States Agree To New $7.4 Billion Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement
June 17, 2025
Morning Briefing
If finalized, the deal, which was also signed on to by the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, would pay out over the next 15 years. Also: Eli Lilly’s experimental weight loss drug, a new Lupus drug, milli-spinner thrombectomy for stroke treatment, and more.
First Edition: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
June 17, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
‘MAGA’ Backers Like Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ — Until They Learn of Health Consequences
By Phil Galewitz
June 17, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A new poll finds that most adults oppose the GOP bill that would extend many of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts while reducing spending on domestic programs including Medicaid. Most Trump backers support the plan until they learn that millions would lose health coverage and local hospitals would lose funding.
The Price You Pay for an Obamacare Plan Could Surge Next Year
By Daniel Chang
June 17, 2025
KFF Health News Original
An estimated 4 million Americans will lose health insurance over the next decade if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, which expire at the end of the year. Florida and Texas would see the biggest losses, in part because they have not expanded Medicaid eligibility.
El precio que pagas por un plan del Obamacare podría aumentar el próximo año
By Daniel Chang
June 17, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Los subsidios mejorados durante la pandemia expiran a fines de 2025. Esto podría generar una catarata de aumentos que afectarían a los consumidores.
A Dose Of Upbeat And Inspiring News
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s stories are on family medicine, limb regeneration, weight loss, and more.
As Doctors Suss Out Ovarian Cancer Cause, More Advise Salpingectomy
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Since the 1990s, pathologists have been zeroing in on the fallopian tubes as the potential place where some female cancers start. Now, tube removal is on the rise. Other health and wellness news is about dementia risk in men, loneliness, joy, and more.
23andMe Co-Founder’s Nonprofit Wins Bidding War To Buy Most Of Its Assets
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
TTAM Research Institute, the nonprofit led by 23andMe’s former CEO Anne Wojcicki, has won back 23andMe’s core assets: its Personal Genome Service, Research Services, and telehealth subsidiary Lemonaid Health. Other industry news includes gene therapy, layoffs, nurse shortages, and more.
Morning Briefing for Monday, June 16, 2025
June 16, 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.
Trump Administration Gives Personal Data Of Medicaid Enrollees To DHS
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
The AP, which obtained an internal memo and emails, reports that the information provided to deportation officials on Medicaid enrollees included immigration status. The effect on Medicaid in the GOP’s megabill is also in the news.
CDC To Summer Camps: Check For Documentation Of Measles Immunity
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
The directive comes as measles cases so far this year have hit 1,197 infections, which is fewer than 100 cases from surpassing the record 1,274 cases that were confirmed for all of 2019. Related news is on measles exposures in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado.
Slain Minnesota Lawmaker Played Key Role In Safeguarding Health Care
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed Saturday morning at their home. Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, who was also shot at his home Saturday, is in stable condition after “many surgeries,” his wife said. The suspect in the slayings has been captured.
Research Groups Propose Alternatives To Ensure NIH Funding Still Flows
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Stat reports that the Joint Associations Group offered two options: award payments that would vary depending on the type of institution and the type of research funded in a particular grant; or provide a detailed accounting of administrative and facility costs as line items in each grant proposal. Lawmakers and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya appear open to the policy proposals.
First Edition: Monday, June 16, 2025
June 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A Revolutionary Drug for Extreme Hunger Offers Clues to Obesity’s Complexity
By Claire Sibonney
June 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A new drug is helping families who’ve spent years padlocking fridges, chaining garbage cans, and hiding food as their children with Prader-Willi syndrome deal with unrelenting hunger. But additional progress — and a broader understanding of obesity — is now under threat as the government dismantles the pipeline for promising new research.
‘Not Accountable to Anyone’: As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out of Options
By Lauren Sausser
June 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Health insurers issue millions of prior authorization denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead. For doctors, these denials are frustrating and time-consuming. For patients, they can be devastating.
Journalists Assess RFK Jr.’s Remaking of Vaccine Committee and Trend of Kids Caring for Elders
June 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
NIH Workers Risk Retaliation by Openly Protesting Trump Policies
By Rachana Pradhan
June 13, 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.
CDC Staffing Upheaval Disrupts HIV Projects and Wastes Money, Researchers Say
By Amy Maxmen
June 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Researchers laid off in April were putting the finishing touches on in-depth HIV surveys that guide treatment and prevention. Some staff have been reinstated, but data remains in limbo.
