Morning Briefing for Wednesday, May 14, 2025
May 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
RFK Jr.’s Hearing With Senate HELP Committee: A Live Discussion : HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Tune in today at 4 p.m. ET for a post-hearing discussion with KFF Health News correspondents Julie Rovner, Stephanie Armour, and Darius Tahir and KFF’s Jennifer Kates, a senior vice president and the director of Global Health & HIV Policy. Register for the webinar here!
FDA Aims To Remove Fluoride Supplements For Kids From Market
May 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
The move contradicts the advice from the CDC and professional medical associations that recommend low doses of fluoride supplements for children who live in areas without fluoridated water. HHS also takes on deregulation, infant formula, mental health care, and more.
First Edition: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
May 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump’s Fast-Tracked Deal for a Copper Mine Heightens Existential Fight for Apache
By Melissa Bailey
May 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Apache tribal members are already feeling psychological and spiritual harm as the Trump administration moves to fast-track a deal to turn their sacred land of Oak Flat, Arizona, into a copper mine.
Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts
By Sarah Jane Tribble Holly K. Hacker
Data visualizations by Lydia Zuraw
May 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.
Luego de prometer atención médica universal, el gobernador de California debe reconsiderar la cobertura para inmigrantes
By Angela Hart Christine Mai-Duc
May 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Gavin Newsom enfrenta otra crisis sanitaria en el estado, que pone en riesgo la cobertura de salud para las personas sin papeles. Expertos opinan sobre las potenciales reducciones.
Oil Well Blowout In Colorado Likely Exposed Residents To ‘Chemical Soup’
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Chevron Bishop well in Galeton last month caused dozens of chemicals to be shot into the air. Among them was benzene — a known carcinogen — at 10 times above the federal exposure limit. Other news is from North Dakota, Texas, Connecticut, California, Missouri, and Illinois.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 13, 2025
May 13, 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.
Studies Show Long Covid More Likely With Initial Infection
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Data indicate that subsequent reinfections showed a two-thirds lower risk of long covid, CIDRAP reported. Plus: early-onset puberty in girls, Black swimmers, and NutraSweet.
Court Revives CRISPR Fight That Could Reshape Intellectual Property Law
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board was ordered to review a claim by a UC Berkeley team that gene-editing technology originated in their studies and not with the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Also in the news: tinnitus treatment, manufacturing expansion, layoffs, and more.
A Record 24.3M People Signed Up For ACA Plans During Open Enrollment
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Data out from CMS on Monday show a 13% increase in 2025 over the record set a year ago. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions of Americans could lose health care coverage under a GOP-led proposal to cut back Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Trump’s Order To Cut Rx Prices Might Have Little Effect On Patients, Pharma
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
News outlets unpack what his executive order means for Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance plans.
Hospital Execs Lambaste GOP Medicaid Proposal As Death Knell For Care
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Republican plan “will lead to millions of hardworking Americans losing access to health care and many of our nation’s hospitals struggling to maintain services and stay open,” one executive says. Plus, what the cuts might mean for SNAP, drug middlemen, elder care, and more.
American Travelers 60 And Up Advised To Skip Chikungunya Vaccine
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The FDA and CDC recommended the pause while the government looks into possible side effects. Also: RFK Jr. raises eyebrows after swimming with his grandkids in a contaminated creek; President Donald Trump instructs the VA to build a center for homeless veterans in Los Angeles; and more.
First Edition: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
May 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
After Promising Universal Health Care, California Governor Must Reconsider Immigrant Coverage
By Angela Hart Christine Mai-Duc
May 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom was elected to office in 2019 on a promise of universal health care. He dramatically expanded coverage, but after six years, the Democrat is forced to contemplate deep cuts — including to the nation’s largest health care expansion to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Listen: Black Swimmers Make Waves Overcoming Fear and Old Perceptions
By Cara Anthony
May 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Segregation and lack of access have kept many Black Americans from learning to swim, which raises their risk of drowning. Groups across the country are working to teach more Black kids and adults the skills to save their lives, or someone else’s.
More High Schoolers Are Using Nicotine Pouches
May 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
Also: Fungus-contaminated marijuana is recalled in Arizona; the FDA is warning against tianeptine, aka “gas station heroin”; coolers are recalled after handles cause finger amputations; and more.
