Trump’s Drug Policy To Focus On Harsh Penalties, Addiction Treatment: Report
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
STAT reports that the administration is planning on disrupting the fentanyl supply chain in order to reduce overdose deaths. The drug policy document is not public yet. More news is on South African needle exchange programs affected by USAID cuts; the FTC case against PBMs; and more.
2 Louisiana Babies Die Of Pertussis As Cases Spike, Vaccination Rates Drop
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Already this year, the U.S. has seen four times as many vaccine-preventable whooping cough cases than in the same period last year. Separately, New Jersey warns Newark Airport travelers about a measles exposure.
Gerber, Beech-Nut, Others Will Face Lawsuit Over Baby Food Contamination
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
A judge has ruled that parents can try to prove that defective manufacturing and negligence for more than 600 baby food products led to brain and neurodevelopmental damage, Reuters reported. Plus: Workers at a baby formula plant allege it is still struggling with unsanitary practices.
Nurses Are Still Reeling From The Repercussions Of Covid
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Members of National Nurses United, the country’s largest union for RNs with about 590,000 nurses, talked to The 19th about their ongoing push for worker protections. Other health industry news is from Ascension, Aveanna Health Care, AdventHealth, and more.
Colorado Tightens Funeral Home Rules But Withholds Inspection Reports
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
KUNC News reports on the silent tweak to the law that effectively blocked all public access to funeral homes’ records and inspection reports. Other news comes from South Carolina, Minnesota, Missouri, Maryland, California, and elsewhere.
Mehmet Oz Confirmed As Head Of Medicare and Medicaid Services
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Senate voted along party lines to confirm him. Also, as House Republicans look to cut spending, the GOP chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee pushes back on Medicaid cuts. Other news is about the potential fallout from any cuts.
Days After Mass Layoffs, HHS Expects To Reinstate 20% Of Fired Employees
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the agency is working to correct mistakes made during its restructuring rollout. Meanwhile, the FDA is trying to bring back fired employees to get the agency through this transitional period. Also, more insight into where job cuts were made.
Morning Briefing for Friday, April 4, 2025
April 4, 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.
First Edition: Friday, April 4, 2025
April 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Immigration Crackdowns Disrupt the Caregiving Industry. Families Pay the Price.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez Daniel Chang
April 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
DOGE Job Cuts Hit Federal Workers’ Finances and Mental Health
By Rachana Pradhan
April 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump’s rapid downsizing of the federal government and attacks on the character of public workers have taken a toll on the mental health of some employees. That’s been felt especially in Washington, D.C., where nearly 50,000 people work for the federal government.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American Health Gets a Pink Slip
April 3, 2025
Podcast
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities. Altogether, the layoffs mean the federal government, in a single day, shed hundreds if not thousands of combined years of health and science expertise. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
Supreme Court Sides With FDA Over Flavored Vape Application Denials
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the lower court’s ruling and concluded the FDA adhered to its standards when it assessed the applications. Also, the Supreme Court is allowing a truck driver to sue a CBD company after he tested positive for THC and was fired.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
CDC Tasked With Cutting $2.9B Of Its Spending On Contracts In Just Weeks
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Trump administration gave the agency until April 18 to reduce by 35% its spending on contracts. Also, more about the gutting of federal health agencies and how people are responding.
Scientists, ACLU Sue NIH Over ‘Ideological Purge’ Of Research Grants
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Also: How the push against diversity, equity, and inclusion affects transgender people and those with disabilities; the impact of Trump administration cuts on cancer research; and more.
Senators Offer Up Budget Plan That Could Ease Some Health Care Cuts
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Modern Healthcare reports that the Senate Budget Committee’s proposal includes the House’s recommendations that could lead to billions in health program cuts but also provides for greater flexibility. Plus: a proposal to offer nondairy milk options in school lunches.
Missed Deadline: Novavax’s Covid Shot Still Awaiting FDA’s Full Approval
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Food and Drug Administration had already indicated that it approved the vaccine, but new agency leaders are now requesting more data. Meanwhile, FDA staffers who oversaw expert panel meetings on vaccines have been dismissed. Other news is on measles and shingles.
Nashville School Shooter Manipulated Mental Health Providers, Report Says
April 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Audrey Hale, who died in the 2023 attack, was able to convince providers and family members that her “homicidal and suicidal ideations were well in her past,” the investigative case summary concludes. Meanwhile, efforts are underway in Florida’s Miami-Dade County and in Ohio to ban fluoride from public drinking water. More news comes from Indiana, North Carolina, and California.
