Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
She Needed an EpiPen. But First, an Urgent Care Asked Her To Pay.
An uninsured woman sought help at a Virginia urgent care center after being stung by a wasp. She said she was stunned when the center asked her to pay before giving her a shot to reverse her allergic reaction.
Data Center Health Worries Animate Midterm Campaigns
Opposition to the rapid emergence of data centers in states such as Ohio and Arizona has ginned up activism and unified voters. A range of public health issues have played into the resistance.
The Campaign To Defend Trans Healthcare in Missouri Is Slow Going, on Purpose
The campaign to defend access to transgender healthcare for young people in Missouri is taking an unhurried approach to talking with voters about how the ban on midterm ballots would play out.
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Here's today's health policy haiku:
THE MYSTERY OF A TINY ORGAN
Defunct ovaries?
— Catherine DeLorey
That's just an oxymoron.
They work forever.
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Note To Readers
Stay tuned tomorrow for the winners of our Halloween Healthcare Haiku contest! 🎃👻
Summaries Of The News:
Administration News
HHS Permits Access To 6 Peptides Not Yet Approved By The FDA
NBC News: RFK Jr. Takes Shortcut To Make Some Unapproved Peptides Available For Use
The Department of Health and Human Services is giving compounding pharmacies a temporary green light to make six peptides while the agency continues to work on a formal rule change. In a notice filed Wednesday, the agency said it would exercise “enforcement discretion,” meaning it will not take legal action against compounding pharmacies that make the six unapproved peptides. In practice, that means these pharmacies can start offering them now, even though the peptides aren’t yet on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of ingredients compounding pharmacies are allowed to make. (Lovelace Jr., 10/28)
ProPublica: Top U.S. Health Official Backed A Medication Policy Shift That Benefited A Company She Has Stock In
Last November, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the elimination of “black box” warnings on hormone replacement therapies, aiming to reverse nearly two decades of stigma surrounding a key treatment for menopause symptoms. Among the officials at a press conference about the decision was Alicia Jackson, director of a federal health agency that invests taxpayer money in medical technology and research. As Jackson stood behind a lectern adorned with the HHS logo, she praised the new policy, calling it a victory for women and science. (Johnson and Roberts, 10/29)
Bloomberg: DOGE Chief’s Husband Hired By HHS Weeks After Department Layoffs
Amy Gleason, a little-known health tech entrepreneur, was catapulted into the public eye in February 2025 when she was revealed as the acting administrator of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency. Less than three months later, her husband got a job at an under-the-radar division of the US Department of Health and Human Services that had just been ravaged by DOGE-driven layoffs, according to people familiar with the matter. (Cohrs Zhang, 10/28)
Stat: Treasury Limits On Chinese Biotech Deals Raise A Key Licensing Issue
Ever since the Treasury Department proposed to limit U.S. investment in the Chinese biotech industry last week, players across the U.S. are arguing over the significance of the restrictions. (Wilkerson and Garde, 10/29)
On the Nov. 3 midterm elections —
Stat: Senate Candidate El-Sayed Wants To ‘Grill’ RFK Jr., Calls Him The ‘Most Incompetent HHS Secretary Ever’
Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t make headlines as the Senate candidate who wrote a book on applying systems science to public health, or who worked to rebuild Detroit’s health system, or who researched the ways social circumstances can impact maternal mortality. (Oza, 10/28)
Stat: Politicians Have Failed To Tackle Health Care Affordability. It’s Now Voters’ Rallying Cry
Voters across the country are furious over the high cost of health care, with resentment rippling across workers who get health coverage through their jobs. (Herman, 10/29)
KFF Health News: The Campaign To Defend Trans Healthcare In Missouri Is Slow Going, On Purpose
Reneé Luckfield tries not to knock like a cop. In fact, the 29-year-old spends a lot of time thinking about how to make strangers comfortable when she shows up at their door to talk about transgender healthcare. A syncopated “tap — tap-tap-tap” sounds friendly even when she knocks loudly. In each encounter, she masks her own unease. “Honestly, it’s not something that I’m entirely comfortable with,” Luckfield, a transgender woman, said while walking door to door in this affluent St. Louis suburb. “And it’s not fair that we have to do this work.” (Sable-Smith, 10/29)
KFF Health News: Data Center Health Worries Animate Midterm Campaigns
Doug Herrera still lives in the house his father built, though his dad died some time ago from cancer. Herrera wonders if that illness could have been linked to pollutants from nearby uranium mining. Now, he worries that a possible new neighbor — a proposed $10 billion mega data center — could imperil his health. “I’m a patriot, but I’m highly against the data center,” Herrera, 64, said from his front porch near a yard sign that reads “No Data Centers.” “There is light pollution, sound pollution. The temperature is going to rise,” he said. (Armour and Seitz, 10/29)
Pharmaceuticals
Pharmacy Benefit Managers Will Soon Be Required To Disclose Pricing, Payment Data
The Wall Street Journal: Drug Middlemen Will Soon Have To Share Details On How They Are Paid
The Trump administration will require the companies that manage hundreds of billions of dollars of drug spending to disclose details on how they get paid. Under a new regulation from the Labor Department expected to be released Thursday, pharmacy-benefit managers will have to provide their employer clients with granular information about the prices they pay for pharmaceuticals, as well as payments they receive from drugmakers, according to people with knowledge of the matter. (Wilde Mathews and Essley Whyte, 10/28)
More pharmaceutical news —
Stat: GAO Should Study If TrumpRx Saved People Money, Lawmaker Says
A House lawmaker asked the Government Accountability Office to review whether the TrumpRx platform has saved Americans any money. (Silverman, 10/28)
Undark: The FDA Wants To Pull Its Approval Of A Drug. It’s Not So Easy
In May 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a lengthy briefing document on an experimental medication for a rare autoimmune form of vasculitis that often damages the kidneys and lungs. The agency was on the fence about whether to approve the treatment, and it wanted an independent advisory committee to weigh in. Among the questions at hand: Was the drug meaningfully better than existing therapies? (Talpos, 10/28)
Stat: Lilly's 'Triple-G' Drug Bests Ozempic In Head-To-Head Study
Eli Lilly on Wednesday said that its investigational drug was more effective at lowering blood sugar and cutting weight than Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic in a large diabetes study, further boosting the competitive profile of its medicine. (Chen, 10/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Here’s Why Moderna’s CEO Isn’t Fazed By Its Cancer-Vaccine Selloff
Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel thinks investors are wrong about the company’s cancer vaccine. Moderna’s stock fell sharply over the past few days after data emerged about its cancer vaccine that investors found disappointing, though researchers called it breakthrough. (Martinez, 10/28)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Arielle Zionts reads the week’s news: Prescription drugs can be lifesavers, but taking many different meds can be risky. Plus, people shopping for Obamacare plans for next year may see some changes. (10/29)
Healthcare Costs
Being A Family Caregiver Means Spending $11,508 Out-Of-Pocket Yearly, Research Finds
NPR: What’s Gone Up Even Faster Than Gas Or Rent? The Cost Of Caregiving
As prices have ticked up in recent years, the cost to caregivers has skyrocketed. A study, released Wednesday by AARP and shared first with NPR, finds that family caregivers — people helping out disabled, chronically ill or elderly adults — now spend an average $11,508 out of pocket each year. That's roughly 60% more than just five years ago, and adds up to 31% of a caregiver's income, on average. The increase during those years is more than twice the overall rate of inflation of 24%, as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. (McGowan, 10/28)
On ACA, Medicare, surprise billing, and more —
Modern Healthcare: Centene, Elevance, Oscar Expand ACA Exchange Markets For 2027
Major health insurance companies, facing new regulatory requirements and other pressures, reevaluated their exchanges strategy for the 2027 plan year. Overall, there will be less competition as major insurers pull back from some markets, but several companies opted to expand. Open enrollment begins Sunday and ends Jan. 15 in most states. Not every state has finished negotiating with health insurers about premium increases for 2027. Nationwide, insurers asked officials for an average 15% increase, according to a report the health policy research organization KFF published in August. (Tepper, 10/28)
The Washington Post: ACA Premiums Are Going Up Again. See What It Means For You.
The Post analyzed insurers’ finalized and proposed 2027 rate increases across the U.S. See what costs will look like where you live. (Gilbert, Ahmed and Waldvogel, 10/28)
The Hill: Current And Former CMS Leaders Offer Advice On Medicare Changes Ahead
Current and former leaders at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday advised Medicare beneficiaries to pay close attention to their options this year upon reenrolling in plans, as major changes in recent years have only made the landscape more complex. Speaking at The Hill’s “Bang for Your Buck: Get the Most from Your 2027 Medicare Benefits” event in partnership with the Alliance for Aging Research, CMS Deputy Administrator John Brooks and former CMS Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Blum both noted how provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), such as the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, had changed how Medicare benefits are handled. (Choi, 10/28)
The CT Mirror: Hartford Coalition Will Help Residents Navigate Medicaid Changes
A new citywide task force will help Hartford residents navigate upcoming changes to the Medicaid program, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced Wednesday. (Battulga, 10/28)
MedPage Today: Congress Mulls Ways To Fix The Surprise Billing Law
Although most observers agree that the No Surprises Act did fix one problem -- nixing unexpected bills for out-of-network care -- lawmakers are still trying to fix other problems caused by the law. The act, passed at the end of 2020, was designed to protect patients who received bills for out-of-network care -- often emergency care -- even though the care was delivered at an in-network facility. This can happen, for example, if the in-network hospital contracts with out-of-network providers for emergency or specialty care. (Frieden, 10/27)
KFF Health News: She Needed An EpiPen. But First, An Urgent Care Asked Her To Pay
Stephanie Rowell was standing on her parents’ front porch in July when a wasp stung her left arm. She said that almost immediately her arm felt like it was “on fire,” her body started itching all over, and her face became swollen and red. Rowell, 53, took Benadryl, and her father started driving her to the nearest emergency room, about 25 minutes away. But after driving for 10 minutes they spotted a TruHealthNow urgent care facility in Purcellville, Virginia, and decided to stop, hoping she would get help faster. (Galewitz, 10/29)
Health Industry
Minnesota's Rural Maternal Healthcare Takes Hit As Sanford Health Ends Obstetric Services
MPR News: Sanford Luverne To End Labor And Delivery Services In April 2027
Sanford Health will discontinue inpatient labor and delivery services, as well as newborn care, at its Luverne medical center and clinic in April 2027. The health system announced its plans Wednesday, the same day Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison unveiled a new initiative to strengthen rural maternal health care across the state. (Zurek, 10/28)
More news about rural healthcare —
Jackson Hole Community Radio: Jackson Hospital Looks To Ballot With Federal Funds In Limbo
The rollout of federal rural healthcare funds is underway and St. John’s Health may be the only Teton County provider raking in dollars. But since the Jackson hospital is not a critical access hospital, it might have to reimburse the $1.25 million it received earlier this month. (McMurtry, 10/28)
Florida Phoenix: Trump Admin Bumps Florida's Rural Health Award To $193.7M
Florida has been awarded $193.7 million in federal funds to support telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, pharmacy services, diagnostic kiosks, and community paramedicine for rural areas in Florida, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced. The grant is $5 million-plus more than the DeSantis administration had previously announced it was requesting. (Sexton, 10/28)
North Carolina Health News: Staffing Improves For NC Health Care Providers, But Long Term Shortages Continue To Threaten Stability
North Carolina’s health care workforce is growing, and acute staffing shortages have eased in several professions, but employers still struggle to fill open positions and retain workers, particularly in rural communities. (Baxley, 10/29)
In other healthcare industry developments —
Cardinal News: Carilion Clinic To Purchase Piece Of Christiansburg Huckleberry Park For Medical Facility
Carilion Clinic will buy a portion of Christiansburg’s Huckleberry Park to build a medical facility, according to town Mayor Mike Barber. The town council, on a 6-0 vote, approved a $5 million sale to the healthcare company at a Tuesday meeting. (Solorzano, 10/28)
Stat: How Epic Uses Its Power Over Health Data To Stifle Innovation
By most measures, Epic Systems Corp. is a runaway success. Its record-keeping systems, invented at the dawn of personal computers in a Wisconsin basement, are now ubiquitous inside the nation’s largest hospitals. The company collects more than $6.5 billion a year in revenue, wins the lion’s share of new contracts, and holds data on some 8 in 10 Americans. Almost nothing happens in this technology universe without Epic’s involvement — or approval. (Ross and Trang, 10/28)
State Watch
E. Coli Outbreak Possibly Linked To Pumpkin Patch In California Leaves 3 Kids In PICU
San Francisco Chronicle: California Pumpkin Patch Closes After E. Coli Puts 3 Kids In ICU
A popular California pumpkin patch temporarily closed just days before Halloween as health officials investigate five confirmed E. coli infections potentially linked to visits to the farm. The San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health said Tuesday that it was investigating Brookshire Farms, a longtime fall attraction on the Central Coast, as a potential source of the infections. (Vaziri, 10/28)
More health news from California —
AP: LA Fire Smoke Exposed Millions To Toxic Metals, Study Finds
At the height of the Los Angeles fires in 2025, millions of residents were exposed in a 24-hour period to toxic lead levels from smoke that were 80 times higher than the typical background level, according to a new study. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology compared the chemical composition of smoke from the Eaton Fire with that of a wildfire and found that the urban plume had more lead, arsenic and halogens (which include chlorine and bromine) linked to burning vehicles, building materials and electronics. (Pineda, 10/28)
Bloomberg: Los Angeles Bans New Oil Wells, Orders Phaseout Of Old Ones
Los Angeles voted to ban new oil and gas drilling and to phase out existing wells, becoming the largest US city to move toward ending extraction within its borders. The Los Angeles City Council approved the ordinance in a final vote Wednesday after local officials cast it as a public-health necessity. The measure describes oil and gas extraction near homes, schools and other sensitive sites as a “credible, immediate and ongoing threat” to residents’ health and safety, one that falls hardest on disadvantaged communities. (Ma, 10/28)
San Francisco Chronicle: Genentech Employee Is SF's First Fatal Overdose Victim Of MGM-15
A 37-year-old Genentech scientist died in his San Francisco home last month of an overdose from a dangerous new opioid found in products sold openly in smoke shops and gas stations, according to a medical examiner’s report. The report identified Robert Schuldt as the first person in the city to die of an accidental overdose from MGM-15, a synthetic drug derived from kratom, a psychoactive plant. MGM-15 was detected in Schuldt’s blood, and investigators found an empty package of a product called “cat’s claw botanical extract” among his belongings. (Vân Neely and McFadden, 10/28)
Other news from across the U.S. —
AP: Oregon Needs More Youth ‘Respite’ Homes
Megan Miller knew she and her son needed breaks, but for a long time, she didn’t know how to get one. As a single mom in Eugene, Oregon, caring for her neurodivergent — or “neurospicy,” as she calls it — 8-year-old left her feeling overwhelmed and isolated. A standard childcare or after-school program wouldn’t accept him given his special needs, and Miller doesn’t have family nearby. Her son’s Medicaid plan for people with an intellectual and developmental disability covers two weeks of “relief” overnights per year, but she said she has never been able to use it because the benefit only covers limited situations and there are few providers. (Dawson, 10/28)
Modern Healthcare: PACE Programs Boost Enrollment Through Ethnic, Cultural Groups
Some Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly are boosting enrollment by targeting certain ethnic and cultural groups. PACE operators are tailoring activities, meals and some clinical services to attract Asian, Hispanic, Muslim and LGBTQ+ older adults in communities with large populations of those groups. (Eastabrook, 10/28)
CIDRAP: Avian Flu Activity Increases In Midwestern, West Coast Poultry
H5N1 avian flu activity is increasing across the United States, with 29 confirmations in the past 30 days, including 11 commercial flocks and 18 backyard flocks. A total of 1.32 million birds have been affected in the past month, according to the most recent update from the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). (Soucheray, 10/28)
Public Health
CTE Present In 3 Out Of 4 Former NFL Players Who Died From 2008 To 2023: Study
CNN: New Study Suggests 3 In 4 Former NFL Players Who Died From 2008 To 2023 Had CTE
A new study estimates about 3 in 4 former National Football League players who died between 2008 and 2023 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy — an even higher level than identified in another recent study of former players. (Anos and Kounang, 10/28)
The New York Times: Can Scientists Make Football Safer?
A college football team in Utah is donning some curious caps this season. As part of their regular recovery routine, many Brigham Young University players are wearing headsets that shine near-infrared light onto their scalps — and up their noses. Emerging science suggests that the devices may help the brain be more resilient to damage, potentially reducing the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative disease associated with repeated head trauma. (Peeples, 10/28)
In other health and wellness news —
HealthDay: Nicotine Pouch Use Surges In U.S., Study Reveals Alarming Trends
More than 1 in 10 Americans (10.2%) have tried a nicotine pouch, researchers reported Oct. 28 in the journal Addiction. Further, among tobacco users — people who already smoke, vape or use chewing tobacco, for example — about 1 in every 10 were using nicotine pouches in 2024. That's more than triple the 3% of tobacco users who were using them in 2021, the study says. That’s a swift increase, given that the pouches only hit U.S. markets a decade ago, in 2016, researchers said. (Thompson, 10/29)
The Washington Post: More Education Linked To Lower Dementia Risk, Study Finds
A new study has found that adults who stayed in school an extra year as teenagers had a lower risk of dementia later in life than those who left school sooner. Previous research has demonstrated that more education is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia, but it’s been hard to parse why. Is it formal schooling itself? Or more to do with socioeconomic status, which also affects dementia risk? In the study, researchers attempted to answer the question by using health records from the U.K. Biobank and a situation created decades ago by an education law. (Penman, 10/28)
ABC News: Plant-Based Butter Recalled Over Yeast, Mold And E.Coli Concerns Receives FDA Risk Classification
A plant-based butter that was recently recalled has received a risk classification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). More than 1,300 cases of Miyoko's Creamery European Style Salted Plant Milk Butter had been recalled due to concerns over yeast, mold and E. coli, according to an FDA report. The FDA on Friday classified the recall as a Class II risk level, assigned when use of or exposure to a product "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote." (Kekatos, 10/28)
Health Policy Research
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
HealthDay: Shorter Radiation Regimen Effective For Breast Cancer Reconstruction
A groundbreaking trial reveals that a shorter, three-week radiation regimen is just as effective as the standard five-week course for breast cancer patients undergoing reconstruction after mastectomy, offering faster recovery and reduced stress without compromising results. (Thompson, 10/23)
MedPage Today: Obesity In Young Adults Linked To Multiple Early Cancers
Obesity in young adulthood was associated with significantly increased likelihood of early-onset cancers, with the risk persisting into middle age, a large population-based study from South Korea showed. (Bankhead, 10/26)
HealthDay: AI Tool Helps Doctors Spot Skin Cancer
The tool, called Dermoscopy Explainable Intelligence (DEXI), is part of an imaging system that dermatologists can use to track skin lesions over time, researchers said. DEXI correctly identified almost 94% of skin cancers and accurately ruled out about 75% of non-cancerous lesions, researchers said. (Thompson, 10/27)
News-Medical: Doubling Postpartum Oxytocin Dose Cuts Vaginal Birth Bleeding Forty Percent
A change in how oxytocin is administered after childbirth may help reduce postpartum hemorrhage, a new study suggests. (10/27)
Stat: Alnylam Says Drug For Huntington's Shows Promise
An experimental Huntington’s drug from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals showed promise in a small study, the company said Friday, suggesting it can partially silence the mutant gene that drives the devastating neurological disorder. (Mast and Chen, 10/23)
CIDRAP: Study Suggests US Enteric Fever Cases Won’t Respond To Ciprofloxacin
An analysis of US enteric fever cases found that most travel-associated cases were not susceptible to the first-line antibiotic treatment, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this week in JAMA Network Open. Enteric fever, which encompasses both typhoid and paratyphoid fever, is typically transmitted via food or water contaminated with Salmonella Typhi or Paratyphi bacteria and can be deadly if not treated promptly with antibiotics. (Dall, 10/28)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Public Health Can Win Back Public Trust; What's Behind The Ever-Increasing Insurance Costs?
Chicago Tribune: Rural And Religious Americans Lost Faith In Science. We Can Win Them Back.
Trust in science is built in the places where people get care. (Michelle A. Williams, 10/29)
Bloomberg: Your Healthcare Sticker Shock Has Been Decades In The Making
Welcome to open enrollment season, when millions of Americans are yet again wracked with anxiety over the sizable chunk of their paychecks being sucked up by healthcare costs. (Lisa Jarvis, 10/28)
Stat: Employers Must Try New Things To Lower Health Care Prices
Right now, millions of workers are choosing their health plans for next year. The average family premium for employer coverage hit $28,303 in 2026, up 28% in the last five years. While employers appear to cover most of that premium, workers ultimately bear the full cost of those benefits through lower wages. Yet no one is really pushing back. (Tony Lo Sasso, 10/29)
Bloomberg: Fending Off Plagues Requires Global Coordination
Too much remains unknown about the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician for a Russian research institute. Her employer has denied local media reports that she may have been exposed to plague after breaking a test tube. Russian officials, who say no cases of plague have been reported in the region, have attributed her death to pneumonia. (10/29)
Stat: AI’s Creep Into Biomedical Science Is Useful — And Unsettling
Worried about artificial intelligence destroying all of humanity soon, or, alternatively, turning your toaster or other home appliances against you? For the moment, I’m most concerned about what it might be doing to science, specifically the biomedical sciences and especially us biologists. (Paul Knoepfler, 10/29)