Morning Briefing for Friday, February 21, 2025
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
Have you experienced Rx sticker shock? The podcast “An Arm and a Leg ” is collecting stories from listeners about what they’ve done to get the prescription drugs they need when facing sticker shock. If you’re interested in contributing, you can learn more and submit your stories here .
Drug Overdose Death Rate Drops For First Time In Years
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some experts point to the broader availability of naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Even so, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington saw an increase in overdose deaths in 2023. More news is on gene therapy breakthroughs; the link between narcissism and loneliness; and more.
Trump Halts Vaccine Advisory Panel Meetings, Quashes 2 Other Committees
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
The directive comes just as the CDC panel was set to gather next week to weigh guidance on flu and other vaccines. Committees addressing long covid and health equity were scrapped altogether. Meanwhile, a federal judge today will hear arguments regarding NIH research cuts.
On Medicaid, Some In GOP Must Pick: Against Trump Or Against Constituency
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
A handful of Republicans represent areas where large parts of the population receive SNAP or Medicaid, NBC News reported. A Trump-endorsed budget plan going through the House right now could result in steep cuts to both programs.
Luigi Mangione Set For First Court Date In UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Slaying Case
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Baltimore Sun reports on the unusual defense strategy being mounted by his lawyers. Other industry news includes: a health insurance fraud case; the effect of high specialist fees on health care systems; the toll global warming takes on hospitals; and more.
First Edition: Friday, Feb. 21, 2025
February 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk
By Phil Galewitz
February 21, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals — and every state.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
February 20, 2025
Podcast
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Medical Device Lobby Urges HHS To Rethink Trump’s FDA Cuts
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The CEO of the medical device lobby, AdvaMed, raised concerns over the cuts’ impact on patient health and medical device innovation. Separately, the former administrator of CMS spoke up to caution Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency against acting too quickly. Also: a protest over cuts; aid groups head to court; and more.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
February 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
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.
