Missouri Set To Close 12 Schools For Children With Severe Disabilities
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The State Board of Education on Tuesday approved a plan to close the schools, citing issues of declining enrollment, staffing struggles, and deferred maintenance. Other states making news: New York, Wyoming, Florida, California, and Texas.
After Using AI To Help Spot Cancer, Doctors’ Own Skills Faded, Study Finds
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Researchers found AI tools helped professionals to spot precancerous colon growths more easily, but when the AI tool was removed, their abilities to find tumors fell about 20% compared with rates before they used AI. Meanwhile, a report says AI adoption is racing far ahead of health system governance.
Poll Finds Americans Aren’t Drinking: Alcohol Consumption Hits 90-Year Low
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits survey found only 54% of U.S. adults drank alcohol in 2025. Separately, research shows that autism is being diagnosed earlier in young children, but girls still wait longer than boys. Also in the news: dementia, cancer, and warnings about the herbal tonic “Feel Free.”
Combination Therapy For Weight Loss, Alzheimer’s Could Be Next Big Thing
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Multiple pharmaceutical firms are researching whether their blockbuster weight loss drugs can also help treat early Alzheimer’s. Plus: The FDA has approved the first treatment for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in people 12 and older.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 13, 2025
August 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.
ACA Market May Be In For Turbulent Ride, CMS Data Suggest
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services noted it found inconsistencies in the number of claims on exchanges. “As you pull … subsidized dollars out of the system, it means margins will be lower and people are going to be paying higher premiums,” one health care strategist says.
UCLA Science Research Grants Must Be Restored, Federal Judge Rules
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The federal government has until Aug. 19 to comply with the order or explain why it couldn’t. Only NSF grants are covered by this order. Grants from the NIH and Energy Department are not affected. “UCLA should have considerably more leverage … in resisting Trump administration demands that wrongly take research hostage for political dealmaking,” a lawyer representing researchers said.
Monarez: CDC Will Be Guided By ‘Rational, Evidence-Based Discourse’
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The CDC director spoke with staffers about the dangers of misinformation and rebuilding trust in the agency. Meanwhile, authorities confirmed vaccine mistrust motivated the gunman to attack the CDC campus — a day after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declined to discuss a motive.
First Edition: Aug. 13, 2025
August 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
An Arm and a Leg: A Wild Health Insurance Hustle
By Dan Weissmann
August 13, 2025
Podcast
A couple in New York thought they bought insurance. Instead, they got fake “jobs.”
Medicaid Cuts Could Have Vast Ripple Effects in This Rural Colorado Community
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
August 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
In rural Colorado and across rural America, Medicaid is a lifeline, especially for people who wouldn’t otherwise have easy access to health care. That includes low-income seniors who need supplemental coverage in addition to Medicare, and people of all ages with disabilities.
In Promising Trial, Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Helped Patients Live Longer
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
As NBC News reported, people with pancreatic cancer survived for an average of 29 months and lived recurrence-free for more than 15 months post-vaccination — far longer than the rates of resectable cancers. A randomized phase 2 trial is being held to test the durability of the vaccine.
Buoyed By MAHA, Anti-Sunscreen Fad Emerges — To Dermatologists’ Dismay
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
Social media influencers skeptical of sunscreen ingredients are advocating for natural alternatives, but health experts maintain sunscreen is one of the most effective tools for preventing skin cancer. “Ultraviolet radiation is a known carcinogen,” said Adam Friedman, a professor of dermatology.
As Kennedy Visits Bullet-Riddled CDC, Critics Insist He Stop Vaccine Rhetoric
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
The HHS secretary also met with the widow of officer David Rose. Meanwhile, the agency says it is adding safety and security measures before it brings back employees, who are reeling from the trauma and have the option of working remotely this week. “I think most of us would very much like the next message we hear from [Kennedy] to begin with ‘I hereby resign,’” one staffer said.
For Two Companies, State Department Resumes Nutrition Aid Orders
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some famine experts are optimistic about the government’s decision to ship U.S.-made ready-to-use therapeutic food — it’s a start — but one notes: “What we haven’t seen yet … is any indication that programs and funding that were meant to address long-term food security will be resumed.”
Doctors Are Working Harder For Less Pay, Report Shows
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
Stalled reimbursements from both private and public insurers — which means less net revenue — and an increase in practitioners’ workload since the start of the pandemic could mean less access for patients. Also in the news: rural ERs; Blue Cross’ antitrust deal; and more.
Telehealth Has Unlocked Abortion Access In South And Midwest: Study
August 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
A study released Monday in JAMA found that the rates of telehealth abortion were notably highest in states with abortion bans. Also: news on birth control, in-utero procedures, and more.
