Morning Briefing for Wednesday, February 5, 2025
February 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
Our annual Health Policy Valentines contest is underway! Make us swoon by sending us your sweetest health-themed poems via this form by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9. ♥
New Attorney General Pam Bondi Will Play Key Role In Abortion Restrictions
February 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
Bondi says she has “always been pro-life,” and she supported abortion restrictions as the attorney general of Florida, where abortion is outlawed after six weeks. As U.S. attorney general, she could try to restrict abortion access through the Comstock Act.
RFK Jr.’s HHS Confirmation Probable After Gaining Cassidy’s Support
February 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said he was swayed after nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to significant vaccine concessions, Stat and The Hill reported. Also in the news, Pfizer’s CEO says he met with Kennedy and is “cautiously optimistic.”
First Edition: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025
February 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump’s Already Gone Back on His Promise To Leave Abortion to States
By Julie Rovner
February 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump said the power to make abortion policies “has been returned to the states.” In his first two weeks in office, he’s already gone further to restrict abortion than any president who’s held office since the 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision, writes Julie Rovner.
Wash, Dry, Enroll: Finding Medicaid Help at the Laundromat
By Phil Galewitz
February 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
State Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs have long struggled to connect with lower-income Americans to help them access care. Now some are trying an alternative approach: meeting them at the laundromat.
Lavar, secar, inscribirse: cómo obtener Medicaid… en la lavandería
By Phil Galewitz
February 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Trabajadores, muchos de los cuales son bilingües, visitan lavanderías para establecer relaciones, generar confianza y conectar a las personas con la asistencia del gobierno
New York Law Will Protect Doctors Who Prescribe Abortion Meds Online
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
In the aftermath of the indictment of a New York doctor in Louisiana, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Monday that allows doctors to keep their names off abortion pill prescriptions. Also, Virginia moves to shield doctors who provide abortion care to out-of-state patients from extradition.
FDA OKs Pig Organ Transplant Studies For Those With Kidney Failure
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
The organs will come from genetically modified pigs in the hopes of helping the thousands of Americans waiting for transplants. Also in the news: the world’s smallest heart pump, nanoplastics in the brain, rising lung cancer diagnoses, and more.
NY Hospitals Caught In The Middle Of Federal-State Trans Care Tug-Of-War
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
New York providers, wary of losing federal funding in light of President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt gender-affirming treatments, are told they would be violating state law if they don’t provide such care. More news comes from Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana.
Rubio Takes The Helm At USAID In Apparent State Department Takeover
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
As Democrats and public health leaders denounce the White House’s moves against the humanitarian agency, one senator vows to stall State Department nominees until the attack ends. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China went into effect today.
Some CDC Webpages Reinstated, But Not All Health Care Info Is Back
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on the purge of DEI content from health and science agencies after Trump’s executive order last week. Meanwhile, the EPA is planning to sideline career staffers overseeing scientific research and public health matters and replace them with political appointees.
Democratic Senators Urge RFK Jr. To Avoid Vaccine Decisions If Confirmed
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon are concerned his family could benefit from anti-vaccine litigation, Bloomberg reported.
Cigna Makes Plans To Link Executive Pay With Customer Satisfaction
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
The move comes amid a public outcry over the health insurance industry’s denials of care and the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Other news is on antisemitism investigations at four medical schools; an acquisition of Texas nursing homes; Molina Healthcare; Baxter; and more.
First Edition: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025
February 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Indiana Governor Appoints Business Leader To Shake Up Health Care
By Samantha Liss
February 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Gloria Sachdev, a pharmacist by training, has spent years taking on the health care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.
For California Farmworkers, Telehealth Visits With Mexican Doctors Fill a Gap
By Victoria Clayton
February 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The MiSalud app enables Spanish-speaking users in the U.S. to meet virtually with health professionals in Mexico via a smartphone app. At Taylor Farms in Salinas, California, the novel program has been a hit.
