Study: Recreational Ketamine Outpaces Therapeutic Use For Depression
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Also in the news, “renal denervation” shows promise as a treatment for high blood pressure; an estimated 17 million U.S. adults struggle with long-covid with no new treatments in sight; inequality grows in life expectancies among Americans; and more.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Offers Buyouts To Nonunion Staff
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
The company points to the increasing costs of prescription and specialty drugs as a reason for its loss of more than $1 billion in insurance business over the past two years and for its need to cut costs dramatically. Other health and pharma news is on Eli Lilly’s work on an oral weight loss drug; how fitness and weight training can halve the risk of cancer patients dying; and more.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 22, 2025
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Stay tuned for our new weekly edition, The Week in Brief, coming this Friday. Each week, we’ll give you a fresh take on one of our top stories. Plus, we’ll recap our social media coverage and our award-winning KFF Health News journalism. Don’t miss out — sign up here !
Federal Health Agencies Ordered To Halt External Communications
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Trump administration moved swiftly to block communications from HHS, the FDA, the CDC, and the NIH. It is not clear whether Americans can still receive urgent notifications regarding foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals, and new bird flu cases. Meanwhile, new restrictions mean immigrant domestic abuse victims are no longer safe from ICE in women’s shelters.
Health Tech Industry Is Just Fine With Repeal Of Biden’s AI Regulating Order
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Among the executive order’s directives, companies were required to report details of their technology to federal regulators. Separately, Doctors Without Borders, physicians, and industry top brass weigh in on President Donald Trump’s executive orders and policy proposals.
Democrats Aim To Shield Medicaid From Potential Cuts Under Trump
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Axios reports that some Republicans are avoiding answering whether they’re willing to cut Medicaid in order to help pay for an extension of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. More news on Medicaid comes from South Carolina and South Dakota.
VA Secretary Nominee Faces Grilling Over Abortion, Project 2025 Stances
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
On reproductive rights for veterans, Doug Collins said, “We will look at this rule.” On proposed Veterans Affairs cost-cutting measures, he said “We’re not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans’ benefits.” Outside the Beltway, lawmakers in Virginia, Nebraska, Kentucky, and North Carolina consider abortion-related measures.
At Least 9 Dead As Frigid Temps, Snow Thrash South; Power Outages Possible
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Several people were thought to have died from hypothermia or exposure to the cold in Texas and Georgia, authorities said. Meanwhile, the Louisiana governor is warning residents not to use gas or electric stoves or ovens to heat homes because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or fire.
First Edition: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025
January 22, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The Growing Inequality in Life Expectancy Among Americans
By Amy Maxmen
January 22, 2025
KFF Health News Original
To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.
Long-Covid Patients Are Frustrated That Federal Research Hasn’t Found New Treatments
By Sarah Boden
January 22, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The federal government has allocated $1.15 billion to long-covid research without any new treatments yet brought to market. Patients and scientists say it’s time to push harder for breakthroughs.
La creciente desigualdad en la expectativa de vida entre los estadounidenses
By Amy Maxmen
January 22, 2025
KFF Health News Original
La salud de los estadounidenses ha sido desigual durante mucho tiempo, pero un nuevo estudio muestra que la disparidad entre las expectativas de vida de diferentes grupos poblacionales casi se ha duplicado desde el año 2000.
Trump Pulls US Out Of Paris Climate Agreement — Again
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
President Donald Trump has argued that the accord, first negotiated in 2015, is unfair to American businesses and the U.S. economy. In other news, Trump also took action on lethal injections and police chokeholds.
Fauci Dismisses ‘Baseless Threats’ Over Handling Of Pandemic, Takes Pardon
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
The pardon stretches from Jan. 1, 2014, to Jan. 19, 2025, which includes his time as a member of the White House’s covid-19 task force. Meanwhile, HHS has debarred EcoHealth Alliance Inc. and its former president, Peter Daszak, for five years over its virus studies.
US Health Care Systems Post Another Bad Year For Cyberattacks
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
A record 184 million people had their health care data compromised in 2024. Despite the troubling numbers, one AHA adviser commends companies’ cooperation with authorities, saying quick action helped ward off further attacks. Also in the news: MedPAC, independent surgeons, and more.
California Wildfires Caused Dangerous Levels Of Chlorine And Lead In The Air
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
Also in California, mental health workers address the struggles of fire refugees. In other news: North Carolina welcomes a new DHHS secretary; Colorado hospitals show uneven growth; St. Petersburg, Florida, wants a hurricane wall to protect its hospital; and more.
Hours Into Presidency, Trump Rescinds Attempts To Lower Prescription Costs, Rolls Back Some ACA Rules
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
President Donald Trump overwrote Joe Biden’s executive order that led to longer enrollment periods for Affordable Care Act plans in most states and extra funding to help people enroll, Stat reports. Trump also halted some prescription cost-saving efforts for people on Medicare and Medicaid, which might stall momentum for Medicare drug pricing negotiations. On Friday, another 15 drugs — including blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy — were added to the negotiation list.
Trump Signals Intent To Withdraw US From World Health Organization
January 21, 2025
Morning Briefing
Leaving the WHO means the CDC would no longer have access to the global data that the agency provides, making it harder to fight the next pandemic. “This is going to be a grave strategic error that will make America less healthy and less safe,” said global public health expert Lawrence Gostin.
