Tuesday, August 4, 2026 - KFF Health News

From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:

KFF Health News Original Stories

AI Is Being Used to Boost Medicaid Enrollment, but Not Without Concerns

Ahead of Medicaid work requirements, a health plan in California hopes to stanch the number of people losing coverage by using an AI program to schedule appointments and remind enrollees to fill out paperwork. The plan says it can do the work of 40 employees at a fraction of the cost. ( Mark Kreidler , 8/4 )

Nurses Chase Cyclospora, Aided by Interviews, Fast-Food Receipts — And the Messy Details

Yes, they’ve heard all the poop jokes. Public health staffers are painstakingly tracing the sources of this massive outbreak, combing through fast-food orders and lettuce purchases as they listen to people’s lengthy, messy stories about their illness. ( Kate Wells , 8/4 )

Here's today's health policy haiku:

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Summaries Of The News:

Outbreaks and Health Threats

2 People In Michigan Have Died In Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

They are the first deaths linked to the outbreak; state health officials said both people had underlying health conditions. Although officials aren't disclosing details, one infectious disease expert noted that people with underlying health conditions "might not be able to withstand the dehydration that can come with severe cyclosporiasis.”

AP: Michigan Reports First 2 US Deaths In Cyclospora Outbreak

Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the U.S. related to the microscopic parasite. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said both people had underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration. The department said it would not provide additional information about the deaths. (Householder and Thanawala, 8/3)

Bloomberg: Taco Bell Met With Michigan on Parasite Weeks Before Recall

Michigan health authorities were in touch with Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands Inc., about a parasitic outbreak in early July, weeks before the company officially alerted consumers. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services held a call with Yum on July 2 to discuss cyclospora, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News through a public records request. In a follow-up email, officials asked to connect with the company’s supply chain quality assurance and communications teams “for a discussion about any intervention or notification that could be taken this week to aid in reducing the number of cases in the future.” (Sirtori, 8/3)

STLPR: Missouri Reports More Than 1,000 Cyclosporiasis Cases

More than 1,000 Missourians have now been diagnosed with cyclosporiasis, as health officials continue investigating the source of the foodborne parasite. (Edwards, 8/3)

WUSF: Florida Records Nearly 100 More Cases Of Cyclosporiasis In A Week

Florida added nearly 100 cases of the foodborne parasitic infection cyclosporiasis in the most recent week of reporting data available by the state health department. (Mayer, 8/4)

KFF Health News: Nurses Chase Cyclospora, Aided By Interviews, Fast-Food Receipts — And The Messy Details

More than 900 people in Washtenaw County, Michigan, have been sickened with cyclosporiasis since mid-June. Linda Kim, a public health nurse, has called more than 100 of them. Almost everyone has said the same thing: It’s excruciating, and one of the worst illnesses they’ve experienced. But on a Wednesday in July, she called one man who said he wouldn’t mind having it again, actually. (Wells, 8/4)

On rabbit fever, dengue, and West Nile virus —

NBC News: What Is Rabbit Fever? Cases Of Rare Tick-Borne Illness Reported In NYC

Health officials in New York are warning residents about a rare tick-borne illness after three cases were reported on Long Island. Three people in Suffolk County were confirmed to have come down with tularemia, also known as rabbit fever. The disease can cause high fevers and extreme fatigue, and doctors say symptoms can be more severe than those of more common tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease. (Maxfield, 8/3)

WUSF: Locally Acquired Cases Of Mosquito-Borne Dengue Reported In Palm Beach, Miami-Dade

Florida health officials have confirmed locally acquired cases of dengue fever in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, prompting mosquito surveillance and prevention efforts. (Mayer, 8/3)

CIDRAP: West Nile Accounted For Most US Arboviral Cases In 2024 As Powassan Cases Hit Record High

West Nile virus (WNV) was the most commonly reported mosquito-borne disease in the United States in 2024, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published last week. Powassan virus infections, which are transmitted to humans from ticks, hit a new record high that same year. The findings, published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, identified 1,955 cases of confirmed and probable arboviral disease cases in 48 states and the District of Columbia in 2024. Arboviral diseases are infections caused by viruses transmitted to humans through tick and mosquito bites. (Bergeson, 8/3)

The latest on the Ebola outbreak —

NBC News: Ebola Outbreak Accelerates In DR Congo As Trump, Musk Aid Cuts Hinder Response, Health Officials Say

Dr. Sam Mbalivula has already lost one of his clinic’s nurses to Ebola. From his practice in Bunia, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s northeastern Ituri province, he has watched the virus tear through the epicenter of the country’s worst outbreak in years. Five of his fellow healthcare workers and friends in the city have also died, he told NBC News. (Clayton and Williams, 8/3)

Reuters: Treatment Trials For Ebola Strain Behind Congo Outbreak Show Promise, WHO Says

Testing of experimental treatments, preventive medicines and vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing outbreak is advancing rapidly, the U.N.'s World Health Organization said on Tuesday. (Le Poidevin, 8/4)

Administration News

Medicare Will Require 'Breakthrough' Medical Devices To Prove Their Worth

Medicare has announced its intention to remove a pathway that had allowed devices the FDA designated as "breakthrough" to qualify for supplemental payments without proving their novelty or substantial clinical improvement over alternatives, Stat reported. In other news: The Trump administration is planning an overhaul of Head Start, which was established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, AP said.

Stat: Medicare Eliminates Key Pathways Used By 'Breakthrough' Devices For Extra Payments

Medicare is removing flexibilities that have allowed medical devices designated as “breakthroughs” by the Food and Drug Administration to leapfrog qualifications for extra payments. (Palmer, 8/3)

On AI, Medicaid, and disabilities —

Becker's Hospital Review: White House To Meet With OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta On AI Oversight

The White House will meet Aug. 4 with representatives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta to discuss a new framework for government review of frontier AI models before public release, CNN reported. The meeting follows President Donald Trump’s June 2 executive order, which set up a voluntary system letting the government access advanced AI models up to 30 days before launch. (Diaz, 8/3)

KFF Health News: AI Is Being Used To Boost Medicaid Enrollment, But Not Without Concerns

Vanessa Barahona received a call this past spring from Angelica at Kern Family Health Care in Bakersfield, California, telling her it was time to renew her coverage under Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. Angelica helped Barahona, 41, schedule an appointment to complete her paperwork in person at Kern Family’s offices before she submitted it to Kern County officials for approval. When Barahona had a conflict with her office-cleaning job, Angelica rescheduled the appointment. Barahona finished the process a little later than she’d planned but early enough to avoid an interruption in her coverage. (Kreidler, 8/4)

Stat: RFK Jr. Says Medicaid Cuts Are A Myth. Here's How Experts See It

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was talking about healthy eating on a farm in Michigan, as part of a national tour he’s taking to promote his Make America Healthy Again agenda, when two hecklers demanded to know why the Trump administration was cutting Medicaid. We aren’t cutting Medicaid, he responded. That’s just a “myth people believe,” he said. (Cirruzzo, 8/4)

The Washington Post: In Letter To Cousin RFK Jr., Health Advocate Warns About Threats To Disability Care

In a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and acting attorney general Todd Blanche, the chairman of the Special Olympics — who is also Kennedy’s cousin — called on the administration to reverse course on a Justice Department memorandum that could narrow federal protections for disability care. (Wu, 8/3)

On abortion access —

Politico: Blanche Assures Anti-Abortion Supporters That Dobbs Will Be ‘Permanent In Every Single State'

As his confirmation to lead the Justice Department hung by a thread last week, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told faith leaders on a private call that he was preparing to take action to roll back abortion access nationwide. On a recording of the call posted online Thursday by the religious group Intercessors for America and hosted by the White House Faith Office, Blanche lamented that the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict abortion are “taking longer than we want” but said the Justice Department was “working hand in hand” with federal health agencies and the White House “so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.” (Ollstein and Gerstein, 8/3)

More health news from the Trump administration —

AP: Trump Overhaul Could Gut Head Start Preschool Quality Standards

President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said. Head Start, established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, has long been considered by experts to be a gold standard early learning program. Its regulations, which stretch more than 100 pages, outline requirements on everything from child-to-teacher ratios and child health screenings to family engagement. (Balingit, 8/4)

Stat: As Trump Administration Pushes Court-Ordered Mental Health Care, A New Report Raises Questions

In the last three decades, as involuntary outpatient treatment for people with serious mental health conditions like schizophrenia have expanded to almost every state, the evidence for these programs’ efficacy has remained murky. (Broderick, 8/4)

The Hill: OMB's Proposed Grantmaking Rule Will Destabilize Biomedical Research, Experts Warn

A proposed rule from the Office of Management and Budget to revise the federal grantmaking process is drawing widespread opposition from across multiple industries. Members of the medical research community warn the additional red tape will only serve to impede U.S. biomedical research. The Office of Management and Budget published a proposed rule in May that would, among several actions, instate a pre-issuance review on federal grants and give the awarding offices greater authority in terminating grants. (Choi, 8/3)

Becker's Hospital Review: Federal Employee Benefits Agency Faces Gender-Affirming Care Lawsuit

Five federal employees are suing U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor over alleged sex discrimination due to the rollback of coverage for gender-affirming care. Plaintiffs, backed by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, filed the lawsuit Aug. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The potential class action focuses on OPM’s coverage policy following a January 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump. The order said “sexes are not changeable,” and the country recognizes only male and female sexes. (Casolo, 8/3)

The New York Times: Spotlight On Fauci Said To Boost Book Sales For Kennedy And His Publisher

A few hours after Dr. Anthony S. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right in refusing to answer questions from Senate Republicans last week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took to social media to plug a book he published about Dr. Fauci in 2021, declaring it “the #1 non-fiction hardcover best-seller.” Later that day, Mr. Kennedy went on television to say much the same thing. “I wrote a book about Anthony Fauci in 2021,” he told the Fox News host Sean Hannity. “It was the biggest selling book of 2021. It sold 1.4 million copies.” (Stolberg, 8/3)

HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Gilead Wins Closely Watched Case Involving HIV Drug Side Effects

As Reuters reported, the case addressed whether drugmakers should sacrifice profit on successful products by being required to spend money to develop and quickly commercialize alternative products, sometimes called a "duty to innovate." The California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of the drugmaker.

Reuters: California's Highest Court Rules For Gilead In 'Duty To Innovate' Case

California's highest court on Monday ruled in favor of Gilead Sciences in a closely watched case addressing whether ‌manufacturers of drugs that are considered safe must try developing drugs that could be safer. In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court ordered the dismissal of negligence claims against Gilead by an estimated 24,000 patients using an HIV drug it produced, over its decision more than 20 years ago to stop developing an alternative drug that had fewer side effects. ... The case was closely followed in the pharmaceutical industry, addressing whether drugmakers should sacrifice profit on successful products by being required to spend money to develop and quickly commercialize alternative products, sometimes called a "duty to innovate." (Stempel, 8/3)

The 19th: Running On Empty: Can A Red HIV Outreach Van Outlast Federal Cuts?

The red van hands out food, water, clothes, first aid and free HIV tests. Locals recognize it across the Twin Cities: the van, nicknamed “Thrivey,” visits St. Paul on Mondays, drives up and down south Minneapolis on Wednesdays and Thursdays, then heads to north Minneapolis on Fridays. Tuesdays are restock days. (Rummler, 8/3)

MedPage Today: Cabotegravir HIV PrEP Effective Among U.S. Women Despite Treatment Interruptions

No women taking long-acting cabotegravir (Apretude) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) developed an HIV infection despite short delays before some maintenance injections, according to a U.S. study of routine clinical care. There were no cases of incident HIV over a median follow-up of 13 months among 315 women who started cabotegravir in 2021-2024 as part of the OPERA longitudinal cohort. (Rudd, 8/3)

Also —

The New York Times: Russian Strike Destroyed Millions Of H.I.V. Prevention Supplies In Ukraine

A Russian missile struck a warehouse near Kyiv two weeks ago, destroying 62 million items used to prevent H.I.V. in Ukraine, leaving aid groups working urgently to replenish the supplies. The attack was part of a broader campaign of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including power plants, shopping centers and hospitals, which military analysts say is intended to make civilian life unbearable and inflict a psychological toll on the population. (Mandavilli and Méheut, 8/3)

CBC: New HIV Infections In Canada Are Rising. Advocates Say Years Of Progress Are At Risk

Dr. Julio Montaner has spent decades in the fight against HIV but says he feels years of progress slipping away. “I am very worried about what's coming our way,” said Montaner, executive director and physician-in-chief at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, the largest HIV/AIDS research and treatment facility in Canada. New modelling data from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows there was a 22.8 per cent increase in new HIV infections between 2022 and 2024. In 2024, an estimated 2,517 new infections occurred compared with the 2,050 infections recorded two years earlier. (Reid, 8/1)

Business Insider: The HIV Shot That Could Change Medicine Is Facing Its Biggest Test: Getting To Patients

Trials show lenacapavir can all but eliminate the risk of HIV infection. Yet in the countries where it was tested, most people can't afford it. (Sebouai, 7/31)

Health And Race

Officials: ICE Detainee Held At NJ Facility Dies After 'Medical Emergency'

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was detained at Delaney Hall Detention Facility before being taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Aug. 1, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Separately, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is putting ankle monitors on Haitian immigrants.

ABC News: Man Detained At New Jersey Immigration Facility Dies After 'Medical Emergency'

A Salvadoran migrant who was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in New Jersey died following a "medical emergency" over the weekend, federal officials said Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead Saturday, the agency said. (Deliso, 8/3)

The Washington Post: ICE Begins Outfitting Haitian Immigrants With Ankle Monitors, Attorneys Say

The Department of Homeland Security has begun summoning Haitian immigrants in Ohio to check-in appointments with federal officers who are outfitting them with ankle monitors, in what appears to be a new enforcement effort after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end their humanitarian protections. (Hernandez, Hesson and Gurley, 8/3)

Bloomberg Law: Trump’s 75-Country Immigrant Visa Freeze Is Unlawful, Judge Says

An ongoing green card freeze based on concerns that applicants from 75 countries could become dependent on public benefits is unlawful, a Washington, DC federal district court judge ruled. The public charge policy issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is an exercise of authority specifically denied by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act, Judge Amit Mehta held in a July 31 opinion. (Kreighbaum, 8/3)

CBS News: Johns Hopkins Public Health Researcher Had Valid Work Authorization When Detained By ICE, Attorney Says

A Johns Hopkins University public health researcher who federal immigration officers detained on July 28 has valid work authorization, according to her attorney. Fatima Ameaka, a native of Cameroon, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while boarding a domestic flight at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. (Thompson, 8/3)

The Washington Post: Deported By The U.S., Detained In Venezuela — Then Lost In The Earthquakes

The immigrants aboard Flight 164 were pursuing lives in the U.S. when ICE detained them. In Venezuela, they were held in a building that collapsed hours later. (Hernandez and Paul, 8/2)

Health Industry

Familiar Names Earn Top Spots On Newest 'Best Hospitals' Rankings

U.S. News & World Report made some changes this year, MedPage Today reported, notably by increasing the statistical weight of risk-adjusted patient outcome measures like survival and complication rates. The facilities that earn the top spots are listed alphabetically.

MedPage Today: Here's Who Topped This Year's 'Best Hospitals' List

Familiar hospitals dominated the latest "Best Hospitals" rankings from U.S. News & World Report, which also rolled out several changes this year. There were a couple of newcomers to the 2026-2027 Honor Roll, which for 4 years now, has been ranked alphabetically instead of ordinally. Mayo Clinic–Florida in Jacksonville joined its counterparts in Minnesota and Arizona on the list, and UC San Diego Health made a return after being absent last year. (Henderson, 8/4)

Axios: Colorado Has A New No. 1 Hospital After 14 Years

Intermountain Health Saint Joseph Hospital is Colorado's new top-ranked hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report's latest Best Hospitals ranking. The ranking ends UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital's 14-year run as the state's leading hospital in one of the nation's most influential guides for patients comparing care. (Alvarez, 8/4)

U.S. News & World Report: U.S. News Best Hospitals 2026-2027

See the best hospitals in the U.S. and find one near you. See the best cancer hospitals, heart hospitals, pediatric hospitals and more - and see how they rank. (8/4)

In other healthcare industry developments —

Chicago Tribune: Proposed Settlement Would See West Suburban, Weiss Hospitals Sold

An owner of West Suburban and Weiss hospitals is asking a judge to enforce a settlement agreement that would see the hospitals sold to Insight Health Systems for $1 and include a paid consultancy for the hospitals’ current CEO. (Schencker, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: DispatchHealth Separates Hospital-At-Home Technology Platform

DispatchHealth is separating its technology platform from its service offerings in a move to address the changing landscape of home-based care. The shift means the company will market its logistics platform and remote patient monitoring equipment on its own, rather than bundling it with staffing for acute care, skilled nursing and urgent care in the home. (Eastabrook, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Summa Health Taps Jennifer Eslinger As President, CEO

Jennifer Eslinger has been named president and CEO of Summa Health, effective Sept. 21, the system said Monday. She will succeed Daryl Tol, who has served as interim president and CEO since Jan. 1. Tol succeeded Dr. Cliff Deveny, who stepped down from both roles at the end of last year. Deveny is now CEO emeritus and a strategic advisor for the system, according to a news release. (DeSilva, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Under Political Scrutiny Fight Back

Hospital leaders are not eager to admit they’ve taken a pounding in Washington lately. But as earnings reports trickle in, uninsured numbers rise, provisions of the 2025 tax law kick in and some lawmakers want more cuts, the industry is acknowledging a difficult situation that challenges its storied political clout — and is fighting back. (McAuliff, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital AI Use Draws Scrutiny From Nurse Unions

Nurse labor unions are pushing for more control over how artificial intelligence is used in hospitals as the technology is increasingly incorporated into clinical care. AI use is rapidly expanding from back-office administrative functions to ambient listening in exam rooms and predictive analytics platforms that flag high-risk patients. The tools are touted as a path to improved efficiency and a way to reduce clinician burnout. But there are concerns about how the technology impacts nurses at the bedside. (Hudson, 8/3)

Also —

MedPage Today: Automated Oxygen Therapy Adjustments In Hospital Improves Oxygenation

A novel system for autonomous control of supplemental oxygen for adult inpatients who needed it for acute illness or injury improved the proportion of time spent with adequate oxygen levels, the SAVE-O2 AI trial showed. (Phend, 8/3)

Public Health

Eli Lilly Opens Compassionate Use Pathway For Patients Needing Experimental Obesity Drug

To qualify for retatrutide special use, patients must be at least 18, unable to take part in a clinical trial, have refractory obesity and two or more serious obesity-related complications, and have discussed all standard treatment options, Stat reported. Plus, two studies found no evidence linking MMR shots or circumcision to autism.

Stat: Eli Lilly To Allow More Patients To Apply For Special Access To Unapproved Obesity Drug

Six weeks after STAT reported that Eli Lilly granted a single 79-year-old patient special access to retatrutide, an unapproved obesity drug, the company confirmed on Monday that it will allow other patients to apply for early access. (Lawrence and Chen, 8/3)

The latest autism research —

CIDRAP: No Link Between MMR Vaccination Before Age 2 And Autism, Large US Study Suggests

A national retrospective cohort study of more than 2.5 million children found no association between receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine before age 2 years and having an autism diagnosis. “These results reinforce existing evidence supporting the safety of MMR vaccination,” wrote the authors, from the University of Washington. (Holohan, 8/3)

MedPage Today: Circumcision And Autism: What A New Study Found

A study of U.S. children found no evidence linking neonatal male circumcision with autism spectrum disorder, prospective data from the ECHO cohort showed. Among nearly 2,800 boys in 14 ECHO sites, 6% of those who were circumcised had autism compared with 9% of uncircumcised males, according to Monica McGrath, ScD, MHS, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and co-authors. After adjusting for confounders, circumcision was not associated with an autism diagnosis, ... McGrath and colleagues reported in JAMA Pediatrics. (George, 8/3)

More health and wellness news —

Bloomberg: TikTok Finalizing Trio Of Settlements Over Addiction Claims

TikTok is finalizing agreements to settle three upcoming trials related to allegations that its video product is addictive and harmful to minors. Plaintiffs’ attorneys Joseph VanZandt of Beasley Allen and Emily Jeffcott of Morgan & Morgan confirmed TikTok had resolved in principle with their clients, subject to the finalization of a written settlement agreement. The settlement amounts are confidential, they said in an email. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. (Carville and Levine, 8/3)

CIDRAP: Universal Screening Could Find More Babies Born With Cytomegalovirus Infection, Researchers Say

After Michelle Longo gave birth to her third son, she noticed some unusual bruising on him. At the time, she didn’t know that the bruises were a sign that he had a little known condition. “They said, ‘Third baby, quick labor; it was probably just bruising from coming down the birth canal,” Longo, 35, from Swedesboro, New Jersey, told CIDRAP News. “Nobody said anything. He started feeding fine. It was good.” (Holohan, 8/3)

Fox News: Protein Restriction May Boost Longevity In Sedentary Adults, Study Finds

Eating less protein, not cutting calories, may be an easier path to a longer, healthier life for sedentary adults, according to a new scientific review. While previous research has long tied calorie restriction to improved lifespan and lower rates of age-related disease, studies have found that many people have difficulty maintaining strict low-calorie diets. (Mordowanec, 8/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘I Would Never Do This’: What Scientists Say About Peptide Injections

Eric Verdin studies experimental drugs for their potential to extend human life. He has personally taken a GLP-1 medication, part of a broad class of compounds known as peptides. But when asked about the largely unproven injectable peptides increasingly promoted by celebrities, podcasters and wellness influencers, the CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato had a blunt response. (Ho, 8/2)

State Watch

Minnesota Raises Kratom Purchase Age To 21 After Increase In Poison Control Calls

According to the Minnesota Regional Poison Center, kratom-related calls — often involving withdrawal symptoms, bad reactions, and overdoses — more than doubled from 2024 to 2025, and the trend is similar for 2026, MPR News reported.

MPR News: Kratom Purchase Age Raised To 21 In Minnesota

A new Minnesota law raises the legal age to buy kratom from 18 to 21, marking the state's first major step toward regulating a substance that's become widely available in gas stations and smoke shops. (Ki, 8/3)

More health news from across the U.S. —

KBIA: Missouri Nonprofit Receives Federal Dollars To Support Prenatal Home Visits

The Missouri Children’s Trust Fund has received nearly $600,000 in federal funding to support rural prenatal home visits during pregnancy, as well as follow up visits during the early years of a child’s life. (Bates-Bland, 8/4)

The CT Mirror: Healthcare Access Dominates Complaints From CT's Incarcerated

In late 2024, Alexis Rodriguez was complaining of stomach issues while incarcerated at Carl Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield. He wasn’t able to use the bathroom regularly. (Golvala, 8/3)

The Baltimore Sun: Disability Advocates Rally At Maryland Special Session

Advocates rallied for a pause on cuts to disability services outside the Maryland State House on Monday as state lawmakers convened in Annapolis for a three-day special session, though legislation to address the issue wasn’t allowed to come up for a vote. (Hacker, 8/3)

ProPublica and Flatwater Free Press: Our Soil Tests Found Lead In Omaha’s Yards Despite EPA Cleanup

Shortly after buying her house in 2022, Mary Royers learned from a man across the street that her Omaha, Nebraska, neighborhood was contaminated with lead. But her yard, like thousands of others, had been cleaned up, the neighbor said. Royers wanted to be sure. So the 36-year-old educator checked a website where the city tracks the soil test results of every home in a 27-square-mile area surrounding the site of an old lead smelter. She saw “remediated” written in bright green letters. The federal government had completed the work two decades ago. An expert must have tested the dirt and determined the problem was solved, she thought. (Bowling, Garibay, Herbers and Keinama, 8/4)

Spotlight on Maryland: Maryland’s PFAS Problem Isn’t The Crop Fertilizer, Farmer Says

A new state law aims to protect Marylanders from harmful PFAS by limiting the amount of the chemicals in biosolid crop fertilizer, but one Maryland farmer says lawmakers aren’t getting to the root of the problem. “It’s attacking the problem at the wrong end,” said Charles County Farm Bureau President Steve Walter. (Conrad, 8/4)

The New York Times: After Deadly E-Bike Crashes, N.Y. Lawmakers Consider Crackdown

New York City legislative leaders are expected on Tuesday to announce a long list of proposed rules designed to better govern the use of electric bikes and scooters and crack down on illegal vehicles after a series of fatal crashes. The plan, set to be presented at a news conference at City Hall, includes 17 bills that the City Council will consider this fall. The announcement begins a long process to shape the proposals, many of which are likely to face opposition from various interest groups, each with its own view of the city’s shared streets. (Chen, 8/4)

Editorials And Opinions

Viewpoints: MAHA's Obsession With Inflammation Is Harmful; Incorrect Africa Map At AIDS Conference An Example Of US Neglect

Editorial writers delve into these public health issues.

Mother Jones: The Great Inflammation Panic

The wellness world’s favorite buzzword has gone federal. For those of us with real inflammatory disorders, the misinformation isn’t just annoying—it’s harmful. (Julia Métraux, 8/3)

The Guardian: The US Government’s Mislabeled Map Of Africa At A Global Aids Conference Shows Again A Failure To Understand The Continent

A cartographic blunder is embarrassing, but far greater harm comes when that same lack of thought and care influences budget decisions. Today, global political resolve to address HIV continues to waver and the funding that has kept millions of people alive has plunged. (Kenneth Ngure, 8/4)

Stat: How The FDA Can Catch Up With Medical Software Innovation

I have had type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years, which I manage using a glucose monitor connected to an insulin pump. About every five years, I would get upgraded pumps and sensors that were approved by the Food and Drug Administration and covered by my insurance. Still, my glucose control slowly deteriorated. (Dana P. Goldman, 8/4)

Stat: The Assisted Suicide Stories That Don’t Get Told

On Sept. 11, 1984, Céline Dion found God. At Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, she sang “Une Colombe” (“A Dove”) for 65,000 young people and Pope John Paul II. When the song ended, real doves were released. One landed on the pope’s shoulder and stayed there: a miracle, Céline claimed, that made her a believer. Josée Lamère was 20 that day. (Sai Rajagopal, 8/4)

The Boston Globe: Why Patients Wait Months For Care They Don't Get

Capacity bottlenecks, insurance delays, and legal complexities can trap otherwise stable patients. (Tessa Adzemovic, 8/3)