Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
KFF Health News: Trump Administration Investigates Medicaid Spending On Immigrants In Blue States The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. (Hart and Shastri, 9/5)
KFF Health News: He Built Michigan's Medicaid Work Requirement System. Now He's Warning Other States It was March 2020, and Robert Gordon was about to kick some 80,000 people off health insurance. As the Michigan state health director, he had spent the past year, and some $30 million in state tax dollars, trying to avoid that very thing. Gordon was a Democrat, a veteran of the Obama administration, and he did not want people to lose the Medicaid coverage they had recently gained through the Affordable Care Act. (Wells, 9/5)
KFF Health News: RFK Jr. Faces Senate Finance Committee: A Live Discussion Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony before the Senate Finance Committee follows the ouster last week of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez. At least four other senior CDC officials resigned in protest. (9/4)
RFK JR. SENATE HEARING
Roll Call: Kennedy Defends CDC Shake-Up, Accusing Medical Experts Of Lies Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was unrepentant Thursday about his shakeup of the nation's public health agency and overhaul of federal vaccine policy, accusing a departed director and top medical organizations of lying. (Hellmann and Cohen, 9/4)
Politico: RFK Jr. Says CDC Director's Firing Is Just A Start Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has no plans to try to lower the temperature around the upheaval he's caused at his department. "We are the sickest country in the world. That's why we have to fire people at the CDC. They did not do their job," Kennedy said. "I need to fire some of those people to make sure this doesn't happen again." (Levien, 9/4)
MedPage Today: RFK Jr. Botches Basic Facts At Senate Hearing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly cited inaccurate numbers and gave evasive responses to simple queries from lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Thursday, with one frustrated senator casting the cabinet head as "ignorant." Responding to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who raised concerns about the overprescription of stimulants and their side effects in kids, Kennedy stated that one in every five children in the U.S. takes these medications. (Firth, 9/4)
AP: A Look At False Claims Made By RFK Jr. During A Senate Hearing On MAHA U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made myriad false and misleading claims on Thursday as he fielded questions examining his seven-month tenure leading the nation's health agencies at a contentious three-hour hearing. Kennedy ignored government data, twisted legislation and pointed to unsubstantiated treatments while addressing topics such as COVID-19 vaccines, rural hospitals and school shootings. (Goldin, 9/4)
Becker's Hospital Review: Rural Hospitals Painted As Bright Spot In Tense RFK Jr. Senate Hearing: 3 Takeaways HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 4 to explain his 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda and defend sweeping changes to the CDC, vaccine policy and other federal health programs. Here are three of the central takeaways from the nearly three-hour hearing. 1. Mr. Kennedy's testimony drew bipartisan criticism for his position on vaccines. Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., had secured a commitment from Kennedy during his February confirmation that he would not limit Americans' access to vaccines — a commitment the senator says Mr. Kennedy has broken. (Gamble and Condon, 9/4)
The Hill: Senate Democrats Press RFK Jr. To Step Down As HHS Secretary Almost every Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee called on Robert F. Kennedy Jr to step down as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services following a major shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Eleven of the 12 Democratic Senators on the committee issued a statement Thursday demanding his resignation shortly before Kennedy was scheduled to testify before the committee about recent federal vaccine policy changes as well as the firing and resignations of several top CDC officials. (O'Connell-Domenech, 9/4)
NBC News: GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy Pits RFK Jr. Against Trump On Vaccines Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on his skepticism of vaccines Thursday, arguing that his actions fly in the face of one of President Donald Trump's biggest achievements. (Kapur, Leach and Khoriaty, 9/4)
Politico: Trump Backs RFK Jr. Following Tense Senate Hearing President Donald Trump said Thursday that he did not watch Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at-times tense testimony in Congress, but is confident he "means very well." The secretary faced withering criticism from Democrats and mild rebuke from a handful of Republicans who worried that his stance on vaccines threatens Americans' safety. (Johansen, 9/4)
VACCINES
The Hill: Hawaii Joining West Coast Vaccine Alliance Hawaii is joining a coalition of West Coast, Democratic-led states forming a new public health alliance in opposition to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. California, Oregon and Washington state announced the alliance Wednesday, which officials say will provide "evidence-based immunization guidance" rooted in "safety, efficacy, and transparency" to ensure residents receive "credible information free from political interference," according to a statement from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). (O'Connell-Domenech, 9/4)
The New York Times: Hochul To Sign Order To Get Around U.S. Limits On Covid Vaccine In an effort to ensure more New Yorkers can get the latest Covid vaccines, Gov. Kathy Hochul is planning to sign an executive order that would authorize pharmacists to provide the shot to almost anyone who wants it, the governor's office said Thursday. The executive order is intended to undo limits that the federal government has imposed. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved updated versions of the Covid vaccine, but authorized them only for people 65 and older or for younger people who have an underlying medical condition that makes Covid-19 more dangerous. Children remain eligible if a medical provider is consulted. (Goldstein, 9/4)
The Boston Globe: Massachusetts Insurers Will Cover Costs Of State-Recommended Vaccines, Governor Says Massachusetts became the first state in the country Thursday to require insurers to cover the cost of COVID shots and other inoculations recommended by state health officials, in another move to counter the Trump administration's efforts to undo the long national consensus on vaccines. The rift was prompted by new federal limitations on who should receive COVID vaccines under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that have created confusion among consumers, pharmacies, and physicians and made it difficult for even those with demonstrated need to get booster shots. (Laughlin and Schmeiszer, 9/4)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Halts Giving COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Amid HHS Uncertainty Big pharmacies and public health clinics in Georgia are not yet giving this year's COVID-19 booster shots, or are putting new restrictions in place, amid vaccine uncertainty under Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Doctors hope the confusion will be resolved in a couple of weeks, when a federal committee appointed by Kennedy is scheduled to decide on whether to recommend the shot. It is not certain how the committee will vote. (Hart, 9/4)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Vaccine Exemption Form Is Now Downloadable Texas parents will no longer have to wait weeks for a vaccine exemption form to be mailed to them if they want their children opted out of state-required immunizations to attend school. This week, the state health agency quietly unveiled the new downloadable vaccine exemption form, the result of state Rep. Lacey Hull's House Bill 1586 which went into effect on Monday. Along with the form, the Texas Department of State Health Services also published a document listing the benefits and risks of immunization. (Langford, 9/4)
The Hill: 'Florida's Going To Become A Hotbed Of Transmission': Former Biden COVID Adviser Michael Osterholm, a former Biden administration adviser on COVID-19, said Wednesday that "Florida's going to become a hotbed of transmission" after Sunshine State officials announced they will seek to make the state the first in the U.S. to officially remove school vaccine mandates. "I would have to tell you, as a parent or a grandparent, I wouldn't want my kids to go into Florida in the years ahead, to go to Walt Disney World, or any place like that, because Florida's going to become a hotbed of transmission by eliminating this particular mandate, and I think — unfortunately timely for that to be true," Osterholm told CNN's Anderson Cooper on his show. (Suter, 9/4)
Stat: NIH Whistleblower On Vaccines Says 'The Story Needed To Be Told' Whistleblower complaints by two former top National Institutes of Health officials offer their inside accounts of the Trump administration's targeting of vaccine science at the world's largest funder of biomedical research and the reach of Matthew Memoli, the agency's deputy director, in enacting those policies. (Oza and Molteni, 9/4)
The New York Times: Health Dept. Plans Vaccine Poll Run By Trump Ally's Firm The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to issue a no-bid contract for a firm run by an ally of President Trump to poll Americans on their "perspectives around vaccines." The move follows a wide-reaching effort by the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to dismantle parts of the nation's health infrastructure that develop and make recommendations for the use of vaccines. A day before the contract proposal was posted last week, Mr. Kennedy moved to fire the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of disagreements over his vaccine policies. The polling firm, HarrisX, is part of Stagwell, a marketing company led by Mark Penn, a former political adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton who has now become a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump. (Cameron, 9/4)
HEALTH CARE COSTS AND COVERAGE
Fierce Healthcare: Trump Administration Expands Access To ACA Catastrophic Plans The Trump administration unveiled plans to expand access to catastrophic plans on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) exchanges as the expiry of enhanced premium tax credits looms. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Thursday that consumers who do not qualify for the advanced subsidies or cost-sharing reductions can apply for a hardship exemption beginning Nov. 1, the first day of open enrollment for the marketplaces. (Minemyer, 9/4)
The New York Times: Health Care Costs For Workers Begin To Climb Employees of large and small companies are likely to face higher health care costs, with increases in premiums, bigger deductibles or co-pays, and will possibly lose some benefits next year, according to a large survey of companies nationwide that was released on Thursday. The survey of 1,700 companies, conducted by Mercer, a benefits consultant, indicated that employers are anticipating the sharpest increases in medical costs in about 15 years. Higher drug costs, rising hospital prices and greater demand for care are all contributing factors, experts said. (Abelson, 9/4)
Modern Healthcare: UCare To Exit Medicare Advantage In 2026 UCare will exit the Medicare Advantage market in 2026, the company announced Thursday, citing financial challenges in the business. As of Aug. 1, the nonprofit carrier had 186,700 Medicare Advantage members across Minnesota and Wisconsin, up 31.3% from the same period last year, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Overall, the company is one of Minnesota's largest health insurers, with 600,000 total enrollees. It is the state's second-largest Medicare Advantage carrier, trailing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which has 242,500 members. (Tepper, 9/4)
Modern Healthcare: Elevance Health Cuts Some Medicare Advantage Plans For 2026 Elevance Health will cut some Medicare Advantage plans and fully exit the Medicare Part D standalone prescription drug market next year. The for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee will eliminate unprofitable Medicare Advantage plans covering approximately 150,000 individual and group members in total, Chief Financial Officer Mark Kaye said Thursday during the 2025 Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference. The company has prioritized HMO and Dual Special Needs Plan coverage for 2026, he said. (Tepper, 9/4)
ON CAPITOL HILL
Politico: Plans For Second GOP Megabill Face Growing Skepticism Republican hopes of pursuing a second major domestic policy package this year are running into major roadblocks as they confront a lack of consensus and a grand, unifying goal — like the extension of sweeping tax cuts that held the last megabill together. The bearish view — already prevalent inside the Senate GOP — is now taking hold among some members of Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership circle, after he was touting the possibility of a fresh party-line bill as he worked to push the first package across the line in July. (Hill and Carney, 9/5)
FEDERAL FUNDING
Stat: Trump Administration Confirms Plan For PEPFAR To Distribute Gilead's New HIV Prevention Drug After months of uncertainty, the Trump administration confirmed that it will work with Gilead Sciences and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to provide a groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to up to 2 million people in low- and middle-income countries. (Silverman and Mast, 9/4)
The Washington Post: Northwestern President Resigns Amid Funding Cuts, White House Negotiations The president of Northwestern University announced his resignation Thursday, departing as the school contends with the Trump administration's cuts to federal research funding and demands to address allegations of antisemitism. (McDaniel, 9/4)
The New York Times: Harvard Won Its Money Back, But Will It Actually Get It? A judge ruled that the Trump administration broke the law in canceling billions in federal funds for Harvard. Whether the money is returned matters for the rest of higher education. (Blinder, 9/4)
The New York Times: PBS To Cut 15% Of Its Staff The cuts include 34 immediate layoffs, the closing of dozens of open positions and reductions made this summer in response to the elimination of federal funding for education programming. (Mullin, 9/4)
IMMIGRATION CRISIS
The New York Times: Appeals Court Says 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Center Can Stay Open An immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades can remain open and the government can resume sending detainees there, after a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday against a lower court's decision effectively shutting down the facility. ... In granting the stay, the appeals panel found that the lower court had misinterpreted a federal law requiring a review of potential environmental harms before building a major project in the ecologically fragile Everglades. It found that because the detention center had so far been entirely funded by Florida, and because the state operated the center, the National Environmental Policy Act would not apply. (Mazzei, 9/4)
KTAR: Detained Woman With Cancer Should Be Free, U.S. Rep. Ansari Says U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) is demanding immediate medical care for an Arizona woman with cancer who was detained at the Eloy Detention Center. The Democrat held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to advocate on behalf of Arbella "Yari" RodrÃguez Márquez, who has leukemia, on Thursday. "Yari was diagnosed with cancer over 10 years ago and has not been able to see a specialist since she was detained in February," Ansari said during the event. (O'Sullivan, 9/4)
New York Focus: New York Immigrants Weigh Health and Hunger Against Deportation Risk For years, Susanna Saul has been reassuring some of her clients that it's safe to apply for public benefits, even if they're not citizens. Now, she isn't sure what to say. Saul directs legal programs at Her Justice, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that provides free legal assistance to impoverished women and their children. Its clients include victims of trafficking and domestic violence who, unlike most undocumented people, are eligible for Medicaid under decades-old federal exceptions. (Zou, 9/3)
SUPREME COURT
Politico: Amy Coney Barrett: Reports Of A Constitutional Crisis Have Been Greatly Exaggerated Is the country in a constitutional crisis? Not according to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. "Look, I think the Constitution is alive and well," Barrett said Thursday at an event to promote her new book, Listening to the Law. She cast aside concerns by legal scholars over the ongoing clash between the Trump administration and the courts. "I don't know what a constitutional crisis would look like," Barrett, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, added. "I think that our country remains committed to the rule of law. I think we have functioning courts. I think a constitutional crisis — we would clearly be in one if the rule of law crumbles. But that is not the place where we are." (Oorden, 9/4)
The New York Times: Kavanaugh Acknowledges 'Difficult Job' Of His Lower-Court Colleagues Speaking at a judicial conference in Memphis, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh expressed sympathy for the district-court judges whose rulings the Supreme Court has repeatedly paused. He called trial-court judges "the front lines of American justice" and thanked them for helping to "preserve and protect the Constitution and the rule of law of the United States." (Schwartz, 9/4)
GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC
The Washington Post: DOJ Discusses A Potential Ban On Transgender People Owning Firearms Senior Justice Department officials have held multiple meetings since last week's deadly Minneapolis Catholic school shooting to consider banning transgender people from owning firearms, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The talks — described as in the early stages by the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations — began after a 23-year-old transgender person allegedly carried out the Aug. 27 shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others during a Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. (Stein and Allison, 9/4)
AP: Shooter Who Killed Schoolchildren In Minneapolis Seen On Video At Gun Shop The shooter who killed two schoolchildren and injured 21 other people at a Catholic church in Minneapolis visited a suburban gun shop the weekend before the attack, but the owner of the store said Thursday that his staff saw no warning signs in their interactions. (Vancleave and Karnowski, 9/4)
CANCER
The Washington Post: Biden Undergoes Surgery To Remove Skin Cancer Lesions Former president Joe Biden, 82, recently underwent surgery to remove skin cancer lesions on his head, his spokesperson said Thursday. Kelly Scully, a spokesperson for Biden, confirmed that the former president recently had Mohs surgery, a procedure that involves cutting away layers of skin until there are no longer signs of cancer. (Vazquez, 9/4)
MedPage Today: GLP-1 Agonists Show Possible Benefits For Rare Blood Cancer Patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and a history of treatment with GLP-1 agonists had significantly lower rates of multiple adverse outcomes associated with the disease, a large propensity-matched study showed. Over 3 years of follow-up, patients who used GLP-1 agonists for diabetes or weight loss had a 50% lower all-cause mortality rate, and significantly fewer hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. (Bankhead, 9/4)
PHARMA AND TECH
AP: LSD Shows Promise For Reducing Anxiety In Drugmaker's Midstage Study LSD reduced symptoms of anxiety in a midstage study published Thursday, paving the way for additional testing and possible medical approval of a psychedelic drug that has been banned in the U.S. for more than a half century. The results from drugmaker Mindmed tested several doses of LSD in patients with moderate-to-severe generalized anxiety disorder, with the benefits lasting as long as three months. The company plans to conduct follow-up studies to confirm the results and then apply for Food and Drug Administration approval. (Perrone, 9/4)
The New York Times: A Pill to Heal the Brain Could Revolutionize Neuroscience Neurologists are exploring medications that would help the brain recover after a stroke or traumatic injury. (Gross, 9/4)
The Guardian: Ultrasound 'Helmet' Could Treat Parkinson's Non-Invasively, Study Shows An ultrasound "helmet" offers potential new ways for treating neurological conditions without surgery or other invasive procedures, a study has shown. The device can target brain regions 1,000 times smaller than ultrasound can, and could replace existing approaches such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treating Parkinson's disease. It also holds potential for conditions such as depression, Tourette syndrome, chronic pain, Alzheimer's and addiction. (Drobnjak O'Brien, 9/5)
Modern Healthcare: Siemens, GE Healthcare Bring Comfort To Mammograms, Ultrasounds Walking through the doors of Grace Breast Imaging & Medical Spa feels like entering a living room, complete with comfortable seating and a miniature refrigerator stocked with refreshments. The calming atmosphere extends beyond the reception area. Newer mammography systems, like the one at the clinic in Clive, Iowa, are designed to make a patient more comfortable during a diagnostic test that many have historically avoided due to pain or discomfort. (Dubinsky, 9/4)
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
HR Dive: Judge Expands Pregnancy Law Exceptions For Catholic Bishop Group The same judge in the USCCB case, David Joseph, in May of this year vacated the rule as it pertained to elective abortions — not just for USCCB, but nationwide. In contrast, the Sept. 3 order stopping the EEOC from enforcing the rule related to medical abortions and the other stated carve-outs only applies to USCCB. In an August response to the USCCB's request for an injunction, EEOC expressed some puzzlement, stating this was "an emergency of the Bishops' plaintiffs own making." (Shumway, 9/4)
MedPage Today: Hysterectomy, Ovaries Removal Linked To Stroke Risk Hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy were associated with an increased risk of stroke, according to a meta-analysis. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 15 other studies, hysterectomy was shown to be associated with a higher stroke risk compared with no hysterectomy (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.15, P=0.001), reported Nan Wu, MD, of Chongqing General Hospital and Chongqing University in China, and colleagues. (Bassett, 9/4)
STATE WATCH
AP: New Mexico Governor Urges Lawmakers To Protect Safety Net Programs New Mexico's governor is calling on state lawmakers to shore up safety net programs in response to federal spending cuts enacted by President Donald Trump, in an announcement Thursday that highlighted reduced federal support for Medicaid and food assistance programs. More than 40% of New Mexico residents are enrolled in Medicaid health care for people living in poverty or on the cusp — among the highest rates in the nation. (Lee, 9/5)
CIDRAP: New Measles Cases Reported In Virginia, New Jersey Health officials in New Jersey and Virginia yesterday reported new measles cases. The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) alerted residents to a new measles case in a resident of Bergen County that's not linked to any previously reported cases in the state. It's the tenth measles case recorded in the state this year. In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed the state's fourth measles case this year is in a school-age student in the eastern region of the state who had recently traveled internationally. (Dall, 9/4)
GLOBAL WATCH
Bloomberg: Congo Declares Ebola Virus Outbreak, 15 Deaths Reported The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in south-central Kasai province after 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, were reported. The outbreak began with a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was hospitalized on Aug. 20 in Bulape health zone and died five days later, according to Congo's public health ministry. (Kew, Vollgraaff, and Gale, 9/4)
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