Administration Fires Border Health Inspectors Who Screen For Diseases
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Experts warn that Americans may be more vulnerable to pathogens carried by plants, animals, and people. Meanwhile, the CDC is ending a successful campaign designed to encourage people to receive the flu vaccine. In other news: Experts say the egg shortage will not affect flu vaccines; bird flu lab techs in California are going on strike; and more.
US Hospitals On Track To Exceed Critical Capacity By 2032, Study Shows
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
According to the author of the study: “If the U.S. were to sustain a national hospital occupancy of 85 percent or greater, it is likely that we would see tens to hundreds of thousands of excess American deaths each year.” Other big names in the news: UnitedHealth, Sutter Health, Hims & Hers, and more.
Sepsis Rates Increased After Abortion Ban In Texas, Analysis Shows
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Rates shot up by more than 50% for pregnancies lost in the second trimester, and the maternal mortality rate rose in Texas, bucking national trends. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood in Missouri has resumed abortion procedures after a judge temporarily blocked state licensing requirements imposed on clinics. Other news comes from Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, and California.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, February 20, 2025
February 20, 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 Revises Sex-Based Definitions That Omit Gender Identity References
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The move to recast sex as an “immutable biological classification” comes as data shows a pronounced uptick in the number of Americans who identify as LGBTQ. Separately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been advised to find a scientist who “can prove vaccines do cause autism.”
Under Trump-Endorsed House Bill, Medicaid And SNAP Take $1T Hit
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Despite promising just hours earlier to protect safety net programs, Trump said he supports a Republican-led proposal floated in the House that trims $880 billion from Medicaid and about $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
First Edition: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash
By Aneri Pattani
February 20, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.
Nearly A Year After Cyberattack, Ascension Hasn’t Fully Rebounded
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Modern Healthcare reports that the St. Louis-based health system spent about $140 million in response to the May 2024 hack and saw operating losses of almost $1 billion. Other names in the news include MultiPlan, CVS Caremark, and the Cleveland Clinic.
Study Shows Lifestyle More To Blame For Premature Death Than Genetics
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
In the age-old question of nature vs. nurture, it looks like we might have a winner. In other news: Bioengineers think they have found the key to reversing aging on a cellular level; supplements could harm your liver; and Apple starts a new health study based off of users’ data.
IVF Treatment Should Cost Less, Trump Says In Latest Executive Order
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
On average, a patient spends $15,000 on each round of in vitro fertilization, and many patients require multiple treatments, The Hill reported. Still, President Donald Trump is likely to get pushback from anti-abortion conservatives and also Senate Republicans, who have blocked consideration of IVF legislation several times in the past.
Childhood Vaccine Schedule Will Be Scrutinized, RFK Jr. Pledges
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Despite his pre-confirmation assurances that he would not make changes, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to investigate topics that “were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized.” Additional news is about cuts to the 9/11 survivor program, an FDA official’s ousting, and more.
Lawmakers Ban Gender-Affirming Care For Minors In Kansas, Overriding Veto
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Kansas is now the 27th state to ban or restrict this type of health care. In California, a law trying to stop pharmaceutical companies from paying to keep generic drugs off the shelves for longer has been struck down. More news comes from Georgia, Texas, New York, and Colorado.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, February 19, 2025
February 19, 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.
USDA Mistakenly Fires Officials Working On Bird Flu Response
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Department of Agriculture is scrambling to reverse the terminations. Meanwhile, many CDC scientists who worked in a lab program created to address embarrassing lab-safety failures, and improve outbreak responses, have been let go.
White House Backs Off Plan To Shut Down Covid Website, Discard Tests
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
The federal government will keep its stockpile of tests, and people may still order them through COVIDtests.gov. In other news, more Americans are skipping covid vaccines, complicating the path to herd immunity.
First Edition: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025
February 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The Covid ‘Contrarians’ Are in Power. We Still Haven’t Hashed Out Whether They Were Right.
By Arthur Allen
February 19, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Jay Bhattacharya, nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health, opposed most covid mandates. Without an honest public debate about what worked and what didn’t, public health experts say, we’re even less prepared for the next pandemic.
