Axios: GOP Weighs Health Care Moves To Pay For Iran War
Republicans are considering reductions in federal health spending to help pay for a budget bill containing as much as $200 billion to fund the Iran war and immigration enforcement. New efforts to rein in health programs are sure to be controversial and open the GOP up to election-year attacks that they're cutting health care to pay for an unpopular war. (Sullivan, 3/30)

On the Iran war's effects on the health care industry —

Financial Times: Iran War Chokes Off Helium Supplies In Threat To Chipmakers And Healthcare
Fears of a helium crunch are mounting after a drop in global output since the start of the Iran war, as the conflict’s impact spreads beyond energy markets into other critical supply chains. The Gulf is a major exporter of helium, a byproduct of natural gas that is critical for the manufacturing of microchips — including those used to power the global AI boom — as well as for the functioning of some medical devices. (3/29)

The Hill: War In Iran Threatens Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, Drug Prices
As President Trump’s war in Iran rages on, it’s posing a growing threat to the pharmaceutical supply chain and risks spiking the prices of many drugs, particularly those that depend on petrochemicals. The war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have caused energy prices to jump and disrupted supply chains for a range of industries. While the Middle East is not a major pharmaceutical producer like China or India, there are still products that originate from the region, and many drugs rely on petrochemicals to be made. (Choi, 3/29)

MedTech Dive: Stryker Restores Most Manufacturing After Cyberattack 
The medtech company has been working to restore manufacturing, ordering and shipping operations since it was hit by a cyberattack on March 11. ... The attack has been claimed by an Iran-linked threat actor tracked as Handala, according to Check Point Research. The group claims to have wiped thousands of servers and mobile devices and stolen data. (Zipp, 3/27)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive: Trump Weighs Military Operation To Extract Iran’s Uranium
The extraction of the material would likely need to be conducted by an elite special operations team specially trained to remove radioactive material from a conflict zone. The highly enriched uranium is likely contained in 40 to 50 special cylinders that resemble scuba tanks. They would need to be put into transportation casks to protect against accidents. That could fill several trucks, said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University and a former nuclear negotiator with Iran. (Ward, Seligman, Linskey and Gordon, 3/29)

Modern Healthcare: ACA Exchange Plans Denied 19% Of In-Network Claims In 2024: KFF
Health insurance exchange carriers rejected nearly one-in-five in-network claims in 2024. That’s according to federal health insurance exchange claims data analyzed by the health policy research institute KFF. The 19% denial rate is tied with 2023 for the highest since the Affordable Care Act of 2010 marketplaces debuted in 2015. (Tepper, 3/27)

KFF Health News: She Owed Her Insurer A Nickel, So It Canceled Her Coverage
Last summer, Lorena Alvarado Hill received a series of unexpected medical bills. A teacher’s aide in Melbourne, Florida, Hill is a single mom who works shifts at J.Crew on the weekends to send her daughter to college. Hill and her mother, who lives with her, had been enrolled in an insurance plan through HealthFirst. Hill paid nothing toward the premiums for the government-subsidized plan, which previously had covered her scans and other appointments. Then the bills came. (Rosenthal, 3/30)

The Washington Post: Why Millions Of Seniors Have Suddenly Lost Health Care Coverage 
Elderly people are forced to hunt for options when Medicare Advantage plans withdraw from unprofitable markets. (Rowland, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: States Push Hospital Price Cap Legislation Despite Opposition
Legislative efforts to limit what hospitals can charge for services are gaining traction coast to coast. State legislators say capping prices for healthcare services is a decisive action against out-of-control costs that place financial burden on patients. Providers point to insurers and their increasing premiums as big drivers behind those rising costs, and say price caps could limit access to care. (Hudson, 3/27)

MedPage Today: What To Expect For Prior Authorization In 2026
Prior authorization requirements cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $35 billion each year, and their overuse has triggered a backlash, stirring some policymakers into action. Whether these changes actually fix prior authorization for patients and clinicians is an open question. Meanwhile, stakeholders are weighing the risks versus benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline processes, according to a recent Health Affairs Insider report. (Firth, 3/27)

Stat: Health Care Giants Are Trimming Jobs, Not Driving Employment Growth 
Over the past five years, the American workforce has grown in large part due to the health care industry. But large, for-profit health care companies have not been driving that job growth. Some parts of health care — notably, health insurers — are cutting jobs, some of which has not been previously reported. (Herman, 3/30)

Los Angeles Times: Kaiser Made $9.3 Billion Last Year. Critics Say It Has Strayed From Its Charitable Mission 
Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest non-profit health group, has veered from its charitable mission and is now scarcely distinguishable from a corporation keenly focused on its bottom line, according to critics. (Petersen, 3/29)

Politico: New Factories And Supersized Obamacare Premiums: North Carolina Considers What Trump Has Wrought 
Democrats expect North Carolinians will make the GOP pay for cuts they made last year that have cost 200,000 residents their health insurance. Republicans think they’ll be rewarded for President Donald Trump’s push to create good-paying pharma factory jobs in decaying tobacco and textile towns. How North Carolina voters assess Republicans’ weighty health care moves could determine who replaces retiring Republican Thom Tillis in the Senate and controls the chamber. But in a recent swing through the Tar Heel State, POLITICO found voters, even ones directly affected by federal policy, are reluctant to switch sides. (Chu, 3/30)

In other health care industry developments —

Chicago Tribune and Pioneer Press: Deal To Re-Open West Suburban Medical Center Under Discussion
A deal might be in the works to keep West Suburban Medical Center open, after the Oak Park hospital abruptly announced it was suspending patient care this week. (Schencker and Hardy, 3/27)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Ex-Mercy Exec Blackmailed For Construction Work, Filings Say
The trial scheduled to begin Monday in Clayton appeared, on the surface, to be a typical construction contract dispute. As the trial neared, however, Pitt Development Group — the Springfield, Missouri, builder that filed the 2023 lawsuit against Mercy Health — wanted to bring in evidence that made it anything but. (Barker, 3/29)

Bloomberg: Spotify Co-Founder Is Behind Body Scan Startup Competing With Prenuvo
It’s been 15 years since Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek brought the streaming platform to the US, changing the way Americans discover and consume music. His next project—a startup that offers full-body health scans—will soon arrive stateside with its own ambitious plans to reshape an industry. Neko Health, founded in 2018 as Ek began planning for life after Spotify Technology SA’s initial public offering, operates in Sweden and the UK. If Neko receives regulatory approval in the US, something it’s working through now, the company’s first American location will open in New York as soon as this spring, with more US clinics planned in the following months, says Chief Executive Officer Hjalmar Nilsonne. (Ojea, 3/27)

KFF Health News: Inside The High-Stakes Corporate Fight Over Feeding Preterm Babies
In 2013, a scientist at Abbott Laboratories saw study results with potentially big implications for the company’s profits and the lives of some of the world’s most fragile people: preterm infants. The upshot, she wrote in an email: Babies fed rival Mead Johnson Nutrition’s acidified liquid human milk fortifier — a nutritional supplement used in neonatal intensive care units — developed certain complications at higher rates than those given an Abbott fortifier, a researcher at the University of Nebraska had found. At least one of those complications can be deadly. (Hilzenrath, 3/30)

Roll Call: White House To Propose 20 Percent Cut To NIH Funding 
The White House is expected to ask Congress to cut National Institutes of Health spending by 20 percent in the president’s fiscal 2027 budget request, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the planning. The budget request, slated for release next week, reflects President Donald Trump’s policy priorities and acts as a guide to lawmakers as they draft appropriations bills for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. (Cohen, 3/27)

More news about the Trump administration —

Los Angeles Times: Demonstrators Arrested, Tear Gassed At 'No Kings' Protest 
More than 70 protesters were arrested Saturday evening after authorities shot tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd, leaving at least one teen with an eye wound and others with skin burns, according to demonstrators and police. The confrontation outside the federal Metropolitan Detention Center came after hours of peaceful “No Kings” demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles and across the county. Authorities said the crowd that gathered at the federal building later in the afternoon, as the rally was winding down, had ignored orders to disperse. (Sheets and Tchekmedyian, 3/29)

Stat: FDA Briefs Lawmakers On Food Safety Priorities 
Food and Drug Administration officials briefed senators on the agency’s plans for food policy for 2026, according to a person familiar with the meeting. The agency plans to focus on infant formula safety, updating food labels, defining ultra-processed foods, expanding inspections of food processing plants, and bolstering seafood safety programs, according to a document shared with lawmakers, obtained by STAT. (Payne, 3/27)

The Washington Post: Trump’s First Surgeon General Tries To Stop His Second From Confirmation
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams stood with President Donald Trump at the White House, serving as a prominent face of the president’s health agenda. Now Adams has taken a far different stand: trying to stop Trump’s nominee to be his successor, Casey Means, from being confirmed as the nation’s top doctor. (Diamond, 3/29)

Stat: For Next CDC Director, Confirmation Is Just The First Of Many Problems
Public health experts watching the leadership void at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been predicting for a while that finding someone to head the agency would be a Herculean task. (Branswell, 3/30)

In military health news —

The War Horse: Mental Health Issues Plague New Moms In The Military 
Shawna Bush had been blissfully ignorant during her pregnancy: happy, excited, and expecting the best out of motherhood. It took just two days for the wrecking ball of postpartum depression to demolish her joy and leave her sobbing on the couch. “It hit me like a train,” Bush said. “I was not expecting any of it.” (Brookland, 3/29)

Military.com: You Took Separation Pay Years Ago. Now The VA Wants It Back From Your Disability Check. 
Under federal law, a veteran cannot receive both separation pay and VA disability compensation for the same period of service. (Wile, 3/27)

Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Ally Says Vaccines Now A ‘Losing Issue’ With White House
The White House’s pullback on vaccine policy is a key strategic decision ahead of the midterm elections and is sidelining Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a close ally of the US health secretary. Robert Malone, former vice chair of a government panel that sets immunization policy, criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to silence discussions about vaccines on a podcast from the Informed Consent Action Network that posted on Friday. ICAN was founded by Del Bigtree, an anti-vaccine activist and former communications director for Kennedy’s 2024 presidential bid. (Nix, 3/27)

Related news about flu, covid, measles, and more —

CIDRAP: Winter Respiratory Virus Season Slowly Subsiding
After a tough flu season, today’s respiratory virus update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a bit of good news: Doctors are seeing fewer people with influenza. Cases of flu are declining in most of the country. While influenza A is on its way out, rates of influenza B—which tends to peak later in flu season—vary by region. Levels of influenza A in wastewater are low. Influenza B is not monitored in wastewater. (Szabo, 3/27)

KTLA 5: What To Know About New ‘Cicada’ COVID Variant Detected In 25 States
The newest COVID variant is officially named variant BA.3.2, but it has been given the nickname of “Cicada.” It earned the nickname because BA.3.2 is an offshoot of the BA 3 variant, which hasn’t circulated widely for nearly four years, lying dormant as cicadas do. (Whiteside and Bink, 3/29)

CIDRAP: In Youngest US Kids, Uptake Drops For Flu, Hepatitis B, 3 Other Vaccines
Vaccination coverage among US children remained high for most routine immunizations through age two years in recent years, but declines in several vaccines—particularly influenza and the hepatitis B (HepB) birth dose—highlight growing gaps in vaccine coverage, according to a report yesterday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Bergeson, 3/27)

CIDRAP: US Measles Cases Top 1,500 As Texas Outbreak Grows
Measles cases in the United States have climbed to 1,575, with 88 new infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in its weekly update today. The CDC confirmed 2,285 measles cases for all of last year, the most since 1991. The United States could top that number this spring. The country will likely lose its measles elimination status—which it gained in 2000—in November, when officials assess the data. Measles is widely considered to be one of the world’s most contagious diseases. (Wappes, 3/27)

NPR: Is Mexico's Massive Measles Vaccine Campaign A Success?
In Mexico, a sweeping measles outbreak has triggered a sweeping response — a campaign to vaccinate 2.5 million people a week. In the capital, posters are plastered with QR codes for people to look up the nearest spot for vaccination. (Silver, 3/28)

More about RFK Jr. and MAHA —

Politico: 'We Love You!’: The MAGA Base Gives RFK Jr. A Rousing Welcome 
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to woo the MAGA base Saturday evening at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual base-rallying gathering that only a few years ago might have viewed some of Kennedy’s policy stances as too left-leaning. Kennedy said the Democratic Party “had lost its bearings” and that Trump was more aligned with him than liberals on fighting chronic disease, which is at the center of the health secretary’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. (Paun, 3/28)

Politico: Poll: MAHA Wants More. They May Turn To Democrats To Get It. 
Republicans hope the Make America Healthy Again movement becomes a permanent fixture of a big GOP tent. But the party can’t count on its support heading into midterm elections this November. New results from The POLITICO Poll show both broad frustration and dissatisfaction with the Trump administration on health priorities and opportunities for Democrats to make inroads with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA supporters. (Ollstein, Doherty, Brown and Paun, 3/30)

The New York Times: As Kennedy Takes On Food Policy, Companies Push Back
In his quest to overhaul the food system, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to close a loophole that allows food and dietary supplement companies to independently determine whether new ingredients are safe. But the plan is facing stiff pushback from the industry, with lawyers and executives already warning of lawsuits before an official proposal has been unveiled. (Jewett, 3/27)

The New York Times: The Dogma Of Meat 
From Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s food pyramid to online influencers, beef has become more than just a source of protein. (Miller, 3/30)

The Colorado Sun: A Waitlist For Care For Colorado Adults With Disabilities Could Double
The waitlist for what’s called the development disabilities Medicaid waiver — now about seven years long and still with 2,800 names — could quickly double with the latest policy changes. The people on the waiver, funded with state and federal money, have access to round-the-clock care in their homes, in host homes with a couple of other people, or in group homes with up to eight people. The cost of the residential waiver programs for adults and children pushed over $1 billion this fiscal year, with enrollment climbing to 9,451 people, up 843 people over the previous year, and compared with about 6,700 people in 2020. (Brown, 3/27)

More health news from across the U.S. —

AP: Hartford Police Officer Who Shot Man In Mental Health Crisis Is Fired
A white Connecticut police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a mental health crisis was fired Friday as public outrage grew over videos showing he began shooting 30 seconds after arriving at the scene, where other officers had spent several minutes de-escalating the situation. The officer’s firing came a day after the Rev. Al Sharpton and noted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump spoke at the funeral of the man who was killed, Steven Jones. (Collins, 3/27)

Belleville News-Democrat: Cahokia Heights, Ill., Mayor Shares Theory About E. Coli In Tap Water 
Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. on Friday morning shared a theory about recent community-organized testing that found E. coli in residents’ kitchen tap water. During a City Hall news conference about the community’s drinking water concerns, McCall suggested residents with troubling results could have a problem with the water lines on their properties because of the age of their homes. He said he planned to reach out to county, state and federal officials about possibly gathering funding to help residents with the cost of replacing their pipes. (Cortes, 3/27)

NBC News: Some Alabama Residents Learn Their Water Hasn't Had Fluoride For Years
Last week, residents of Birmingham, Alabama, were informed that their drinking water would no longer contain fluoride. Then came a twist: It turned out that their water utility had, without telling the public, actually stopped adding it years ago. John Matson, a spokesperson for Central Alabama Water, which serves Birmingham and its surrounding suburbs, confirmed to NBC News that two of the utility’s four water filtration plants had temporarily stopped fluoridating in 2023, and a third had stopped in March 2024. The changes were made under prior leadership, he said, when the utility had a different name. (Bendix, 3/27)

AP: Corn Tortillas In California Must Now Contain Folic Acid
Fifteen years after she lost her first baby to a rare and devastating birth defect, Andrea Lopez takes comfort in knowing that other Latina mothers might finally avoid the same pain. In January, California became the first state to require food makers to add folic acid, a crucial vitamin, to corn masa flour used to make tortillas and other traditional foods widely used in her community. It’s a long-delayed move aimed at reducing Hispanic infants’ disproportionately high rates of serious conditions called neural tube defects, which claimed Lopez’s son, Gabriel Cude, when he was 10 days old. (Aleccia and Taxin, 3/29)

CNN: Like ‘Driving To San Francisco And Back, Every Week’: In Rural America, Cancer Patients Face Tall Hurdles To Get Care
Andy Henard is used to doing things for himself. That’s the way to run a successful ranch and farming operation in North Texas. “I’ve always been a big strong guy. If I need to load 50 sacks of wheat seed weighing 100 pounds, I just do it,” says Henard, 76, a former Texas A&M defensive end. But for the better part of a year, it was all he could do to drag himself from the couch to his bedroom. (Hellerman, 3/29)

The Guardian: Full Network Of Clitoral Nerves Mapped Out For First Time
Almost 30 years after the intricate web of nerves inside the penis was plotted out, the same mapping has finally been completed for one of the least-studied organs in the human body – the clitoris. As well as revealing the extent of the nerves that are crucial to orgasms, the work shows that some of what medics are learning about the anatomy of the clitoris is wrong, and could help prevent women who have pelvic operations from ending up with poorer sexual function. (Simms, 3/29)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Kratom Poisoning Calls At Record High, Study Finds 
Calls to poison centers in the United States about the widely available herb kratom increased more than 1,200% between 2015 and 2025, new research has found. (Rogers, 3/27)

ABC News: 'Public Health Crisis': Experts Weigh The Stakes Of Youth Gambling In America
Rob Minnick was a New Jersey high school student scooping ice cream for minimum wage when he started gambling through a bookie. The draw, he recalls, seemed obvious. "When I saw this concept that I could make $100 on a Phillies game versus working two days at the store, it was like, 'Why would I ever work again?'" said Minnick, now 27. Over the next six years, Minnick went into debt six times. As his gambling habit grew, he took on a second job to support his addiction. He says he placed wagers, on average, for at least eight hours a day. (Bruggeman and Simpson, 3/27)

NBC News: 'Mentally Active' Sitting May Reduce Dementia Risk, Study Finds
Sitting for hours on a regular basis can be bad for your body and brain. A new study suggests that keeping your brain engaged helps counteract some of the harms of sedentary behavior. Engagement means activities such as knitting or solving a puzzle, instead of mindlessly scrolling or passively watching a screen. (Ozcan, 3/29)

CIDRAP: Kids’ Cognitive Skills Declined During COVID-19 Pandemic, Studies Show
A growing body of research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of key cognitive skills that help children make plans, control their impulses, and adapt to new situations. Several long-term studies conducted before, during, and after the pandemic have found significant declines in children’s executive functioning, a set of mental skills that help people set goals, focus, and get things done. Executive function skills include flexible thinking, inhibition control, and working memory, which allows people to remember information without losing track of what they’re doing—such as when working on math problems. (Szabo, 3/27)

The New York Times: Chromebook Remorse: Tech Backlash At Schools Extends Beyond Phones 
Inge Esping, the principal of McPherson Middle School, has spent years battling digital devices for children’s attention. Four years ago, her school in McPherson, Kan., banned student cellphones during the school day. But digital distractions continued. Many children watched YouTube videos or played video games on their school-issued Chromebook laptops. Some used school Gmail accounts to bully fellow students. In December, the middle school asked all 480 students to return the Chromebooks they had freely used in class and at home. Now the school keeps the laptops, which run on Google’s Chrome operating system, in carts parked in classrooms. (Singer, 3/29)

The New York Times: Your Chatbot Isn’t A Therapist
As clinicians at a major academic medical center, we have seen our patients turn to chatbots powered by large language models for emotional support that they would once have sought from family or friends — to discuss their fears, loneliness and uncertainty. This troubles us. (Divya Saini and Natasha Bailen, 3/29)

Stat: To Lower Drug Prices, Give PBMs A Fiduciary Duty To Patients 
Consumer groups, independent pharmacies, and drugmakers rightly complained for years that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have used their position as supply chain middlemen to benefit themselves at the expense of patients and payers. At last, relief is in sight. Congress and the Department of Labor are now poised to align PBMs’ incentives with employers and patients, including making PBMs legally accountable as fiduciaries. (Neeraj Sood, 3/30)

Capital & Main: The Least-Bad Option: A County Sales Tax To Save California Health Clinics
The idea of increasing the sales tax doesn’t thrill anyone. As Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said after the board approved putting the measure on the June ballot, “There really are no other viable and timely options. Trust me, I looked high and low.” The immediate alternative, though, is reduced or suspended operations at clinics and health centers at a time when they are likely to be desperately needed by the county’s poorest, a growing group that includes documented and undocumented immigrants alike, as well as U.S. citizens. (Mark Kreidler, 3/26)

The CT Mirror: Long Covid Vs UConn’s GA Health Insurance
I wake up in the morning and assess my symptoms. For me, it is usually some cocktail of brain fog, fatigue, muscle pain and/or restless legs, pins and needles in my toes, and post exertional malaise. After the disappointment that I still woke up chronically ill, I check my sleep score on my fitbit and do either brain training or a meditation through an app that’s main purpose is to help me believe that I can recover. (Kelly Schlabach, 3/27)

Stat: In Memory Of Former Global Health Pioneer Barry Bloom 
When Barry R. Bloom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he decided to be a data point. He signed up for clinical trials, and, as was his way, he read all the papers and came to his appointments with questions and wanting to learn as much as he could. When he entered a Phase 1 study of a molecular inhibitor of his tumor’s KRAS mutation and saw a tremendous response, he knew it was temporary. A single inhibiting agent was bound to select for resistance — he knew it was a matter of time. (Marc Lipsitch and Yonatan Grad, 3/30)