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President Donald Trump has set his sights on the pharmaceutical industry to shoulder part of the cost of his tax cuts, pressing congressional Republicans to force drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions covered by Medicaid. Trump asked House Republicans to mandate the government health program for low-income and disabled Americans get the lowest price for drugs that certain foreign countries are charged, the White House confirmed in an email to Bloomberg. (Cohrs Zhang, 5/2)

As House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to sell massive Medicaid cuts, he is leaning on a messaging strategy straight from the White House playbook: a policy in the name of protecting women. But while the Republican lawmaker claims he’s targeting men who are allegedly freeloading off of the program, the changes could be detrimental to the very people he says he wants to protect. (Rodriguez, 5/2)

Hospitals, health centers, and patient advocates this week plan to escalate their pressure on federal lawmakers to oppose cuts to the Medicaid program. The groups are increasing their public calls to lawmakers, standing up new collaborations, and increasing investments in advertising to discourage lawmakers from cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in the program. (Payne, 5/5)

The House Republican working behind the scenes to rein in his party’s ambitions to cut Medicaid spending is a California dairy farmer who represents more Medicaid beneficiaries than any of his GOP colleagues. Rep. David Valadao, who runs the centrist-oriented Republican Governance Group, has spent the last several weeks in near-constant communication with his leadership, including in weekly meetings with the chairs of key ideological caucuses across the GOP conference. (Leonard and Lee Hill, 5/2)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: �鶹Ů�� Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Explore Medicaid Work Rules, CDC Layoffs, And RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' Mission

�鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani gave an update on how Ohio is using its opioid settlement funds on WOSU Public Media’s “All Sides with Amy Juravich” on April 30. �鶹Ů�� Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the future of the Affordable Care Act on April 23, for C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” She also discussed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” tour on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on April 15. (5/3)

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has ordered several agencies to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz, an infamous federal penitentiary that closed in the 1960s and has since become a popular tourist destination. Built on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz opened in 1934 as a “maximum-security, minimum-privilege” facility dedicated to holding the “most incorrigible inmates,” according to the Bureau of Prisons. Prisoners had only four rights: food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Everything beyond that — family visits, correspondence, access to books or recreational activities — was treated as a privilege to be earned, the Prisons Bureau website says. (Masih, 5/5)

The administration has fast-tracked deportations via executive orders and escalated gang accusations against immigrants, often with scant evidence or formal charges — and in some cases, experts say, prioritizing their deportation even if it means separating families and eroding parental rights. (Foster-Frau, 5/3)

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing sensitive personal information about millions of Americans. Solicitor General John Sauer argued in an emergency appeal that DOGE has a legitimate need to access the data in order to advise the White House and federal agencies on updating technology and eliminating waste and fraud. (Ali Kanu, 5/2)