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The largest union of federal workers called on Monday for Congress to pass a spending bill to immediately end the government shutdown, effectively siding with President Trump and Republicans who have opposed Democratic efforts to restore health care spending. “Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in the statement. He added, “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.” (Cameron, 0/27)

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) is working with the chairs of three House committees to compile a Republican health care plan as the government shutdown nears the one-month mark and Democrats demand action on expiring ObamaCare subsidies. “Republicans have been working on a fix for health care, we’ve been doing this for years,” Johnson said in a press conference on Monday when asked about the coming “health care cliff.” (Brooks, 10/27)

House Republicans in the toughest races in the country aren’t on board to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies yet. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, detailed seven House Republican races in the “toss up” category ahead of the 2026 midterms. The races are likely to be close next year and even a small shift could decide the House majority. Republicans currently hold a six-seat margin that’s slated to shrink to five when a newly elected Democrat is sworn in. (King, 10/27)

States brace for higher ACA costs —

New Jerseyans who purchase health insurance through the state’s exchange will see an average increase of nearly 175 percent in their premiums next year, the Murphy administration announced Monday. The state’s Department of Banking and Insurance said the sticker shock is attributed to the expiration of enhanced federal health insurance subsidies — which have been the key sticking point of the federal government shutdown. (Han, 10/27)

Illinois residents will pay an average of 78% more across the state for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange if Congress does not extend enhanced premium tax credits — the issue at the heart of the current government shutdown — state regulators said Monday. (Schencker, 10/27)

"I do think that people are either going to forego care, or we’re going to see a huge rise in uncompensated care. And the system at this point really cannot take the additional burden of more uncompensated care," said Jen Longdon, chief external affairs officer with the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers. (Brodie, 10/27)

The average person in Colorado who buys health insurance without help from an employer will see what they pay more than double next year, as the state released final prices before open enrollment begins next week. (Ingold, 10/28)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A Ticking Clock: How States Are Preparing For A Last-Minute Obamacare Deal
One family in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just found out their health plan’s deductible will jump from $800 to $20,000 next year. About 200 miles north, in Maryland, another household learned they’ll pay $500 more monthly to insure their brood in 2026. And thousands of people in Idaho were greeted with insurance rates that’ll cost, on average, $100 more every month. As shopping season opens for Affordable Care Act plans in some states, customers are confronting staggering costs for their health insurance next year. The extra federal subsidies put in place in 2021 that made coverage more affordable for millions of people will expire at the end of this year unless a gridlocked and idle Congress acts. (Seitz and Appleby, 10/28)

Dozens of Democratic attorneys general and governors are planning to sue President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday over its decision to not tap emergency funds amid the government shutdown to keep food aid flowing to 42 million Americans next month, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement. (Hill, 10/27)

H-E-B is donating $5 million to Texas food banks and $1 million to Meals on Wheels programs statewide. The San Antonio-based grocer announced the donations on Friday, days before federal SNAP programs were expected to go unfunded due to the ongoing government shutdown. WIC, TANF, Medicaid and CHIP are not currently affected by the shutdown, but the Texas Health and Human Services Commission said they are monitoring those programs for any changes. Approximately 3.5 million Texans relying on monthly SNAP benefits to help pay for groceries will not receive any assistance in November. (10/27)

Connecticut’s first steps to mitigate the fast-approaching suspension of a federally funded food assistance program will be a $3 million emergency grant to nonprofit Connecticut Foodshare and an outreach campaign informing recipients of their nearest food pantry, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday. (Pazniokas, 10/27)

Millions of Americans are set to lose access to food benefits starting Saturday because of the government shutdown, with at least 25 states telling recipients they won’t receive checks for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in November. Health care experts warn that families will be forced to go hungry or make impossible choices between groceries and other basic needs like rent and medication, with potentially dire consequences. (Todd, 10/27)

About 42 million Americans are poised to lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits when federal funding comes to a halt on Nov. 1 amid the government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would not use emergency funds to help cover benefits and posted a message on its website over the weekend that "the well has run dry." (Kekatos, 10/27)

With a possible pause in SNAP benefits this weekend, content creators are giving advice on how to keep from going hungry by using pantry staples. (Kelly, 10/28)

The Trump administration must release millions of dollars in grants meant to address the shortage of mental health workers in schools, a federal judge ruled Monday. Congress funded the mental health program after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were intended to help schools hire more counselors, psychologists and social workers, with a focus on rural and underserved areas of the country. But President Donald Trump’s administration opposed diversity considerations used to award the grants and told recipients they wouldn’t receive funding past December 2025. (10/28)

In related news about mental health —

The finding, part of an update on how the chatbot handles sensitive conversations, is one of the most direct statements from the artificial intelligence giant on the scale of how AI can exacerbate mental health issues. (Robins-Early, 10/27)

More health news from the Trump administration —

The Trump administration is delaying the release of new national dietary guidelines after the government shutdown disrupted efforts to finalize the overhaul by the end of October, officials said. (Cancryn and Owermohle, 10/27)

Big food companies are working with conservative strategists to build support for national standards that would preempt the state bans on dyes and additives that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting. (Goldman, 10/28)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Many Fear Federal Loan Caps Will Deter Aspiring Doctors And Worsen MD Shortage
Medical educators and health professionals warn that new federal student loan caps in President Donald Trump’s tax cut law could make it more expensive for many people to become doctors and could exacerbate physician shortages nationwide. And, they warn, the economic burden will steer many medical students to lucrative specialties in more affluent, urban areas rather than lower-paying primary care jobs in underserved and rural communities, where doctors are in shortest supply. (Wolfson, 10/28)

On the immigration crisis —

Federal immigration authorities say they no longer have to provide on-demand access to detention facilities for members of Congress. The reason? The government shutdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, who have been fighting a lawsuit brought by Democratic lawmakers over prior denied visit attempts, have informed lawmakers that they simply don’t have the staff or funding to support those visits. Lawmakers have previously been legally allowed to demand them as part of their oversight duties, which includes monitoring conditions and communicating with detainees facing deportation. (Cheney and Ward, 10/27)

The repeated use of tear gas by federal immigration officers in Chicago has renewed a debate about how chemical irritants should be used by law enforcement personnel. (Smith, 10/28)

Also —

Congressional Republicans are pushing the Trump administration to renew grants for a program the White House has targeted for dramatic cuts that helps provide permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, according to a draft letter obtained by POLITICO. The lawmakers warn that the substantive changes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development program “should be implemented carefully to avoid destabilizing programs that serve individuals with severe disabilities related to mental illness, chronic health conditions, or substance use disorders, as well as seniors with disabilities.” (Hapgood, 10/27)

The House Oversight Committee released a report on Tuesday that questions the legitimacy of former president Joe Biden’s executive actions, and calls on the Department of Justice to open a new investigation into the Biden administration. The report is the result of a five-month-long investigation into accusations made by President Donald Trump and his allies, that aides covered up a decline in Biden’s cognitive ability, and that the Biden administration misused the presidential autopen to issue executive actions without Biden’s direct involvement. (Goba and Abutaleb, 10/28)

Cigna Group will eliminate prescription drug rebates in many of its commercial health plans in 2027, upending an opaque, controversial practice that’s drawn the ire of President Donald Trump. The insurer will expand the rebate-free model to clients of its pharmacy benefits business starting in 2028. The plan to eventually phase out rebates more broadly portends a seismic shift in the flow of billions of dollars among drugmakers, insurers and employers. (Tozzi, 10/27)

More on the high cost of health care —

Medicare is expected to spend more than $15 billion by year's end on pricey wound care products linked to waste, fraud, and abuse, according to an analysis of data by the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) and the Institute for Accountable Care. Spending on skin substitutes climbed to $7.7 billion through July, and is projected to reach as much as $15.4 billion by the end of 2025 -- 55% more than was spent in 2024, the groups said. (Firth, 10/27)

CVS Health plans to close 16 Oak Street Health sites by the end of February due to financial challenges, including higher medical costs. The company, which is in the midst of a $2 billion cost-cutting strategy, said Monday it will continue to operate 230 centers across 27 states following the closures. “The move positions Oak Street Health for sustainable, long-term growth as we continue to navigate external challenges, such as elevated medical costs, [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] risk adjustment model changes, and health plan payer dynamics,” CVS Health said in a statement. (DeSilva, 10/27)

Greenwood Leflore Hospital, plagued by financial hardship for years, saw a bright spot this spring when it was selected for a new federal payment status. But a dispute with Mississippi Medicaid could jeopardize the Greenwood public hospital’s ability to keep services open if a resolution is not reached, its leader says. “Access to services will be reduced for residents of the central Delta region,” Interim CEO Gary Marchand told Mississippi Today. He said no decisions about service changes have been made yet. (Dilworth, 10/27)

New polling has found that the majority of voters say health care in the U.S. is unaffordable and are open to a health insurance system that doesn’t tie coverage to employment. Undue Medical Debt, a nonprofit that works to eliminate medical debt and supports policies to prevent new debt, sponsored the poll, which was led by the nonpartisan research firm PerryUndem. Along with a national survey, focus groups were also asked for their opinions on health care. (Choi, 10/27)

U.S. consumers across the political spectrum are largely in favor of new legal protections against medical debt, and the majority are laying blame at the feet of the insurance industry rather than other healthcare players like hospitals or drugmakers, according to a new national survey. The poll of 1,319 2024 general election voters, fielded between Aug. 21 and Sept. 2, 2025, found about 35% currently owed money or have debts due to medical and dental expenses. Eighty-four percent said they believed having health insurance should protect people from medical debt, and 74% said the country’s current health insurance system is “mostly failing” in protecting from medical debt. (Muoio, 10/27)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: �鶹Ů�� Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: A Listener's DIY Project Helps Others Deal With High Medical Bills
In April, Thomas Sanford, a medical student who regularly listens to “An Arm and a Leg,” set out to create a resource he could easily share with patients to help them deal with unaffordable medical bills. In this mini-episode, host Dan Weissmann talks with Sanford about how handing out charity care information on tiny cards snowballed into an ever-growing list of resources to erase medical debt. They discuss the inspiration behind his project, the role “An Arm and a Leg” listeners played in building it, and how others can contribute. (Weissmann, 10/28)

Despite advances in prenatal care, stillbirths in the United States are far more common than previously reported, with a significant number of them striking without warning. A sweeping analysis of nearly 2.8 million pregnancies finds that nearly 19,000 stillbirths occurred between 2016 and 2022, a rate higher than recorded in federal data. The study published Monday shows that nearly 30 percent of stillbirths occurred in pregnancies that did not appear linked to any previously identified health or clinical risks. (Malhi, 10/27)

More reproductive news from Wisconsin, Maine, and elsewhere —

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin resumed scheduling abortions on Monday after a nearly monthlong pause due to federal Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill that took effect at the beginning of October. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it was able to resume scheduling abortions as of noon on Monday because it no longer fits the definition of a “prohibited entity” under the new federal law that took effect this month and can receive Medicaid funds. (Bauer, 10/27)

In late October, Maine Family Planning announced three rural clinics in northern Maine would close by month's end. These primary care and reproductive health clinics served about 800 patients, many uninsured or on Medicaid. "People don't realize how much these clinics hold together the local health system until they're gone," George Hill, the group's president and CEO, told CBS News. "For thousands of patients, that was their doctor, their lab, and their lifeline." (Gounder, 10/27)

On the spread of flu, West Nile virus, measles, and rabies —

Americans are heading into winter less protected against one of the season’s deadliest viruses, with flu vaccination rates forecast to fall more than 10% this year, according to CSL Ltd., the world’s second-biggest maker of the shots. CSL expects US vaccination rates for the 2025-2026 season to drop 12% overall and 14% among people ages 65 and older compared with last year, Chief Executive Officer Paul McKenzie told the company’s annual meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday, citing insurance-claims data. (Tong, 10/28)

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health late last week confirmed the first West Nile Virus death of the year in a resident of San Fernando Valley, who was hospitalized and died from neurologic illness following a severe West Nile virus infection. This tragic loss reminds us how dangerous mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus and dengue can be,” said Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Los Angeles County Health Officer in a press release. (Soucheray, 10/27)

The Upstate South Carolina measles outbreak has grown by 2 more cases, raising the state total to 25. Health officials said both infections were linked to close contacts of known cases, who had been under quarantine at home following exposures at two schools with a high percentage of unvaccinated students. Of the state’s 25 cases, 22 have occurred as part of the Upstate outbreak. (Soucheray, 10/27)

Anti-vaccine sentiment is spilling over into veterinary medicine, making some owners hesitant to vaccinate their pets, even for fatal diseases like rabies. (Anthes and Rosenbluth, 10/27)

The number of people using injectable obesity treatments is increasing rapidly, and it is leading to declines in obesity, according to a new survey by the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. The obesity rate dropped to 37% of U.S. adults this year, down from a high of 39.9% three years ago, according to the survey. (Noguchi, 10/28)

More health and wellness news —

A man who lived with a genetically modified pig kidney for a record 271 days had the organ removed and will return to dialysis. Tim Andrews of New Hampshire received the transplant in January, but surgeons at Mass General Brigham removed the organ Thursday because of a decline in kidney function. (Christensen, 10/27)

Turning off the lights at night has long been known to support restful sleep, but new research suggests it may have another significant benefit. Sleeping in total darkness may lower the risk for cardiovascular disease, the top cause of death worldwide. (Rogers, 10/27)

Women may need less exercise than men to gain similar protection against coronary heart disease, according to a new study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research. The findings come from an observational study of more than 85,000 adults in the United Kingdom who were followed for about seven years. Researchers used data from a one-time “snapshot” — a weeklong period of wrist-worn fitness tracker measurements — to examine how physical activity relates to heart disease risk and death rates. The study found that women who got around four hours of moderate exercise each week lowered their risk of coronary heart disease by about 30%. (Mowdawalla, 10/27)

Enjoying original works of art in a gallery can relieve stress, reduce the risk of heart disease and boost your immune system, according to the first study of its kind. Researchers measured the physiological responses of participants while viewing masterpieces by world-renowned artists including Manet, Van Gogh and Gauguin in a gallery. (Gregory, 10/27)

On the environment and health —

Residents of the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast are bracing for their latest environmental setback: A two-year exemption loosening emissions standards at some petrochemical plants — a move that could pump nearly 5.3 million additional tons of air pollution each year into their neighborhoods. (Jones, 10/28)

Most of the nations that signed the Paris agreement a decade ago have failed to carry out one of the accord’s fundamental duties: submit new plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So many have missed both the original and extended deadlines that a United Nations assessment released Tuesday could offer nothing more than a “limited” picture without “global-level conclusions” about the planet’s trajectory. (Harlan, 10/28)

Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who has spent billions of his own money to raise the alarm about the dangers of climate change, is now pushing back against what he calls a “doomsday outlook” and appears to have shifted his stance on the risks posed by a warming planet. In a lengthy memo released Tuesday, Mr. Gates sought to tamp down the alarmism he said many people use to describe the effects of rising temperatures. Instead, he called for redirecting efforts toward improving lives in the developing world. (Gelles, 10/28)

Something remarkable, and controversial, is unfolding in American medicine. The Food and Drug Administration says it is fast-tracking leucovorin, a long-established drug, for potential use in treating cerebral folate deficiency, a condition connected to the presence of folate receptor autoantibodies estimated to be present in up to 76% of children diagnosed with autism. Like many parents of children with autism for whom there are no other treatment options, I had asked my child’s physician about prescribing leucovorin off-label after hearing about it on Facebook groups and other social media. (Srinivas Sridhar, 10/28)

The path to becoming a primary care physician is hindered by too many barriers, says Shawn Martin, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians. (Shawn Martin, 10/28)

If the past few decades have shown anything, it’s that a surprising amount of money can be made off a hospital’s carcass. (Bethany McLean, 10/27)

My wife Mary Klein underwent radical surgery and aggressive chemotherapy that almost killed her at the same time that she was lobbying nonstop for the Washington, D.C., law that allows medical aid in dying. A contradiction? No. Medical aid in dying, also known as MAID, is not suicide: It is choosing a peaceful end when all other means of living are exhausted. (Stella Dawson, 10/27)

At the World Health Summit in Berlin earlier this month, I was pleased to hear discussions highlighting the crucial role of health initiatives in overall global security. This is hardly a new topic, but it’s increasingly relevant. (Seth Berkley, 10/28)