Morning Briefing for Tuesday, March 4, 2025
March 4, 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.
HHS Opens Up Early Retirement For Employees Amid Agency Downsizing
March 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Employees have 10 days to decide whether to take the voluntary early retirement. Meanwhile at the NIH, LGBTQ+ research funding has been stopped, while the Trump administration looks for ways to cut its funding for universities.
First Edition: Tuesday, March 4, 2025
March 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Law and Order or Bystander Safety? Police Chases Spotlight California’s Competing Priorities
By Don Thompson
March 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
California’s governor is pressuring Oakland to allow more police pursuits as part of a crackdown on crime. But more pursuits mean a greater risk to public health, with more potential injuries and deaths among bystanders. Policies in cities including New York and San Francisco reflect divergent local priorities.
Staffing Levels At NC’s Mission Hospital Are Risky, Say Nurses, State Senator
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
On the heels of last year’s federal sanctions, North Carolina Sen. Julie Mayfield, a Democrat and a leader of Reclaim HealthCare WNC, said understaffing has once again led to “at least one other preventable death,” the Asheville Watchdog reported. But Mission spokesperson Nancy Lindell said the claims made at Friday’s news conference “are incorrect.”
Federal Judge Blocks Order To Cut Funding For Transgender Care
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King on Friday issued a preliminary injunction after previously granting a two-week restraining order on the matter, according to AP. Other states making news include Iowa, Connecticut, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, and New York.
HHS Scrubs Public Comment On Health Rules, Rolling Back Transparency
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Despite his pledge to “launch a new era of radical transparency,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is issuing a new rule today that effectively eliminates input from knowledgeable health care industry professionals. Reactions condemning Kennedy’s Friday announcement were swift.
Large Employers Warn Against Hospital ‘Cost-Shifting’ To Cover Medicaid Gap
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Purchaser Business Group on Health, which represents large businesses such as Walmart, Microsoft, and Salesforce, says hospital leaders shouldn’t look to businesses to make up any potential Medicaid losses, Modern Healthcare reported.
Vaccines An ‘Option’ Amid Deadly Measles Outbreak, HHS Chief Says
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote after suggesting the use of vitamin A as a treatment. Measles has no approved antiviral treatment. Studies have found the MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Meanwhile, vaccine resistance hardens in Texas as measles cases grow.
FDA, CDC Granted Exemption To Advise WHO On Shots For Next Flu Season
March 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Data suggests this season’s vaccines were less effective for some children, but the composition change should address that. Meanwhile, the CDC says that although influenza activity is still elevated, this flu season appears to have peaked.
States Facing Doctor Shortages Ease Licensing Rules for Foreign-Trained Physicians
By Arielle Zionts
March 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Amid doctor shortages, several states have stopped requiring foreign-trained providers to repeat residencies before they’re fully licensed. Critics say patients could be harmed because of the loosened training requirements.
Home Improvements Can Help People Age Independently. But Medicare Seldom Picks Up the Bill.
By Joanne Kenen
March 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A small program celebrated by its proponents helps people modify their homes and safely live independently as they age. But most insurers won’t pay for it, including Medicare.
Para enfrentar la escasez, estados buscan facilitar que médicos extranjeros ejerzan en el país
By Arielle Zionts
March 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Alrededor del 26% de los médicos que ejercen en el país nacieron en otro lugar, según el Instituto de Política Migratoria. Necesitan visas para vivir en Estados Unidos, además de licencias estatales para ejercer la medicina.
Journalists Discuss a Mysterious, Deadly Illness in Congo and Early Moves by Secretary RFK
March 1, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Fires Undercut L.A.’s Headway on Homelessness
By Angela Hart
February 28, 2025
KFF Health News Original
As Los Angeles recovers from historic wildfires, both previously unsheltered and chronically homeless people are facing even greater instability. Some lawmakers and providers argue now is the time to put in even more resources to maintain the progress the county and state have made in fighting the crisis.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
February 28, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on trust in health care, covid, ABLE accounts, gun violence, and more.
