Trump Won’t Force Medicaid To Cover GLP-1s for Obesity. A Few States Are Doing It Anyway.
By Lauren Sausser
May 21, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Late last year, South Carolina Medicaid approved a class of medications known as GLP-1s to treat obesity, placing it among the few state programs covering these effective but expensive drugs. But access remains limited, even for patients covered by Medicaid, because of stringent prerequisites that must be satisfied before starting the drug.
Questions, Conspiracy Theories Swirl Over Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
As The Wall Street Journal wonders why Biden’s cancer went undetected, and as President Trump’s allies suggest those in Biden’s circle schemed to conceal the news, health experts explain why the diagnosis might have been missed. Also: colorectal cancer, glioblastoma brain cancer, and more.
WHO Adopts New Pandemic Treaty Without The US
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The treaty, which has been in negotiations for more than three years, was adopted in Geneva on Tuesday. One of its main goals is to improve equitable access to vaccines, Stat reported.
VA Makes It Easier For Veterans To Get Medical Care From Private Providers
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Department of Veterans Affairs will nix a requirement that any referral for private medical care be reviewed by another VA doctor. Other health industry news is on Ascension, Lifepoint Health, AdventHealth Orlando, and more.
23andMe Agrees To Sell Data To Drug Developer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The bankrupt genetic-testing firm will hand over its entire data bank, including DNA samples of around 15 million people. Regeneron has said it will abide by 23andMe’s privacy policy, allowing customers to request deletion of their data. Also: Mayo Clinic looks to extend donor heart preservation; J&J’s antitrust violation; and more.
Nebraska Receives First USDA Waiver To Ban Soda, Energy Drinks From SNAP
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, said “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks.” Nebraska’s waiver takes effect Jan. 1. More news comes from Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and California.
Medical Cannabis Eases Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Study Finds
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
The data come from Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management. Also in the news: UTI meds, “menstrual cycle syncing,” and a possible height gene.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 20, 2025
May 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.
Medicaid Work Requirements Could Be Instituted In Early 2027
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
As GOP leadership works to mend internal divisions to get its One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed, President Trump plans to visit Capitol Hill to shore up support. Wall Street’s worries over a burgeoning debt might complicate their efforts, Politico reported.
Bipartisan Take It Down Act That Bans ‘Revenge Porn’ Becomes Law
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
It is now illegal to publish or threaten to publish real or AI-generated intimate images of a person without their consent. Tech sites and companies also must take down such images within 48 hours of notice from a victim and try to delete duplicate content.
First Edition: Tuesday, May 20, 2025
May 20, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump Exaggerates Speed and Certainty of Prescription Drug Price Reductions
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
May 20, 2025
KFF Health News Original
According to the timeline in the May 12 executive order, prescription drug price reductions would not happen “almost immediately,” but rather could take months or years. And extending the savings to Americans outside federal health insurance programs such as Medicare would likely require congressional action.
This News Might Ruin Your Appetite — And Summer
By David Hilzenrath
May 20, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Fresh studies expose a gap in the FDA’s assessments of foods: Widely used additives could damage the mix of bacteria in your gut, causing health problems.
How Trump Aims To Slash Federal Support for Research, Public Health, and Medicaid
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
May 20, 2025
KFF Health News Original
One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.
Judge Indefinitely Halts Trump’s Effort To Nix $11B In Public Health Funds
May 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Friday extended a temporary restraining order she had issued in April regarding pandemic-era funding. Other Trump administration news is on layoffs, research cuts, the GAO, and more.
Authorities Say Alleged Calif. IVF Clinic Bomber Was Critical Of Procreation
May 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
Suspect Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, was killed in Saturday’s blast outside the American Reproductive Centers clinic in Palm Springs. Bartkus left behind writings that indicated “anti-pro-life” sentiments and anti-natalist views, law enforcement officials said. Four others were hurt in the attack, but no patients were at the clinic that day. All embryos were saved, the FBI said.
First Diagnostic Blood Test For Alzheimer’s Cleared By FDA
May 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
This new test gives a less-invasive option to aid in diagnosis and makes it more available because patients will not have to wait for a neurologist to start the process. The FDA warns that blood tests are prone to false results. Also: the danger of an undiagnosed ministroke; food recalls; and more.
Novavax’s Covid Jab Wins FDA Backing For People 65 And Older, Those At Risk
May 19, 2025
Morning Briefing
In other vaccine news, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially ordered placebo testing on new vaccines, a change that experts claim will be costly and — harkening back to polio vaccine trials in the 1950s — unethical. Plus, news about long covid, bird flu, measles, and more.
