- KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
- 1. Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans
- 2. Despite Their Successes, Some Mobile Crisis Response Teams Are in Crisis
- 3. Listen to the Latest ‘KFFHealth News Minute’
- EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS
- 10. Viewpoints: Patients Trust Expertise, But Not When They Feel Belittled; CMS Shouldn’t Fund Excess Cancer Drugs
From KFF Health News:
KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES
1. Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending. (Arielle Zionts and Sarah Jane Tribble, 3/4)
2. Despite Their Successes, Some Mobile Crisis Response Teams Are in Crisis
Mobile crisis units are trained to respond to emergency calls when people are experiencing delusions or hallucinations. But unlike police departments, which are generally funded by local taxpayers, mobile crisis teams don’t have a single, reliable funding source. As a result, some are closing down, despite successful operations and local support. (Aaron Bolton, MTPR, 3/4)
3. Listen to the Latest ‘KFFHealth News Minute’
The “KFF Health News Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week. (3/3)
Here’s today’s health policy haiku:
MIXED MESSAGING
Shot? Confused or not?
Measles? What do the feds say?
Kennedy or Oz?
– Marge Kilkelly
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Usand let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
4. HHS Postpones Third Straight Meeting Of US Preventive Services Task Force
The group that makes recommendations on preventive health care services has not met in a year, and this latest meeting has not been rescheduled. Meanwhile, the Camp East Montana immigration facility in Texas is off-limits to outsiders amid a measles outbreak.
MedPage Today: USPSTF Meeting Pushed Back For Third Time In A Row
Yet another scheduled meeting of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has been postponed, HHS confirmed Tuesday. The task force, which typically meets three times a year, hasn’t convened since March of last year, with meetings in July and November abruptly canceled. (Henderson, 3/3)
FiercePharma: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla Levels Criticism Of CBER’s Vinay Prasad
One of the most powerful voices in the biopharma industry, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., has weighed in with sharp criticism of the FDA’s Vinay Prasad, M.D., and his performance as the chief of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), which regulates vaccines in the U.S. “We have a problem with the leadership of CBER,” Bourla said Monday at the TD Cowen healthcare conference. “I think the current director is not following the recommendations of his staff.” (Dunleavy, 3/3)
Bloomberg: Moderna To Pay $950 Million To Settle Arbutus, Genevant Vaccine Litigation
Moderna Inc. agreed to pay $950 million to settle litigation related to the delivery technology behind its Covid shot, removing a looming financial risk for the struggling vaccine maker. The company has settled all litigation worldwide with Arbutus Biopharma Corp. and Genevant Sciences GmbH over its existing and future vaccines, with no future royalties owed. At issue were claims that Moderna had infringed on patents owned by Genevant and Arbutus related to lipid nanoparticles, or tiny bubbles of fat that Moderna used to deliver its Covid shot inside patients. (Smith and Muller, 3/3)
On the spread of measles —
AP: A Large Immigration Detention Camp In Texas Is Closed To Visitors Amid Measles Outbreak
A large immigration detention camp in Texas has been closed to visitors and attorneys due to a measles outbreak, a lawmaker said Tuesday. There are 14 active measles cases at the detention center on the Fort Bliss Army base and 112 people are being isolated, said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, an El Paso Democrat whose district includes the facility, known as Camp East Montana. It will remain closed to visitors and attorneys until March 19 or March 20. (3/4)
The New York Times: In South Carolina Measles Outbreak, Vaccine Skepticism Led To Largest Outbreak Since 2000
The Global Academy of South Carolina, a public charter school, is housed in a glittering modern building on a sprawling campus, a 10-minute drive from the spunky downtown Spartanburg. It has Ukrainian- and Russian-language teachers on staff, reflecting that many of its roughly 600 students belong to a thriving Slavic community, whose lives revolve around the evangelical churches in surrounding Spartanburg County. But on Oct. 8, South Carolina’s public health department made an ominous announcement: Global Academy was one of two schools in Spartanburg County where measles had been detected. Only 21 percent of its students were vaccinated, one of the worst rates for a public school in the state. (Hartocollis, 3/3)
On covid, RSV, flu, and swine flu —
CIDRAP: Up To 56,000 People Died From COVID-19 Or RSV Last Year
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was associated with 190,000 to 350,000 hospitalizations from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, as well as 10,000 to 23,000 deaths, according to data published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the same time, COVID-19 was associated with an estimated 290,000 to 450,000 hospitalizations and 34,000 to 53,000 deaths. (Szabo, 3/3)
CIDRAP: Medical Societies Recommend RSV Vaccines For Older Or Immune-Compromised Adults
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends adults age 75 and older receive one dose of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, according to a statement yesterday. In its guidelines, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP said that adults age 60 to 74 may consider receiving an RSV vaccine if they have medical conditions that increase their risk of serious disease. (Szabo, 3/3)
CIDRAP: Report: COVID Survivors At Nearly 5 Times The Risk For Kidney Failure
COVID-19 infection is a significant predictor of chronic kidney disease (CKD), acute kidney injury (AKI), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and kidney failure, suggests a study by Penn State researchers published in Communications Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 3/3)
CIDRAP: Many With Long COVID Remain On The Job Despite Reduced Ability To Work
More than half of people in a cross-sectional study reporting on post-COVID condition (PCC) symptoms, or long COVID, in 2021 said their ability to work was poor, yet most were still working, suggesting a substantial burden of “presenteeism,” or reduced productivity while on the job. (Bergeson, 3/2)
CIDRAP: Public Health Alerts: Antibodies Elicited By The 2025-2026 Influenza Vaccine
In spite of fears of immune evasion by a widely circulating H3N2 influenza variant called subclade K, a Public Health Alerts report published today shows that the current flu vaccine produces antibodies that efficiently recognize subclade K in almost 40% of people. (Wappes, 3/3)
ABC News: Possible Person-To-Person Swine Flu Case Reported In Spain. Should We Be Concerned?
Over the weekend, health officials in Spain reportedly informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of a possible human case of swine flu that may have been caused by person-to-person transmission. The WHO’s reference laboratory for influenza in Britain is conducting additional tests to confirm the diagnosis, according to Reuters. The patient in Spain did not have direct contact with pigs, according to the wire agency. (Kekatos, 3/3)
5. Scientists Forge Autism Advisory Panel To Advance Research, Understanding
The group, established as a check on perceived politicization of its federal counterpart by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., includes scientists who previously served on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. Both panels are set to meet March 19.
The Washington Post: Scientists Form Independent Autism Panel, Citing Concerns Over RFK Jr.
A group of prominent scientists launched an independent autism advisory panel Tuesday over fears that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has politicized the key federal autism advisory board he oversees. The shadow committee will focus on developing a coordinated scientific agenda for autism research and will function as a counterweight to the advisory board Kennedy reshaped in January by appointing new members. Many of those members have echoed his controversial views, including promoting debunked claims linking vaccines to autism and advocating for unproven treatments. (Sun, 3/3)
Modern Healthcare: How Autism Care Startups Navigate ABA Scrutiny, Medicaid Pay Cuts
Health tech companies specializing in autism care find themselves under the microscope, navigating a world where private and public insurers are scrutinizing treatments and therapies. In the past year, state Medicaid plans in North Carolina, Nebraska, Idaho and Indiana either have attempted to or been successful at cutting payments to providers offering applied behavioral analysis. Private insurers such as UnitedHealth Group have limited coverage for autism care in some states. (Perna, 3/3)
More news about people with disabilities —
The New York Times: Colleges See Spike In Students With Disabilities, Including Elite Schools
The number of college students reporting disabilities rose more than 50 percent over the last decade across a wide swath of schools, including at some of the most selective universities in the nation, according to a New York Times analysis of government data. The rise, which has corresponded with an increase in A.D.H.D., autism and other diagnoses, has also meant an increase in the number of students requiring accommodations, such as more time to take tests. While some colleges and students have embraced the trend, saying it shows schools are opening their doors to students who might previously have been shut out, it has raised worries that some could be gaming the system. (Arsenault and Rich, 3/2)
WYPR: Maryland Legislators Introduce Bills To Help Locate People With Disabilities Who Elope
A bipartisan group of Maryland lawmakers are introducing a bundle of five bills to better locate people with disabilities who elope from their homes. The LEAD Act focuses on people throughout their lifetimes that may be at risk for elopement, ranging from children with autism to adults with disabilities to older adults living with dementia. (Maucione, 3/3)
Axios: Chicago Company Offers Model As Illinois Phases Out Subminimum Wages
Illinois will phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities by 2029. Easterseals’ HB Threads apparel company has always paid its workers above minimum wage, and all associates make at least Chicago’s $15 hourly minimum wage, director Korrey Kooistra told Axios during a visit. (Shepherd, 3/3)
AP: Vocal Tic At BAFTA Leaves Black Tourette Syndrome Community With Mixed Feelings
For Black people living with Tourette syndrome, the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards incident earlier this week where a vocal tic manifested as a racial slur while two Black stars of the movie “Sinners” were onstage has left them with complicated feelings. “It’s been pretty difficult because I feel like there’s such a clash between both sides,” said Chloe Winston, 24, who experiences coprolalia, the same verbal tic as John Davidson, the BAFTA nominee and Tourette syndrome advocate who yelled the slur. “A tic is not intentional, but it still causes harm. And I think that does require accountability.” (Tang, 2/28)
AP: Birding Becomes More Accessible To People With Disabilities
Wearing an oxygen pack on her back for her COPD, Marcia OBara is leading a group of nature enthusiasts on a mission to see birds. They carry walking sticks on the flat trails, moving at their own pace, without pressure or competition and enjoying a sense of community. This is Birding for Every BODY, one of numerous such excursions offered each month by the nonprofit Tucson Bird Alliance with Arizona’s Pima County. (Snow, 3/1)
6. US Maternal Mortality Rate Dipped Again In 2024, CDC Data Indicate
Black women — with 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births — and those aged 40 and older — with 62.3 deaths per 100,000 live births — had the highest mortality rates, according to CDC data. The 2024 U.S. maternal mortality rate is the lowest it has been since 2018.
ABC News: Maternal Mortality Rate In The US Declines To Its Lowest Since 2018: CDC
Maternal mortality rates in the United States have dropped to their lowest levels in recent years, according to new data published on Thursday. The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, compared maternal deaths in 2023 and 2024, with maternal deaths defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. In 2024, 649 women died of maternal causes in the U.S., with a rate of 17.9 deaths per 100,000 births, according to the report. (Kekatos, 3/3)
Healthcare Dive: AMA Creates New Maternity Care Coding System
The American Medical Association is overhauling how U.S. doctors report and bill for pregnancy services, bulldozing the current system of bundled payments and replacing it with more granular, itemized codes next year. The changes, shared exclusively with Healthcare Dive, could help improve poor maternity health outcomes in the U.S. But it’s also an acquiescence to specialty groups, which have long lobbied the powerful medical association that modern obstetric services are more complex than the current coding system is able to reflect. (Pifer Parduhn, 3/2)
AP: Black Fathers Train As Doulas To Help Address Racial Disparities In Maternal Health
Cradling his newborn daughter in his lap in their Indianapolis home, JaKobi Burton’s love for the new lady in his life is evident with each caress. The first-time dad’s commitment started months earlier. Burton attended every medical appointment and took classes with Dads to Doulas, a program created by the organization Dear Fathers that teaches Black fathers-to-be how to provide physical, mental and spiritual support up to and after childbirth. (Tang and Lamy, 2/27)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Some places are bringing back house calls to try to fight maternal and infant mortality, and almost all Americans benefit from health care subsidies in different forms. (Cook, 3/3)
Also —
The Wall Street Journal: Babies’ Gut Health Is The New Obsession For Parents—And Startups
When Brittany Allen takes her 17-month-old son to her sister’s house to play, she heads straight for the big pile of dirt in the backyard. For his health. When Leonidas was just a month old, he was fussy and often constipated. He wasn’t gaining enough weight. Allen had a test run on her infant’s gut microbiome—the collection of bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit the digestive tract. (Petersen, 3/3)
7. CVS Warns Tenn. Bill Would ‘Devastate’ Access, Force 134 Pharmacies To Close
Legislation in the state Senate would ban pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) — such as CVS Caremark — from owning or controlling pharmacies in Tennessee.
Fox 17 Nashville: CVS Says 134 Tennessee Locations Will Close If ‘Conflict Of Interest’ Bill Passes
State lawmakers are discussing “conflict of interest” in the pharmaceutical industry Wednesday that could result in CVS closing more than 100 locations. State Sen. Bobby Harshbarger proposed a bill that would not allow pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning or controlling pharmacies in Tennessee. CVS Health is now threatening to close all 134 of its pharmacies in Tennessee if this bill passes. (Maffei, 3/4)
Newsweek: Major Pharmacy Chains Close Hundreds Of Stores Nationwide
Two major pharmacy chains are closing hundreds of stores across the U.S., reshaping access to everyday health care in many communities. Pharmacy chains have been under pressure for years as shopping habits change and costs rise. (Stevenson, 3/3)
More pharmaceutical industry news —
Fierce Biotech: Disc Lays Off 20% Of Employees To Steady Ship After FDA Rejection Of Rare Disease Drug
Disc Medicine is laying off a fifth of its workforce as the biotech reels from the FDA’s rejection of its rare blood disease candidate. Last month, the agency knocked back an approval application for the glycine reuptake inhibitor bitopertin in erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria. (Waldron, 3/3)
Stat: Prime Medicine Seeks FDA Treatment Approval After Two-Patient Trial
Prime Medicine said Tuesday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve a gene-editing treatment that has been given to only two patients. The application will test an agency that has promised to speed new gene-editing treatments to patients but has recently come under scrutiny from regulators, executives, and advocates for spurring a string of gene therapies for neurological diseases. (Mast, 3/3)
Bloomberg: FDA Says Novo Nordisk Ozempic Ad Misleads Consumers On Drug’s Use
Less than a month after the US Food and Drug Administration said a TV advertisement for Novo Nordisk A/S’ Wegovy weight-loss pill included “false or misleading” claims, the company was hit with a notice for its original blockbuster Ozempic. (Thornton, 3/3)
8. 2 Patient-Assistance Charity Groups Merge To Form $800M Foundation
The merger of the Patient Advocate Foundation and the Patient Access Network Foundation will allow them to better serve low- and middle-income patients facing rising health care costs, leaders say. Also: Insurers react to CMS’ proposed 2027 Medicare Advantage rates.
The Wall Street Journal: Two Of The Biggest Patient-Assistance Charities Are Combining
Two of the largest charities that provide hundreds of millions of dollars in financial assistance to help Americans pay for medical treatments merged in one of the biggest combinations in the nonprofit healthcare sector. The Patient Advocate Foundation combined with the Patient Access Network Foundation, and will operate as the Patient Advocate Foundation, the groups said Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Tuesday that an announcement of the deal was imminent. (Loftus, 3/3)