�������ýҕ�l

The Department of Health and Human Services will is introducing a first-of-its-kind program to study microplastics and the effect they have on the human body, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday. Kennedy said the $144 million national program will be called STOMP, which stands for "Systemic Targeting of MicroPlastics." The program will bring toxicologists, data scientists and other experts together to create standardized tools capable of detecting and quantifying microplastics in the human body, research the effect they have on humans, and develop targeted strategies to remove them from the body, Kennedy said. (Breen, 4/2)

The layoffs and subsequent attrition have winnowed staffing levels to such an extent that sources in divisions particularly affected described feeling like they were working on a skeleton crew. And the work of the HHS is suffering as a result, they said. (Parduhn, 4/1)

On CMS and Medicare —

Nursing homes, hospice providers, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and inpatient psychiatric facilities would receive payment boosts under a slate of proposed rules the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued Thursday. Nursing homes would see a 2.4% Medicare payment bump in federal fiscal year 2027, which begins in October. CMS proposed raising inpatient rehabilitation rates by 2.4%, hospice payments by 2.4%, and inpatient psychiatric facility rates by 2.3% for the same period. (Early, 4/2)

The Trump administration is slashing the number of quality and care measures that Medicare Advantage plans will be graded on, a move that will funnel an extra $18.6 billion toward health insurers over the next decade. (Herman, 4/2)

Accountable care organizations have long raised concerns about the financial impacts of suspicious billing practices — but an announcement this week from the federal government could provide some relief. In a Tuesday memo sent to organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the ACO Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health, or ACO REACH, model, CMS announced it will exclude spending associated with certain codes from ACOs’ payment calculations. (Early, 4/2)

President Donald Trump’s plan to cover weight-loss medications for some people in the Medicare program for the elderly would cost the health insurers billions in its first year, a new analysis found. The Trump administration has argued that the lower prices it negotiated with drugmakers last year would offset the cost of adding coverage for millions of new patients. The plan will “expand access and lower prices for obesity GLP-1 medication without passing the bill to taxpayers,” Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a video promoting the plan. (Cohrs Zhang, 4/2)

A group of Democratic senators led by Elizabeth Warren is pushing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to rein in abuses from Medicare Advantage insurers as the Trump administration considers a policy that would enroll more seniors in the program. (Cohen, 4/2)

Also —

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is operating with fewer staff in the wake of the Department of Health and Human Services’ restructuring while embarking on a number of major policy initiatives, potentially complicating the agency’s ability to carry out its goals, experts say. The CMS lost around 300 employees in the Trump administration’s sweeping purge of the federal workforce last year, leaving remaining staff to carry out historic policy changes at the CMS including the first-ever national work requirement for Medicaid, an ambitious health technology initiative and more stringent fraud oversight. (Olsen, 4/1)

The Trump administration is negotiating new drug-pricing deals, now with smaller companies, according to three people with knowledge of the meetings, including a White House official. (Payne, 4/2)

More on the high cost of health care —

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are calling on Republican committee leaders to hold hearings with the chief executives of top health insurers in the U.S. as they “continue to get rich” during a time when health care access and affordability are of top concern. Sanders and Wyden wrote to Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairs of the Senate Health and Finance committees respectively, asking that they bring in the health care CEOs to testify. (Choi, 4/2)

As Democrats vie to take control of Congress in the midterms this fall, their main message on health care policy is fairly straightforward: Undo Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and restore the health care subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year. But some analysts and lawmakers say momentum is growing for a bigger health care push in 2028. (DeGroot, 4/2)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: �������ýҕ�l Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: GOP Mulls More Health Cuts
Recent polling finds that health costs are a top worry for much of the American public, while Republicans in Congress are considering still more cuts to federal health spending on programs such as Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot ban mental health professionals from using “conversion therapy” to treat LGBTQ+ minors, a decision that’s likely to affect other states with similar laws. (Rovner, 4/2)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Tax Time Brings Surprises For Some Who Receive ACA Subsidies
Tax time can come with big surprises for some people who have Affordable Care Act coverage, including owing money back to the government for premium subsidies received during the previous year. More changes lie ahead that make it important for those getting subsidies in 2026 to track their income and take steps to protect against that kind of financial hit. (Appleby and Jones, 4/3)

Cancer is becoming increasingly common among young people, with cases slowly and steadily rising every year for the past decade. And what type of insurance adolescents and young adults have affects at what stage of cancer they’re diagnosed and how long they survive. (Winegar, Martin and Liu, 4/1)

A heavily mutated variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 appears to be affecting primarily children, scientists say, though it’s not causing more severe disease – in kids or in adults. Rather, experts say the fact that the virus is breaking with its pattern of being a menace, primarily, of older adults is a telling detail. It’s something to study and understand so that scientists can better predict the behavior of this ever-evolving virus. (Goodman, 4/2)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Listen: What The Vaccine Schedule Whiplash Means For Your Kids
Big swings in federal vaccine policy are creating confusion for some parents and clinicians. A federal judge recently struck down Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new, shortened list of recommended vaccines for all kids. But with the Trump administration likely to appeal, the situation is in flux. Meanwhile, cases of vaccine-preventable illnesses such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough continue to accumulate nationwide and in the Washington, D.C., area. (Rovner, 4/3)

Vaccine-hesitant older adults were more willing to accept hypothetical COVID shots when they were described as way to preserve their freedom and autonomy rather than as an action that complies with government recommendations, a new study finds. In an experiment in which 907 participants were asked to rate their willingness to get a hypothetical COVID shot, many people concerned about vaccine safety responded favorably when researchers framed COVID vaccination as a way to maintain their freedom from disease and avoid restrictions on activities caused by illness. (Szabo, 4/2)

On Hib, the flu vaccine, and typhus —

A scar that runs along the base of Dr. Lara Johnson’s neck serves as a permanent reminder of the devastating effects of a vaccine-preventable disease. When Johnson was 4 years old, she caught a dangerous, potentially deadly bacterial infection: Haemophilus influenzae type b, commonly called Hib. (Edwards, 4/2)

Receiving a high-dose flu vaccine is associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than a standard-dose vaccine in adults aged 65 and older, according to a large observational study published in Neurology. The findings add to a growing body of evidence linking vaccination, and possibly immune system activity, to reduced dementia risk. (Bergeson, 4/2)

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported the highest-ever number of flea-borne typhus cases in 2025, with 220 cases. While cases were reported across the county, three areas were most affected, including Central Los Angeles City, Santa Monica, and Willowbrook. The disease is treatable with antibiotics, but the county said that 9 out of 10 people identified last year with typhus required hospitalization. (Sharp, 4/2)

On measles, shingles, and mpox —

Officials from the Cook County Department of Public Health in Illinois warned Tuesday of possible exposure to measles from a contagious individual at O’Hare International Airport and two other locations. In a press release, the department said people may have been exposed to measles if they were in Terminal 5 at the airport between 10:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 24. (Rego, 4/2)

State officials have reported 28 more measles cases in the last two weeks, bringing the statewide total to at least 175 infections so far this year. The vast majority of cases are in a federal detention facility in Hudspeth County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which released the latest figures on Thursday. (Simpson, 4/2)

Some younger adults with common chronic conditions may face a higher risk of herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) than older adults currently targeted for routine vaccination, according to a new retrospective cohort study published late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Bergeson, 3/30)

Congo on Thursday declared the end of a two-year outbreak of the mpox disease that’s believed to have caused more than 2,200 deaths in the country. Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists that the government had made the determination that the outbreak was over and no longer a national emergency. (4/2)

A measure that criminalizes the shipping or dispensing of abortion-inducing drugs has passed the Mississippi Legislature largely along party lines, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats voting in opposition. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk where it is believed that Governor Tate Reeves (R) will sign it into law given his strong pro-life stance. The conference report for HB 1613 states that it is unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally create, sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense, prescribe or possess with knowledge or intent to create, sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense or prescribe an “abortion-inducing drug.” (Corder, 4/2)

The bill, SB 169, would enshrine in state law the requirement to stabilize patients experiencing pregnancy-related medical emergencies. Hospitals that violate this policy would be subject to financial penalties, up to $50,000 for facilities with 100 or more beds and $25,000 for those with fewer than 100 beds. The legislation now goes to Gov. Wes Moore’s desk. The right to abortion and other reproductive freedoms were enshrined in the Maryland Constitution after a ballot referendum passed in 2024. (Wilson, 4/2)

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld an injunction against a 2023 Montana law that treats clinics that offer abortion access differently than other medical providers — another ruling by the high court that protected the reproductive rights of women to access abortion, even as the state passed a constitutional amendment in 2024 guaranteeing that right. (Ehrlick, 4/1)

Republicans’ decision to send a lawsuit over Utah’s abortion trigger ban to a newly created three-judge panel will keep the law un-triggered, likely delaying a decision for several more months, while the parties wrangle over the legality of the constitutional court, judges ruled Tuesday. After a series of legal losses in cases challenging lawmakers’ actions — enacting the abortion ban, adopting gerrymandered congressional maps, and others — GOP lawmakers wanted to revamp how legal challenges to state laws are heard. The shift, legislative leaders said, would hasten decisions in such cases. (Stern and Gehrke, 4/2)

This year the race will decide if the Court’s liberal wing will gain a 5-2 majority or if the split will remain 4-3. (Redman, 4/3)

More reproductive health care news —

Twice a month, Sarah Stokely travels 4½ hours from her home in Rome, Georgia, to work for a week at a birth center in Blountville, Tennessee. Stokely is a certified nurse-midwife — the title for registered nurses who specialize in midwifery. But Georgia laws make it difficult for her to practice there. (Bendix, 4/2)

More and more women are having babies later in life. A federal report showed that 21% of all births in the U.S. were to women 35 and older in 2023, up from 9% in 1990. And this “advanced maternal age” raises risks for both moms and babies. (Ungar, 3/30)

Sunfish — an AI-powered fertility platform — is introducing an egg-freezing program that uses predictive models to estimate the cost of reaching a target number of eggs. Fertility treatments are a significant contributor to debt for many families in the U.S., but unlike mortgages, student debt or car payments, the treatments usually give people little transparency into what the final bill will be. (Morrone, 4/2)

The curious case of agreeing on a new term for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), difficult to diagnose, hard to name when men share symptoms. (Merelli, 4/1)

After more than two years of negotiations, a union representing more than 600 doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners at Allina Health clinics has reached a tentative first contract agreement. (4/2)

Community Health Systems has closed the sale of another hospital as the for-profit health system makes progress paying down its debt. On Wednesday, nonprofit Huntsville Hospital Health System acquired Huntsville, Alabama-based Crestwood Medical Center from CHS for $459 million. (Halleman, 4/2)

Henry Ford Health is adding to its rapid expansion across Southeast Michigan with the acquisition of Clinton Township-based Cornerstone Medical Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Cornerstone’s 25 locations across the region will be rolled into Henry Ford Medical Group, which employs 3,400 physicians and researchers. (Walsh, 4/2)

The person who was recently appointed as an interim leader of Hennepin Healthcare resigned Wednesday, according to an internal email obtained by MPR News. The Hennepin Healthcare Board appointed Dr. Kevin Croston as co-interim administrator in January after Hennepin Healthcare's previous interim CEO, Dr. Thomas Klemond, stepped down. (Zurek, 4/2)

Healthcare providers are finding success using a DIY approach to recruit and train nurses amid a staffing crisis. They’re helping lower-level staff clinicians become registered nurses or offering enhanced education to nurses for roles in high-growth areas such as home healthcare, virtual healthcare and nephrology. (Eastabrook, 4/2)

Some military personnel and health care professionals will soon embark into a world where everything goes wrong on purpose — where stress is high, resources are limited, and the right decision needs to be made quickly. Operative Experience Inc., a company based in Aberdeen, said its Tier 3 Pro, a simulator based on the Department of Defense’s need to train service members to take care of one another when tragedy strikes, will fill a gap, providing hands-on training at an affordable price. (Foster, 4/2)

Also —

Moving away from body mass index (BMI) alone to diagnose obesity may delay treatment for millions of patients, a group of experts from the Endocrine Society warned in a guideline communication. In January 2025, a Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology global commission pitched a new framework that called for a more nuanced approach to diagnosing obesity. In theory, this would reduce misclassification and open the door for more personalized care. (Monaco, 4/2)

When Margie Smith got sick in 2022, she sought help from a parade of specialists. She saw an allergist for an intractable cough; three pulmonologists for the cough and breathlessness; an ear, nose and throat doctor for severe acid reflux; a cardiologist after she almost passed out while exercising. She got the sense that most were siloed in their specialties and couldn’t assemble the full puzzle. Eventually, Ms. Smith, 70, of Swannanoa, N.C., turned to the A.I. chatbot Claude. (Astor, 4/2)

It’s no longer futuristic or science fiction to think that your trip to the dentist might include robotics and artificial intelligence. Macon Singletary, a periodontist at North Raleigh Periodontics & Implant Center in Wake County, says it’s already here for him. Fear not, he says. Humans will still play a key role in your care. (Blythe, 4/3)

Federal officials on Thursday arrested eight people they say were involved in various health care fraud schemes totaling $50 million in and around Los Angeles. Five of the cases involved hospice-care centers in cities of Glendale, Artesia, Tarzana and Simi Valley in the Los Angeles area that allegedly billed Medicare for patients that were not terminally ill and did not qualify for hospice services, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. One person was arrested in Idaho and another in LA for allegedly defrauding a West Coast labor union’s health care plans. An additional person arrested in LA was accused of forging immigration medical documents. (Ding, 4/3)

A Medicare payment processing snafu that has effectively withheld millions of dollars from Minnesota rural hospitals for months and pushed some to the brink of closure appears to be easing. (Zurek, 4/2)

More health news from across the U.S. —

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week against Colorado’s ban on licensed mental health providers engaging in gender and sexuality “conversion therapy” could narrow the authority of state medical boards to regulate aspects of health providers’ care that involves speech, according to legal experts. The implications could extend far beyond matters related to LGBTQ+ rights to other forms of talk therapy, telehealth, and physician advice on Covid-19, vaccines, or reproductive care. (Gaffney, 4/3)

Missouri is one step closer to tracking cases of alpha-gal syndrome, a little understood tick-borne illness that causes an allergy to red meat and that experts say is on the rise. The House on Thursday approved legislation to add alpha-gal syndrome to the more than 100 diseases already tracked by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. (Friedheim, 4/2)

A shipping container in Fort Davis is at the center of a new experiment in bringing telehealth to an aging rural population. Perched in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, Jeff Davis County faces steep barriers to care. Nearly one in five residents lacks reliable broadband. The only doctor in Fort Davis, the county seat, is semi-retired, and most people make the 30-minute drive to Alpine for care. (De Figueiredo, 4/2)

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was released from the hospital Thursday after undergoing a procedure to remove fluid pressing against her lung. Ivey, 81, is recovering at the Governor’s Mansion after staying two nights at a hospital in Montgomery, her office said. She will work from the residence and is expected to be back in the Capitol office next week. (4/2)

Health officials in Oakland County reported that a resident was bitten by a skunk last Friday, which tested positive for rabies earlier this week. Oakland County Health Officer Kate Guzmán emphasized the importance of immediate action, advising anyone exposed to wild animals to wash the bite area and seek medical attention. (Henderson, 4/2)

A dead bat found at a Fremont [California] home earlier this week has tested positive for the deadly rabies virus, according to authorities. In a press release issued Thursday, the Fremont Police Department said that Alameda County Vector Control staff responded on Tuesday to a home on Logan Drive in the city's Glenmoor neighborhood, where the bat was found. It was collected for testing and on Wednesday, the county's Public Health Department confirmed that the bat tested positive for the rabies virus, police said. (Castañeda, 4/2)

The founder of Modern Elder Academy is on a mission to make “Golden Girls”-style living mainstream. (Cheney, 3/30)

Peter Frazier’s lab at Cornell worked to improve how blood was stored and transported for armed forces. Then he received a stop-work order. (Robles-Gil, 4/2)

President Trump’s sweeping nuclear energy and weapons agenda has prompted revisions of longstanding radiation standards. (Guzmán, 3/31)

When Cohen Miles-Rath walks into his father’s house, the history of his psychosis is right there in front of him. There is the place where he was standing when he received a cryptic message on his phone: The devil had entered his father’s body. There is the drawer where he spotted a knife whose handle was white — the color of God! (Barry, 3/29)

A baffling overdose death took investigators to the frontier of ultra-potent synthetic drugs. The clues were hauntingly familiar. (Richtel, 3/31)

Figure 2 from the PURPOSE-1 trial changed the world. Between gray and red bars representing the study’s background HIV incidence and the arms randomized to receive oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) was white space filled only by a previously unimaginable number: zero. Zero infections over one year among the 2,134 cisgender adolescent girls and young women who received the novel long-acting injectable antiretroviral lenacapavir. (Michael Rose, 4/3)

Facility owners may be slacking off right after the inspector departs. (Margaret Morganroth Gullette, 4/3)

A patient came to my office recently and told me she had stopped her statin. She’d been on it for two years. Her coronary artery calcium score was 280 and LDL was 168, up almost 100 points since she had stopped taking her statin. Her father had died from a heart attack at 58. (Vikas Patel, 4/3)

This week's Supreme Court decision ignores how good medicine often comes down to what is said, not just done, by a health care professional. (Peter Jensen, 4/2)

The model combines private ownership with physician leadership, focusing on long-term growth rather than short-term profitability, writes a local health care executive. (Andrew Frankel, 4/3)