Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on FDA denials, cashless bail, mental health, and more.
White House Expands Medicaid Fraud Probe, Turns Spotlight To New York
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
The look at New York’s program comes a week after the Trump administration froze nearly $260 million of Minnesota’s Medicaid funding. Also in the news: the impact of the Medicaid work mandate on homeless Californians; the rate of Tylenol use by pregnant women in ERs after President Donald Trump’s September autism comments; and more.
Noem Ousted As DHS Chief Amid Scrutiny Over Immigration Crackdown
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
According to two people who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, President Trump told advisers that he had grown increasingly unhappy with Kristi Noem after the surge of thousands of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota in December and January, an escalation that led to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the VA.
FDA Alleges Uniqure Misrepresented Request In Rare-Disease Drug Approval
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
FDA and HHS officials have publicly attacked Uniqure, the biotech company seeking approval for a Huntington’s disease treatment, and accused it of lying about requests made by the FDA for additional studies involving placebo brain surgery, which the company has characterized as unethical. The company says the anonymous FDA statements “are incomplete or entirely incorrect.”
Community Health Systems Selling 4 Arkansas Hospitals To Pay Down Debt
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
Missouri-based Freeman Health System has agreed to buy the hospitals, along with outpatient centers and physician practices, allowing it to expand its reach into neighboring Arkansas. Plus, Amazon Web Services, CVS Health, and Salesforce move forward with AI health tools.
DC Officials Declare Potomac River Safe, But Locals Still Wary Of Sewage
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
Over six weeks ago, a major sewage line collapsed, sending 243 million gallons of sewage into the river. Despite health authorities stating it is now safe to get back into the water, citizens remain skeptical. Plus, news from Maryland, Minnesota, West Virginia, Georgia, New York, and elsewhere.
Morning Briefing for Friday, March 6, 2026
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
Behind on your reading? Catch up on this week's KFF Health News stories with The Week in Brief, delivered every Friday to your inbox. Sign up here !
First Edition: Friday, March 6, 2026
March 6, 2026
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
This Doctor-Senator Who Backed RFK Jr. Now Faces a Fight for His Job — And His Legacy
By Amanda Seitz
March 6, 2026
KFF Health News Original
A year after Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, warily cast the vote ensuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ascension to Health and Human Services secretary, his life’s work — in medicine and in politics — is unraveling.
Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone
By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton
Photos by Eric Harkleroad
March 6, 2026
KFF Health News Original
Cancer treatments, disease outbreaks, addiction science: Scientists say an exodus from the National Institutes of Health will harm the nation’s ability to respond to illness.
The People — And Research — Lost in the NIH Exodus
By Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton
Photos by Eric Harkleroad
March 6, 2026
KFF Health News Original
Government data shows the National Institutes of Health lost about 4,400 people — more than 20% of its staff — as the Trump administration slashed the federal workforce. Hear from six scientists on why they walked out the door and the work they left behind.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: 40 Years of Health Policy
March 5, 2026
Podcast
This month is 40 years since host Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, began reporting on health policy in Washington. To mark the anniversary, Rovner is joined by two longtime sources to discuss what has — and has not — changed since 1986.
Missouri Lawmaker: Money Meant For Needy Sent To Anti-Abortion Centers
March 5, 2026
Morning Briefing
In recent years, at least eight states have given funds, meant to help families experiencing poverty, to crisis pregnancy centers. As many as $2 of every $3 for pregnancy centers in Missouri is expected to come from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in the 2026 fiscal year.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
March 5, 2026
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
At Hearing, House GOP Scolds Minn. Governor Over Medicaid Fraud Scandal
March 5, 2026
Morning Briefing
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said the government has flooded his state with ICE agents “under the guise of combating fraud.” Plus: The New York Times reviewed nearly 200 lawsuits challenging the president’s power to withhold funding, including from hospitals that don’t alter their services and nonprofits that don’t embrace his gender views.
Texas ICE Facility That’s On Lockdown For Measles Has Contract Reassessed
March 5, 2026
Morning Briefing
The Department of Homeland Security has faced growing scrutiny over the living conditions at Camp East Montana, a detention center at Fort Bliss in El Paso. Plus: A Haitian man has died at an Arizona detention center after suffering an untreated toothache, his brother says.
A Month After Launch, TrumpRx Faces Lack Of Metrics, Drug Availability
March 5, 2026
Morning Briefing
STAT reports that administration officials have declined to offer details on the number of new drugs expected to be added, when that might happen, or how many people have used the site.