- Health Care Program Cuts
DOGE Tells HHS Not to Pay Its Bills
The U.S. DOGE Service is putting new curbs on billions of dollars in federal health-care grants, requiring government officials to manually review and approve previously routine payments — and paralyzing grant awards to tens of thousands of organizations, according to 12 people familiar with the new arrangements. The effort, which DOGE has dubbed “Defend the Spend,” has left thousands of payments backed up, including funding for doctors’ and nurses’ salaries at federal health centers for the poor. Some grantees are waiting on payments they expected last week. (Diamond, Johnson and Natanson, 4/17)
The Washington Post: Leaked Budget Report Details Deep Cuts to Trump-Era Health Programs
The Trump administration is seeking to deeply slash budgets for federal health programs, a roughly one-third cut in discretionary spending by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a preliminary budget document obtained by The Washington Post. The HHS budget draft, known as a “passback,” offers the first full look at the health and social service priorities of President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget as it prepares to send his 2026 fiscal year budget request to Congress. (Sun, Johnson, Roubein, Achenbach and Weber, 4/16)
- Women’s Health
MedPage Today: Clinicians Alarmed Over Discontinuation of Key CDC Contraceptive Guidance
The team behind CDC's U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (MEC) was another casualty in the mass layoffs at HHS — and clinicians worry what losing this critical guideline will mean for patient care. The MEC details the safety of contraceptive types for people with different medical conditions, and was run by a slim eight-person team. The latest MEC guidelines and companion practice recommendations were released in August 2024. (Robertson, 4/17)
Future Of Black Maternal Health Programs Uncertain As Federal Budget Cuts Loom
In California, Black women are at least three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. Santa Clara County initiatives aimed at reducing racial disparities work but depend on federal dollars — money that might not flow amid budget cuts and a push to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. (Ronnie Cohen, 4/17)
- Health Care Coverage
KFF Health News: Watch: Why Insurers Are Rejecting Coverage For Prosthetic Limbs Although knee replacements are usually covered by health insurance, amputees face roadblocks to coverage and often must prove their prosthetics are medically necessary. (Andrews, 4/18)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Plans To Phase Out Medicaid State Health And Investment Programs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is cutting off funding for initiatives designed to address health-related social needs for Medicaid enrollees, the agency notified states in a letter Thursday. So-called designated state health programs and designated state investment programs currently in operation under 1115 waivers may continue, but CMS will not extend them nor approve new applications, Center for Medicaid Director Drew Snyder wrote in a letter to state officials. (Early, 4/11)
California Addresses Shortfall In Medicaid Funding: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday to close a $2.8 billion budget gap in the state’s Medicaid services and ensure coverage through June for 15 million people, including immigrants, who receive health care via the program. Read more from AP.
Becker's Hospital Review: States Ranked by Estimated Coverage Losses from Medicaid Work
California is projected to experience the largest potential losses in Medicaid coverage if federal work requirements are enacted, according to an analysis released by the Urban Institute on April 14. Approximately five million adults across the country could lose Medicaid coverage next year under a possible federal mandate requiring adults aged 19 to 55 in Medicaid expansion states to work. At least 10,000 adults in nearly every expansion state could lose coverage, with the largest losses occurring in the most populous states. (Emerson, 4/14)
Supreme Court Reviews ACA Preventive Care Mandate Hospitals, health insurers, and insurance agents are asking President Trump to pump the brakes on a regulation that would lead to potentially millions of people losing their health insurance. (Herman, 4/18)
Stat: Supreme Court to Review Challenge to ACA Mandate for Free Preventive Care and Cancer
For a decade and a half, Americans have been guaranteed that no matter their health insurer, certain preventive care like cancer screenings are free of charge. That’s because an Affordable Care Act provision has required insurers to fully cover services given an A or B recommendation by an expert task force. (Chen, 4/17)
- Autism
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Autism Debate – Secretary's Position vs. CDC's Stance Tensions between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his employees at the Department of Health and Human Services are mounting, as he made a series of claims about autism this week — contradicting his agency’s findings. Plus, President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order to lower drug prices as his administration explores tariffs that could raise them. (Rovner, 4/17)
Stat: Leading Autism Researchers And Organizations Unaware Of RFK Jr.'S Study Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the country will soon know what is causing a rise in autism rates, but there is little sign he has a team in place yet. Nearly two dozen prominent voices from mainstream autism research and in the anti-vaccine world said they have not been approached by Kennedy, and have no details about the proposed studies. (Cueto, 4/16)
The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Claims Autistic People Don’t Work Or Play Sports, But They Disagree. Autistic people and their loved ones have swiftly and publicly rejected statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, that people with autism will never play baseball, date, pay taxes or have a job. They say the health and human services secretary’s comments Wednesday, during his first official news conference, misstate the capabilities of many people with autism — and they flooded social media with counterexamples. (Somasundaram, 4/17)
The New York Times: C.D.C. Reports Ongoing Increase In Autism Rates Among Children
The percentage of American children estimated to have autism spectrum disorder increased in 2022, continuing a long-running trend, according to data released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among 8-year-olds, one in 31 were found to have autism in 2022, compared with 1 in 36 in 2020. That rate is nearly five times as high as the figure in 2000, when the agency first began collecting data. (Ghorayshi, 4/15)
The Hill: CDC Report Links Rising Autism Rates To Improved Screening, Countering RFK Jr.'S Claims ASD prevalence has been rising, but demographics have also been shifting, as autism diagnoses are now more prevalent in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods than wealthy ones. CDC researchers said the demographic shift was consistent with increased access to identification services among previously underserved groups. (Weixel, 4/15)
Stat: RFK Jr. Calls Rising Autism Rates Alarming, But Researchers Dispute His View A new federal report suggests that U.S. autism rates are rising modestly, an increase that health researchers said reflected expanded diagnostic tools and access to care, among other factors. But health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instead has pointed to the data as evidence of a growing crisis. (Broderick, 4/15)
Politico: Kennedy Vows To Identify 'Environmental Toxins' Linked To Autism
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used newly released autism figures to insist the nation is facing a crisis and promised to ferret out the “environmental toxins” he believes are responsible. The secretary, who in the past has repeated debunked claims that there is a link between vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder, said better diagnostics and awareness are responsible for only 25 percent of the increased rate, which is now 1 in 31 children. (Cirruzzo and Gardner, 4/16)
- FDA
CBS News: Sources Say FDA Plans To Halt Routine Food Safety Inspections The Food and Drug Administration is drawing up plans that would end most of its routine food safety inspections work, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News, and effectively outsource this oversight to state and local authorities. The plans have not been finalized and might need congressional action to fully fund, said the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, denied that the FDA was making plans to do this. (Tin, 4/17)
- Measles
The New York Times: Measles Outbreaks In Canada And Mexico Signal Concern For Public Health As the United States struggles to contain a resurgence of measles that has swept through swaths of the Southwest, neighboring countries are responding to their own outbreaks. Canada has reported more than 730 cases this year, making this one of the worst measles outbreaks in the country since it declared the virus “eliminated” in 1998. Mexico has seen at least 360 measles cases and one death, most of them in the northern state of Chihuahua, according to Mexican health authorities. (Rosenbluth, 4/17)
CBS News: U.S. Sees Weekly Measles Cases Exceed 90 for the First Time in Years
The number of measles cases reported in the U.S. in a single week has topped 90 for the first time since a record wave in 2019, according to figures published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety-one cases of measles were reported with rashes that began the week of March 23, with Arkansas, Hawaii and Indiana joining the list of two dozen states with confirmed measles cases. (Tin, 4/11)
- Eating Disorders
The Wall Street Journal: Eating Disorders Are Increasing, But Scientists Remain Uncertain On Effective Treatments Eighteen years ago, Steve and Linda Znachko dropped their 14-year-old daughter Anna off at a private, inpatient eating disorder facility for the first time. The sign at the facility’s entrance read, “Expect a miracle.” As devout Christians with resources, they expected nothing less. This it turned out was just the beginning of what would be a long and grueling battle with anorexia. Anna spent nearly two decades cycling between therapists, treatment centers and psychiatric medications at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was a battle she ultimately lost: Anna Znachko died of anorexia in August 2024. (Andersen, 4/17)
- Vaccines
Stat: CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel Recommends Broader Use Of RSV Vaccine
A committee of independent vaccine experts voted Wednesday to recommend lowering the age at which adults can get a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, potentially opening up access to these vaccines for adults in their 50s who are at high risk of severe illness from RSV. (Branswell, 4/16)
The Hill: CDC Struggling to Secure Resources for States to Address Rising Measles Outbreaks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is struggling to keep up with requests for help from states responding to ongoing measles outbreaks, even as a large number of cases are not being reported, a senior agency scientist said Tuesday. More than 700 measles infections have been reported nationwide, making 2025 the second-worst year on record in decades. There are 561 confirmed cases in Texas alone since late January, according to the most recent statistics. (Weixel, 4/16)
CBS News: CDC Considering Halting Universal COVID Vaccine Recommendations
A majority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work group on COVID-19 vaccines now supports ending the agency's pandemic-era recommendation for virtually all Americans to get vaccinated against the virus each year, officials said Tuesday. Instead of the agency's longstanding "universal" recommendation, most of the CDC's advisers and health officials favor shifting to guidance based on people's individual risk of more severe disease. (Tin, 4/15)
- Disabilities
CalMatters: California Drivers with Disabilities May Use Blue Envelopes During Police Stops
An Inland Empire lawmaker wants to make it easier for Californians with disabilities to deal with police traffic stops, by enabling drivers to present law enforcement with special blue envelopes containing information about their vehicle and disability accommodations. (Brennan, 4/16)
- Children’s Health
CIDRAP: Study Links COVID-19 To Adverse Kidney Outcomes In U.S. Youth COVID-19 infection was linked to a higher risk of new-onset mild and moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) in US children and adolescents from 2020 to 2023, according to recent findings from the National Institutes of Health's Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative. (Van Beusekom, 4/15)
AP: Sleep Training For Teens? Schools Offer Lessons On How To Get Enough Rest The topic of a new course at Mansfield Senior High School is one that teenagers across the country are having trouble with: How to Get to Sleep. One ninth grader in the class says his method is to scroll through TikTok until he nods off. Another teen says she often falls asleep while on a late-night group chat with friends. Not everyone takes part in class discussions on a recent Friday; some students are slumped over their desks napping. Sleep training is no longer just for newborns. Some schools are taking it upon themselves to teach teenagers how to get a good night’s sleep. (Gecker, 4/16)
The Washington Post: Early Exposure to Ozone Pollution Linked to Increased Asthma Risk in Young Children
Ozone exposure early in life raises the risk a child will develop asthma and wheezing by age 4, a recent analysis found. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed data on 1,188 children in Washington state, Minnesota, New York, California and Tennessee who were drawn from three cohorts in the National Institutes for Health’s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program. All of the children were exposed to modest ozone pollution between birth and age 2, and 81.9 percent had mothers with no history of asthma. (Blakemore, 4/13)
Los Angeles Times: Why One L.A. Hospital Asserts Infants Have Mental Health Needs as Well
A major initiative at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles aims to address a critical but much overlooked need: mental health care for families experiencing the complex flood of joy, fear and upheaval during the first few years of a child’s life. Myriad issues can emerge or become exacerbated in a family after a baby is born, including maternal postpartum depression, sleep problems, attachment issues between caregivers and children, early signs of behavioral challenges, domestic conflict between parents, and housing insecurity that often worsens as a family grows. If a child also experiences a medical issue, including an extended hospital stay, a serious birth defect or a developmental delay, these problems can be compounded. (Gold, 4/15)
- CT Scans
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Study Reveals CT Scans Could Be More Harmful Than Previously Believed
CT scans, a widely used medical imaging technology to diagnose diseases, may be more harmful than previously thought, and account for about 5% of new cancer cases annually in the U.S. population, according to new research led by UCSF scientists. That puts CT (computed tomography) scans — which expose patients to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen — on par with alcohol consumption and excess body weight in terms of contribution to cancer risk, according to the study, which is slated for publication Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Ho, 4/14)
- Organ Transplants
CBS News: Discarded Donated Organs: Why Some Are Left Unused
In the U.S., thousands of donated organs never reach the patients who need them. CBS News found that last year, one in three kidneys recovered from deceased donors were never transplanted. Specialized organ recovery teams made more than 26 million attempts to place these kidneys with transplant centers, offering them again and again in search of a suitable match--before they were ultimately discarded as medical waste. And it's not just kidneys. Nearly 12,000 potentially life-saving organs were discarded last year in the United States. (Moniuszko, 4/14)
- Homeless Students
Politico: California’s Housing Crisis: Landmark Bill Could Allow Students To Live In Cars A progressive Democratic lawmaker is seeking a simple but jarring remedy of last resort for California’s college students navigating the state’s housing crisis: Let them sleep in their cars. While roughly half a dozen state legislative proposals this year seek to fund student or faculty housing or loosen building regulations, the benefits would come far too late for current students struggling to stay afloat. With one in four California community college students experiencing homelessness in the past year, Democrats — who have a supermajority in the statehouse — face increasing pressure to deliver on affordability issues. (He, 4/13)
- Grant Reviews
Stat: Key NIH Grant Review Panels Restart Meetings, but Not Yet 'Back to Normal'
After being indefinitely suspended in the first days of the Trump administration, key National Institutes of Health committees that approve research grants resumed meeting this week. It appears to be a positive step toward restoring the flow of billions of dollars in biomedical research funding to universities and medical schools that for months has been significantly staunched. (Molteni, 4/11)