Health Employers In Arkansas Banned From Using Physician Noncompetes
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Arkansas is the latest state to limit noncompete agreements, Modern Healthcare reports, after Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill voiding such provisions in physician contracts. Other news is from Maryland, Missouri, Connecticut, Michigan, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and California.
Health Experts Say Covid Now Acts Like An Endemic Disease, Akin To Flu
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Covid is now less deadly but is expected to continue experiencing waves, experts told The Washington Post. Separately, scientists suggest that the development of MIS-C complications in kids following a covid infection may be linked to reactivation of a latent Epstein-Barr virus.
Texas Tech Med School Says It Won’t Consider Race For Admissions
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Settling a lawsuit brought by a former applicant who alleged Texas Tech Medical School rejected him in favor of lower-performing students of color, the school said it wouldn’t consider a student’s race in future applications, and says it never did so. Also: calls for increased Medicare doctors’ pay.
Morning Briefing for Friday, March 14, 2025
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Want to catch up on this week's Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News stories? Check out The Week in Brief, delivered every Friday afternoon. !
Dr. Oz’s Tax Payments For Medicare, Social Security Come Under Scrutiny
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Senate Finance Committee Democratic staff allege the CMS nominee relied on a chancy tax exemption that allowed him to avoid paying $440,000 in taxes for the programs. That issue and his ties to the insurance industry are likely to come up today at his confirmation hearing.
HHS Girds For More Budget Cuts, Staff Reductions, Revised Policy Priorities
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Trump administration is planning sweeping changes in its effort to shrink the federal government, Politico reports. Disclosure of possible changes at the Department of Health and Human Services comes as separate federal judges ruled the Office of Personnel Management lacked legal authority to direct mass firings across government agencies.
FDA Gives 2025-26 Flu Shot Guidance, Minus Input From Advisory Committee
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
After studying this year’s influenza information, the recommendation is that flu vaccines for next year be trivalent, reports CNN. Also in the news, Vermont reports its first measles case in a school-aged child; disease detectives search airplanes for pathogens; and more.
First Edition: Friday, March 14, 2025
March 14, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Progressives Seek Health Privacy Protections in California, But Newsom Could Balk
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
March 14, 2025
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original
Democratic state lawmakers in California have proposed bills to protect women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to concerns that their health data could be used against them. If the measures reach his desk, Gov. Gavin Newsom could lay such legislation aside to focus on securing federal funds.
Barbershop Killing Escalates Trauma for Boston Neighborhood Riven by Gun Violence
By Chaseedaw Giles
March 14, 2025
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original
American communities plagued by gun violence, including Four Corners in Boston, honor pockets of safety as sacred spaces. A brazen barbershop killing was a new and traumatic violation.
What the Health? From Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News: The Cutting Continues
March 13, 2025
Podcast
The Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jeff Grant, who recently retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after 41 years in government service.
California Borrows $3.4 Billion for Medicaid Overrun as Congress Eyes Steep Cuts
By Christine Mai-Duc
Updated March 13, 2025
Originally Published March 13, 2025
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original
Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, borrowed $3.4 billion from the state — and will likely need even more — due to higher prescription costs and increased eligibility for seniors and immigrants. The top Republican in the state Senate is demanding a hearing “so the public knows exactly where their tax dollars are going.â€
Can House Republicans Cut $880 Billion Without Slashing Medicaid? It’s Likely Impossible.
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact Amy Sherman, PolitiFact
March 13, 2025
Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original
A Republican House resolution, which needs the Senate’s buy-in, directed a committee to propose ways to reduce the deficit by at least $880 billion over a decade. Lawmakers have taken Medicare off the table for cuts, which makes it impossible to reach $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
Nearly 26 Years After Columbine High Massacre, Death Toll Rises By One
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
A coroner has determined that the cause of death for Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was paralyzed in the 1999 Colorado school shooting and died last month, was “best classified as homicide.” Hochhalter, 43, had sepsis related to the two gunshots she suffered. Her death raises the victim toll to 14, not including the two shooters.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
North Dakota Might Ask Supreme Court To End Same-Sex Marriage
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The resolution passed the Republican-led House last month but still needs Senate approval, which is not assured, AP reported. In other LGBTQ+ news, a federal judge questions the Pentagon’s transgender ban; President Donald Trump shares a link that included an image associated with the persecution of gay people during the Nazi regime; and more.
Montana Judge Voids 2 Abortion Laws, Ruling They Added Unneeded Hardship
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The laws, passed in 2023 and immediately halted by the courts, required those who use Medicaid to submit to unnecessary steps before receiving care, a district court judge determined. More abortion-related news comes from Wyoming, Kentucky, and Missouri.
MRNA Research Might Be Next On List Of NIH Grant Cuts
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
NPR reports on the National Institutes of Health funding cuts with insight from two NIH staffers and one person familiar with NIH’s activities who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Also in research-related news, a lawsuit over the removal of two research papers from a government website, stranded Fulbright Scholars, and more.
CMS Pulls Plug On Projects Aimed At Improving Care, Saving On Costs
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
One initiative that has been scrapped would have offered some generic drugs to Medicare enrollees for $2. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has backed off hospice oversight.
