First Edition: Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025
December 3, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Listen: Nation’s Capital Cuts Traffic Deaths as Rates Rise Across US
By Chaseedaw Giles
December 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
National traffic deaths are higher than they were a decade ago, despite safety initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels. But recently that trajectory has changed in Washington, D.C., itself.
Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come
By Renuka Rayasam Katheryn Houghton Samantha Liss
December 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nation’s largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
Trump Wants Americans To Make More Babies. Critics Say His Policies Won’t Help Raise Them.
By Stephanie Armour Amanda Seitz
December 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The administration’s embrace of the pronatalist movement often doesn’t include support for programs traditionally associated with the health and well-being of women, children, and families.
Cómo decidir quiénes califican como “médicamente frágiles” según las reglas laborales de Medicaid
By Samantha Liss Sam Whitehead
December 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Ante la falta de directrices claras a nivel federal, los estados deben llegar a un acuerdo sobre cómo definir la fragilidad médica.
Autoridades quieren retrasar la vacuna contra la hepatitis B. Lo que los padres deben saber
By Jackie Fortiér
December 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Desde 1991, una dosis de la vacuna al nacer es hasta 90% efectiva para prevenir la infección transmitida por la madre si se administra en las primeras 24 horas de vida.
Supreme Court To Review Case On Disclosure Of Anti-Abortion Donors
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
In 2023, New Jersey’s attorney general subpoenaed the names of donors to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers as part of an investigation into whether the organization was misrepresenting itself. Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case.
UK’s Zero-Tariff Deal On Pharma Will Bring More Jobs To The United States
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The agreement “strengthens the global environment for innovative medicines and brings long-overdue balance to U.S.–U.K. pharmaceutical trade,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. Meanwhile, the American Hospital Association has filed a lawsuit to try to block the 340B discount program.
Congress May Punt Funding Bills To January As Another Shutdown Looms
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) appeals to centrist Republicans in an effort to extend ACA subsidies before they expire at the end of the month.
Trump Signs Into Law Measure Funding Drug Addiction Recovery
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The measure renews a public health program brought in during the first Trump administration. It includes services to help with drug addiction and mental health. Also in the news: A well-known vaccine critic is the new chief science officer at HHS.
US Opts Out Of World AIDS Day, Frustrating Activists On The Front Line
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Other countries marked the day with public health declarations and commemorative ceremonies, while the Trump administration stayed silent about the epidemic. “I think it’s emblematic of an administration that doesn’t seem to care,” one activist said.
CMS To End Medicare Experiment Meant To Fix Kidney Dialysis Shortage
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The trial, which will end Dec. 31, studied whether giving financial incentives to providers would move more patients with end-stage kidney disease onto home dialysis and through the transplant process, Stat reports. That approach was not proven to work.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, December 2, 2025
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Are you in a Golden State of mind? Check out our new newsletter, California Weekly Roundup. Each Wednesday, we’ll feature original reporting from our California Bureau , as well as a roundup of the latest health headlines from across the state. Sign up here!
First Edition: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025
December 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Cada vez más personas cuidan en casa a familiares que agonizan. Una organización enseña cómo hacerlo
By Halle Parker, Verite News
December 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
La demanda de atención médica en casa, incluyendo los cuidados paliativos domiciliarios, se ha disparado desde el inicio de la pandemia de covid, al igual que el número de personas que cuidan a familiares.
They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.
By Jordan Rau
December 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.
Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications
By Sarah Jane Tribble Arielle Zionts
December 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
