Morning Briefing for Monday, August 18, 2025
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
No matter which app you’re into, KFF Health News has you covered: Follow along on Instagram , TikTok , Bluesky , X , Facebook , and LinkedIn as we break down health care headlines and policy.
Leaked MAHA Report Largely Dodges Policy Proposals, Seeks More Studies
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Stat unpacks key parts of the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy,” which mentions “addressing vaccine injuries.” It stops short of tackling HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s priorities (such as banning prescription drug marketing), hardly mentions ultraprocessed foods, and softens his tone on pesticides. Plus, Kennedy rules out another run for president.
Judge Again Rejects Ending Protections For Immigrant Minors In US Custody
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Both Trump administrations have sought to end the Flores Settlement Agreement, which outlined care standards for children in detention facilities. “There is nothing new under the sun regarding the facts or the law,” said U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles. Plus: D.C.’s homeless struggle with new order; aid groups seek a full appeals court review over funding block; and more.
With VA Union Contracts Voided, Staff Lose Extra Time Off After Baby Comes
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Roughly 400,000 Veterans Affairs employees have lost the four extra weeks of unpaid maternity and paternity leave that the union contracts provided. Those affected include people giving birth this week, and those already on leave. Most VA employees are women.
Now Available Online: AstraZeneca’s At-Home Flu Vaccine Nasal Spray
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
This new option, known as FluMist, was released Friday and is the same vaccine formulation that has been available in doctors’ offices for decades. Also in the news: covid, measles, and rabies.
Federal Deficit Increase Could Trigger $491B In Medicare Cuts, CBO Warns
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
A report Friday from the Congressional Budget Office showed that the tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump last month could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act to curb a 2010 law that forces across-the-board cuts once legislation increases the federal deficit.
Cencora Will Pay $111M To Resolve Claims It Ignored Red Flags On Opioids
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
The company — known as AmerisourceBergen Corp. until 2023 — has reaped billions from opioid sales. Also in opioid-related news: overdose rates of older, Black men in Minnesota. Other public health news is on human hair’s role in dental care, air pollution from EV charging stations, and more.
First Edition: Monday, Aug. 18, 2025
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness
By Felice J. Freyer
August 18, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The housing crisis is requiring creative scrambling and new partnerships from health care organizations to keep older patients out of expensive nursing homes as homelessness grows.
It’s Almost Flu Season. Should You Still Get a Shot, and Will Insurance Cover It?
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact
August 18, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Doctors and public health leaders, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend that most people 6 months old and older get the 2025-26 flu vaccine — and it’s still covered by most insurance plans.
CDC Staff Tell Journalist They Felt Targeted Even Before Atlanta Campus Shooting
August 16, 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.
Reduced ACA Subsidies May Make It Harder for Young Adults To Afford Coverage
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
August 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on the presidential fitness test, Amtrak, 7Up, nurdles, and more.
Caregivers Bring Lawsuit Against Department Of Veterans Affairs
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The lawsuit addresses the practice of dropping family caregiver application appeals once a veteran dies from military-related illnesses. The caregivers want to receive compensation for the time they provided care. Plus: Medicaid cuts, insurance denials, and more.
Fourth Person Dies From Legionnaires’ Disease In New York Outbreak
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The bacteria has been found in 12 cooling towers on 10 buildings, including a city-run hospital and a sexual health clinic. Also, New York is seeing a rise in congenital syphilis cases, with three infant deaths this year alone. Other news comes out of Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Berkshire Hathaway Gobbles Up $1.6B In Shares Of UnitedHealth Group
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The disclosure in a filing Thursday gave a much-needed boost to the beleaguered health insurance giant, which saw shares jump as much as 9.6% in post-market trading. In other news: Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife are giving $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute — the largest known single gift to a U.S. university, The Wall Street Journal reported.
To Align Drug Prices With Trump’s Priorities, Eli Lilly Raises Them Abroad
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
This list price for the highest dose of Mounjaro, for example, would go from roughly $165 to $447 in the United Kingdom. The drugmaker says this in effect would then “make them lower in the U.S.” Plus, a look at how President Trump’s tariffs would affect drug manufacturers that rely on Ireland.
Updated Blood Pressure Guidelines Frown On Alcohol Consumption
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The guidelines, released Thursday, encourage doctors to recommend healthy lifestyle changes as a first course of action for the first three to six months before prescribing medication. Meanwhile, a study in China shows a link between lower blood pressure and a 15% lower risk of dementia.
Morning Briefing for Friday, August 15, 2025
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
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