Firings at Federal Health Agencies Decimate Offices That Release Public Records
By Rachana Pradhan Brett Kelman
Updated April 7, 2025
Originally Published April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The Department of Health and Human Services’ mass firings included people who fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA, which result in the release of records about government handling of infectious diseases, medical products, and safety problems in health facilities.
NY Bucks White House, Says Public Schools Won’t Eliminate DEI programs
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The New York State Education Department says it is “unaware of any authority” the U.S. government has to demand that states end DEI programs or to rescind federal funding if they do not comply, The Washington Post reports. Other national news is out of California, Texas, Idaho, and Virginia.
Drugmakers Must Redo Research After FDA Finds Problems With Contractor
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The FDA found “objectionable conditions” during a 2023 inspection of the Raptim Research facility in Nava Mumbai, India. An unspecified number of companies are affected. Raptim said on its website that the FDA recently inspected an unnamed facility and didn’t find problems; it’s unclear when that inspection occurred.
More Trouble In The Egg Aisle: 2 Liquid Substitutes Recalled Over Bleach Risk
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Egg Beaters and Bob Evans liquid eggs may contain a cleaning solution with sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach. In other health and wellness news: decreased number of heart attacks in long-distance-running events; cancer research; and more.
A Dose Of Upbeat And Inspiring News
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s stories are on paralysis, pacemakers, Alzheimer’s, mental health, and more.
NIH Will See Second Wave Of Layoffs As Part Of HHS Restructuring
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some of the layoffs will be to compensate for those rehired after the first wave. Meanwhile, Politico reports on how HHS had no intention of rehiring 20% of the departments’ fired employees, as previously reported. Other disruptions caused by the cuts include: 9/11 firefighter programs, call centers that provide essential safety information, and more.
Medicare Has Enough In Trust Fund To Last An Extra 17 Years, CBO Reports
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Policy experts extended the program’s depletion date to 2052 after determining that enrollees aren’t seeking hospital care as often as they used to, leading to savings in the main trust fund. Medicare’s trustees will release their own findings this spring.
Administration Rejects Medicaid, Medicare Plan To Cover Obesity Drugs
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Biden-era plan, scrapped Friday, would have cost the federal government billions of dollars and expanded access to millions of Americans. Meanwhile, states are struggling with the rising cost of GLP-1 drugs.
Second Texas Child Dies Of Measles As Infections Continue To Surge
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The 8-year-old girl was not vaccinated against the highly contagious virus. Three days after the girl’s death — and after the nation’s tally of cases topped 600 — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on X: “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
Morning Briefing for Monday, April 7, 2025
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
We’d like to speak with personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services or its component agencies about what’s happening within the federal health bureaucracy. Please message us on Signal at (415) 519-8778 or get in touch here.
First Edition: Monday, April 7, 2025
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Blockbuster Deal Will Wipe Out $30 Billion in Medical Debt. Even Backers Say It’s Not Enough.
By Noam N. Levey
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.
The House Speaker’s Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid. In His Louisiana District, It’s a Lifeline.
By Phil Galewitz
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans — including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Trump’s Health Fraud Focus at Odds With Past Pardons
By Brett Kelman
April 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on autism, miscarriage, gun violence, ALS, and more.
Judge Bars Billions In Public Health Funding Cuts To States — For Now
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
The federal judge’s ruling comes after $11 billion in funding was “abruptly and arbitrarily terminated,” triggering 23 states and the District of Columbia to sue the HHS. Meanwhile, the administration threatened Brown and Harvard with funding freezes unless they comply with demands. Also, more than $125 million in LGBTQ+ health funding has been blocked.
Trump’s Drug Policy To Focus On Harsh Penalties, Addiction Treatment: Report
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
STAT reports that the administration is planning on disrupting the fentanyl supply chain in order to reduce overdose deaths. The drug policy document is not public yet. More news is on South African needle exchange programs affected by USAID cuts; the FTC case against PBMs; and more.
2 Louisiana Babies Die Of Pertussis As Cases Spike, Vaccination Rates Drop
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Already this year, the U.S. has seen four times as many vaccine-preventable whooping cough cases than in the same period last year. Separately, New Jersey warns Newark Airport travelers about a measles exposure.
