Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Limbo
By Sarah Jane Tribble
May 16, 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
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on infectious-disease detectives, Powassan virus, the LA wildfires, Pope Leo XIV, and more.
First-Ever Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment Saves Baby’s Life
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Philadelphia boy was born with a rare genetic disorder called CPS1 deficiency. Half of all babies with the disorder die in the first week, The New York Times notes. Also making news: measles, prion diseases, and night owls.
UnitedHealth To End Commissions On Sales Of Medicare Drug Plans
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
As of now, commissions on renewals will continue to be paid. Also, Leapfrog has served a cease-and-desist after Tenet Healthcare Corp. filed a lawsuit alleging that the safety grades process was bought and paid for. Other news is on upcoding practices in outpatient care, updated industry standards for antibiotic manufacturing, and more.
Morning Briefing for Friday, May 16, 2025
May 16, 2025
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 !
Senators Express Dissatisfaction With House Megabill Draft, Medicaid Cuts
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some GOP senators are concerned that trims to Medicaid and other programs would hurt their states. They have already pegged provisions in the House measure that they’re targeting for revisions, NBC News reports. Also in the tax bill: a $1 billion tax break on gun silencers.
HHS Hedges On Covid Vaccine Advice For Children, Pregnant Women
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
It’s not clear if the recommendation for covid shots will be lifted entirely, or whether patients simply will be advised to consult with their doctors, The Wall Street Journal reports. Regardless, the change could mean insurers become less likely to cover the shots. Plus, the MAHA movement’s latest push.
DOD Adds Gender Dysphoria Screening To Troops’ Annual Checkups
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
The order is intended to identify transgender service members, who will then be removed from their ranks in the U.S. military. Plus: drug production, antismoking programs, firefighter cancer study, and more.
Florida Becomes Second State To Ban Fluoride In Public Water
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation yesterday, joining Utah. The bill does not mention fluoride specifically and is intended to allow more medical freedom, according to The Hill. Other news comes from Texas, Kentucky, California, Georgia, and Michigan.
First Edition: Friday, May 16, 2025
May 16, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
In Bustling NYC Federal Building, HHS Offices Are Eerily Quiet
By Michelle Andrews Eliza Fawcett, Healthbeat
May 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Public health experts and advocates say that Health and Human Services regional offices, like the one in New York City, form the connective tissue between the federal government and locally based services.
Pharmacists Stockpile Most Common Drugs on Chance of Targeted Trump Tariffs
By Jackie Fortiér Arthur Allen
May 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
While Big Pharma seems ready to weather the tariff storm, independent pharmacists and makers of generic drugs — which account for 90% of U.S. prescriptions — see trouble ahead for patients.
Californians Receiving In-Home Care Fear Medicaid Cuts Will Spell End to Independent Living
By Ronnie Cohen
May 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Bay Area senior Carol Crooks doesn’t know where congressional Republicans will land on Medicaid cuts as they look to fund a tax bill, but her health has already deteriorated as she worries about losing the help she needs to remain in her Oakland apartment — and out of a nursing home.
Even Where Abortion Is Still Legal, Many Brick-and-Mortar Clinics Are Closing
By Kate Wells, Michigan Public
May 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Some clinics that provide abortions are closing, even in states where voters have passed some of the nation’s broadest abortion protections. It’s happening in places like New York, Illinois, and Michigan, as reproductive health care faces new financial pressures.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits
May 15, 2025
Podcast
GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Pain Clinic CEO Faced 20 Years for Making Patients ‘Human Pin Cushions.’ He Got 18 Months.
By Brett Kelman
May 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Michael Kestner, CEO of Pain MD, was convicted of 13 fraud felonies after his company gave patients hundreds of thousands of questionable injections at clinics in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Without US Support, WHO Is Paring Back Leadership Team, Departments
May 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The World Health Organization, struggling financially since the U.S. left its ranks, has cut its management team by half and will reduce its departments by more than half, Stat reports. Meanwhile, Harvard is taking steps to cushion the blow by the Trump administration’s cuts.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
May 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
