| View on our site, with interactive table of contents. Not a subscriber? Sign Up |
Monday, April 13, 2026
Visit KFF Health News for the latest headlines |
Morning Briefing |
In This Edition:
From KFF Health News:
1. How To Make a High-Deductible Health Plan Work for You
Lower premiums often mean higher costs when you get sick and need care. Among the ways to plan ahead and soften the financial hit: health savings accounts, which act like a medical piggy bank. (Jackie Fortiér and Oona Zenda, 4/13)
2. Pennsylvania Town Faces Fallout From Trump’s Environmental Rule Rollback
Even as the Trump administration publicly embraces the Make America Healthy Again movement and its ideals about reducing corporate harm to the environment, it has taken steps to stall environmental protections that MAHA followers hold dear. (Stephanie Armour and Maia Rosenfeld, 4/13)
3. Rovner Recaps Medicaid Cuts' Impact on Hospitals and Fields Caller Questions on Affordability
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner recently made the radio rounds to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances. (4/11)
Here's today's health policy haiku:
ADVICE FOR CONTAINING HEALTH CARE COSTS
Prices still stupid.
Need all-payer rate setting
and campaign reform!
- Paul Hughes-Cromwick
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. Covid Might Be Spread By Lung Protein Mechanism, Researchers Find
Lungs have been found to release protein particles that the covid virus needs to enter healthy cells. Those particles move throughout the body, expanding the number of cells the virus can infect and causing immune and blood vessel cells to become vulnerable. This discovery of cell-to-cell communication might lead to better treatment for infections.
Bloomberg: Covid Virus May Spread More Widely By Turning Cells Into Targets, Study Finds
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 may spread through the lungs by turning previously resistant cells into targets for infection, a finding that helps explain the widespread inflammation and organ damage seen in severe cases and points to a potential new treatment. (Gale, 4/13)
News-Medical.net: Study Links COVID-19 Infection To Increased Lung Cancer Risk
New findings from researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified a potential association between COVID-19 and increased lung cancer risk, driven by underlying biological mechanisms in the lung. (4/11)
CIDRAP: Long COVID Tied To Higher Risk Of Heart Disease, Even After Mild Infection
A diagnosis of long COVID is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure, and coronary artery disease, even among patients who were not hospitalized for COVID-19, according to a new prospective cohort study published in eClinicalMedicine. (Bergeson, 4/10)
On the measles and flu —
CIDRAP: US Measles Total Surpasses 1,700 Cases
The US measles case count grew by 43 cases this past week, reaching 1,714, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update. The increase is much smaller than the 96-case jump last week, and more than half of the new cases are in Utah. (Wappes, 4/10)
CIDRAP: Are Your Symptoms Caused By The Flu Or Measles? What To Do Before Going To The Doctor
Measles is best known for causing a full-body rash with red spots. But those spots aren’t the only symptom. Early measles symptoms can resemble the flu, and infected people are contagious for four days before the tell-tale rash appears, experts say. People with measles are also contagious for four days after the rash begins. (Szabo, 4/10)
CIDRAP: US Flu Season Receding But Still Deadly, With 12 More Child Deaths
Even as the US respiratory illness season continues to ebb, it remains deadly, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documenting 12 more pediatric deaths in its FluView update today. So far this season, 139 children have died from the virus, and about 85% with a known vaccination status were unvaccinated. While the CDC has classified this flu season as moderate for adults, it’s been high-severity for children. (Van Beusekom, 4/10)
5. CMS Wants To Speed Up Prior Authorization Decisions For Rx Drugs
Health insurance companies and states would also have to publicly disclose their denial rates for meds. Meanwhile, Medicare enrollees will soon have access to a digital health record system, enabling them to share records with providers.
Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes Easing Prior Authorizations For Prescription Drugs
Health insurance companies and states would have to resolve prior authorization requests for drugs more quickly and publicly disclose their denial rates under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Friday. The regulation would require Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program insurers, along with state Medicaid and CHIP administrators, to respond to non-urgent prior authorization requests for prescription drugs within 24 hours after receiving a request. (Tepper, 4/10)
MedPage Today: Medicare Debuts Digital Health Record System For Enrollees
Medicare enrollees will soon be able to export their medical records to their doctor or hospital under a program launched Thursday by CMS. "Right now, our health information still feels stuck in the past," Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency and a senior advisor at HHS, said in a press conference with reporters. (Frieden, 4/10)
Modern Healthcare: CMS IPPS Rule Proposal Would Boost Medicare Pay 2.4% For 2027
Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services would rise 2.4% in fiscal 2027 under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued Friday. CMS also proposed reviving and scaling up its Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement payment model across the nation beginning in 2027. The revived CJR model, which CMS has dubbed CJR-X, would be the first nationwide mandatory episode-based payment model in fee-for-service Medicare, according to an agency news release. (Early, 4/10)
More news on the Trump administration —
AP: Parents Sue US After 8-Year-Old Dies In CBP Custody
The Honduran family of an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition who died in U.S. custody after crossing the border in 2023 sued the federal government on Friday. Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, got sick with flu-like symptoms and died after being detained for eight days in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, then later Harlingen, Texas. (Gonzalez, 4/10)
Politico: Trump Is Still Trying To DOGE The NIH. Republicans Are Tired
White House budget director Russ Vought isn’t done trying to cut the National Institutes of Health’s funding, but Congress isn’t taking him seriously anymore. Vought released a proposal last week to slash the 2027 budget for the world’s largest funder of health research by 10 percent, down from 40 percent last year. It’s unlikely Congress or the agency’s head will listen to him. Lawmakers rejected Vought’s first big cut in the spending bill they passed in February and already promised to reject the smaller one this year. (Hooper, 4/11)
The New York Times: Trump’s Military Transgender Ban Is Keeping Workers On Expensive Paid Leave
Highly trained service members have been put on paid leave for nearly a year as they wait for the military to decide their fate. (Phillipps, 4/13)
The War Horse: Drone Warfare Has Dramatically Changed The Battlefield. Is The US Medical Corps Ready?
On a serene Saturday afternoon, thousands of miles from conflict, soldiers with the California Air National Guard are scattered among stations, hunched over a buddy. Some apply tourniquets. Others practice life-saving skills, checking for breathing, tilting chins to clear airways, searching for blood loss and hidden wounds. This is how they learn to keep a soldier alive. (Krieger, 4/12)
6. Americans Lean In To Meatier Diet, Despite Health Concerns It Raises
The protein craze promoted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has more people adding red meat and poultry to their diets. Health experts say overloading on inflammation-inducing saturated fats and meat-based minerals can cause myriad problems. Plus, the nonbuzz about raw milk.
NBC News: Americans Are Eating Up The Meat Industry's Health Claims
Protein-hungry shoppers are buying more meat with their health top of mind. Health experts, however, wish they’d think beyond the butcher counter. More than three-quarters of U.S. consumers saw meat and poultry as “part of a healthy, balanced diet” last year, up from 64% in 2020, according to an annual survey from food industry groups FMI and the Meat Institute, released last month. Forty-five percent are “actively trying to prepare more meals containing meat or poultry,” while another 31% are “doing so off and on,” the survey found. (Bellis, 4/11)
The Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr. Once Touted Raw Milk. Now He’s Stopped Talking About It.
Mark McAfee, chief executive of Raw Farm, the country’s largest raw-milk producer, got an unexpected text last year from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposing a conversation about raw milk once FDA Commissioner Marty Makary was confirmed. The meeting never happened. In the months that followed, McAfee said, his outreach to the health secretary went unanswered. Kennedy, who once took shots of raw milk at the White House alongside a wellness influencer, stopped publicly championing the product. (Siddiqui, 4/11)
The Washington Post: In Sign Of MAHA’s Influence, EPA Is Holding Up Forever Chemical Approvals
The Environmental Protection Agency is sitting on dozens of approvals for uses of “forever chemicals” at the direction of Administrator Lee Zeldin, over fears that it could anger Make America Healthy Again activists, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media. (Spring and Weber, 4/13)
CNN: Peptides: What’s Real, What’s Risky And What’s Next
In the early 2020s, interest in GLP-1 weight loss drugs exploded. Now, as we move deeper into the decade, a new buzzword is taking over: peptides. And the demand for peptides continues to surge. “The GLP-1s put it on the map, and then people were like, ‘Well, what’s next?’” said Evan Miller, founder and CEO of Gameday Men’s Health, a concierge men’s health network that provides peptides and other care. (Howard, 4/13)
Politico: RFK Jr. Has Turned Corporate America’s Name To Mud, POLITICO Poll Finds
The party of business is now chock-full of voters who distrust food and pharmaceutical companies and want to regulate them. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of them and the health secretary’s drive to spread that message in Washington is proving costly for industry. (Chu, 4/11)
Politico: Your Guide To Who’s Who In The MAHA Movement
Sure, Americans know Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz. But Marty Makary? Calley Means? (Gardner and Wiederkehr, 4/13)
7. Hospitals Look To Chatbots To Serve Current Patients, Attract New Ones
Stat reports that some health systems are trying to find a way to reach the huge proportion of people turning to AI for health care questions. Also: ER workers weigh in on nine things "The Pitt" gets right.
Stat: Hospitals Launch Chatbots, Creating Another Funnel For Patient Intake
Every day, more than 40 million people ask ChatGPT about health care, according to OpenAI. They’re asking questions about diet, exercise, insurance — and in some cases, serious symptoms that would typically get discussed on a 911 call or in a doctor’s office. (Palmer, 4/13)
More from the health care industry —
Modern Healthcare: How Medstar Health, CommonSpirit Are Tackling AI Oversight
Artificial intelligence has promised to make healthcare simpler, but wringing the kinks out of the emerging technology is testing clinicians’ trust. Nurses and physicians inside health systems are encountering obstacles as their organizations implement certain AI-backed applications. Health systems such as CommonSpirit Health and MedStar Health have ramped up AI oversight and increased communication among their clinicians to try to get ahead of any workforce disruptions. (Kacik, 4/10)
North Carolina Health News: 9 Things The Pitt Gets Right, According To North Carolina ER Workers
When Dr. Jennifer Casaletto’s kids started watching The Pitt last year, her 14-year-old son had a question: Which one are you? “I’m Doctor Robby,” she told him, referencing the attending physician played by Noah Wyle who oversees the chaotic emergency room in the hit HBO TV drama. She said his jaw dropped: “That’s what you do??” (Crouch, 4/13)
CBS News: Fighting For Health Care Claim Approvals
Marketing executive Mathew Evins lived with chronic back pain for eight agonizing years. He described it as "excruciating." By 2024, he had trouble just walking. He had exhausted non-invasive treatment, and his doctors agreed he needed surgery. His insurance company had other ideas: "They went back to my surgeon and said, 'Your patient needs another six weeks of physical therapy,'" Evins said. (Spencer, 4/12)
KFF Health News: How To Make A High-Deductible Health Plan Work For You
An elementary school teacher chose a low-price health insurance plan but soon realized she wasn’t clear about what it would mean for her family’s finances. When enhanced federal subsidies expired at the end of 2025, a lot of people buying their own health insurance on the state and federal exchanges saw their expected monthly rates jump. To keep costs down, many switched to a high-deductible health plan. These plans offer lower monthly payments, but in exchange patients can face steep out-of-pocket costs when they need care. (Fortiér, 4/13)
KFF Health News: Rovner Recaps Medicaid Cuts' Impact On Hospitals And Fields Caller Questions On Affordability
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed Medicaid cuts on WAMU’s 1A on April 7. She also discussed health care affordability on The Middle With Jeremy Hobson on April 3. (4/11)
In obituaries —
The New York Times: Edna Foa, Who Pioneered Exposure Therapy To Treat PTSD, Dies At 88
Edna Foa, an Israeli American psychologist who pressed her field — and her patients — to more directly confront fear and anxiety, revolutionizing the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, died on March 24 at a hospital in Philadelphia. She was 88. Her death, from complications of pneumonia, was confirmed by her daughter Yael Foa. (Barry, 4/12)
8. With Funds Frozen, Minnesota Sweeps Medicaid Providers For Signs Of Fraud
Inspectors aren't finding evidence of widespread fraud, state Medicaid director John Connolly said, adding the revalidation process of more than 5,000 providers should be completed by the end of May. Plus: Louisiana's anti-abortion effort; punitive damages in an infant formula case; and more.
Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota’s Plan To Fight Fraud Underway As Federal Medicaid Money Remains Frozen
State of Minnesota officials said they are making progress in their effort to revalidate nearly 5,600 medical care providers across the state amid federal accusations of widespread fraud in the program that provides health insurance coverage to low income residents. (Ratanpal, 4/10)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Verite News New Orleans: State House Measure Would Push Anti-Abortion Curriculum In Public Schools, Critics Say
A resolution urging the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to incorporate content standards that include prenatal development into statewide school curriculum is scheduled for debate in the Louisiana House of Representatives on Monday (April 13). Critics say that the resolution mirrors efforts in other Republican-led states to introduce anti-abortion material into public school curriculum. (Syed, 4/10)
Chicago Tribune: Jury Awards Total Of $70 Million In Damages In Abbott Formula Case
A Cook County jury on Friday decided that Abbott Laboratories should pay $17 million in punitive damages — on top of $53 million in compensatory damages awarded a day earlier — in four cases in which mothers alleged the company’s formula for premature infants caused their babies to become severely ill. (Schencker, 4/10)
CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Emergence Of Medetomidine In New York’s Illicit Drug Supply
Surveillance data first detected the sedative medetomidine in New York state in mid-2024, and through 2025 it was identified in 25.1% of opioid samples analyzed, with a monthly peak of 44.1% in May 2025, according to a Public Health Alerts report published today. (Wappes, 4/10)
AP: NYC Ballet Dancer Shares Her Experience With Hearing Loss
Sara Mearns was missing her cues. She couldn’t hear what her dance partner was saying from across the studio. She was late for her entrances because the music sounded too soft. Without telling anyone, she finally made an appointment to get her hearing checked. Mearns learned that she had hearing loss. After years of isolation, she got the tools to make sense of a world that had gotten muffled. (Ramakrishnan and Lum, 4/12)
KFF Health News: Pennsylvania Town Faces Fallout From Trump’s Environmental Rule Rollback
North America’s largest coke plant hugs the west bank of Pennsylvania’s Monongahela River, belching out emissions from turning superheated coal into a carbon-rich fuel. Researchers say the children at Clairton Elementary School about a mile away pay the price. They discovered the students there and at other elementary schools near major pollution sites in Pennsylvania had higher asthma rates than other children in the state. (Armour and Rosenfeld, 4/13)
9. States Adjust To Rising Temperatures That Put Student Athletes At Risk
There are no national standards for schools regarding heat safety. Until there are federal regulations in place, schools will continue to be constrained by their budgets. Also: red light therapy; reversing cellular aging; and more.
The Hechinger Report: Student Athletes Feel The Heat As States Adapt To Climate Change
When George Lacomb moved two years ago to a new high school in Orlando, Florida, he quickly noticed safety precautions that the football team at his previous, less affluent school never had. There was a designated recovery room, staffed by a full-time athletic trainer, giant ice baths to cool overheated athletes, and indoor facilities to practice if outside got too hot. At his old school in another part of Orlando, the football team relied on one makeshift ice bath and a cafeteria table to rest on when injured. (Morton, 4/13)
On aging —
Scientific American: This Method To Reverse Cellular Aging Is About To Be Tested In Humans
A burgeoning field is launching its first clinical trial to find out whether dialing back cell development can safely refresh aged tissues and organs. (Ledford and Nature Magazine, 4/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: Many Older Adults Improve With Age, And Mindset May Be Key, Study Says
Contrary to stereotypes, many older adults improve in cognitive and physical abilities in later life — and having a positive mindset about aging may play a key role, according to a recent study by Yale researchers. The findings, published last month in the journal Geriatrics, reject the common narrative that physical and cognitive declines are inevitable with aging. It found that about 45% of U.S. adults 65 and older showed improvement in cognition or walking speed, or both, in the 12-year study period. (Ho, 4/11)
NPR: The Science Behind Red Light Therapy For Skin And Hair
Red light therapy has become the latest ray of hope in the wellness industry. If you listen to wellness influencers, you might think there's nothing that red light therapy can't treat. But what's the science behind the hype? On TikTok, you'll find content creators touting red light therapy's benefits for skin care, hair growth, joint pain, sleep, longevity, inflammation — even period cramps. (Godoy, 4/13)
10. Viewpoints: Mass. Health Reform Is A Model For All States; 'Portable Benefits' Open Health Care To Freelancers
Opinion writers delve into these public health topics.
The Boston Globe: Massachusetts Health Reform At 20: A Model For What Government Can Do
Leaders from the public and private sectors as well as across the political spectrum came together to answer a question that long seemed unthinkable in Washington: Could we make health care coverage a reality for all? (Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and former Gov. Mitt Romney, 4/13)
The Washington Post: Self-Employed Workers Are Finally Getting Access To Benefits
Millions of American workers are on the verge of winning a massive — but largely unheralded — victory: More and more states are letting the self-employed access health insurance and retirement accounts throughout their careers — something many independent workers don’t have but urgently need. (Jonathan Wolfson, 4/13)
Stat: Prasad’s FDA Successor Faces An Almost Impossible Challenge
Vinay Prasad’s short yet two-act tenure at the FDA was wild. How does anyone follow him as the new leader of biologics oversight at the agency? (Paul Knoepfler, 4/13)
Stat: Erectile Dysfunction Is An Important Public Health Issue
As a board-certified urologist who specializes in male sexual dysfunction and men’s health, I often find that people can be pretty dismissive of treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED), as though it’s entirely a recreational problem rather than a medical one. Ask people what society should care more about, erectile dysfunction or heart disease, and it’s not hard to guess what their answer will be. (Denise Asafu-Adjei, 4/13)
Bloomberg: For Women, Research Shows Strength May Be Key To Aging Well
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, followed thousands of women over the age of 62 and makes clear that even small changes can have a meaningful impact. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/9)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment