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A federal judge struck several parts of a health insurance exchange enrollment and eligibility rule. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Friday vacated several provisions from the 2025 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule. A group of cities and nonprofits challenged the provisions last year, alleging they violated the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946. (Tepper, 6/12)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Long-Awaited Rule Aims To Boost ACA Choices While Embracing Higher Deductibles

The Affordable Care Act seems to always be in a policy tug-of-war as its backers and critics spar over how it should work and who can qualify for coverage. This year is no different, with the Trump administration embracing standards it says will reduce fraud as well as steps that could further erode national enrollment. Wide-ranging ACA changes pushed by the administration were finalized in mid-May, including new offerings such as plans with 30% higher out-of-pocket costs, and others with no set networks of doctors and hospitals. (Appleby, 6/15)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: They’re Uninsured After Obamacare Became Too Costly. And They’re Far From Alone

Year after year, Ross and Rebecca Tobiassen saw their healthcare costs rise, having relied on the Affordable Care Act for federally subsidized health insurance since its start in 2014. Year after year, the couple in western North Carolina kept their coverage, believing the peace of mind was worth the cost. But in December, that changed. The Tobiassens decided to cancel their insurance when Rebecca saw the cost of their monthly premiums would jump from $130 to more than $550. “It makes no sense,” she said. “It’s not worth it anymore.” (Jones, 6/15)

There is growing momentum within the Democratic Party to find its next ObamaCare heading into the midterms, as healthcare costs become more untenable and American anger over affordability persists. Healthcare has consistently ranked as a top issue for voters heading into this year’s midterm elections. June polling from Emerson College found that healthcare ranked in the top five issues for voters, behind the economy, threats to democracy and immigration. (Choi, 6/12)

It’s hard for Jennifer Kucera to escape the past. The nursing home where she says she got scabies, was punched in the face, and was sexually assaulted is just three short blocks away from her current home in Berea, Ohio. (Broderick, 6/15)

Next month's launch of a Medicare program providing weight-loss drugs for $50 a month is expected to unleash pent-up demand for Wegovy, Zepbound and other blockbuster treatments — and create new bottlenecks at doctors' offices. It could become one of the biggest drug rollouts ever — and it could test an already burdened system as seniors seek new GLP-1 prescriptions. (Reed, 6/15)

A 2010 paper that linked hepatitis B vaccines in infant boys to an increased risk of autism diagnosis was retracted and another study by the same authors is under investigation. The study, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, claimed that boys vaccinated as neonates had a three times higher odds of an autism diagnosis compared with boys vaccinated after their first month of life or not at all. (George, 6/12)

Three days of chemotherapy gave Damon Williams so many mouth sores that he couldn’t swallow his own saliva, much less eat. His skin darkened. His hair fell out. He was so dizzy a nurse had to steady him when he stood up. “It left a wake of destruction,” said Williams last week from his bed at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. It’s not the worst pain he’s been through, though. Not even close. (Schrappen, 6/13)

Diabetes was linked with an increased risk of death among transplant recipients of four major organs, with pre-existing and new-onset diabetes both implicated, a comprehensive analysis of four types of solid-organ transplant recipients suggested. Compared with recipients who never had diabetes, those who developed new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) had a significantly higher risk of mortality over a 10-year follow-up, reported Mishal Ali, BA, of the University of Chicago. (Monaco, 6/14)

Few men prescribed testosterone therapy received guideline-concordant diagnostic testing for androgen deficiency, and some received therapy despite contraindications, a retrospective chart review indicated. In a random sample of 200 male patients cared for at a single institution, only 12% underwent testing according to the Endocrine Society's recommendations. (Monaco, 6/14)

One in 12 patients with incident hypertension screened positive for primary aldosteronism, suggesting expanded screening may boost detection, according to a real-world cohort study. (Monaco, 6/14)

New research has revealed a strain of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria spreading in older women with urinary tract infections (UTIs) across the United States, researchers reported yesterday in Nature Communications. (Dall, 6/12)

Remotely monitoring patients after sepsis or an infection failed to reduce hospital readmissions, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The randomized clinical trial looked at traditional hospital follow-up compared to four remote interventions to determine if patients benefitted. (Holohan, 6/12)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule strengthening oversight of accreditors. The rule is meant to beef up accountability and quality among a handful of organizations responsible for managing health and safety among Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers. “The work accrediting organizations do is vital, but it also raises an age-old question: who watches the watchmen? The answer is, we do,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a Friday news release regarding the final rule. (Early, 6/12)

When you call your employees a “sock puppet” of industry, blame them for bungling the pandemic, and fire thousands of their colleagues, it’s not easy to take it back. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his health department deputies have pared back the insults this year. They’ve even occasionally had nice things to say about the civil servants who work for them. They’re hiring again after the DOGEing of 2025. The shift coincides with a broader shakeup of agency leadership that the department has said is about producing better results for the American people. (Gardner, 6/13)

�������ýҕ�l Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Highlight Medical Neglect In ICE Detention, RFK Jr. Antidepressant Comments

�������ýҕ�l Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s position on antidepressants on WAMU’s 1A on June 10. (6/13)

A medical examiner has ruled the death of a Haitian asylum seeker after being released from federal custody a homicide. An attorney representing her family said he expects her relatives to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death. (Dura, 6/13)

Sen. Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, according to a spokesperson. "Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care," the spokesperson said. ABC News has inquired about McConnell's condition and diagnosis but his team has not yet provided more information. This is the latest in a string of medical incidents that the 84-year-old senator has faced in recent years. (Pecorin, 6/14)

With 43 newly confirmed infections, US measles cases reached 2,073 today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update, as Virginia has become the nation’s newest hot spot. All but 10 of the US infections this year are locally acquired, with the rest related to travel outside the country. The total for all of last year was 2,288 confirmed cases. (Wappes, 6/12)

As thousands of World Cup soccer fans descend upon Santa Clara County and Levi’s Stadium, the county’s public health officials announced Saturday that a resident infected with measles traveled to San Francisco International Airport and two San Jose markets this week while contagious. The adult is believed to have been exposed to measles during international travel, Santa Clara County public health officials said. The agency declined to provide any more information about the person due to medical privacy concerns. No other cases have been identified, but public health officials warn the long incubation period can hide other cases for days. (Gafni, 6/13)

The U.S. spent decades driving the New World screwworm far into South America. But now the parasite has reemerged, and officials are working to beat it back yet again using many of the same tried-and-true methods as the government did in the 1950s. Experts have been tracking the path of parasitic fly as it moved steadily northward in recent years, and Trump administration officials said they spent months preparing for the first cases.  But key agency staffing cuts under President Trump after years of the government being in cruise control are testing that readiness. (Weixel, 6/13)

Two new cases of Vibrio vulnificus, commonly known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” were reported in Florida during the week of May 28 to June 6, according to the state Department of Health. The infections were reported in Okaloosa and Palm Beach counties, the most recent cases listed in the state’s online database. (Mayer, 6/12)

A San Quentin Rehabilitation Center inmate who officials initially suspected may have had hantavirus turned out to be uninfected, according to news reports citing state corrections and health agencies. The inmate of the Marin County prison was tested last week after showing symptoms of hantavirus, a rare but deadly disease that typically spreads to humans from rodents. That test, which was performed by a commercial lab and looked for the presence of viral antibodies, showed a positive result. (Ho, 6/14)

The director-general of the World Health Organization is “really worried” about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, already the third largest on record. In an exclusive interview with STAT, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the conditions he saw after returning from his second visit to the affected area since the outbreak was declared on May 15, and designated a public health emergency of international concern on May 17. (Branswell, 6/13)

The number of confirmed cases in the growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has risen to 676, including 136 deaths, as health officials warn it’s likely to get worse. Among the dead are two victims who were living in a displacement camp in eastern DRC, which has been plagued by conflict between the government and rebel groups. According to Reuters, the mother and daughter, who died on May 31 and June 1 and later tested positive for Ebola, were living in a camp that’s hosting 30,000 internally displaced people in cramped and unsanitary conditions. (Dall, 6/12)

In a hastily assembled Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Papys Lame and his colleagues rehydrate patients who arrive in paroxysms of diarrhea and vomiting, transfuse those who bleed uncontrollably from their noses and mouths, and provide oxygen for those in respiratory distress. They monitor patients’ hearts and blood pressure, and treat their intense pain. (Zimmer and Nolen, 6/12)

Eliezer Kasongo thought the Ebola epidemic would blow over in a few weeks. Then the crisis began to unfold before his eyes. "We started to see people die in the neighbourhood and we began to understand," said Kasongo, a community volunteer in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite once being a doubter, the 25-year-old now spends his days going door to door to try to raise awareness about the disease. (Livingstone and Mpiana, 6/15)

Researchers in Singapore deliberately infected five healthy people with dengue in order to better study a virus that’s placing a growing burden on public health. Earlier this year, five adult volunteers aged from 21 to 45 were inoculated with a weakened dengue virus, and then stayed in the hospital for at least 10 days while researchers observed how their infections developed, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases said Friday. The participants underwent regular safety assessment, but didn’t receive any particular treatment targeting the virus. (Kan, 6/12)

Calls to poison centers involving diphenhydramine -- the active ingredient in Benadryl and some over-the-counter sleep aids -- and teens in the first five months of 2026 were more than double compared with the same period last year, according to a health advisory from America's Poison Centers obtained first by ABC News. Social media users have documented taking excessive amounts of diphenhydramine in an attempt to overcome the medication's drowsy effects and experience a euphoric feeling. (Benadjaoud, 6/12)

How much nicotine is too much? As nicotine pouches like Zyn surge in popularity, manufacturers are introducing increasingly potent products, raising concerns among some public health experts and anti-tobacco advocates about addiction and other health risks. (Lovelace Jr., 6/12)

Ricky Resendez first tried e-cigarettes in eighth grade. By the time he got to high school, he was vaping daily.“It was just kind of normal,” said Ricky, a 17-year-old recent graduate in Superior, Wisconsin. “Kids were vaping in class, in the bathrooms, wherever.” Nationally, nearly 6% of middle and high school students — amounting to 1.63 million kids — reported using electronic cigarettes in 2024, federal figures show. Although that is down from previous years, e-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco products among teens, and nearly 9 out of 10 of kids choose flavored products. (Ungar, 6/13)

Americans are clearly drinking less these days, with alcohol consumption thwarted by a health-obsessed generation, weight-loss drugs and the growing popularity of cannabis. Or so the narrative goes. Alcohol volume was down 2% in the world’s major alcohol markets last year, though a much steeper drop of 5% was recorded in the US, according to data from the global alcohol analytics provider IWSR. Volumes may drop as much as 4% this year, BNP Paribas analyst Kevin Grundy calculated. (Meley and Phua, 6/12)

An organic baby formula is being voluntarily recalled after three infants who were fed the product were hospitalized with infant botulism, according to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that all three babies had consumed Nara Organics Powdered Infant Formula, which is sold at Target stores throughout the United States. The sickened babies were in California, Washington and Pennsylvania, according to the FDA notice. All three babies were successfully treated, and no deaths have been reported, the FDA said. (Breen, 6/14)

Global consumers want more protein in every bite, but the dairy industry is struggling to give it to them. Athletes and older adults have long used smoothies and shakes blended with whey protein concentrate – a powdered byproduct of cheese-making – to build or maintain muscle. More recently, food companies have sprinkled it into everything from breakfast cereals, Pop-Tarts and potato chips to bagels, tortillas and Starbucks drinks to meet growing consumer demand. (Durbin, 6/14)

People staying in short-term rental properties should be aware that hot tubs might pose a risk of a potentially fatal type of pneumonia, according to a new paper in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from investigators with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and other state agencies. The paper details a 2024 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in western New York among two guests who used a hot tub at a private short-term rental property. (Boden, 6/12)

Blanket. Snacks. Drinks. Sunscreen. Tick check? A summer picnic in a city park or other activities in urban green spaces may need to include one extra step as experts across the Northeast warn of a bad tick season. Experts along the East Coast are all seeing an uptick in tick activity in metropolitan places where people would otherwise give little consideration to small arachnids crawling up an ankle or arm and taking hold. Where there is habitat, ticks will go, bringing a variety of dangerous diseases with them. (Tumin, 6/12)

Apropos of the subject, let’s just sink our teeth into it: 2026 is likely going to be a big year for ticks in Colorado. And that means, whether you’re out and about in the mountains, on the plains or in your yard, it could also be a big year for tick-borne illnesses, most of which are rare, fortunately, but none of which are fun. (Ingold, 6/12)

It’s common knowledge that ticks can spread infections that cause serious illnesses, including Lyme disease. Now health officials are trying to raise awareness of a lesser-known problem: a life-threatening allergy to meat triggered by tick bites. The problem, known as alpha-gal syndrome, was first linked to a particular species of ticks about 15 years ago. But cases are on the rise as more people report symptoms such as hives, diarrhea and itchiness after eating as little as a mouthful of meat and — in some cases — dairy. The allergy doesn’t impact consumption of seafood or poultry. Chicken, turkey and eggs are all OK to eat. (Perrone, 6/14)

You’re likely familiar with getting your blood pressure taken, the cuff squeezing your arm before generating two numbers. Yet this vital sign contains a third, lesser-known number that matters for brain and heart health: pulse pressure. While blood pressure measures how much pressure the blood puts on the arteries while the heart is beating and at rest, pulse pressure provides a window into how flexible and elastic the arteries are, a sign of cardiovascular health. (Leake, 6/14)

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved teplizumab, a type 1 diabetes drug developed by Sanofi, for children aged 8 and older with stage 3 diabetes. (Lawrence, 6/13)

The request was an emergency. In late March, a woman in Gila County, Arizona, was diagnosed with syphilis, and she was pregnant. She needed an injection of penicillin — if possible, 30 days before delivery — but the bacteria corkscrewing through her body increased her risk of delivering early. Without timely treatment, her pregnancy could end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, and if the infant survived, the child might live with bone deformities, brain damage, blindness, and deafness, among other complications. (Boodman, 6/15)

The Federal Trade Commission’s insulin prices case may be nearing a conclusion after the agency disclosed a provisional deal with Optum Rx on Friday. The FTC and the UnitedHealth Group unit have signed off on a proposed consent agreement that would resolve accusations that the pharmacy benefit manager and its chief competitors structured pharmaceutical rebates and formularies to artificially inflate insulin prices, the agency wrote in an order to withdraw the case from adjudication. (Tong, 6/12)

Drugmakers are only months into introducing GLP-1 pills and navigating huge changes in how patients pay for weight-loss drugs. Even so, they’re already outlining their visions for the future of obesity drugs. (Peebles, 6/13)

Telehealth and remote patient monitoring can increase access to care at hospitals and health systems taxed by growing patient demand, but the care methods are driving financial pressures due to factors like unreimbursed care and rising utility costs, according to Strata Decision Technology’s latest trends report. (Asplund, 6/12)

Private-equity executive Matt Holt’s investment firm Thoreau Group is in advanced talks to acquire Ensemble Health Partners in a deal valuing the company at about $12 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be signed imminently, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details are private. Thoreau, backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., will be the controlling shareholder of Ensemble, the people said. (Davis and Gould, 6/12)

Providers are ordering more imaging scans than ever, and health systems are investing in new MRI scanners that are less expensive to install and operate. Helium-free MRI scanners aren’t really helium-free, but they come close, and recent product introductions from companies like Philips, Siemens Healthineers and GE HealthCare are gaining traction. The expanding choice of products for healthcare providers to consider comes as the greater need for imaging from an aging population bumps into geopolitical forces that threaten worldwide supply lines for this nonrenewable resource and raise prices. (Dubinsky, 6/12)

When it comes to the diseases that threaten to steal our healthy years—Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, arthritis—they all have one thing in common: By the time we get diagnosed, often much of the damage is already done. (Parker-Pope, 6/14)

A Natrona County court struck down three of the state’s abortion restrictions. This doesn’t change much on the ground, since the laws were already temporarily blocked, but it does make them unconstitutional. (Merzbach, 6/12)

Pregnancy, birth rates, and sexually transmitted infections among Minnesota teenagers dropped significantly in 2024, continuing a decades-long downward trajectory, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Minnesota. But the study finds that there also continues to be sharp racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities in these rates here that are among the most stark in the country. (Work, 6/14)

State oversight failures exposed in a Tribune investigation drove a package of major changes to state law aimed at better protecting patients from sexual abuse or other inappropriate conduct by doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. (Hoerner and Schencker, 6/12)

The village of Oak Park shut down the West Suburban Medical Center building Thursday, after the hospital’s last functioning elevator stopped working — forcing the remaining patients there to find care elsewhere. (Schencker, 6/12)

The Refinery Risk Map, developed by researchers at PSE Healthy Energy and academic partners, combines emissions data, air pollution modeling and health impact estimates for nearly every oil refinery in the contiguous United States. The tool includes Mountain West refineries in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. (Roedel, 6/12)

California legislator Jesse Gabriel has made a name for himself with a suite of bills aimed at reducing the health harms of ultra-processed food. So it might seem counterintuitive that inside his office is a pillow shaped like a bag of Skittles, complete with the brand’s iconic upside-down rainbow and a few oversized felt candies peeking through a clear plastic window. (Todd, 6/15)

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a six-month moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for new home health and hospice agencies, its latest move to combat fraud in federal health programs. The government is right to focus on fraud, waste and abuse. But its oversight efforts should be targeted, data-driven and aligned with demonstrated risk. (Jason R. Lee, 6/14)

The CDC’s latest data show autism prevalence is 1 in 31 children in the United States. That is 16% higher than the previous estimate in 2020. It is the kind of number that should change how health systems allocate resources, how pediatricians screen, and how schools plan. But there is a population this number barely touches: South Asian American families, where an autism diagnosis is still, in many homes, a secret. (Ritu Goel, 6/15)

Utah’s worsening measles outbreak, which has already sickened more than 670 people, including babies too young to get vaccinated, is a stark reminder of what happens when immunization rates fall. Doctors who want to confront the crisis before it gets worse can take a lesson from Gilbert “Gil” Walker, a 98-year-old retired physician who knows a thing or two about convincing parents to vaccinate their children. (Leana S. Wen, 6/11)

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I said, slipping into the exam room. The boy sat perfectly still, watching “Bluey” on an iPad propped against his stroller. His mother looked exhausted. Coffee untouched. Diaper bag spilling open on the floor. “It’s fine,” she said. “He didn’t even notice.” I didn’t judge her. I couldn’t. I’ve handed my own toddler my phone at the dinner table more times than I’d admit to myself or my colleagues. (Dua Hassan, 6/15)