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Steven Quay, a pharma executive known for his books making the case Covid came from a Chinese lab, is on the verge of getting Anthony Fauci’s old job. The post atop the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases comes with control over $6.5 billion in health research funding. Two people aware of the decision told POLITICO that Quay’s selection is still undergoing final vetting. POLITICO granted the two — one a senior HHS official, the other outside government — anonymity because the hire isn’t yet final. (Levien and Röhn, 8/4)

Senate Republicans' planned vote this week on whether to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress is the latest escalation in their attempt to right perceived COVID-era wrongs and further disempower the federal health care bureaucracy. (Owens, 8/5)

���ϳԹ��� News: Pediatricians And Health Departments Sidestep Trump’s CDC On Vaccine Guidance

For the last 30 years, whenever pediatrician John Snyder wanted to find the most up-to-date research on treating young patients, he would turn to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If he wanted to learn more about an outbreak of measles or hantavirus, he would pore over the weekly CDC report that came by email. If a patient’s family was traveling to Africa or Asia, he would check the latest CDC vaccine recommendations for overseas travel. And if a family was worried about potential side effects from a shot, he could always send them to the CDC’s website to bolster his argument to get the immunization. (Brown, 8/5)

The Trump administration advised states on Tuesday to place new restrictions on autism therapy providers to curb a sharp increase in Medicaid spending for a treatment that has raised concerns of waste and fraud. “We were seeing quite an explosion in costs,” Caprice Knapp, a top Medicaid official, told The New York Times, adding, “We want to make sure the profit motivation isn’t overtaking what’s in the best interest of children.” (Kliff, 8/4)

The Justice Department filed charges on Tuesday against Dr. Stephen Dubin, a doctor in Nevada, alleging that he orchestrated a $95 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved applying expensive and unnecessary wound coverings to elderly patients. Dr. Dubin was included in a 2025 New York Times investigation into skin substitutes, bandages manufactured out of dehydrated placentas that cost thousands of dollars per square inch but have not been found to help most wounds heal any better than regular bandages. (Kliff, 8/4)

Excluding rare disease treatments from a Medicare pilot program to lower drug prices would wipe out much of the savings from retail drugs, according to a Harvard University researcher. (Wilkerson, 8/5)

The U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel has referred charges against a doctor accused of sexually abusing dozens of individuals over an approximate five-year period. On Aug. 3, charges were referred against Major. Blaine McGraw, an obstetrician gynecologist who was assigned to the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Ford Hood, Texas. His case includes nine total charges and 272 specifications that are alleged to have occurred on various occasions between 2021 and 2026. There are 93 total alleged victims. (Mordowanec, 8/4)

���ϳԹ��� News: ���ϳԹ��� News’ ‘An Arm and a Leg’: What’s Worrying Veteran Health Reporter Julie Rovner?

Julie Rovner, ���ϳԹ��� News’ chief Washington correspondent and host of the What the Health? podcast, joins An Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann to discuss the state of U.S. healthcare. Rovner talks about the fallout from Trump administration cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies. She also shares why she thinks healthcare will play a big role in the 2028 presidential election, and how she hopes her new podcast project — “How Would You Fix it?” — will contribute to the discussion. (8/5)

At a Senate Budget Committee hearing about the Medicaid program, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asked Andy Schneider, of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, whether states should be punished for cheating the Medicaid program out of money by letting non-eligible people stay enrolled, because more enrollees bring more Medicaid funds to the state. "Senator, I do not believe states are cheating," Schneider said. (Frieden, 8/5)

Makers of hemp THC products were thrown a lifeline when senators in a stopgap spending bill included a delay of a federal ban on their products. The Senate’s government funding bill set to be considered this week would delay the upcoming prohibition on most hemp-derived THC products until Dec. 11. Hemp industry groups and their allies touted the provision as a significant win that would give them more time to convince lawmakers to regulate their products, rather than ban them by closing the so-called “hemp loophole.” (Weixel, 8/4)

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee launched an inquiry into the Trump administration’s recent actions on flavored vapes and kratom products, alleging a pattern of quid pro quos after the tobacco and kratom industries made large donations to the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Todd, 8/5)

Health officials are investigating jalapenos served at Chipotle restaurants as a possible source of a recent salmonella outbreak, the company confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday. Chipotle told ABC News the ingredient was distributed to several food service retailers across multiple states. The company said it removed the jalapenos from select restaurants. ... The officials said that among the 84 cases interviewed so far, 75 reported eating at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14. Others reported eating "at a variety of other Mexican-style restaurants," they added. (Benadjaoud, Schulze and Yu, 8/4)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding the largest known cyclosporiasis outbreak to 15 states, adding six states where illnesses have been traced to shredded iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, according to three individuals familiar with the investigation. Missouri, which is reporting 1,095 cases, is one of the states being added, according to a state health department spokesperson. The number of state cases jumped dramatically in the past week. Patients who were interviewed at length by state and local investigators said they consumed Taco Bell before getting sick, spokesperson Lisa Cox said. (Sun and Roubein, 8/4)

Health officials in the U.K. are reporting a "sharp rise" in cyclosporiasis cases among travelers returning from Mexico. Between April 30 and July 15, 67 cases have been reported among some returning travelers in England, Wales and Scotland, according to data published last week from the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Comparatively, an annual average of 93 cases has been recorded between 2022 and 2025, UKHSA data shows. (Kekatos, 8/4)

A USF expert says Americans' dependence on imported produce means the country might need to intervene to ensure it's safe. (Avlonitis, 8/5)

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other relevant federal agencies could strengthen its ability to detect emerging infectious disease (EID) threats by improving collaboration across agencies, strengthening data quality and infrastructure, optimizing surveillance methods, and improving public messaging. The report comes as EIDs such as COVID-19, H5N1 avian influenza, and measles challenge public health systems. (Bergeson, 8/4)

The total economic cost of New Mexico's 2025 measles outbreak was $5.4 million, according to an analysis published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. That comes out to $53,522 per person infected with the airborne virus that causes the disease. New Mexico's outbreak, which occurred from February through September 2025, resulted in 100 confirmed cases of measles, including seven hospitalizations and one death. Of those infected, 53% were aged 18 years or older and 85% were unvaccinated. (Boden, 8/4)

Covid-19 has killed more than a million people in the United States, but in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that lockdowns were “the thing that did the most damage to our country.” (McPhillips, 8/4)

A cybersecurity incident last week has led to the ongoing closure of several AnMed facilities in South Carolina. The malware-related issue affected phone, internet and computer systems, according to a July 27 news release from the health system. Patient access to electronic health records has also been disrupted. AnMed has been working with unnamed third-party cybersecurity specialists as well as state and federal authorities to address the problem. (DeSilva, 8/4)

UnitedHealthcare is rolling out new reimbursement limits on five categories of lab tests across its commercial, ACA, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans. The five policies cover allergen testing, liver fibrosis testing, in vitro chemotherapy sensitivity assays, testosterone blood tests and vitamin B12 testing. (Emerson, 8/4)

Effective Saturday, a new four-year contract will keep Blue Shield of California members in-network with all Dignity health hospitals, facilities and providers throughout the state, according to a news release from CommonSpirit Health, Dignity’s parent nonprofit. (Lynch, 8/4)

HCA Healthcare has acquired 40 Texas MedClinic urgent care centers. Financial details and terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquired Texas facilities include eight in Houston that will be rebranded under the system’s CareNow urgent care division, according to an Aug. 3 LinkedIn post from Tyler Laymon, vice president of strategic growth at HCA Healthcare. (DeSilva, 8/4)

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Complete Health agreed to pay $14.1 million in a settlement to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act to increase Medicare Advantage program payments. The settlement resolves allegations from 2020 to 2023 that the company submitted diagnoses within two Hierarchical Condition Codes (HCC) that were incorrect, according to an Aug. 3 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. (Gleeson, 8/4)

Cleveland Clinic just launched a drone delivery program for prescription drugs and already is talking about using the technology to send other items to patients and between its own facilities. Drone delivery in healthcare is not new, but moving a prescription delivery program past the pilot stage represents a new phase for health systems’ use of the autonomous aerial vehicles. Companies including Amazon Pharmacy and Matternet have explored drones’ use in healthcare, with Amazon piloting prescription deliveries in College Station, Texas, in 2023 and drone delivery platform Matternet transporting blood samples, lab materials and supplies between healthcare facilities. (Dubinsky, 8/4)

Danaher Corp. named its next president and CEO following its acquisition of Masimo Corp., which this week announced its own new president. Danaher in a Monday news release said Julie Sawyer Montgomery, executive vice president of its diagnostics division, will take over as president and CEO Oct. 1. The same day, Masimo in a separate release named Tim Benner as president of the patient monitoring company. (DeSilva, 8/4)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday granted marketing authorization to four new flavored nicotine pouches as part of the agency’s tobacco review pilot program launched last year. Four nicotine pouch products — Rich Berry 2 mg, Cappuccino 2 mg, Cappuccino 4 mg and Autumn Spice 2 mg — from Helix Innovations LLC received marketing authorization from the FDA. The authorizations are part of the agency’s pilot program launched in September 2025 meant to “streamline the review process for premarket tobacco product applications.” (Choi, 8/4)

It comes in flavors like "Cool Mint," "Smooth," and "Chill." It's on the Ferrari F1 race car. And it's addictive. A paperclip-sized pouch filled with bleach-white fibers and nicotine crystals placed between the lip and gum, leeches nicotine and other chemicals into the user's bloodstream — allowing anyone to use nicotine discreetly. (Kim, 8/5)

Procter & Gamble Co. won the bidding war for supplement maker Thorne in a deal valued at $3.8 billion. L Catterton, which took the company private in 2023, said the all cash transaction is set to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a statement Tuesday. (Brown, 8/4)

Aurora Therapeutics, a startup focused on building personalized gene-editing drugs, has scrapped its lead program and slashed staff, just seven months after it launched, STAT has learned. (Mast and DeAngelis, 8/4)

A peptide vaccine targeting KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer showed preliminary evidence of activity in a small study of high-risk patients. The vaccine elicited KRAS-specific T-cell responses in 18 of 20 patients with mutations associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). (Bankhead, 8/4)

With more than 333,000 new cases every year, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the U.S., and by far the most common among men. It is also the least deadly: Only about 4% of prostate cancers end up being lethal, and the 5-year survival rate is about 99%. (Merelli, 8/5)

A meta-analysis of 11 studies concludes that self-testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) using urine or vaginal samples accurately detects pre-cancerous cells caused by HPV, also known as high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL+). This paper, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, reinforces the precision of self-collection testing for HPV, which could increase access to screening. (Holohan, 8/4)

Respiratory therapist Marcy Freeman doesn't need a research study to confirm for her a return to the dark days of coal mining. She finds evidence in a stack of more than 150 funeral programs, all for former patients at her pulmonary rehabilitation clinic in Norton, Virginia. "Each one of these represents a life that's gone because of black lung," Freeman explained as she flipped through the programs, recognizing names and images. (Berkes and Hicks, 8/5)

The 1,600-bed prison has been closed since 2010. Contractors started repairs on the facility last fall. (Magan, 8/4)

Illinois lawmakers are calling for changes at the Joliet Treatment Center, after a Marshall Project, Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ investigation exposed an epidemic of fires that resulted in two deaths at the prison. In the last three years, there have been more than 70 fires at the prison, including a dozen cases of self-immolation, the investigation found. (Heffernan, 8/4)

An audit released Monday shows the state has made “substantial improvements” in efforts to inspect nursing homes and now meets federal requirements, State Auditor Rob Sand said. (Opsahl, 8/4)

Four years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the fight over abortion access continues to rage. At least four states will ask voters in November to enact or repeal constitutional amendments protecting abortion access. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected another attempt by abortion opponents to make pills for abortion more difficult to access — though other legal challenges are ongoing. (Herman and Gorenstein, 8/4)

A study from the New Hampshire Insurance Department released Monday found that women face challenges accessing appropriate healthcare due to provider shortages, concerns about healthcare affordability, and a low understanding of insurance coverage by participants of online surveys and group sessions. (Richardson, 8/4)

���ϳԹ��� News: Baltimore Is Rethinking What It Means To Call 911 — And Who Responds

In March in a McDonald’s parking lot off a busy street, mental health clinician Michala Williams met a 38-year-old woman in a car. “So, you called the police for help?” Williams asked the woman, who was sobbing uncontrollably and said she sometimes thinks about harming herself. (Maucione, 8/5)

From better access to health care to lower financial barriers to treatment, the benefits of Medicaid expansion have been well documented: reduced mortality rates for recipients, improved economies in expansion states and more people getting access to treatment for opioid use disorder. One thing, though, has not improved consistently in states that opened the government-funded health insurance coverage to more people under the Affordable Care Act: the firearm suicide rate among men. (Baxley, 8/5)

Jordan Salinas, 35, a healthcare worker and the full-time caregiver of his brother, who uses a wheelchair, had been horseback riding with his girlfriend the morning of the shooting when the couple pulled into the Twin Falls In-N-Out location for lunch and immediately noticed something amiss. ... He later said when he witnessed the 2021 mass shooting at the Boise Towne Square mall, in which two people were killed and several more were wounded, he noticed gunmen deliberately went after “soft targets.” The hero civilian reasoned that his role as a healthcare provider for his wheelchair-bound brother would make the duo sitting ducks in such a scenario. (Nesi, 8/3)

Cases of the neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, have risen in the U.S. over the last decade. (Bendix, 8/4)

German scientists have identified bacteria in cows’ digestive systems and manure that may help children avoid developing asthma. The catch: They have to inhale the germs. (Hille, 8/4)

For years, scientists have known that wildfire smoke is bad for people. Data published in the scientific journal Environmental Research shows that wildland firefighters have higher rates of mortality from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Now, for the first time, the Forest Service is recommending the use of N95 respirators in federal wildland firefighting, along with increased decontamination protocols in the forms of showers, gear cleaning and clean air recovery. (8/4)

Wildfires in central Oregon continue to funnel smoke into Southwest Idaho and the air quality in the Treasure Valley remains poor. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has issued several advisories since July 20. As local air quality readings remain in the unhealthy to hazardous range, what are the impacts of wildfire smoke exposure on people's health? (Luchetta, 8/4)

The proportion of new buprenorphine prescriptions for opioid use disorder (OUD) that were never dispensed or filled increased from 2020 to 2024, according to a retrospective cohort study. (Firth, 8/4)

Tiny, near-invisible fragments of plastic shed from the products we use every day through sunlight and mechanical wear have been quietly working their way deep into the human body. Microplastics have already been found in the human brain, semen and even the placenta. A recent study investigated how these micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) might move through the placenta and whether they affect a baby's development. (Mondal, 8/4)

On Wednesday, legislation that allows terminally ill New Yorkers to opt for an assisted suicide is set to come into effect. The state’s Medical Aid in Dying Act is the culmination of work by many — and a work of art may have paved the way. (Anna Magdalena Elsner and Vanessa Rampton, 8/5)

Wyoming has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. (German Lopez, 8/4)

By the time a patient arrives in an emergency room with chest pain, nobody asks whether the physician caring for them trained in an allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) medical school. Both physicians prescribe medications, perform procedures, lead hospital teams, and practice under the same state licenses. (Abigail MacKenzie and Vijay Rajput, 8/5)

“I would never forgive myself if I hadn’t tried.” So said new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he set out his mission to resolve the seemingly intractable question of how to fund adult social care in a rapidly aging, already over-taxed society. (Rosa Prince, 8/4)

The administration claims Medicare drug premiums have 'stabilized,' so it's going to let health insurers raise the premiums that enrollees pay. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/4)

I ate like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a week. The results were fascinating. (Willy Staley, 8/4)