California Democrat Proposes State-Run NIH to Counter Potential Trump Cuts
An ambitious California Democrat wants the world’s fifth-largest economy to create its own National Institutes of Health and vaccine program, saying the state can’t rely on the Trump administration to support research and science. A bill introduced in the California Senate on Thursday, shared first with POLITICO, would create a new state agency to fund the scientific research being slashed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as well as bolster the vaccine access being questioned by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Bluth, 3/27)
Experts Warn: AHRQ Downsizing Could Jeopardize Patient Safety Research
The Trump administration's efforts to downsize the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) are causing alarm among public health workers as well as researchers who study patient safety and diagnostic errors. "Words like 'catastrophic' come to mind," David Newman-Toker, MD, PhD, director of the Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "From the perspective of diagnostic safety and quality and diagnostic excellence, AHRQ is really the only substantive funder of this work. It is a tiny investment for the return." (Frieden, 3/27)
California Democrat Proposes State-Run NIH Amid Fears of Trump Budget Cuts
An ambitious California Democrat wants the world’s fifth-largest economy to create its own National Institutes of Health and vaccine program, saying the state can’t rely on the Trump administration to support research and science. A bill introduced in the California Senate on Thursday, shared first with POLITICO, would create a new state agency to fund the scientific research being slashed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as well as bolster the vaccine access being questioned by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Bluth, 3/27)
Trump Administration Says It Will Pull Back Billions In COVID Funding From Local Health Departments
California may lose more than $1 billion in public health and mental health funding as a result of new federal budget cuts that target COVID-19 pandemic response grants, according to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency website. (Hwang, 3/27)
RFK Jr.'s Drastic Cuts Shock Staff, Leave Senior Employees Scrambling
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s move to gut and reorganize the federal health department shocked many people tasked with making it happen, and left others fearful that everything from the safety of the nation’s drug supply to disease response could be at risk. The disaster preparedness agency in the Department of Health and Human Services has just two days to prepare a plan to fold itself into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to an HHS official, granted anonymity for fear of retribution. (Cancryn, Cirruzzo, Reader, Lim, Gardner and King, 3/27)
HHS Faces Major Cuts: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department — which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned “Administration for a Healthy America” will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. (Rovner, 3/27)
Hospital With 75% Medicaid Patients Prepares for Potential Funding Cuts
As CEO of MLK Community Healthcare — a safety-net health system based in South Los Angeles — Elaine Batchlor, MD, has a lot on her plate. But in recent weeks, her strategy has been dominated by proposed cuts to Medicaid funding — and what they could mean for the community and for the survival of the system’s 131-bed Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital. Dr. Batchlor, who is also a University of California regent, ... spoke with Becker’s on March 26 about the proposed cuts and how she is preparing her leadership team and board for the possibility of reductions. (Gooch, 3/27)
Senators Push to Revise Tax Plan, Aiming to Reduce Medicaid Cuts
Senate Republicans are working to change a House GOP tax plan to require fewer cuts in Medicaid health benefits for the poor and disabled, seeking to mollify members of the party worried about a public backlash. The move, which is not finalized, also pares back requirements for other spending cuts but risks alienating deficit hawks in both the Senate and the House. Fiscal conservatives in the party want steep spending cuts to help offset the multi-trillion-dollar tax-cut package. (Wasson and House, 3/27)
Commonwealth Fund: Medicaid, SNAP Cuts Could Cost 1 Million Jobs
As the Trump administration and legislators weigh cuts to federal spending, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other entitlements are set to be prime targets. But a new report from the Commonwealth Fund and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health warns that doing so could cause significant financial turmoil among the states. The paper estimates that budget cuts for Medicaid and SNAP could lead to the loss of 1 million jobs and a $113 billion decline in states' gross domestic product. (Minemyer, 3/27)
Medicaid Cuts Could Eliminate 477,000 Healthcare Jobs: 5 Key Takeaways
Proposed cuts in federal Medicaid funding would lead to the loss of 477,000 healthcare jobs in 2026, according to a new report. In February, the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that calls for an $880 billion reduction in spending over 10 years for programs under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Medicaid is expected to be the majority of these cuts. The report, published March 25, was written by researchers from the Commonwealth Fund and the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. (Wilson, 3/25)
The Wall Street Journal: 5 Charts Illustrate Who Medicaid Cuts Would Impact the Most
The program is a political flashpoint because of its vital role in the lives of adults and children across the country. (Mathews and Overberg, 3/24)
Hospital Finance and Supply Leaders Forecast 15% Rise in Tariff-Related Costs
In a survey of 200 healthcare industry experts, 82% said they expect tariff-related import expenses to increase hospital and health system costs by 15% in the next six months. Black Book Market Research, a healthcare research and analysis firm, conducted the survey in late January — about a month before the U.S. enacted 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on items from China. (Twenter, 3/27)
WHO Issues Alert On US Measles Outbreak, Adding New Genetic Details
The WHO said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 128 measles genetic sequences. Texas submitted 92 identical sequences that belong to the D8 genotype. Ten identical sequences have been reported from New Mexico, and one sequence matching the Texas outbreak virus has been reported from Kansas. Five distinct B3 genotype sequences have been reported from eight other states. "The source of this outbreak is unknown. Currently, there is no evidence of decreased vaccine effectiveness or changes in the virus that would result in increased severity," the WHO said. (Schnirring, 3/27)
US Measles Cases Surge 25% in One Week, Reaching 378 Total
US measles cases grew by 25% in a week to reach 378 this year, adding to an outbreak that has already outpaced last year’s total. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 77 new confirmed cases on Friday. The outbreak has now spread to 17 states. Last year’s total cases were 285. (Nix, 3/21)
Measles Vaccination Rates Likely Lower Than Expected, Threatening U.S. 'Elimination Status'
Measles vaccination rates for young children may be far lower than publicly reported, a troubling development that could mean the United States is closer than expected to losing its “elimination status” for the extremely contagious disease. “We are experiencing an extremely concerning decline in measles vaccination in the very group most vulnerable to the disease,” said Benjamin Rader, a computational epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the author of a recent study that looked at children’s vaccination rates. (Sudhakar, 3/27)
Kansas Measles Cases Double To 23, While New Ohio Outbreak Sickens 10
A measles outbreak in Kansas doubled in less than a week to 23 cases and has “a possible link” to outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico that have sickened more than 370, the state health department said Wednesday. And health officials in Ohio say a single case identified in Ashtabula County has spread to nine others. Even before these two growing clusters were reported, the number of measles cases in the U.S. had already surpassed the case count for all of 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Shastri, 3/26)
Vitamin A Remedy For Measles, Supported By RFK Jr., Leaves Some Patients Worse, Study Finds
Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. ... One of those supplements is cod liver oil containing vitamin A, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted as a near miraculous cure for measles. Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of unvaccinated children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage. (Rosenbluth, 3/25)
Pediatricians Face Dilemma: Should Doctors Expel Unvaccinated Children?
Orange County pediatrician Dr. Eric Ball still feels guilty about the Disneyland measles outbreak of 2014. At the time, his office allowed children whose parents refused to vaccinate them to still remain as patients. Many took advantage of the policy, leaving the children in his practice well below the 95% threshold that experts say is needed to achieve herd immunity. In the end, a single measles case at the theme park spread to 145 people across the country; several were part of his practice. (Gold, 3/27)
Study Finds Greater NICU Capacity Hasn't Reduced Infant Mortality Rates
Rising neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) capacity was not tied to lower infant mortality, a large cross-sectional study in the U.S. suggested. From 1991 to 2020, total adjusted neonatologists per 1,000 live births increased 227%, from 0.44 to 1.44, while NICU beds per 1,000 live births rose 48%, from 5.43 to 8.02, respectively, reported researchers led by Gwenyth Gasper, MS, of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire. (Henderson, 3/24)
Study: Longer Breastfeeding May Help Reduce Developmental Delays In Children
Breastfeeding exclusively and for longer duration were independently associated with reduced odds of developmental delays and some neurodevelopmental conditions, according to a retrospective study from Israel. Children who were exclusively breastfed, along with those breastfed for at least 6 months had fewer delays in reaching language and social or motor developmental milestones versus children breastfed for less than 6 months, reported Inbal Goldshtein, PhD, of the KI Research Institute in Kfar Malal, and colleagues. (Robertson, 3/24)
Trump Targets California Ban on 'Forced Outing' of Students' Gender Identity to Parents
Federal officials have launched an investigation of the California Department of Education for withholding from parents information about changes to their child’s gender identity, setting up a showdown between the state and President Trump, with billions of dollars in federal funding potentially at stake. The investigation, announced Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Education, essentially pits a California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July — prohibiting schools from automatically notifying families about student gender-identity changes and shielding teachers from retaliation for supporting transgender student rights — against an interpretation of federal law adopted by the Trump administration. (Blume, 3/27)
Trump Administration Cancels At Least 68 Grants Focused On LGBTQ Health Issues
A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science. Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly $40 million when awarded, according to a government website. (Johnson, 3/24)
Social Security Revises Plan, Will Not Cut Phone Services For Disabled Individuals
The Social Security Administration on Wednesday abruptly backed off planned cuts to phone services for disabled and some elderly Americans applying for benefits amid an uproar from advocates. The originally proposed changes — scheduled to take effect Monday but now delayed to April 14 — would have directed all people filing claims to first verify their identity online or in person, removing a phone option in place for years. Advocates said the shift would make it impossible for many disabled and elderly people with limited mobility or computer skills to apply. (Rein and Natanson, 3/26)
Many People With Disabilities Face Risk Of Losing Medicaid If They Work Too Much, KFF Health News Reports
Zach Mecham has heard politicians demand that Medicaid recipients work or lose their benefits. He also has run into a jumble of Medicaid rules that effectively prevent many people with disabilities from holding full-time jobs. “Which is it? Do you want us to work or not?” he said. Mecham, 31, relies on the public insurance program to pay for services that help him live on his own despite a disability caused by muscular dystrophy. (Leys, 3/25)
The Washington Post: Trump Cuts To USAID Halt Funding For Global Vaccinations
The United States is planning to terminate more than $1 billion in funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an international organization that offers lifesaving vaccinations for millions of people each year in some of the world’s poorest countries, according to information in a document the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sent to Congress this week. The surprise cuts to Gavi “would have a disastrous impact on global health security, potentially resulting in the deaths of more than 1 million children over five years and endangering lives everywhere from dangerous disease outbreaks,” said Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani doctor and chief executive of the organization. (Taylor and Martinez, 3/26)
Vaccine Skeptic Appointed To Lead Federal Study On Immunizations And Autism
A vaccine skeptic who has long promoted false claims about the connection between immunizations and autism has been tapped by the federal government to conduct a critical study of possible links between the two, according to current and former federal health officials. The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. (Sun and Nirappil, 3/25)
USC Implements Hiring Freeze And Austerity Measures Amid Budget Struggles And Trump Investigations
Roiled by multiple investigations from the Trump administration, USC has announced a slate of cutbacks — including a staff hiring freeze — as it braces for what it called “federal funding uncertainty” in a letter released Monday. Among the nine austerity measures are a reassessment of capital spending projects and restrictions on discretionary spending, according to the letter signed by university leaders including outgoing President Carol Folt. The USC actions come at a time of unprecedented threats against universities by the Trump administration. It has vowed to cut federal funding — including key medical and science research grants — to institutions that do not comply with its directives. (Miller and Kaleem, 3/25)
Trump Appoints RFK Jr. to Oversee Special Education and Child Nutrition Programs
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, President Trump said HHS, overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would handle “special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else.” The Education Department’s office of special education programs for nearly half a century has overseen the distribution of billions of dollars in annual grants for states and schools to support students with disabilities as well as states’ compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But school meal programs are managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the Education Department. (Lieberman, Schultz and Blad, 3/21)
Nursing Becomes the Most Competitive Major for UC and CSU Applicants, San Francisco Chronicle Reports
Winning admission into the University of California’s most competitive majors — including computer science, engineering and business — is about as likely as hitting a home run your first time at bat. Yet even those subjects are not the hardest to get into. That honor belongs to nursing, for which you might have to hit two home runs. In a row. Just 1% of the nearly 6,000 yearly applicants to UC’s undergraduate nursing programs, at UCLA and UC Irvine, are permitted to walk through the door. (Asimov, 3/22)