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Enrollment in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans has more than doubled since 2020, and most of that growth has been in states won by President Trump. House Republicans’ legislative agenda could cut that by one-third and make the insurance more expensive. (Wilkerson, 5/30)

The Senate will soon be considering the massive legislation containing President Trump's second-term agenda after House Republicans passed it last week, following days of negotiations over changes to Medicaid, among other key issues. Senate Republicans will put their "imprint" on the bill, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota put it, and some pointed to changes to Medicaid as a possible red line for those who are undecided. (Hubbard and Yilek, 5/29)

All estimates depend on assumptions. The CBO determined that 4.8 million would lose Medicaid insurance if the House bill became law. The House GOP has concluded that this means these people refuse to work and are therefore “cheating the system.” Without access to the full CBO analysis, that’s a big assumption. The CBO appeared to predict what might happen under the new law — not what people are doing now. But it’s ironic that Johnson is relying on the CBO for this estimate when he’s also attacking the agency for its deficit forecast for the same bill. (Kessler, 5/30)

President Donald Trump’s favorite celebrity doctor is standing behind his new boss on an issue that has sparked opposition even among some Republicans. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ... argued in an interview on The Conversation with Dasha Burns that the Medicaid work requirements in the sprawling legislation will “future proof” the program — in line with administration goals to protect social services. (Svirnovskiy, 5/30)

Early battle lines are forming over a centerpiece of the sprawling domestic policy bill that House Republicans narrowly passed, with Medicaid spending cuts emerging as a flash point that could define the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats are fine-tuning their message as they blast the legislation, which now heads to the GOP-led Senate, as a tax cut for the wealthy that would be funded by cutting health care, after Republicans broadly promised they wouldn't cut Medicaid. (Kapur, 5/29)

Two agencies in the federal health department are plotting what officials say will be an ambitious tech modernization push to promote better care for people on Medicare and beyond. And they’ve tapped some veteran technology entrepreneurs to lead the charge. (Aguilar, 5/30)

A coalition of healthcare trade associations and companies representing 550 providers and accountable care organizations is pleading with Congress to restore incentive bonuses for Medicare alternative payment models. The American Medical Association, Boston-based Mass General Brigham and others wrote congressional leaders Thursday expressing concern that failure to renew bonus payments will worsen providers’ financial instability, particularly in underserved regions. (Early, 5/29)

The first report from the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, released last week, appears to be rife with errors, including some studies that don’t exist. Touted by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a milestone, the report lays out the government’s priorities for addressing chronic health problems in children, which it ascribes to poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, overprescribing of drugs and exposure to environmental chemicals. (Goodman, Howard and Klein, 5/29)

The White House on Thursday said it will fix errors in its “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, report after a news outlet’s investigation found that it cited sources that don’t exist. ... White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the issues of nonexistent sources and said the administration has “complete confidence” in Kennedy, who spearheaded the report.  “I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated,” Leavitt said during the daily press briefing. (Weixel, 5/29)

The Trump administration is dropping plans to terminate leases for 34 offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, had targeted federal agencies for spending cuts, including terminating leases for three dozen MSHA offices. Seven of those offices were in Kentucky alone. Ending the MSHA leases had been projected to save $18 million. (Raby, 5/30)

For the past decade, Stealth BioTherapeutics has ridden a roller coaster trying to convince the Food and Drug Administration to approve its ultra-rare disease drug. Now, the company has encountered yet another twist — an unexpected regulatory rejection that will not only delay access and strain its finances, but ensure some of the most vulnerable patients are denied the treatment. (Silverman, 5/29)

In a boost for pharmacy benefit managers, the U.S. solicitor general advised the Supreme Court not to review an appeals court ruling that struck down key parts of an Oklahoma law regulating the retail networks created by these controversial middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain. (Silverman, 5/29)

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has filed a federal lawsuit against the White House over a lack of American Sign Language interpreters at media briefings. The NAD says the White House abruptly stopped providing ASL interpreters during press briefings and other public events when President Trump returned to office for a second term. (Wright, 5/29)

Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, a cancer researcher and associate dean for oncology at Brown University, has an unlikely sales pitch for President Donald Trump: Pick me to lead the nation’s cancer research and give me a lot more money to spend on it. Despite slashing billions in health research grants and proposing further cuts in next year’s budget, Trump is considering El-Deiry to lead the National Cancer Institute after a recent interview for the job. (Schumaker and Reader, 5/29)

Brendan Demich and his team of research engineers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Pittsburgh were racing to complete a virtual reality program to help train miners on what to do in an emergency underground. They feared that soon, time would run out, and Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency would throw them out of work. (Mann, 5/29)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt attacked former first lady Jill Biden on Thursday over allegations that individuals around then-President Biden intentionally kept information about his health issues a secret. Republicans are calling on two dozen former senior Biden administration officials to appear before the Senate and answer questions about the former president’s health amid allegations that the White House deliberately did not disclose his cognitive and physical decline. (Gangitano, 5/29)

Private practice is slowly fading as a way to do business, going the way of landline phones,  bank deposit slips and fax machines. An analysis by the American Medical Association found the percentage of physicians in a practice wholly owned by physicians last year to be at the lowest level since the survey began in 2012. The AMA examined data from its biennial Physician Practice Benchmark Survey, most recently conducted in 2024. (Broderick, 5/29)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: American Doctors Are Moving To Canada To Escape The Trump Administration

Earlier this year, as President Donald Trump was beginning to reshape the American government, Michael, an emergency room doctor who was born, raised, and trained in the United States, packed up his family and got out. Michael now works in a small-town hospital in Canada. �鶹Ů�� Health News and NPR granted him anonymity because of fears he might face reprisal from the Trump administration if he returns to the U.S. He said he feels some guilt that he did not stay to resist the Trump agenda but is assured in his decision to leave. Too much of America has simply grown too comfortable with violence and cruelty, he said. (Kelman, 5/30)

Healthcare C-suite leaders are trying to keep pace with rapid changes in U.S. economic and regulatory policies in the first four months of the second Trump administration. Among 700 business executives across six industries, nearly half (48%) of business executives rank economic policy among the top three factors driving strategic change over the next one to two years, according to a new PwC May pulse survey. (Landi, 5/29)

Private equity-backed companies promise to ease physicians’ administrative workloads, but doctors say many of those pledges have fallen short. Specialists are increasingly joining management services organizations, which are often funded by corporate investors such as private equity companies. Part of the sales pitch typically includes a competitive compensation package, as well as a commitment to take purchasing, billing, regulatory, technology and other day-to-day administrative tasks off physicians’ hands. (Kacik, 5/29)

Penn Medicine will stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 years old, the Philadelphia-based system said Thursday. Penn Medicine will no longer perform gender-affirming surgical procedures in plastic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology, as well as head and neck surgeries, PJ Brennan, Penn Medicine's chief medical officer, said in a statement. The change comes "as a result of current guidance established by the federal government," the statement says. (Fey, 5/29)

Before, Cleveland Clinic patients were going to be turned away if they couldn’t immediately pay their insurance co-pay. Now, in a reversal announced Wednesday, Clinic patients can once again see a doctor without paying first. (Washington, 5/28)

Emory University is considering borrowing more than $1 billion of municipal debt to finance projects for its campus and hospital system. The bond sale for the Atlanta-based private institution is expected in mid-June and will be managed by an underwriting group led by RBC Capital Markets, according to a securities filing that outlined the potential borrowing plan. The tax-exempt debt, which would be issued through Georgia’s Private Colleges and Universities Authority, would also refinance outstanding obligations. (Bonilla Ramos and Shah, 5/29)

The world looked a little different when bioengineer Dan Huh first began exploring whether it was possible to replace mouse testing with small-scale replicas of human tissues. (DeAngelis, 5/29)

Federal officials in Boston on Friday will count the ballots of roughly 240 primary care doctors deciding whether to form a union at Mass General Brigham. The answer is likely to be yes, but it won’t settle the fight over the proposed bargaining unit at the state’s largest health system. For months, primary care physicians at MGB have said they are overworked, underpaid, and demoralized by the “corporatization of medicine.” Last November, many of them filled out cards notifying the National Labor Relations Board that they want to join a union called the Doctors Council. (Saltzman, 5/29)

Johns Hopkins University is selecting Keshia Pollack Porter as the new dean of its Bloomberg School of Public Health after a global search for someone to fill the role. (Conrad, 5/29)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has long been associated with childhood diagnoses, but as new research shows a shift, a Maryland medical expert is sharing insight into symptoms for adults. A recent study shows that a growing number of adults are learning they've been living with autism for their entire lives. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, recorded a 450% increase in autism diagnoses among adults ages 26 to 34 between 2011 and 2022. (Zizaza, 5/29)

Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can predict which men with prostate cancer will benefit from a drug that halves the risk of dying. Abiraterone has been described as a “gamechanger” treatment for the disease, which is the most common form of cancer in men in more than 100 countries. It has already helped hundreds of thousands with advanced prostate cancer to live longer. (Gregory, 5/29)

US surveillance for candidemia shows a stable to slightly increasing incidence but a rising death rate from 2017 to 2021, likely influenced by overwhelmed healthcare systems amid the pandemic and more patients susceptible to Candida species because of severe COVID-19 infections. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state public health departments, and healthcare systems tracked candidemia cases and deaths at city or county sites in 10 states for 5 years, publishing the results today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Van Beusekom, 5/29)

Drug makers Spero Therapeutics and GSK announced yesterday that a phase 3 trial evaluating their investigational oral antibiotic for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) was stopped early for efficacy. ... GSK says it plans to submit data from the trial to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of tebipenem HBr, which targets cUTIs caused by multidrug-resistant organisms—infections typically treated with intravenous (IV) carbapenem antibiotics. If approved, it would be the first oral carbapenem to receive marketing approval in the United States. (Dall, 5/29)

Sanofi and Regeneron said that drug candidate Itepekimab met the primary goal in one of two chronic obstructive pulmonary disease phase 3 studies, but didn’t hit the main objective of a second trial. The French pharmaceutical company on Friday said that Itepekimab in former smokers with inadequately controlled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease met the primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in moderate or severe acute exacerbations compared to placebo of 27% at week 52. (Kienle, 5/30)

An oral tablet norovirus vaccine generated mucosal immunity and reduced viral shedding in participants in a new phase 2 placebo-controlled challenge study. The results were published recently in Science Translational Medicine. Despite being the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) worldwide, there are currently no vaccines for norovirus (NV). In the past, phase 3 field trials have produced a lack of robust immunological correlates of protection, the authors of the study said, which is likely a problem of producing systemic, rather than targeted intestinal immunity, from the virus. (Soucheray, 5/29)

Consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen is sounding the alarm about potential risks for birth defects associated with modafinil (Provigil) and armodafinil (Nuvigil), two stimulants commonly prescribed during pregnancy. The group argued that animal toxicity studies and post-marketing observational studies have turned up sufficient evidence to justify additional precautions for pregnant patients. (Robertson, 5/29)

Dr. Robert K. Jarvik, the principal designer of the first permanent artificial heart implanted in a human — a procedure that became a subject of great public fascination and fierce debate about medical ethics — died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 79. His wife, the writer Marilyn vos Savant, said the cause was complications of Parkinson’s disease. (Longman, 5/29)

The World Health Organization announced last week that it was monitoring the variant, NB.1.8.1, following a rise in cases in several parts of the world, including Europe, Southeast Asia and North and South America. The variant appears to be more transmissible than the dominant strain worldwide, LP.8.1, meaning it has the potential to drive up cases this summer. But it does not seem to be much better than LP.8.1 at evading protection from vaccines or a prior infection. (Bendix, 5/29)

Receiving a prior COVID-19 vaccine did not prevent the immune system from producing protective responses to either Delta or Omicron virus strains, according to a new study in Nature Immunology. The findings are promising and suggest that, despite a drop in antibodies for mutated parts of the virus, vaccination offers ongoing protection from severe disease. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and their US colleagues, could help better inform booster strategies in the face of an ever-changing virus, the authors said. (Soucheray, 5/29)

Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a video posted on X that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would no longer be recommending COVID-19 vaccines for "healthy children and pregnant people." In the video, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said there is no evidence that healthy children "need" the vaccine. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya also appeared in the video. Public health experts said they were surprised by the way the decision was announced. (Kekatos, 5/29)

The number of counties reporting positive cases of measles expanded to 11 over the weekend and comes as the number of cases in the state continue to grow, according the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. (Cronkleton, 5/29)

A Bay Area resident with measles may have exposed others to the virus this month, health officials from Alameda and Santa Clara counties said Thursday. The person, an adult, tested positive for measles after returning from international travel and passing through a U.S airport where they may have been exposed. Officials did not specify which airport. The person was not hospitalized and is recovering at home. The last time a Santa Clara County resident reported measles was in 2019. (Ho, 5/29)

Colorado health officials have confirmed a seventh case of measles in the state after a vaccinated adult who recently traveled internationally tested positive. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the infected adult is a resident of Arapahoe County. They were recently a passenger on Turkish Airlines flight 201 into Denver International Airport on May 13. Two additional cases of measles were confirmed in other passengers on this flight: one out-of-state traveler who was infectious on the flight and an Arapahoe County child under age five. (Swanson, 5/29)

Scientists say 4 billion people, about half the world’s population, experienced at least one extra month of extreme heat because of human-caused climate change from May 2024 to May 2025.The extreme heat caused illness, death, crop losses, and strained energy and health care systems, according to the analysis from World Weather Attribution, Climate Central and the Red Cross. “Although floods and cyclones often dominate headlines, heat is arguably the deadliest extreme event,” the report said. Many heat-related deaths are unreported or are mislabeled by other conditions like heart disease or kidney failure. (O'Malley, 5/30)

A short-lived heat wave will send temperatures soaring across California and the US West through the weekend, elevating power demand and raising the risk of health impacts. At least 26 daily records may be broken or tied across the West on Friday and Saturday, with temperatures forecast to reach 102F (39C) in California’s capital of Sacramento and 105F in Fresno to the south, the National Weather Service said. (Sullivan, 5/29)

In one of the nation’s first wrongful-death claims seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the changing climate, a Washington state woman is suing seven oil and gas companies, saying they contributed to an extraordinarily hot day that led to her mother’s fatal hyperthermia. The lawsuit filed in state court this week says the companies knew that their products have altered the climate, including contributing to a 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that killed 65-year-old Juliana Leon, and that they failed to warn the public of such risks. (St. John, 5/30)

Hormel Foods Corporation is recalling over 256,000 pounds of canned beef stew nationwide due to potential contamination with wood fragments, according to federal health officials. In a recall notice posted Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the 20-oz. metal cans containing "Dinty Moore Beef Stew" were shipped to retail locations nationwide. (Moniuszko, 5/29)

Some fish caught in New York lakes and rivers may be unsafe to eat due to elevated levels of chemicals known as PFAS, state health officials announced Thursday. Starting earlier this year, the state implemented new guidelines to update the public about exposure to PFOS, the most common type of PFAS found in fish. ... Health officials urge people not to eat any fish caught at Fallkill Lake and Creek. (Anderson, 5/29)

We all know that breakfast is an important meal, and even more so for children. Abundant research has demonstrated the benefit of nutritious breakfasts on children’s health, well-being and academic performance. Ready-to-eat cereals are the predominant breakfast choice among American children, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Hetter, 5/29)

A tick-borne illness typically found in the Northeast is moving farther south, and the Baltimore region is one of Maryland’s hot spots, according to a study released last month. Cases of babesiosis, a rare disease most commonly spread by bites from deer ticks, are growing in Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, and so is the range of ticks infected with the parasite that causes the disease. (Jones, 5/29)

Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit manager for Cigna, and CVS Health, along with its affiliates, filed two separate lawsuits in the Eastern District Court of Arkansas on Thursday, seeking to block a recently passed law they contend would lead to the closure of pharmacies across the state. The lawsuits allege that the law, set to take effect in 2026, is unconstitutional, under several clauses, according to legal documents shared with Modern Healthcare. (DeSilva, 5/29)

Just a few blocks from Union Station in Denver, a new psilocybin mushroom healing center called The Center Origin occupies a sunny office suite on the third floor of a brick building above a dental surgery clinic. Elizabeth Cooke, the CEO and co-founder, has carefully decorated each room. There are plants, abstract paintings, cushy couches and “zero gravity” recliners. One room sports a small yoga studio and a shelf of literature on the psychedelic experience. Just one thing is missing: patients. (Allen, 5/29)

An estimated 22 men and women who have served in our military are dying in battle each day. It's not from a battle in a combat zone, but rather a battle going on inside their own minds. Preventing suicide among US veterans is one of the missions that a Fort Worth-based organization is focused on addressing and bringing to the public's attention. (Miles, 5/29)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Opioid Settlement Windfall: Where The Billions Are Going

Billions of dollars from opioid settlements are being paid out by drug manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to address the overdose crisis. Most of this money is landing in the hands of state and local governments to support public health initiatives such as housing, prevention, and access to treatment. But the lack of direct compensation for people affected by the overdose crisis has left many survivors feeling sidelined. (Pattani, 5/30)

The House on Thursday gave final passage to a bill focused on preempting potential federal changes to public health and reproductive care policy. The legislation includes sections that would codify into state law current federal guidance for fluoride in drinking water and create accounts to be tapped in the case of federal cuts to public health funding. (Golvala, 5/29)

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two healthcare bills into law May 28 at Guthrie County Hospital, a critical access hospital in Guthrie Center, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported May 28. Here are four things to know: 1. House File 972 instructs Iowa’s Department of Health and Human Services to request CMS approval to establish a hub-and-spoke partnership funding model designed to improve healthcare in rural areas and support collaboration among regional providers. (Kuchno, 5/29)

A bill that protects in vitro fertilization providers from criminal charges and lawsuits has received bipartisan approval from Louisiana lawmakers and now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry for final signature. The measure approved Wednesday was formed to avoid the situation that occurred in Alabama last year when the state’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. As a result of the ruling, some IVF services — a medical procedure that helps people facing infertility get pregnant — were paused until Alabama’s governor signed a law that protects them from prosecution “for the damage to or death of an embryo” during treatment. (Vertuno, 5/29)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vetoed a bill aimed at clearing the way for some people to pursue medical malpractice lawsuits over the deaths of family members. DeSantis, who earlier had indicated he would veto the bill (HB 6017), said during an appearance at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers that the proposal could “open flood gates” for litigation. (5/29)

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bipartisan measure that would expand services and funding opportunities for Florida students with autism. It was among a handful of health-related bills signed by the governor this past week. (Mayer, 5/29)

Sen. Michael Bennet returned to Colorado this week and listened to patients describe the impact Medicaid has made on them and their families. The Democrat representing Colorado listened to their stories as the federal program faces potential funding cuts. Bennet appeared on the panel with Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne as part of a national conversation about how Medicaid coverage may change in the future. (McRae, 5/29)

When oncologists gave my 5-year-old daughter the all-clear from high-risk neuroblastoma in 2010, I breathed a sigh of relief. But her health needs were just beginning. Fifteen years later, the intense and often toxic treatments that saved Emily’s life have left her with a host of lifelong health challenges — hearing loss, stunted height, endocrine and kidney dysfunction, and permanent hair-thinning — issues no one talked about during her 18 months of cancer treatment. (McHugh, 5/25)

In grade school, Jamie Donovan often spent recess picking bark off trees. At home, she sometimes hid in her father’s truck if she needed to block out visual stimulation and sounds. She usually had trouble relating to other people, and felt like she was always saying the wrong thing. She didn’t understand the reason until she was almost 47 years old—when she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. (Toth, 5/28)

Since the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned its Roe v. Wade decision establishing a nationwide right to an abortion, the fight over the intervention has focused largely on a pill that ends pregnancies: mifepristone. The court in June 2024 preserved the current level of access to medication abortion, the most common way to terminate a pregnancy in the country. Still, many states limit access to mifepristone, efforts continue to curtail it further, and leaders in the US Department of Health and Human Services have indicated that they are interested in a renewed review of the drug’s safety. (Nix and Butler, 5/28)

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary, he didn’t just bring with him an unconventional and controversial approach to policy. He also elevated and empowered a group of like-minded deputies and advisers. With the exception of allies in Congress, all are new to government, and many are longtime gadflies who have made careers of criticizing policy makers and the health and food industries. Some have been heavily focused on Americans’ food supply and chronic diseases, while others are more from the world of vaccine skepticism and opposition, though their views often overlap. Many forged ties with each other as critics of mainstream public health measures during the COVID pandemic. (Kopan, 5/27)

When the Trump administration declared two weeks ago that it would largely disregard the economic cost of climate change as it sets policies and regulations, it was just the latest step in a multipronged effort to erase global warming from the American agenda. But President Trump is doing more than just turning a blind eye to the fact that the planet is growing hotter. He is weakening the country’s capacity to understand global warming and to prepare for its consequences. (Gelles, 5/19)

With healthy living in the spotlight and the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement gaining traction, functional health should be leading the charge. Instead of meeting the moment, the topic of functional health has been pulled in opposite directions, losing touch with the everyday Americans it was designed to help. (Julia Cheek, 5/29)

In recent years, the authority of medical experts has crumbled under the combined weight of disillusionment and the flood of information now available at our fingertips. The COVID-19 pandemic turned tensions between doctors and patients from a slow burn into a conflagration through public health missteps, shifting guidance and perceived conflicts of interest. In the vacuum left by faltering institutions stepped a new breed of self-proclaimed experts — podcasters, YouTube video creators and social media personalities who eagerly declared themselves the new emissaries of truth. (Venktesh Ramnath, 5/29)

The U.S. is facing two major threats to long-term care, and either could topple our precarious system. These developments should worry Congress and anyone who supports an aging loved one or a family member with disabilities. (Rachel M. Werner and Amanda Kreider, 5/30)

Recently, the White House issued an executive order that could eventually tie U.S. drug prices to the artificially low, government-dictated prices in other countries. Some of my former colleagues in Congress are already pushing to codify this approach into law. That would be a serious mistake. (Michael C. Burgess, 5/29)

Healthcare leadership is fundamentally different from leadership in other sectors. While we can — and should — draw lessons from the service industry on customer experience, from technology on innovation and scalability, or from retail on aligning services to consumer needs, healthcare operates on a deeper, more human level. (Anthony Stanowski, 5/29)