Study Suggests Disposable Vapes Have More Toxic Metals Than Cigarettes
June 26, 2025
Morning Briefing
A study by UC Davis found that some disposable e-cigarettes emit in a single day the same amount of lead as 20 packs of conventional cigarettes. More news is on nitrates in water linked to preterm births; heart attack deaths; and a cancer-fighting compound.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, June 26, 2025
June 26, 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.
ACIP Will Revisit Vaccine Schedule, Give HepB And MMR Another Look
June 26, 2025
Morning Briefing
The advisory panel has created three work groups to study shots that have already undergone rigorous scientific study, medical experts say. The panel today may discuss an RSV jab for infants.
First Edition: Thursday, June 26, 2025
June 26, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
At Some Federal Beaches, Surf’s Up but the Lifeguard Chair’s Empty
By Stephanie Armour
June 26, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Some of the nation’s most well-known beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the quasi-agency Department of Government Efficiency, then led by Elon Musk. The void has become a serious public health and safety concern.
En algunas playas federales hay olas para surfear, pero los salvavidas brillan por su ausencia
By Stephanie Armour
June 26, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Justo en los días en que multitudes de turistas visitan los parques nacionales para disfrutar del verano, algunas playas del National Park Service están reduciendo los horarios en que hay guardia de salvavidas
Dual Threats From Trump and GOP Imperil Nursing Homes and Their Foreign-Born Workers
By Jordan Rau
June 26, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Understaffed nursing homes face a workforce crisis if President Donald Trump and Republicans further curtail immigration and cut Medicaid.
USDA Giving States $12M To Fight CWD In Animals, Prevent Spillover To People
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
The funds will be used to increase surveillance and testing for the fatal prion disease that affects cervids such as deer, elk, and moose. There has not been a documented human infection of chronic wasting disease. Plus: More cases of avian flu in mammals and wild birds.
Texas Led Nation In 2024 For Women Seeking Out-Of-State Abortions
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
A Guttmacher Institute study found that roughly 20% of the more than 150,000 people who traveled for abortion care lived in Texas, where abortions are illegal after six weeks. Other states in the news include California, North Carolina, and Mississippi.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, June 25, 2025
June 25, 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.
International Doctors Can’t Start Medical Residencies Due To Visa Woes
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
Hundreds of foreign doctors find themselves in limbo just days from when they should be starting their medical residencies at U.S. hospitals. In other news: States sue the Trump administration over grant cuts; Colorado is buying overdose reversal kits; and more.
Oz Signals Administration Looking To End Complicated Drug Rebate System
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
In a comment made Tuesday, CMS chief Mehmet Oz pushed for the elimination of the payments drugmakers send to pharmacy benefit managers after prescriptions are filled. Other industry news is about a sutureless peripheral nerve repair device, medical device recalls, and more.
Slashing Medicaid Would Force States To Cut Provider Pay, Analysis Finds
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
States would have to find ways to cushion the blow from lost funding. House GOP moderates are warning that the Senate version of the bill cuts too deep for them to support. Meanwhile, a key GOP senator says Medicaid cuts could cause the GOP to lose control of the House and Senate in 2026.
At Fiery House Hearing, RFK Jr. Denies He Made False Promises Over Vaccines
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
Maryland Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy “lied to the American people” and later added, “I will lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine-preventable illness at your feet.” A combative Kennedy defended his advisory picks for ACIP and said, “None of them are anti-vax.”
First Edition: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
June 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California’s Much-Touted IVF Law May Be Delayed Until 2026, Leaving Many in the Lurch
By Sarah Kwon
June 25, 2025
KFF Health News Original
California lawmakers are poised to approve a six-month delay in implementing the state’s in vitro fertilization law, pushing its start to January 2026. The plan to postpone, which has drawn little attention, is part of the state budget package and has left patients, insurers, and employers in limbo.
What RFK Jr. Isn’t Talking About: How To Make Vaccines Safer
By Arthur Allen
June 25, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Vaccines are under fire from the top of the Trump administration. Federal programs to monitor them and make them safer have always been underfunded.
5 Takeaways From Health Insurers’ New Pledge To Improve Prior Authorization
By Lauren Sausser Phil Galewitz
Updated September 3, 2025
Originally Published June 24, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Dozens of health insurance companies pledged on Monday to improve prior authorization, a process often used to deny care. The announcement comes months after the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, whose death in December sparked widespread criticism about insurance denials.
As States Sizzle And Heat-Related Illnesses Rise, Federal Response Falters
June 24, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Trump administration is slow-walking rules proposed during the Biden years that would protect workers from extreme heat. “We have a lot of reason to believe that it’s going to take a dire toll on people’s health,” one scientist says. More news is about #SkinnyTok, sobriety, and microplastics.
