First Edition: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
April 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
For Opioid Victims, Payouts Fall Short While Governments Reap Millions
By Aneri Pattani
Lookup tool by Lydia Zuraw Data analysis by Henry Larweh
April 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Pharmaceutical companies accused of fueling the nation’s opioid crisis are paying state and local governments billions of dollars in legal settlements. But how much are victims who suffered addiction and overdoses getting?
Public Health Risks of Urban Wildfire Smoke Prompt Push for More Monitoring
By Katharine Gammon
April 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
As the fires burned in Los Angeles, scientists and local air regulators deployed monitors to measure the levels of heavy metals, carcinogens, and other toxic substances released into the air when homes, buildings, and cars burned. They hope their efforts will inform ongoing cleanup efforts and protect the public in future fires.
Rural Hospitals Question Whether They Can Afford Medicare Advantage Contracts
By Arielle Zionts
April 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Some rural hospitals have canceled — or are considering ending — contracts with insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, saying the private policies jeopardize their finances and impede patient care.
Firings at Federal Health Agencies Decimate Offices That Release Public Records
By Rachana Pradhan Brett Kelman
Updated April 7, 2025
Originally Published April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The Department of Health and Human Services’ mass firings included people who fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA, which result in the release of records about government handling of infectious diseases, medical products, and safety problems in health facilities.
Drugmakers Must Redo Research After FDA Finds Problems With Contractor
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The FDA found “objectionable conditions” during a 2023 inspection of the Raptim Research facility in Nava Mumbai, India. An unspecified number of companies are affected. Raptim said on its website that the FDA recently inspected an unnamed facility and didn’t find problems; it’s unclear when that inspection occurred.
A Dose Of Upbeat And Inspiring News
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s stories are on paralysis, pacemakers, Alzheimer’s, mental health, and more.
NY Bucks White House, Says Public Schools Won’t Eliminate DEI programs
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The New York State Education Department says it is “unaware of any authority” the U.S. government has to demand that states end DEI programs or to rescind federal funding if they do not comply, The Washington Post reports. Other national news is out of California, Texas, Idaho, and Virginia.
More Trouble In The Egg Aisle: 2 Liquid Substitutes Recalled Over Bleach Risk
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Egg Beaters and Bob Evans liquid eggs may contain a cleaning solution with sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach. In other health and wellness news: decreased number of heart attacks in long-distance-running events; cancer research; and more.
Morning Briefing for Monday, April 7, 2025
April 7, 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.
NIH Will See Second Wave Of Layoffs As Part Of HHS Restructuring
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some of the layoffs will be to compensate for those rehired after the first wave. Meanwhile, Politico reports on how HHS had no intention of rehiring 20% of the departments’ fired employees, as previously reported. Other disruptions caused by the cuts include: 9/11 firefighter programs, call centers that provide essential safety information, and more.
Medicare Has Enough In Trust Fund To Last An Extra 17 Years, CBO Reports
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Policy experts extended the program’s depletion date to 2052 after determining that enrollees aren’t seeking hospital care as often as they used to, leading to savings in the main trust fund. Medicare’s trustees will release their own findings this spring.
Administration Rejects Medicaid, Medicare Plan To Cover Obesity Drugs
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Biden-era plan, scrapped Friday, would have cost the federal government billions of dollars and expanded access to millions of Americans. Meanwhile, states are struggling with the rising cost of GLP-1 drugs.
Second Texas Child Dies Of Measles As Infections Continue To Surge
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
The 8-year-old girl was not vaccinated against the highly contagious virus. Three days after the girl’s death — and after the nation’s tally of cases topped 600 — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on X: “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
First Edition: Monday, April 7, 2025
April 7, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Blockbuster Deal Will Wipe Out $30 Billion in Medical Debt. Even Backers Say It’s Not Enough.
By Noam N. Levey
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.
The House Speaker’s Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid. In His Louisiana District, It’s a Lifeline.
By Phil Galewitz
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans — including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Un acuerdo exitoso eliminará $30 mil millones de deuda médica. ¿Es suficiente?
By Noam N. Levey
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Solo el año pasado, los estadounidenses pidieron prestado aproximadamente $74 mil millones para pagar la atención médica, según una encuesta nacional de West Health-Gallup.
Trump’s Health Fraud Focus at Odds With Past Pardons
By Brett Kelman
April 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
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