Democrats Push For Vote On 3-Year Extension Of Enhanced ACA Subsidies
December 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
A vote for a straightforward, three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies is expected in the Senate next week, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday. The GOP still has not settled on an alternate plan.
American Cancer Society OKs Self-Swab Screening For Cervical Cancer
December 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
The updated recommendations were released Thursday and include new guidance on when women can stop being screened for cervical cancer. In other news, a new Texas law allows residents to sue those suspected of making, distributing, or mailing abortion pills in or out of the state.
Morning Briefing for Friday, December 5, 2025
December 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
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Mientras científicos estudian la propagación del sarampión en el país, Kennedy pone en riesgo avances que costaron décadas
By Amy Maxmen
December 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
El estatus de Estados Unidos depende de si los principales brotes ocurridos este año tienen origen en el gran brote del oeste de Texas que comenzó oficialmente el 20 de enero.
First Edition: Friday, Dec. 5, 2025
December 5, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Savings Accounts, Backed by GOP, Cover Fancy Saunas but Not Insurance Premiums
By Amanda Seitz
December 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Health savings accounts can be used to cover medical expenses, tax-free. But while wealthier Americans are using them to pay for gym equipment, cedar ice baths, and hemlock saunas, poorer Americans can’t use them to pay their skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains
By Amy Maxmen
Updated December 5, 2025
Originally Published December 5, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan
December 4, 2025
Podcast
Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking opioid settlement payments.
Tracking Applications for Rural Health Transformation Funds
December 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News is working to collect and post complete application materials, by state, here and will update this repository as new materials, released in response to public records requests, arrive.
At Wednesday Hearing, Senators Leave Door Open To Extending ACA Subsidies
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
No major overhaul seems possible before the end of the year, but optimism remained for an extension. Other news from Capitol Hill is on fraudulent Obamacare signups, President Donald Trump’s role in any potential health care deal, health insurance affordability, and more.
Texas Bathroom Law Limits How Trans People Can Use Public Facilities
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Senate Bill 8 restricts the kind of bathrooms in public spaces that are available to transgender people and holds institutions liable for violations of the law. Meanwhile, the University of Texas San Antonio is forcing students to change dorms to comply with the new law. Also in the news: California, North Carolina, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio.
Mangione Back In Court Exactly 1 Year After United Healthcare CEO’s Death
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down Dec. 4, 2024, on a sidewalk outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investors’ meeting. In the year since, the case against shooting suspect Luigi Mangione, 27, has played out in pop culture in a way unlike anything in the modern media age, Baltimore Magazine writes.
Court Ruling In India Shakes Up Global Market On Weight Loss Drugs
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Indian drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories will be allowed to make a generic version of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide and export it even before some of Novo’s global patents expire in 2026.
Vaccine Committee Could Vote Today To End Newborn Hepatitis B Shots
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
The birth-dose recommendation has been in place since 1991. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices will meet again Friday to debate broader changes to the timing of vaccines given to children, as well as whether aluminum salts should be removed from vaccines, The New York Times reported. Plus, CIDRAP takes a deeper dive into the success of the newborn hep B shot.
FDA Is Reshuffling Leadership Roles As Angst Deepens With Pazdur Exit
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Theresa Michele, the director of the Office of Nonprescription Drugs, has been reassigned. Tracy Beth Høeg will take the reins at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Also, Richard Pazdur’s abrupt retirement from CDER has reignited fears that the agency is imploding, Axios reports.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, December 4, 2025
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
No matter which app you’re into, KFF Health News has you covered: Follow along on Instagram , TikTok , Bluesky , X , Facebook , and LinkedIn as we break down health care headlines and policy.
First Edition: Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
December 4, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Under Kennedy, America’s Health Department Is in the Business of Promoting Kennedy
By Darius Tahir
December 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services increasingly uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda. Interviews with over 20 former and current employees provide a look inside an agency where personality and politics steer communications with the public.
Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
December 4, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
