Judge Again Rejects Ending Protections For Immigrant Minors In US Custody
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Both Trump administrations have sought to end the Flores Settlement Agreement, which outlined care standards for children in detention facilities. “There is nothing new under the sun regarding the facts or the law,” said U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles. Plus: D.C.’s homeless struggle with new order; aid groups seek a full appeals court review over funding block; and more.
Morning Briefing for Monday, August 18, 2025
August 18, 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: Monday, Aug. 18, 2025
August 18, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness
By Felice J. Freyer
August 18, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The housing crisis is requiring creative scrambling and new partnerships from health care organizations to keep older patients out of expensive nursing homes as homelessness grows.
It’s Almost Flu Season. Should You Still Get a Shot, and Will Insurance Cover It?
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact
August 18, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Doctors and public health leaders, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend that most people 6 months old and older get the 2025-26 flu vaccine — and it’s still covered by most insurance plans.
CDC Staff Tell Journalist They Felt Targeted Even Before Atlanta Campus Shooting
August 16, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Reduced ACA Subsidies May Make It Harder for Young Adults To Afford Coverage
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
August 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
To Align Drug Prices With Trump’s Priorities, Eli Lilly Raises Them Abroad
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
This list price for the highest dose of Mounjaro, for example, would go from roughly $165 to $447 in the United Kingdom. The drugmaker says this in effect would then “make them lower in the U.S.” Plus, a look at how President Trump’s tariffs would affect drug manufacturers that rely on Ireland.
Caregivers Bring Lawsuit Against Department Of Veterans Affairs
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The lawsuit addresses the practice of dropping family caregiver application appeals once a veteran dies from military-related illnesses. The caregivers want to receive compensation for the time they provided care. Plus: Medicaid cuts, insurance denials, and more.
Berkshire Hathaway Gobbles Up $1.6B In Shares Of UnitedHealth Group
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The disclosure in a filing Thursday gave a much-needed boost to the beleaguered health insurance giant, which saw shares jump as much as 9.6% in post-market trading. In other news: Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife are giving $2 billion to Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute — the largest known single gift to a U.S. university, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Updated Blood Pressure Guidelines Frown On Alcohol Consumption
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The guidelines, released Thursday, encourage doctors to recommend healthy lifestyle changes as a first course of action for the first three to six months before prescribing medication. Meanwhile, a study in China shows a link between lower blood pressure and a 15% lower risk of dementia.
Fourth Person Dies From Legionnaires’ Disease In New York Outbreak
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The bacteria has been found in 12 cooling towers on 10 buildings, including a city-run hospital and a sexual health clinic. Also, New York is seeing a rise in congenital syphilis cases, with three infant deaths this year alone. Other news comes out of Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on the presidential fitness test, Amtrak, 7Up, nurdles, and more.
Morning Briefing for Friday, August 15, 2025
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
Behind on your reading? Catch up on this week's KFF Health News stories with The Week in Brief, delivered every Friday to your inbox. Sign up here !
HHS Reinstates Defunct Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
In an effort to satisfy the demands of anti-vaccine activists, HHS announced Thursday that the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines will be restored. Experts are worried this move will undermine confidence in childhood vaccines.
Trump’s Wide Birth Control Mandate Exemptions Went Too Far, Judge Finds
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The moral and religious carve-outs to contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act were deemed arbitrary, capricious, and an overreach of the administration’s authority, The Hill reports. Separately, scientists want to study mifepristone’s potential for breast cancer prevention but can’t.
Recortes a Medicaid impactarían muy fuerte en esta comunidad rural de Colorado
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
August 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
La región es una de las más pobres del estado. En el condado de Alamosa, 2 de cada 5 residentes están inscritos en Health First Colorado, el programa estatal de Medicaid.
First Edition: Friday, Aug. 15, 2025
August 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Breaking Down Why Medicare Part D Premiums Are Likely To Go Up
By Julie Appleby
August 15, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Insurers will take drug costs, frequency of use, and other factors into account as they set premium amounts for the 2026 plan year.
