Sen. Ron Wyden Seeks Answers on RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff
By Rachana Pradhan
May 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
“Citizen oversight is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanding answers to more than two dozen questions, including who was involved in decisions to fire staff who handled Freedom of Information Act requests.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
Judge Sides With FDA Over Removing Zepbound From Shortage List
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
As Stat reports, the federal judge’s ruling means patients will lose access to less-expensive versions of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, as well as diabetes treatment Mounjaro, from compounding pharmacies. Also in industry news: Hims & Hers Health, the Lorna Breen Act, medtech innovations, and more.
Missouri Planned Parenthood Ordered To Turn Over Patient Records
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been investigating the use of gender-affirming care since March 2023. Other news is on mifepristone, sepsis, puberty, and more.
Michigan Children Under 2 Must Undergo Blood Testing For Lead Levels
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
The law aims to mitigate health risks caused by lead poisoning. All kids will need to get two tests, at ages 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Milwaukee officials are offering free blood tests after lead was detected in schools.
Ultraprocessed Diet Contributes To Early Signs Of Parkinson’s Disease
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
The study did not show a link between ultraprocessed food consumption and an increased risk of Parkinson’s, only to showing early signs. Meanwhile, a survey by Pew Research Center shows that higher prices are preventing Americans from eating healthy food.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, May 8, 2025
May 8, 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.
CDC Approves New Hires To Its Fellowship Disease Detectives Program
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
Epidemic Intelligence Service officers help investigate outbreaks and other health emergencies. Meanwhile, Washington state’s attorney general alleges the Trump administration has violated a preliminary injunction intended to stop it from cutting research grant funding, ProPublica reports.
Moderna’s Combo Covid/Flu Shot Offers More Protection Than Separate Jabs
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
The trial, which involved more than 8,000 adults 50 and older, found that antibody levels generated by the new vaccine were about 20% to 40% higher than getting the shots apart, with the exception of one influenza strain. Plus: An FDA panel will meet May 22 to discuss covid shot recommendations.
MAHA Influencer ‘Dr. Casey’ Means Tapped As Surgeon General
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Stanford-educated doctor, who aligns with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is a critic of “Big Food, Big Pharma, and … a broken health care landscape,” Stat reports. Separately, Kennedy revives the autism database, a plan Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker swiftly pushed back on.
Trump Might Again Attempt ‘Most Favored Nation’ Status To Cut Rx Costs
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
The president, who has teased a “very big announcement” next week, is expected to sign an executive order to implement the policy in an effort to lower Medicare drug costs, three sources told Politico. Trump tried doing the same during his first term, but a judge brought it to a halt.
First Edition: Thursday, May 8, 2025
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Seeking Spending Cuts, GOP Lawmakers Target a Tax Hospitals Love To Pay
By Phil Galewitz
May 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Republicans, on the hunt for spending cuts, are eyeing a special kind of Medicaid tax that nearly every state uses to boost funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers.
Meet the Florida Group Chipping Away at Public Benefits One State at a Time
By Katheryn Houghton Samantha Liss
May 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that’s been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs.
US Government Secures Large Order Of Freeze-Dried Mpox, Smallpox Vaccine
May 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The freeze-dried version of the Jynneos vaccine has a longer shelf life than the liquid-frozen formula. In other news, Texas measles cases reach 700; bird flu seems to be on the decline; and more.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, May 7, 2025
May 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.
Rite Aid Stores To Close Or Be Sold Amid Second Filing For Chapter 11
May 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The drugstore chain intends to sell customer prescription files and inventory as it closes its distribution centers and store locations. Meanwhile, manufacturers have increased imports and are starting to stockpile as the threat of President Trump’s pharmaceutical tariffs looms.
CDC Team That Advises On Infection Control Has Ceased Operating
May 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Hospitals and staff “will be sort of flying by the seat of their pants” without updated guidance from the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, one expert notes. HICPAC was shut down in March. Separately, vaccine critic Vinay Prasad, MD, will take the helm at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees vaccine approvals.
