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Visit KFF Health News for the latest headlines | Morning Briefing | In This Edition: From KFF Health News: 1. Once a Patient's in Custody, ICE Can Be at Hospital Bedsides — But Detainees Have Rights Federal law allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to guard detainees at health care facilities, but patients can ask to speak privately with medical providers and lawyers. (Claudia Boyd-Barrett, 11/17) 2. FDA's Plan To Boost Biosimilar Drugs Could Stall at the Patent Office Drug industry officials and analysts praised the FDA's plans to streamline regulation of "biosimilars," which are cheaper alternatives to biologic drugs. But patents that block such drugs from the U.S. market are getting harder to fight. (Arthur Allen, 11/17) 3. Journalists Untangle Issues of Health Care Costs and Food Benefits KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here's a collection of their appearances. (11/15) Here's today's health policy haiku: WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU From our humble site
to readers across the land,
haiku helps folks cope. - KFF Health News staff If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story. Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF. Summaries Of The News: 4. Medicare Part B Premiums Set To Rise About $18 Per Month In 2026 The 10% increase is due in part to the higher costs associated with running Medicare Advantage, which is handled by private health insurers, Stat reports. The costlier premiums could strain enrollees who live on fixed incomes. Plus, what's ahead in the effort to extend ACA subsidies. Stat: Medicare Premiums To Jump 10% In 2026
Most Medicare enrollees will face premiums that are 10% higher next year, creating budget anxiety for millions of seniors. Older adults and people with disabilities will pay almost $203 per month in 2026 for their Medicare Part B premium, the Trump administration said late Friday. That's about 10% higher than the $185 per month that Medicare beneficiaries pay this year. (Herman, 11/14) On ACA costs and coverage — The Hill: Dr. Mehmet Oz: Trump Administration Weighing Affordable Care Act Subsidies Extension
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said Sunday the Trump administration is holding "discussions" on extending subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "There are discussions around extending the subsidies, if we deal with the fraud, waste and abuse that, right now, is paralyzing the system," Oz told host Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union." (Rego, 11/16) Politico: Congress' Obamacare Subsidy Vote Could Set Off State Scramble
The nation's 20 state Obamacare exchanges appear poised to quickly update premiums if Congress passes a straightforward extension of enhanced subsidies when it votes on the matter next month. But there's another, increasingly likely scenario that could catch them flat-footed. That's if lawmakers decide to go a different route – for example, by paying the subsidies directly to consumers, a plan touted by President Donald Trump, or changing the eligibility rules by adding an income cap, which many conservatives would like to see. (King, 11/16) Politico: Trump's Broadside Against Health Insurers Is A Cautionary Tale For Industry
Insurers and drug companies facing dire threats to their bottom lines this year from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress had to make a choice: Stand and fight, or go to ground and cut some deals. Insurers fought in a bid to kill the threat; drugmakers cut deals to mitigate the damage. The early results are revealing. (Chu, 11/16) MedPage Today: Do HSAs Make Insurance More Affordable? AMA Delegates Are Split On The Issue
Are health savings accounts (HSAs) a good way to make health insurance more affordable? And if so, should the funds currently being used to expand Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits be used to fund HSAs instead? Those are some of the questions members of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates were wrestling with Saturday during their interim meeting here. (Frieden, 11/16) Asheville Watchdog: "There's No Way": Huge ACA Premium Hikes Force Buncombe Policyholders To Make Hard Choices, Including Dropping Coverage
Virginia Gilbert was shocked and angry after she learned last week that premiums for her Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance policy will more than double next year, jumping from $930 to $2,042. She was freshly outraged after U.S. senators reached an agreement this week to end the six-week government shutdown without securing an extension of enhanced premium tax credits for ACA-backed plans. (DeWitt, 11/15) Also — The Washington Post: Cheap Health Insurance Plans Touted By Trump Lack Comprehensive Coverage
Robert Hays, an industrial electronics salesman in Arkansas, thought he'd purchased conventional medical insurance. So did Essie Nath, 67, a retired cafeteria worker in Wyoming. So did Martin Liz, 47, a Key West chef. Each enrolled in the kind of private health insurance that Trump administration officials have promoted as an alternative to plans sold under Obamacare. (Whoriskey, 11/15) Politico: Health Insurer Horizon Settles With New Jersey For $100M Stemming From Health Care Overpayment Allegations
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin on Friday announced a $100 million settlement with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey claiming that the insurer fraudulently overcharged the state for health care on its public employee health plans. The announcement from Platkin stems from Horizon's contract with the state to administer its multibillion-dollar public worker health insurance programs, which provides health insurance to around 750,000 New Jerseyans. (Han, 11/14) KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'On Air': Journalists Untangle Issues Of Health Care Costs And Food Benefits
KFF Health News Southern California correspondent Claudia Boyd-Barrett discussed rising health care premiums on KPFA's "Up Front" on Nov. 13. (11/15) 5. Judge To OK Purdue Pharma $7 Billion Bankruptcy Plan The company will dissolve and the Sackler family will pay up to $7 billion over 15 years to states, communities, tribes, and other plaintiffs in the opioid crisis. Other news from across the nation comes from Texas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Iowa, Oklahoma, Illinois, Maryland, California, and Pennsylvania. The New York Times: Judge To Approve Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy, Releasing Billions For Opioid Plaintiffs
The drugmaker Purdue Pharma, which along with its owners came to symbolize greedy indifference to surging opioid overdose deaths, will soon cease to exist, after a bankruptcy judge said Friday that he would give final approval to a plan to settle thousands of lawsuits against the company. The agreement comes more than two decades after the first legal actions were filed against Purdue over its aggressive sales tactics and promotion of the opioid painkiller OxyContin as largely nonaddictive. (Hoffman, 11/14) More health news from across the U.S. — Bloomberg: Judge Denies Texas Bid For Bar On Tylenol Marketing In State
A judge rejected for now a bid by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to bar Tylenol-maker Kenvue Inc. from marketing its over-the-counter pain medication as being safe for pregnant women within the state. After a hearing Friday, State District Judge LeAnn Rafferty denied Paxton's request for a temporary restraining order, court records show. The attorney general sued Kenvue and its former parent Johnson & Johnson on Oct. 28, claiming they concealed the risks of autism and other disorders for children if mothers take Tylenol during pregnancy. (Mekelburg, Feeley, and Brown, 11/14) New Hampshire Public Radio: NH One Step Closer To Imposing Work Requirements For Medicaid Expansion Recipients
New Hampshire is one step closer to imposing work requirements for Medicaid recipients, as a legislative committee this week approved amendments to the state's expanded Medicaid program. But the plan moving ahead in the State House would go further than what the federal government has proposed. (11/14) North Carolina Health News: Eye Surgeon's Lawsuit Could Upend NC's Certificate Of Need Law
A New Bern eye surgeon who is challenging North Carolina's laws that cap the kinds of medical services, facilities and equipment that can be offered in geographic regions of the state will take his case back to court this week. Jay Singleton, owner of Singleton Vision Center has been fighting for five and a half years to upend how health care industries have done business in this state for nearly half a century. (Blythe, 11/17) Iowa Public Radio: Iowa's Prison Health Care System: Jobs Lost To Privatization
The Iowa Department of Corrections announced Friday that it is no longer pursuing privatization of medical care in the state's prisons, according to two current medical employees and Todd Copley, a local union president. (Delkamiller, 11/14) AP: Victims Hospitalized As Oklahoma Town Cleans Up Ammonia Leak
At least seven people remained hospitalized Friday from injuries they suffered from an ammonia leak in a small Oklahoma town as authorities focused on how the potentially deadly gas began spewing out of the tanker truck carrying it. The leak Wednesday night from a truck outside a hotel in Weatherford forced at least 500 to 600 people to evacuate their homes early Thursday while others were ordered to remain inside theirs for several hours. Firefighters went door-to-door to tell those who needed to leave. (Hanna and Hollingsworth, 11/14) Chicago Tribune: Orland Park Facility Offers Free Services For Cancer Patients
Cancer patients in the south suburbs have a new ally as they face the reality of what it takes to try to beat the disease, thanks to a resource center that treats the whole patient. (Moore, 11/14) The Washington Post: She Told Police Her Boyfriend Strangled Her. Weeks Later, They Say, He Shot Her.
Prosecutors, experts and family say Cristwell's story reflects the complicated reality of domestic violence and a system that too often fails those it's meant to protect. (Benn Jr., 11/16) KFF Health News: Once A Patient's In Custody, ICE Can Be At Hospital Bedsides — But Detainees Have Rights
In July, federal immigration agents took Milagro Solis-Portillo to Glendale Memorial Hospital just outside Los Angeles after she suffered a medical emergency while being detained. They didn't leave. For two weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractors sat guard in the hospital lobby 24 hours a day, working in shifts to monitor her movements, her attorney Ming Tanigawa-Lau said. (Boyd-Barrett, 11/17) Also — AP: Fetterman Says He's Back Home After A Fall Put The Senator In The Hospital
Sen. John Fetterman says he has returned home to his family in Pennsylvania after being hospitalized due to what his office said was a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that caused him to feel light-headed and fall during an early morning walk Thursday. (11/16) AP: Alice Wong, Disability Rights Activist And Author, Dead At Age 51
Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51. Wong died of an infection Friday at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong's family. Ho called her friend a "luminary of the disability justice movement" who wanted a world in which people with disabilities, especially ones of marginalized demographics who were people of color, LGBTQ and immigrants, could live freely and have full autonomy over their lives and decisions. (11/16) 6. South Carolina Weighing Strictest Abortion Measure In The Nation The proposal being considered by a state Senate subcommittee would outlaw all abortions unless a mother's life is at risk. It goes further by banning contraceptive IUDs and even calls for prison time for people who get an abortion and anyone who helps them. AP: South Carolina Senators To Debate Strict Abortion Proposal Tuesday
Sending women who get abortions to prison for decades. Outlawing IUDs. Sharply restricting in-vitro fertilization. These are the strictest abortion prohibitions and punishments in the nation being considered by South Carolina lawmakers, even as opponents of the procedure are divided over how far to go. The bill faces a long legislative path and uncertain prospects, even if it clears the state Senate subcommittee that's reviewing it. (Collins, 11/16) The 19th: Gen Z Men Do Care About Abortion, New Polling Finds
Gen Z men were more likely to change how abortion was likely to impact their vote after hearing from people affected by bans than older men, new polling found. (Luthra, 11/14) On pregnancy, colostrum, and menopause — NBC News: New Report Suggests More Pregnant Women Should Be Getting Treatment For Deadly Complication
Some medical centers are taking a dramatic step to save mothers and babies after studies have shown too many doctors fail to follow guidelines for preventing pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly pregnancy complication. These hospitals now recommend that all of their pregnant patients take low-dose aspirin. Studies show the drug is safe and can help prevent pre-eclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure, and other pregnancy dangers. (Cohen, 11/15) NBC News: What To Know About Colostrum Supplements: What Experts Say
Should you add colostrum to your daily diet? On social media, influencers add scoops of the powder to drinks. On podcasts, ads for the supplement tout it for a number of benefits: better immunity, improved gut health, weight loss, exercise recovery. "Colostrum has been one of the highest interest supplements over the past year," a spokesperson for GNC wrote in an email. In GNC's upcoming "Anti Trend Report," colostrum supplements were highlighted as one of the biggest supplement trends of the year. (Ozcan, 11/15) AP: A Look At Nonhormonal Options For Menopause Symptoms
Shilpa Gajarawala struggled with hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems and brain fog. But given her history of breast cancer, treating these menopausal symptoms with hormone therapy wasn't an option. "For two years, I tried to kind of power through," said the 58-year-old physician assistant from Jacksonville, Florida. But doctors say women like Gajarawala don't need to suffer. (Ungar, 11/15) The New York Times: A Pill For Women's Libido Meets A Cultural Moment
A decade ago, Cindy Eckert struggled to convince skeptics about a drug for premenopausal women. Lately, her business is booming. (Lapowsky, 11/16) 7. Duke Health: Vaccine Breakthrough Could Eliminate Cancer Cells For Good The clinical trial carried out by Duke Health researchers has followed a small group of women with advanced breast cancer for over 20 years. Other news is on nasal vaccines for HPV and bird flu, an American Medical Association proposal to start its own vaccine advisory committee, and more. ABC11 Raleigh-Durham: Duke Health Researchers Announce Breakthrough In Breast Cancer Vaccine Trial
Duke Health researchers recently announced groundbreaking results from a clinical trial that began over two decades ago. A small group of women with advanced breast cancer participated in a trial where they received a vaccine, and all are alive today, with robust, long-lasting immune cells that recognize their cancer. ABC11 spoke with Lori Lober, a study participant. Initially, she was given a grim prognosis, with median survival rate of less than 2 to 3% for five years. However, the trial at Duke Health gave her new hope. She has remained disease-free for 24 years. (11/16) Read more from Duke Health. On nasal vaccines — Drug Target Review: Nasal HPV Vaccine Could Replace Surgery For Cervical Cancer
A new study from Chiba University researchers has developed a therapeutic HPV vaccine that can be administered through the nose, offering a potential non-invasive treatment for individuals already infected with the virus. (11/17) The Baltimore Sun: Successful Bird Flu Vaccine Also Proves Effectiveness Of Nasal Delivery
A new vaccine to protect dairy and poultry workers from bird flu does not require a needle and works against multiple strains of the H5N1 virus, researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health said. Protection could be a quick squirt away. (Hille, 11/14) More on vaccines and RFK Jr. — MedPage Today: AMA Delegates Consider Becoming 'Public-Facing Megaphone' On Vaccines
Should the American Medical Association (AMA) establish its own vaccine advisory committee or focus instead on restoring the original CDC committee? Members took up that debate during a small committee session at the AMA House of Delegates interim meeting. In June, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ousted all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with people whose vaccine skepticism aligned with his own. (Firth, 11/16) The Hill: Cassidy Defends Hepatitis B Vaccine, Cites Safety Record
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Sunday said he is "very concerned" about the possibility of changing the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants in the United States. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s panel of federal vaccine advisers is set to discuss and potentially vote on changing that vaccine schedule when they next meet on Dec. 4. On Sunday, Cassidy said he "was concerned" and that the vaccine and its ingredients, such as aluminum, which the panel is set to discuss, "have been shown to be safe." (Limon, 11/16) Politico: 'You Can't Eat If You're Dead': Dems Eye RFK Jr. As Their 2026 Boogeyman
Several Democratic candidates and organizations told POLITICO they're betting on Robert F. Kennedy dragging down the GOP, pointing to polling showing his long-held anti-vaccine views are turning the public off. (Ollstein, 11/15) 8. GLP-1 Use Slashed Mortality Rate For Certain Colon Cancer Patients: Study The analysis showed a five-year mortality rate of 15.5% for those with a history of GLP-1 use compared with 37.1% for non-users, MedPage Today reported. However, the benefits extended only to patients with a BMI over 35, researchers said. Plus: People are using GLP-1s to help their alcohol and drug addictions. MedPage Today: GLP-1s Tied To Big Survival Advantage In Colon Cancer Patients
Patients with colon cancer and a history of treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity had a 5-year mortality rate that was less than half the rate for patients who didn't take these drugs, according to a large retrospective analysis. (Bankhead, 11/14) The Washington Post: GLP-1 Weight-Loss Treatment Is Being Used For Alcohol And Drug Addiction
When Susan Akin first started injecting a coveted weight-loss drug early this year, the chaos in her brain quieted. The relentless cravings subsided — only they'd never been for food. The medication instead dulled her urges for the cocaine and alcohol that caused her to plow her car into a tree, spiral into psychosis and wind up admitted to a high-end addiction treatment center in Delray Beach, Florida. (Ovalle, 11/16) More pharmaceutical news — Bloomberg: Sarepta's Elevidys To Remain On Market With New FDA Warning
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.'s controversial gene therapy for a rare muscle condition will remain available in the US with a strict new warning about potentially deadly liver injuries, a regulatory decision that removes the risk it would be pulled from the market. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it was adding a boxed warning, the agency's most severe form of caution, to Elevidys. The agency also said use of the gene therapy should be limited to children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who are four years of age and older, and can still walk. (Smith, 11/14) Medical Xpress: One Of The World's Oldest Blood Pressure Drugs May Also Halt Aggressive Brain Tumor Growth
A Penn-led team has revealed how hydralazine, one of the world's oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors. Over the last 70 years, hydralazine has been an indispensable tool in medicine—a front-line defense against life-threatening high blood pressure, especially during pregnancy. But despite its essential role, a fundamental mystery has persisted: No one knows its "mechanism of action"—essentially how it works at a molecular level, which allows for improved efficacy, safety, and what it can treat. (Magubane, 11/16) AP: Lifelong Drugs Don't Solve Autoimmune Diseases. Researchers Are Trying Something New
Scientists are trying a revolutionary new approach to treat rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus and other devastating autoimmune diseases — by reprogramming patients' out-of-whack immune systems. When your body's immune cells attack you instead of protecting you, today's treatments tamp down the friendly fire but they don't fix what's causing it. Patients face a lifetime of pricey pills, shots or infusions with some serious side effects — and too often the drugs aren't enough to keep their disease in check. (Neergaard, 11/14) KFF Health News: FDA's Plan To Boost Biosimilar Drugs Could Stall At The Patent Office
While the FDA is streamlining regulation of copycat versions of the expensive drugs that millions take for arthritis, cancer, and other diseases, the U.S. patent office is making it harder for the cheaper medicines to get on the market, industry officials say. (Allen, 11/17) 9. UnitedHealth To End Some Coverage For Remote Patient Monitoring Devices Contrary to the positive reimbursement trends coming out of CMS, UnitedHealth announced that from Jan. 1, only members with heart failure or pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders will be covered for the devices. Conditions like diabetes and COPD will no longer qualify. Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth's Remote Patient Monitoring Decision Shocks Industry
The future of remote patient monitoring just got murky. Starting Jan. 1, UnitedHealth, part of UnitedHealth Group, only will cover the use of remote patient monitoring devices for its commercial and Medicare members who have heart failure or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The insurer said RPM for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and hypertension not related to pregnancy was not clinically proven and would not be covered. (Perna, 11/14) More health industry developments — Modern Healthcare: Aetna Tones Down Medicare Advantage 'Downcoding' Policy
Aetna is dialing back a policy to "downcode" some hospital inpatient claims after facing pushback. The CVS Health subsidiary's "level of severity inpatient payment policy" for its Medicare Advantage plans was due to take effect Saturday, but Aetna is pushing it back to Jan. 1 and reducing its scope, the insurer notified providers last Thursday. (Tepper, 11/14) Los Angeles Times: UC Nurses Cancel Strike Plans After Reaching Deal With University
A planned labor strike by University of California nurses has been called off after the university system and the nurses' union reached a tentative deal on pay and benefits, both groups announced Sunday. The four-year deal, between UC and the California Nurses Assn., covers some 25,000 registered nurses working across 19 UC facilities. The two groups had been bargaining over a new contract since June. (Rector, 11/16) WLRN Public Media: South Florida Nurses Union Rallies In Hialeah For Better Pay, Patient Safety
Unionized nurses at three South Florida hospitals rallied outside Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah on Friday morning for a new three-year contract, demanding more pay and better patient safety. The last contract expired Sept. 30 and current negotiations with Healthcare Services of America have since stalled, according to a statement from the nurses, who are members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee. (11/16) Military.com: Trust Betrayed At Fort Hood: The Army Doctor Accused Of Recording His Patients
On October 17, 2025, the U.S. Army suspended Major Blaine McGraw, a gynecologist at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, after a patient accused him of secretly recording her during a gynecological exam. According to a lawsuit filed in Bell County under the pseudonym "Jane Doe," McGraw allegedly pretended to take a phone call, placed his smartphone in his breast pocket, and filmed the patient while performing a pelvic and breast exam without consent. The civil complaint claims investigators later discovered thousands of photos and videos of women on his phone, including imagery taken at prior assignments. (Fuller, 11/16) 10. Viewpoints: Fear, Anxiety Are Altering Health Insurance Decisions; Health Care Leaders Need To Protect Subsidies Opinion writers tackle these public health topics. Stat: How Fear, Frustration, And Anxiety Affect Health Insurance Decisions
We both lost our jobs as public health diplomats with the U.S. Agency for International Development last summer. Our termination from federal service also meant that both of us lost our health insurance coverage. The complex process of finding coverage outside of employer-provided plans was chaotic, distressing, and illuminating of our cognitive biases. And these challenges compounded the already painful experience of an unexpected loss of both a job and professional identity. (Amit Chandra and Alison Hoover, 11/17) Modern Healthcare: Congress' Failures On ACA Subsidies, Medicaid Hurt Healthcare
Heathcare leaders need to advocate for the healthcare tax credits, says Sister Mary Haddad, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association. (Sister Mary Haddad, 11/17) Stat: My Alarming Experiment With A Chatbot 'Therapist'
With the rise of ChatGPT and social media companies like Snapchat and Instagram integrating AI chatbots into their platforms, conversing with an AI companion has become a regular part of many people's lives. One recent study found that nearly 75% of teens have used AI companion chatbots at least once, with more than half saying they use chatbot platforms at least a few times a month. (Ellen Hengesbach, 11/15) The New York Times: Want People To Have More Babies? Make I.V.F. Easier To Get.
Trump's policies on in vitro fertilization are underwhelming but his announcement still made me optimistic. (Ruxandra Teslo, 11/17) Bloomberg: FDA Hormone Therapy Policy Change Risks Repeating Same Mistakes
If you're a woman of a certain age, your social media feed is likely filled with advice on what hormones you should take. The promises made by menopause influencers about hormone therapy are expansive: easing hot flashes and night sweats for starters, but also promoting better brain and heart health, improving muscle mass and bone strength, boosting energy, and even enhancing your sex life. (Lisa Jarvis, 11/16) | | | | | |
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