TheVoiceOfJoyce Healthcare is a necessity. Getting your measles vaccine prevents others from dying from measles. Trump’s policies can only be reversed at the ballot box. $5000 or $500 to a few can’t compensate for the thousands his policies cost US. The illnesses were suffering or loss of healthcare and wages. Read and decide to vote against all Trump Republicans. They don’t care about us.

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, September 14, 2026
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Morning Briefing 

In This Edition:

From KFF Health News:

KFF HEALTH NEWS ORIGINAL STORIES1. A Generation of Kids Suffer as Trump Destabilizes Immigrant Families Children in immigrant families are facing health threats from President Donald Trump’s policies: separation from parents detained or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, economic and housing instability, withdrawal from health and nutrition programs, and an overarching environment of fear. (Claudia Boyd-Barrett, 9/14)

2. The Meltdown in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Stat reporter Bob Herman joins “An Arm and a Leg” to discuss the impact of surging health insurance costs on businesses and their workers. (Dan Weissmann, 9/14)

3. Journalists Detail Data on Suicide, Primary Care Shortages, and Gun Violence KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (9/12)

Here’s today’s health policy haiku:

BALLYHOOS AND BOONDOGGLES

Health industry deals:
A day of publicity,
then nothing happens.

– Miranda Brillante

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:

ADMINISTRATION NEWS4. White House Plans To Repeal Limits On Air Pollution From Power Plants, Sources Say 

The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency is expected Monday, The New York Times reported, and could also prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The EPA has stopped estimating the public health benefits of reducing pollution in the cost-benefit analyses necessary for clean-air regulations, the Times wrote.

The New York Times: E.P.A. Will Erase Limits On Climate Pollution From Power Plants  The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas, according to two people familiar with the proposal. The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency would complete the administration’s erasure of the most consequential climate policies of Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama. If the move survives expected legal challenges, it could also prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. (Joselow, 9/13)

More health news from the Trump administration —

Healthcare Finance News: HHS Awards $383.4M For Behavioral Health Services  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $383.4 million to strengthen behavioral health treatment, prevention and crisis-response services nationwide. The grants, distributed through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), include $252 million for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, suicide-prevention programs and mobile crisis services. An additional $81.4 million will support substance-use treatment and prevention, while $50 million will fund other mental-health initiatives. (Bender, 9/9)

FiercePharma: New FDA Oncology Chief Sets Priorities In First Interview In his first interview after taking the reins of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE), Angelo de Claro, M.D., is outlining a regulatory agenda that prioritizes organizational strength and continued regulatory modernization. Stepping into one of the most heavyweight leadership roles in U.S. drug evaluation, de Claro faces the tall order of succeeding an FDA legend, Richard Pazdur, M.D. In his first interview, the new oncology chief vowed to build on Pazdur’s foundation while pioneering frameworks to integrate artificial intelligence into regulatory reviews, streamline drug development, and boost U.S. trial participation. (Liu, 9/11)

Stat: Trump’s Secretive Pharma Deals May Undermine ‘Most-Favored Nation’ Pricing, An Analysis Suggests The projected savings from a highly touted Trump administration plan to lower Medicare drug costs may be drastically reduced — by as much as 80% — thanks to secretive deals cut with more than two dozen pharmaceutical companies, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 9/13)

The Duke Chronicle: Trump Administration Finds Duke School Of Medicine Racially Discriminated In Admissions  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights found Duke’s School of Medicine to have intentionally discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its admissions practices. (Halper, 9/10)

The Washington Sun: Federal Judge Says DHS Acted ‘Capriciously’ When Halving FEMA’s Staff A federal judge in California sided with a labor union on Friday in its lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the Department of Homeland Security “arbitrarily” moved to slash the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s staff by 50% earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled that DHS acted “capriciously” when it revoked FEMA’s long-standing authority to renew contracts for its Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery, or CORE employees. CORE employees are on-the-ground contacts who are dispatched across the country and remain in communities years after a disaster. (Orellana Hernandez, 9/12)

KFF Health News: A Generation Of Kids Suffer As Trump Destabilizes Immigrant Families The little girl stared up at Norma Gómez from the doorway of her neighbor’s apartment, her sad, brown eyes suddenly flashing with hope. “Are you the person who’s going to bring my mom back?” she asked. Gómez struggled to find an answer. It was a December morning, and she’d brought food, diapers, baby wipes, and clothes — items she hoped would help the 6-year-old girl, her baby brother, and the neighbor who had stepped in to care for them. The children were left alone after federal immigration agents arrested their parents outside their apartment in Oxnard, a mostly Latino agricultural community on the Southern California coast. But Gómez had no power to bring the parents back. (Boyd-Barrett, 9/14)

On Medicare and the high cost of healthcare —

Modern Healthcare: CMS Expands Medicare Coverage For TAVR The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expanding Medicare coverage of transcatheter aortic valve replacement to more patients. The new national coverage determination broadens coverage for patients with severe aortic stenosis, a condition where the heart’s aortic valve narrows. During a TAVR procedure, a doctor threads a thin, flexible catheter through the leg or chest to the heart and delivers a replacement valve. (Dubinsky, 9/11)

Stat: The GOP’s $50 Billion Rural Health Fund Is Coming Up Short, Hospital Leaders Say Last summer, Republican lawmakers were worried. They were planning to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade, and they knew hospitals in their districts and states would suffer. Before passing their tax-cut law, they added in $50 billion over the next five years. This rural health fund was intended to help health care providers prepare for the new challenges ahead. (Payne, 9/14)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: The Meltdown In Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Employer-sponsored health insurance covers more than 165 million Americans. It can entice someone to work at one company over another, or be a set of golden handcuffs that keeps them locked into a job they may not enjoy. But rising costs are straining that system like never before. As premiums balloon, employers have started to pass on more costs to their workers, and the percentage of small businesses offering employees health insurance has dropped significantly. (Weissmann, 9/14)

OUTBREAKS AND HEALTH THREATS5. Pennsylvania Sees Third Measles-Associated Death This Year 

A 40-year-old woman died Saturday from measles complications. Of the at least 676 measles cases confirmed in Pennsylvania so far this year, less than 1% had been fully vaccinated, according to Pennsylvania health officials. Meanwhile, confirmed measles cases in the U.S. have reached 3,294, surpassing last year’s numbers by 1,000 as of Friday, CIDRAP reported.

NBC News: Pennsylvania Woman Dies From Measles Complications, State’s Third Death This Year A 40-year-old woman has died from measles complications in Pennsylvania, marking the state’s third measles-associated death this year as the U.S. experiences its worst resurgence of the highly contagious disease in 35 years. The woman, a Jefferson County resident, died Saturday, county Coroner Greg Furlong said on Facebook. (Weaver, 9/13)

CIDRAP: US Measles Cases Approach 3,300—Over 1,000 More Than All Of Last Year The number of confirmed US cases of measles has reached 3,294, fully 1,000 more than all of last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in its weekly update today. The total includes 160 new cases, most of them in Pennsylvania, the nation’s measles hot spot. The country has now seen five straight weeks of triple-digit increases. (Wappes, 9/11)

The Hill: CDC Director Erica Schwartz Silent Amid Measles Epidemic, Virus Season Just a month into her tenure as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Erica Schwartz is missing in action. The country is heading into respiratory virus season, and public guidance on COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines has been muddled, at best. The worst measles epidemic in more than 30 years continues unabated, while the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary is downplaying measles deaths and openly feuding with a sitting governor. (Weixel, 9/13)

USA Today: Dems Send RFK Jr. Letter, Say He’s Focused On Cooking Show, Not Measles A group of Senate Democrats allege that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is using taxpayer dollars to focus on “vanity projects” – like his new podcast and cooking show – rather than addressing Americans’ health concerns, in a new letter sent to Kennedy. “We are concerned that, instead of addressing the struggles that Americans face today in trying to keep their families safe and healthy, you are using taxpayer dollars to promote your personal brand,” Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan – who led the charge – Chuck Schumer, Angela Alsobrooks, Ron Wyden, Mark Warner and Ben Ray Luján wrote in the Sept. 10 letter obtained by USA TODAY. (Condon, 9/11)

In related news about vaccines —

Florida Trident: Cancer Advocates Join Physician Groups To Defend Vax Mandates  Advocates for cancer patients and cancer survivors have joined Florida medical associations in objecting to a revived state Department of Health plan to strike four longstanding vaccine mandates that the advocates say are safe and lifesaving. (Cassels, 9/14)

On Legionnaires’ disease —

The New York Times: Legionella Bacteria Found In Cooling Tower At Yankee Stadium  Legionella bacteria have been detected in a cooling tower at Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx, New York City health officials said on Sunday afternoon. The neighborhood has been grappling with a recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has killed one person and infected nine others. (Fitzsimmons, 9/13)

CIDRAP: Study Highlights Role Of Climate In Rising US Incidence Of Legionellosis In two neighborhoods in Manhattan this summer, 94 people were sickened, and 11 died, in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. It was the second summer in a row that New York City had experienced a cluster of cases of the severe type of pneumonia, which can cause lung failure and death. Both outbreaks were linked to cooling towers in the city’s large apartment buildings and office towers that had been contaminated with Legionella bacteria. (Dall, 9/11)

On cyclospora, West Nile virus, dengue, and Ebola —

Axios: Cyclospora Outbreak Over, CDC Says The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the cyclospora outbreak related to Taylor Farms lettuce over Friday, though the Food and Drug Administration says its investigation remains ongoing. (Lotz, 9/11)

CIDRAP: Most Americans Know Mosquitoes Cause Disease, But Few Know How To Use Bug Spray Properly, Survey Finds Although more than eight in 10 adults know that avoiding mosquito bites is the best way to avoid West Nile virus and dengue fever, far fewer know how to select and correctly apply insect repellent, a new national survey shows. Nearly two-thirds say they try to prevent mosquito bites through methods such as wearing bug spray or long-sleeved shirts when outdoors, removing standing water from around the home, and maintaining window screens, according to an Annenberg Science and Public Health survey published yesterday. (Szabo, 9/11)

CIDRAP: DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak Spreads To 7th Province As Cases, Deaths Mount The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread to a seventh province as cases rise to 6,843, including 3,310 deaths, according to media reports today. The newly affected province, Sud-Ubangi, is in the northwestern DRC, on the border with the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville. A male Ebola patient who became ill in Tshopo province died in Sud-Ubangi after traveling through Rwanda and Uganda and across several provinces, some of them which have not reported cases, Acting Sud-Ubangi Governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe told reporters yesterday. (Van Beusekom, 9/11)

PHARMACEUTICALS6. GLP-1s May Be Linked To Rare Brain Disorder Caused By B1 Deficiency 

Although the study cannot prove that the medications caused the condition, researchers reported more cases of Wernicke encephalopathy in those taking GLP-1 medications than other drugs. Experts warn that while the drug shrinks your appetite, your body’s requirements remain the same, which makes it easier for some people to suffer vitamin deficiencies, Fox News reported.

Fox News: Ozempic And Wegovy May Cause Rare Brain Disorder, New Study Warns Researchers are warning about a rare but potentially life-threatening brain condition that may be linked to popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications. A new study, published in Clinical Nutrition, identified 15 reported cases of Wernicke encephalopathy, a neurological disorder caused by severe vitamin B1 deficiency, in people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists. Most of the reported cases involved semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, or tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound. (McGreal, 9/13)

The Hill: Weight Regain After GLP-1 Use Tied To Higher Rates Of Suicidal Thoughts, Study Shows People who used prescription weight loss medication and later regained the weight reported suicidal thoughts at more than four times the rate of people who never took the drugs, a new study found. Researchers led by Dr. Son Ki-young, a family medicine professor at Asan Medical Center, analyzed data from 27,741 adults — 10,908 men and 16,833 women — who took part in a national health survey between 2013 and 2022. (Menezes, 9/11)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

Stat: Scholar Rock Therapy Drug To Treat SMA Wins Approval By FDA  Scholar Rock on Friday received Food and Drug Administration approval for the first-ever therapy that targets the loss of muscle in spinal muscle atrophy, raising hopes that patients with the rare neurological disorder might have a better chance of moving and walking independently. (Wosen, 9/11)

Stat: Breast Cancer Pill From AstraZeneca Misses Mark In Pivotal Study AstraZeneca said Friday that a breast cancer pill failed in a pivotal trial testing it as a first-line therapy in advanced tumors, a result that could limit the use of the medicine. (Joseph, 9/12)

AP: Alzheimer’s Blood Tests Are Emerging But If You Don’t Have Symptoms, Just Focus On Your Health New blood tests that might predict Alzheimer’s years before symptoms begin may sound tantalizing for people who worry about later-in-life dementia. But doctors say they aren’t quite ready yet — and besides, you don’t need a test before trying to lower your risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared four blood tests to help doctors diagnose whether Alzheimer’s — not another kind of dementia or something else — is behind someone’s memory problems or other cognitive symptoms. (Neergaard, 9/12)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Johnson & Johnson Demands 340B Claims Data From Providers Johnson & Johnson will require claims-level data from 340B Drug Pricing Program participants starting next Tuesday, the drugmaker announced in a notice to providers. Safety-net providers that qualify for 340B, which offers price reductions up to 50%, must submit these data to receive upfront discounts, Johnson & Johnson wrote in a memo dated Sept. 4. Noncompliance will risk providers’ access to lower costs for the company’s medicines. HIV/AIDS programs are exempt. (Early, 9/11)

Stat: Novo Nordisk Rebrands As ‘Novo,’ Part Of A Culture Shift It’ll be the company formerly known as Novo Nordisk. The Danish firm, whose diabetes and obesity drugs have become household names, said Monday it would embrace “Novo” as its new brand, part of a culture shifts that aims to signal the company will “move ahead with greater focus, speed, and impact.” (Joseph, 9/14)

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH7. At Congressional Hearing This Week, Senator Will Put Oft-Taboo Topic Of Menopause Front And Center 

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York will lead a panel hearing on the menopause care gap and intends to press for federal funding to research a topic that affects millions. “The lack of good treatments and medicines and options and attention is relevant to 75 million people,” she said.

The New York Times: As Midterms Rage, Gillibrand Wants Congress To Talk Menopause  As the Democrat in charge of her party’s intensive effort to win the Senate majority, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has a challenging job. But on Thursday, Ms. Gillibrand plans to use her platform to spotlight an issue that has been absent from the campaign trail and little discussed in Washington, convening the first-ever congressional hearing on menopause. (Karni, 9/14)

More news about menopause —

University of Colorado Anschutz: Menopause Is Missing From Most Electronic Health Records, Study Finds Menopause is frequently missing from women’s electronic health records, according to a University of Colorado Anschutz study of nearly 396,000 women participating in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program. Researchers found that menopause appeared nearly seven times more often in participant surveys than in electronic health records (EHRs). The findings, published in Menopause, highlight both the potential of large-scale research programs to improve understanding of menopause and the need to routinely capture reproductive health information. (Pieters, 9/8)

USA Today: Doctors Told Women To Use This Medicine For Menopause. Pharmacies Can’t Keep It In Stock For almost a year, women have struggled to find estrogen patches to treat their menopause symptoms. And for almost a year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told women there is no shortage of patches, even as the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists documents that there are almost 20 estrogen patch formulations impacted by the shortage, double the number from earlier this year. Now the FDA has acknowledged that many women are not able to get their estrogen patches and its leaders are working with six manufacturers to increase supply. (Trujillo, 9/10)

Prison Policy Initiative: Inevitable Yet Ignored: Prison Policies Disregard The Realities Of Menopause Behind Bars  Because the U.S. prison system was primarily designed to incarcerate men, women’s particular healthcare needs are often ignored. Currently, there are no existing national or international standards of care for menopause in prison. Our analysis of prison policies in every state, Washington, D.C., and the federal Bureau of Prisons produced little information about menopause in department of corrections’ policies, including in policy handbooks specifically for women’s prisons. We found mentions of “menopause” in only ten states’ documentation, and of those, none spell out what medical care, education, or resources prison officials provide to people experiencing perimenopause or menopause. (Widra, 9/1)

Live Science: Brain Shrinkage Tied To Aging ‘Pauses’ As A Woman Nears Menopause, Study Finds The brain undergoes dramatic changes during puberty and pregnancy, but during menopause, the organ’s structure remains remarkably stable, a new study suggests. (Barger, 9/11)

The New York Times: Should You Get A DEXA Scan At Menopause? What To Know About Bone Density Tests.  The American Medical Association recommends that women get their first DEXA scan — a low-dose X-ray that is the gold standard test for determining bone density — at 65 or older, unless they have a risk factor for osteoporosis. But a growing number of doctors and bone health experts now recommend earlier scans. They argue that if women wait until 65, they may miss a critical window to prevent osteoporosis. (Friedman, 9/10)

In other reproductive and maternal health news —

Rogue Valley Times: Fired NICU Doctors Push For Changes Inside Asante Leadership  Families of recent patients of the Medford, Oregon, region’s only NICU — which provides care for critically ill and premature infants born as early as 22 weeks and weighing less than 1 pound — voiced concerns about quality and consistency of care under a host of recent changes, including replacement of an established team of NICU doctors with temporary providers. (Pollock, 8/24)

Wyoming Public Radio: In Wyoming, A First-Ever Maternal Health Summit Hopes To Fill Gaps  Wyoming’s first-ever maternal health summit drew more than 150 caregivers, public officials and advocates from across the Mountain West to discuss solutions to fill gaps in rural healthcare. (Merzbach, 9/11)

The New York Times: A Gender War Explodes In Utah Over The Courts, Abortion And Representation  When Republicans tried to repeal a law that voters passed banning gerrymandering, they found an opposition that flew in the face of Utah women’s “tradwives” imagery. (Zernike, 9/13)

Wyoming Public Radio: Pregnant Rural Residents Could Have To Drive Longer Distances For Care  Residents in rural areas already drive long distances to deliver their babies. Now, a new analysis has found that they could have to drive a lot further because of cuts to Medicaid insurance. (Merzbach, 9/11)

NPR: Tatyana Ali Advocates For Black And Indigenous Maternal Health Actor and singer Tatyana Ali has become an important voice in a growing movement to improve maternity health outcomes for Black and Indigenous mothers and babies by addressing systemic racism and inequity in maternity care. Ali has been calling for reproductive justice since experiencing what she calls “obstetric violence” during the delivery of her first-born son Aszi in 2016. (Wright, 9/13)

Also —

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