Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Michigan Child With Measles May Have Exposed ER Visitors As Outbreak Grows
A measles outbreak in Washtenaw County, Michigan, has expanded to seven cases now under investigation – a mix of children and adults, all of them who were unvaccinated against measles. The Washtenaw County Health Department gave an update on the outbreak on Wednesday, saying the most recent case, involving a young child, might have resulted in measles exposure at a hospital in Ypsilanti. (Wethington, 3/25)
On Medicaid coverage —
As many as 10 million people could lose Medicaid coverage in 2028 following the rollout of new work requirements established under H.R. 1, a new study shows. Analysts at the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank, estimate that between 4.9 million and 10.1 million individuals would lose access to Medicaid, depending on how intensive eligibility checks ultimately become. The study estimates that between 2 million and 3.1 million will lose their Medicaid coverage because their eligibility would be checked more frequently, while between 3 million and 7 million would lose coverage due to the work requirements alone. (Minemyer, 3/25)
Indiana is barring one of the nation’s most expensive autism-therapy providers from billing the state’s Medicaid program two weeks after the company’s practices were detailed in a Wall Street Journal article, state officials said. The autism-therapy provider, Piece by Piece Autism Centers, received the highest per-patient payments in the country in 2023—about $340,000 on average—according to a Journal analysis of Medicaid billing records. (Weaver, 3/25)
More health news from across the U.S. —
West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park is temporarily shutting down its patient care amid a yearlong financial crisis, village and hospital officials said. Walk-in patients were no longer accepted after 4 p.m. Wednesday, and Oak Park Fire Department officials were informed the hospital’s emergency room was no longer accepting ambulances. (Hardy, 3/25)
San Francisco could empower its permanent supportive housing facilities to evict residents for using drugs, a move proponents say would help the people struggling to get sober in city-funded buildings. Permanent supportive housing aims to combine subsidized housing with individualized support services, especially for the formerly homeless. The city currently follows state guidance — which provides that the use of alcohol or drugs can’t be the sole reason for eviction — as a blanket rule across its more than 15,000 units. (Hodgman, 3/25)
Missourians struggling with a substance use disorder while lacking stable housing were 50% less likely to use an illicit drug within 30 days thanks to a specialized free app. That's according to a Washington University School of Medicine study. (Lewis-Thompson, 3/25)
A new report looks to shed some light on how environmental factors in Iowa could affect cancer rates. The report by the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute summarizes peer-reviewed scientific research surrounding cancer risk and environmental factors, like nitrate, PFAS, radon and pesticides. (Krebs, 3/25)
El Paso and Los Angeles were among the most polluted areas in the United States last year, according to a new air quality report that evaluated pollution levels around the world in 2025. The report is the latest iteration of a global analysis that the Swiss technology company IQAir publishes annually. This one centered on some of the causes of declining air quality worldwide, including wildfires, which the report's authors cited as a leading driver of the downward trend. (Czachor, 3/25)
