” urged social media followers last Friday morning to call HHS and demand the agency cut funding for cat testing at a National Institutes of Health-funded lab at the University of Missouri. (Brams, 3/19)
KFF Health News: Listen: Trump’s NIH ‘Reset’ Is Driving Away Scientists
The past year has been rough for the National Institutes of Health, which underwent cuts to its workforce and research funding. Now, the NIH is facing a new challenge: brain drain. Thousands of employees totaling about 20% of the agency’s staff have left in the tumult of President Donald Trump’s second term. Some scientists fear this exodus will mean fewer new treatments and diminish the government’s ability to respond to disease outbreaks and other public health crises. (Pradhan, 3/20)
Stat: Robert Califf Says Political Influence Is A 'Serious Problem’ At FDA
Hundreds of individualized treatments for rare diseases could become available over the next decade — but only if government regulators handle the new therapeutics properly. (Payne, 3/19)
Military Times: Service Members Must Prove Sincere Religious Beliefs For Facial Hair Waivers
U.S. service members will now be granted religious exemptions from grooming standards only on “sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to a recent Pentagon memorandum. Current service members and those applying for military service who request an exception for religious reasons must provide “a sworn written attestation affirming the requester’s belief is sincerely held and religious in nature,” according to the March 11 Department of Defense memorandum. (Stassis, 3/19)
