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The Trump administration is readying to slash the Department of Health and Human Services workforce again, according to seven people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the changes. The announcement could come soon, three of the people said. (Reader, Cirruzzo and Cancryn, 3/13)

Two federal judges on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to immediately offer jobs back to thousands of fired probationary workers as they imposed separate, broad roadblocks on the administration’s efforts. The rulings — in Maryland and California — mark the most significant challenge so far to Trump’s campaign to shrink and reshape the sprawling, 2.3-million-person bureaucracy. (Rizzo and Mettler, 3/13)

More than 2,000 positions related to global health are being cut from the Johns Hopkins University after the Baltimore institution saw $800 million in federal grants disappear, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday. Hopkins’ medical school; the Bloomberg School of Public Health, including its Center for Communication Programs; and JHPIEGO, the university’s health initiative that focuses on global public health, will be affected by the cuts. USAID was the main funder for both JHPIEGO and CCP. (3/13)

These are uncertain times for National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers. Some have had their site visits for grant renewals cancelled -- only to have them rescheduled to virtual visits. Others are still awaiting the release of funding, even after having their renewals rubber-stamped for approval. On top of that, the advisory councils that make final funding decisions had been cancelled and still have not been rescheduled, several sources close to the matter told MedPage Today. (Fiore, 3/13)

A legislative proposal to cut in half a Pentagon-funded medical research account, subtracting hundreds of millions of dollars in this fiscal year alone, would jeopardize the fight against deadly diseases, experts said this week. (Donnelly, 3/13)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: �鶹Ů�� Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: The Cutting Continues

The Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. (Rovner, 3/13)

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday night that he plans to vote to keep the government open, signaling that there will almost certainly be enough Democratic votes to advance a House GOP funding bill before a shutdown deadline at the end of the day Friday. In remarks on the Senate floor, Schumer conceded a government shutdown is the worse outcome. "I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power in a government shutdown is a far worse option," he said. (Parkinson, Peller, Pecorin and Scott, 3/13)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Can House Republicans Cut $880 Billion Without Slashing Medicaid? It’s Likely Impossible

The prospect of deep Medicaid cuts has become a flashpoint in Congress, with leaders of both parties accusing their counterparts of lying. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Feb. 27 that a Republican budget measure would “set in motion the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,” and that Republicans are hiding the consequences. (Czopek and Sherman, 3/13)

Hospitals could lose billions of dollars in revenue if states roll back Medicaid expansions due to potential Medicaid cuts. House Republicans proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts, potentially including per capita caps, work requirements and eliminating enhanced federal payments for states that expanded Medicaid coverage. Hospitals may lose $32 billion in 2026 revenue if Medicaid expansion is curtailed, an analysis released Tuesday by the left-leaning think tank Urban Institute shows. Coverage losses could also increase providers' uncompensated care costs. (Kacik, 3/13)

Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, avoided paying some Medicare and Social Security taxes over the course of three years by leveraging an accounting tactic that has been questioned by the government, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. Oz and his advisers, however, have maintained the use of this tax exemption related to limited partnerships is allowed. (Weber, 3/13)

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will likely face questions during his confirmation hearing Friday about his past support of expanding the Medicare Advantage program as well as his financial ties to the industry he will be tasked with overseeing. (Heller, 3/13)

The Senate health committee voted on Thursday to endorse Marty Makary as Food and Drug Administration commissioner and Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health. (Owermohle and Lawrence, 3/13)

A key Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee shared concerns about CDC director nominee Dave Weldon’s vaccine views with the White House before his nomination was pulled Thursday morning. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Capitol Hill that she was so troubled about Weldon’s vaccines stance that she shared her concerns with the White House, and she was not surprised that his nomination had been pulled. (Gardner, Gardner and Cirruzzo, 3/13)

Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association said revoking Weldon's nomination was a good decision. "He was the wrong guy for the job," Benjamin said, noting that Weldon and the CDC "have not seen eye to eye on a range of things, including a vaccine safety or recommendations." Becky Smullin Dawson, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, said Weldon's nomination being withdrawn is a "glimmer of hope ... While it is only a Band-Aid covering a bullet hole, it is progress." She emphasized that his withdrawal didn't happen by chance but rather because the public health community has spoken up. (Robertson, 3/13)

The former pick to head the C.D.C. issued a statement following the withdrawal of his nomination. (3/13)

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday issued recommendations for the composition of influenza shots for the upcoming respiratory virus season, but without input from its independent vaccine advisers. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee had been scheduled to meet Thursday to weigh in on the composition of the flu shots, but that session was canceled without explanation in late February. (Dillinger and Goodman, 3/13)

The Vermont Department of Health has said a school-aged child in Lamoille County is confirmed to have measles, the first case in 2025. “The child became sick after returning with their family from traveling internationally in recent days,” the department said in a statement. “The risk to the public is believed to be low, as the child has been isolated from most community settings while they have been contagious. Investigation is ongoing.” (Soucheray, 3/13)

Infants are at higher risk of complications from the measles but can’t be vaccinated right away. (Pearson, 3/14)

As new cases are reported, our maps and illustrations show the spread of the virus and how infections can run through a community. (Corum and Rosenbluth, 3/13)

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough. The CDC's Traveler Genomic Surveillance Program tests wastewater from airplanes, looking for pathogens that may have hitched a ride with passengers on long-haul international flights. (Cauchi and Gounder, 3/13)

Five years after the pandemic began, covid-19 is now more consistent with an endemic disease, U.S. health experts said. It has become similar to influenza — an endemic disease — in terms of the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death, experts said. The coronavirus, which causes covid, is now less deadly, though it is more transmissible and is expected to continue experiencing waves, some of which could be severe, they said. ... There is no clear threshold for when a disease transitions from pandemic to endemic, but the endemicity of covid is largely agreed upon in the medical community, said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases and preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University. (Bever and Gilbert, 3/13)

A new study suggests that kids who develop MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children), a severe complication following COVID-19 infections, may do so because COVID reactivates a latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in their bodies. The study appears in Nature. (Soucheray, 3/13)

After 150,000 articles and 17 million genome sequences, what has science taught us about SARS-CoV-2? (Callaway, 3/12)

The mRNA technology behind coronavirus vaccines is now being used to create bespoke vaccines for cancer patients. (Medeiros, 3/13)

Americans’ views of their mental and physical health are at the lowest point in nearly 25 years, a downturn that accelerated at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued since, according to a Gallup survey published Thursday. The poll found that some three-quarters of Americans said their mental health (at 75 percent) and physical health (at 76 percent) were “excellent” or “good.” (Timotija, 3/13)

A group led by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, is claiming victory after it got a commitment from Texas Tech’s medical school not to consider race in admission decisions, which the school continues to deny ever doing. (Priest, 3/13)

The ACLU of Ohio sent a letter to the president of Northeast Ohio Medical University, saying the school’s decisions to stop funding Black History Month to comply with federal directives is “a disturbing overcorrection.” The ACLU also accused the school of intending to deny “university funding to any student organization whose mission pertains to race, unless those organizations agree to revise their governing documents to eliminate references to race.” (Hancock, 3/13)

Physician and other health professional services should get an annual 1.3% increase in Medicare claims reimbursement, and Congress should set a separate safety-net payment averaging 1.7% more for clinicians serving low-income fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries. Those were two recommendations from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) March report to Congress. The independent agency advises Congress on issues related to payment, quality of care, and access to care for 65 million beneficiaries. (Clark, 3/13)

Private equity acquisitions of physician practices fuel rapid growth in head counts as well as clinician turnover, according to data published in the March issue of Health Affairs. The findings land shortly after another recent analysis on the seller’s side of PE transactions, which was published in JAMA and also found increased turnover. Both come as researchers and others have warned of increased consolidation, higher prices and other downstream effects from PE’s increasing participation in the physician practice ecosystem. (Muoio, 3/12)

A new report by Clearwater Security found that incident response and resilience was a major issue for private equity-owned healthcare companies, which need to improve consistency in cybersecurity governance in light of their high-growth business model. The assessment found systemic gaps in security preparedness, as healthcare organizations need more documented policies for cybersecurity practices from provider practices to digital health companies. Private equity firms need to consider the cybersecurity risk profiles of companies when deciding whether to acquire them or merge them with other businesses, Clearwater writes. (Beavins, 3/13)

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to bring its new Federal Electronic Health Records system to nine more medical centers in 2026 than previously announced, VA officials said earlier this month. The program, which has suffered multiple setbacks since it was first introduced in the Pacific Northwest in late 2020, was to restart at four sites in Michigan in 2026. However, following meetings between the VA, medical center personnel and Oracle Health, the company that designed the system, more sites will be added in locations that will be determined following an in-depth analysis, according to the VA. (Kime, 3/13)

Cigna is reshuffling its top leadership by promoting Brian Evanko to president and chief operating officer and elevating Ann Dennison to executive vice president and chief financial officer, the company announced Thursday. Eric Palmer, president and CEO of the Evernorth Health Services subsidiary since 2020, will end his lengthy tenure at Cigna on April 26, the insurer said in a news release. (Berryman, 3/13)

Arkansas healthcare employers will no longer be able to block physicians from working for a competitor as the state becomes the latest to limit the use of noncompete agreements. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed a bill earlier this month that augments existing state law by voiding noncompete provisions in physician contracts that would prevent them from joining a rival organization. The law will take effect in mid-July. (Kacik, 3/13)

Maryland is partnering with SIRUM, a nonprofit redistributor of surplus medicine, to expand access to affordable prescription drugs to state residents, Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday. “Getting the medicine you need at an affordable rate should be a right, and it should not just be a privilege,” Moore said. (Jones, 3/13)

The Missouri House passed legislation Thursday to repeal the paid sick leave that voters approved in November. Members of the House voted 96-51 to pass the measure. It now goes to the Senate. (Kellogg, 3/13)

Two bills that would require nursing homes to devote 80% of their funds to the direct care of residents moved through the Human Services Committee on Thursday despite objections from industry leaders, advocates and a key state official. (Carlesso, 3/13)

A 55-year-old Warren, Michigan, nurse is facing charges after a patient died at an Oakland County nursing home and rehabilitation center. Antonio Serraon is charged with one count of placing misleading or inaccurate information in medical records or charts and one count of unauthorized practice of a health profession, both of which are felony charges. (Buczek, 3/13)

For the past 19 months, officials in rural Martin County have been working on an experimental plan to resurrect the community’s shuttered hospital. Martin General, the 43-bed facility that for seven decades served generations of residents in the Eastern North Carolina county, closed its doors in August 2023. (Baxley, 3/14)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Barbershop Killing Escalates Trauma For Boston Neighborhood Riven By Gun Violence

On days when the sun was shining and the air was warm with a gentle, cooling breeze, Ateiya Sowers-Hassell liked to keep the salon door open. Labor Day was one of those days. Sowers-Hassell was tending to two clients at Salvaged Roots, the natural hair salon and spa in the Four Corners section of Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood where she works as a stylist. She was in a groove, soothing music playing in the background, when gunshots boomed through the air. (Giles, 3/14)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Progressives Seek Health Privacy Protections In California, But Newsom Could Balk

When patients walked into Planned Parenthood clinics, a consumer data company sold their precise locations to anti-abortion groups for targeted ads. ... Progressive California lawmakers have proposed a number of bills aimed at bolstering privacy protections for women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to such intrusions by anti-abortion groups, conservative states, and federal law enforcement agencies as President Donald Trump declares the nation “will be woke no longer” and flexes his executive power to roll back rights. (Sánchez, 3/14)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: California Borrows $3.4 Billion For Medicaid Overrun As Congress Eyes Steep Cuts

California’s Medicaid program has borrowed $3.4 billion from the state’s general fund — and will likely need even more — to cover ballooning health expenses for 15 million residents with low incomes and disabilities. The state Department of Finance disclosed the loan to lawmakers in a letter late Wednesday, noting funds were needed to make critical payments to health care providers in Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. (Mai-Duc, 3/13)

California lawmakers are calling for answers after the governor’s office floated a loan to bail out the state’s Medicaid program, bringing renewed scrutiny on the state’s coverage of undocumented immigrants. The $3.44 billion loan, first floated to lawmakers Wednesday, will cover obligations for the state program, known as Medi-Cal, through March, but it’s raising questions about a bigger budget hole that may need to be filled later on. Lawmakers said on Thursday they were caught off guard by the news and still don’t understand the extent of the shortfall. (Bluth, 3/13)

A patient on Long Island is the first in New York to be cured of sickle cell anemia, doctors say. They credit state-of-the-art genetic treatment. For 21 years, Sebastien Beauzile suffered chronic pain from debilitating sickle cell anemia. "Sickle cell was like a blockade for me, but now it's just like a wall that I just jumped over," he said. He is now making medical history in New York state. (McLogan, 3/13)

Amid rising concerns about benzodiazepines, some patients who try to quit are suffering extreme anxiety, memory loss and intense physical pain. (Ramachandran and McKay, 3/13)

Microplastics are floating in the air around us, surging through rivers and streams, and burrowing deep into soils. And now, a new study suggests that all those tiny pieces of plastic are also disrupting the growth of plants. A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday found that the tiny plastic particles could be slashing photosynthesis rates globally. Microplastics, the scientists estimated, are responsible for a reduction in photosynthesis of 7 to 12 percent worldwide in plants and algae. That cut in photosynthesis, the researchers warned, could also impact large-scale crops that humans depend on, such as wheat, corn and rice. (Osaka, 3/13)

New technologies are giving scientists a better understanding of how the process actually works. (Ravindranath, 3/6)

People who endured the longest Covid restrictions in the world are still grappling with what they lost: their loved ones, their livelihoods, their dignity. (Wang, 3/13)

In the early 1800s, some people rejected the smallpox vaccine because they didn’t trust the doctors and scientists promoting them, or because they saw vaccines as an affront to God’s will, or because they worried about dangers they’d heard or witnessed. That the early version of the vaccine occasionally spread infection only heightened those fears. (Elena Conis, 3/13)

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as America’s secretary of health and human services, neutral observers might have asked themselves: Would it be possible for a lawyer who had questioned the safety of childhood vaccinations for two decades to look at the available data and reconsider his views? Kennedy’s recent interviews with Fox News, along with an op-ed he published on that outlet’s website, have been enough to make many experts conclude the answer is “no.” (Matthew Herper, 3/14)

When the first Covid-19 vaccines were developed, I felt cautiously optimistic. As a sociologist focused on public health, I believed these scientific breakthroughs would mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Yet vaccine hesitancy presented an ongoing obstacle to public health efforts.  Public discussion names misinformation and political polarization as the primary culprits. Media outlets amplified this narrative, framing vaccine hesitancy as a product of gullibility or partisan identity. But vaccine hesitancy is a complex phenomenon. (Huseyin Zeyd Koytak, 3/14)

During my time at the Food and Drug Administration, I was the senior official in charge of advisory committees. I recollect a meeting with officials from Health Canada — the FDA’s equivalent in Ottawa — who were aghast that our advisory committee meetings were regularly attended by members of the media, financial analysts, patient groups, and politicians — and that the meetings were recorded for public consumption. (Peter J. Pitts, 3/14)

Before medical contrarianism became intrinsic to his identity, Dr. Mehmet Oz appeared motivated by curiosity rather than opportunism. Arriving at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in 1986 to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Oz became well respected in the field. But much to the chagrin of administrators and peers, he also showed a penchant for questionable medicine. (Eoin Higgins, 3/14)

Congratulations! Good luck! See you in six weeks…Sound familiar? Anyone who has had a baby has heard those words. Toward the end of pregnancy, parents are seen in the office weekly and once the baby is out, the support ends for multiple weeks. It is at that moment that these parents need the support more than anything. (Michelle Herens, 3/14)

Ms. M spent every day in a home where she could not breathe. Day in and day out, black mold inched around the corner of her apartment, slithering into the hungry faces of roaches infesting its walls. As a woman who suffered from asthma and lived with a young child, these conditions were, quite simply, deadly. (Laboni Hoque, MD, Miranda Savioli, MD, and Jenna Gage, MD, 3/14)

Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, are a backbone of American health care, covering more than 79 million people across race, income and geography. That includes more than 1.2 million Missourians, and 411,000-plus residents of Kansas, where lawmakers continue to refuse to expand the program. (Brandon G. Wilson, 3/14)