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A few weeks ago, when Vicki Stearn, 68, tried to schedule a virtual visit with her doctor, she was told Medicare — at least temporarily — stopped paying for telehealth appointments when the government shut down. So Stearn was offered a choice: Make an in-person appointment, or pay out of pocket for telehealth. "So I said, 'OK, well, when can I get an in-person appointment?' And it wouldn't have been until December." (Noguchi, 11/6)

Five weeks into the lengthiest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, the healthcare system is mostly operating as usual but safety-net providers and others are feeling the squeeze. Medicare, Medicaid and the health insurance exchanges are not fully impacted by the shutdown that began Oct. 1 because the Health and Human Services Department has access to mandatory funding and other sources of money to keep them running. (Early, 11/5)

Most healthcare IT vendors say they’ve had ongoing procurements paused as hospitals facing cashflow issues due to the shutdown reconsider their spending, Black Book Research recently reported. Citing a poll of 107 business development leaders offering IT and services to healthcare organizations, which was fielded in the final week of October, the market research group outlined signs that buyers are shifting their spend to “must-haves” and other offerings with near-immediate return on investment. Some respondents told Black Book they’ve already shifted their sales strategies to address their customers’ tightened budgets and new priorities. (Muoio, 11/5)

On SNAP benefits and ACA enrollment —

The Trump administration faces a new challenge in the battle over food assistance benefits amid a federal funding lapse — a lawsuit filed by recipients who say they’re in danger of going hungry. The proposed class-action suit comes as the administration has sent conflicting signals about whether it will comply with court orders to continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, that serves 42 million low-income people. (Burnson, 11/5)

The Baltimore City phone system experienced intermittent outages and longer hold times Wednesday because of a high volume of residents calling for SNAP and food assistance, the Baltimore City Comptroller’s Office said. (Pryce, 11/5)

As the government shut down continues, Missouri recipients of federal food assistance will soon receive partial benefits for the month of November, according to the Department of Social Services. In a news release Wednesday afternoon, DSS announced that the state had received guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which allowed for partial funding of this month’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. (Bauer, 11/5)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Farmers, Barbers, And GOP Lawmakers Grapple With The Fate Of ACA Tax Credits
John Cleveland is ready to pay a lot more for his health insurance next year. He hasn’t forgotten the pile of hospital bills that awaited him after he had a seizure while tending to customers in his Austin, Texas, barbershop four years ago. Once doctors hurriedly removed the dangerous tumor growing on his brain, a weeklong hospital stay, months of therapy, and nearly $250,000 worth of medical expenses followed. The coverage he has purchased for years through the Affordable Care Act marketplace covered most of those bills. (Seitz, 11/6)

Some health insurance companies suffered enough political drama and rising costs that they bailed on the exchanges for next year. At least six insurers, most notably CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, that sold marketplace plans this year aren’t participating during the 2026 open enrollment period, which began Saturday and ends Jan. 15 in most states. Ascension Personalized Care, the now-defunct insurance arm of St. Louis-based Ascension, was the sole carrier to quit the exchanges between 2024 and 2025, according to an analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data from the consulting firm Evensun Health. (Tepper, 11/5)

In related news on layoffs and health insurance —

Layoffs accelerated in October, pushing 2025 job cuts to levels typically seen in recessions, according to newly released data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a private firm that tracks workplace reductions. (Bhattarai, 11/6)

Impact of understaffing, facility closures and waiting times has been "dire" under Trump’s second term, medical workers say. (Baram, 11/3)

VA vowed to modernize its disability benefits system. As criticism from veterans and their advocates has mounted, efforts to move forward have stalled. (Rein, Whitlock and Gilbert, 11/6)

The number of vets receiving 100 percent disability ratings has surged in recent years. For-profit firms, influencers and the VA play a large role in the trend. (Rein, Whitlock, Gilbert and Schaffer, 11/5)

What Happened: More than two dozen Democrats in the House are pressing the Trump administration to reverse a new policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs that makes it harder for male veterans with breast cancer to get health coverage. The demand, issued in a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, follows a ProPublica story last week that revealed the change. (Umansky, 11/6)

The new regulations have restricted shaving waivers as well, allowing them for religious accommodations and only temporary ones for medical conditions. Those waivers must now be approved by unit commanders. (Stassis, 11/4)

Federal appeals court judges’ questions and comments during a hearing Wednesday suggested they may be skeptical of some of the Trump administration’s central arguments in a lawsuit challenging its proposed changes to research overhead payments. (Wosen, 11/5)

More health industry news from the Trump administration —

Nonprofit hospitals and health clinics are alarmed about a change that's coming to federal drug purchasing discounts next year. They'll have to pay up front and then get rebates — rather than direct price cuts — in a pilot with eight pharmaceutical companies. The new system, greenlit by the Trump administration, is a win for drugmakers, and it could be a big hassle for providers. (Goldman, 11/6)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: White House Calls This 9/11-Era Fund ‘Wasteful.’ Red And Blue States Rely On It
President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate a federal disaster preparedness program threatens a fund used by state health systems from Republican-led Texas to the Democratic stronghold of California. The Hospital Preparedness Program was created more than two decades ago in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the deadly anthrax attacks that began days later. The fund has provided nearly $2.2 billion to states, territories, major cities, and other entities over the past 17 years to ready health care systems for the next pandemic, cyberattack, or mass-casualty event. (Thompson, 11/6)

In other updates —

It’s not shaping up to be a banner year for healthcare mergers and acquisitions. The number of deals that closed during the first three quarters of the year totaled 1,015, a 17.5% drop compared with 1,230 recorded during the same period in 2024, based on data from Modern Healthcare’s Mergers & Acquisitions dashboard. Deal-making this year has been affected by uncertainties about policy, regulation and the economy, according to Baker Donelson, KPMG and Ziegler, which provided the data. (Broderick, 11/5)

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office reached a $200,000 settlement with Patapsco Healthcare in Randallstown after investigators found that residents at the nursing home received substandard care that violated state law. (Karpovich, 11/5)

Carrum Health launched a substance use disorder treatment program for employers a year ago and has now expanded it to include cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine as employer demand surges. (Landi, 11/5)

A case that could redefine abortion access in Pennsylvania was argued before the state’s Commonwealth Court Wednesday. Abortion clinics are challenging the state’s restrictions on Medicaid coverage for abortion, and argue such limits are unconstitutional and discriminatory. Although the lawsuit primarily concerns who should bear the cost of an abortion, much of Wednesday’s proceedings focused on whether Pennsylvania women have a constitutional right to abortion care at all. (Koscinski, 11/6)

A bill that seeks to exempt certain medical procedures from the definition of abortion in state law aims to provide clarity and reduce stigma for women treated for conditions including miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies, its authors told a legislative committee during a Nov. 5 public hearing. The measure has drawn criticism from Democrats, who argue it is an invasion of medical ethics, and a veto pledge from Gov. Tony Evers, who opposes any effort to restrict access to abortion. (Opoien, 11/5)

Democrats’ commanding victories have breathed new life into the reproductive health fight. (Sherman, 11/6)

Imagine this: You’re pregnant and a nonprofit gives you $1,125. You can spend it on anything: prenatal care, transportation to appointments, a crib for your new baby. After you give birth, more cash is on the way each month: $750 for the first 15 months of the baby’s life, and $375 for the following 21 months. Over the course of three years, you receive about $20,000 to support your family. For 100 moms in Indianapolis, this is about to be a reality. (Molloy, 11/5)

On C-sections —

Round-the-clock fetal monitoring leads to unnecessary C-sections. But it’s used in nearly every birth because of business and legal concerns, The Times found. (Kliff, 11/6)

Placenta accreta is a life-threatening condition in which the placenta attaches to scar tissue left by a C-section. It used to be extremely rare. (Kliff and Pallaro, 11/6)

American inspections of foreign food facilities — which produce everything from crawfish to cookies for the U.S. market — have plummeted to historic lows this year, a ProPublica analysis of federal data shows, even as inspections reveal alarming conditions at some manufacturers. About two dozen current and former Food and Drug Administration officials blame the pullback on deep staffing cuts under the Trump administration. (Waldman and Roberts, 11/6)

Opium farming in Afghanistan has dropped significantly following a ban imposed by the Taliban government in 2022, the United Nations said. The total area of land for growing opium poppy shrank 20% since last year, while the amount of opium has fallen by 32% over the same period, the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime said in a survey. Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, with heroin made from Afghan opium making up 95% of the market in Europe. (Bell and Limaye, 11/6)

Wealth alone doesn't make a nation healthy, according to new collaborative research from the University of Surrey and its international partners, which ranks 38 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries on their progress toward global health goals. The study, published in Annals of Operations Research, shows that some of the world's wealthiest nations, including the United States and Canada, lag behind smaller economies in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3)—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all. Meanwhile, countries such as Iceland, Japan and Norway lead the way, supported by robust health systems and equitable access to care. (Gould, 11/5)

Daniel Owen, 47, and his son, Cooper, 15, died after being stung dozens of times last month by what appeared to be so-called murder hornets. (Cave and Wee, 11/5)

Radiation has long played a role in the treatment of breast cancer, though doctors have used it more sparingly in early-stage disease in recent years, as advances in diagnostics and treatment have improved survival rates. Now a new study with an unusually long follow-up period has found that radiation to the chest wall made absolutely no difference in survival among women with early-stage breast cancer who had been treated with mastectomy, lymph-node surgery and advanced anti-cancer drugs. (Caryn Rabin, 11/5)

At 69 years old, Debby Orcutt was diagnosed last year with pancreatic cancer, a condition so dire that her doctor refused to tell her how long she had to live. With few good options, she enrolled in a clinical trial for an experimental drug. “I just looked at it like, what have I got to lose?” she said. “I’m gonna die.” A scan last week showed her tumor had shrunk 64 percent since starting the drug in January, according to her husband. It is the sort of clinical evidence that is stirring optimism and has prompted the Trump administration to put it on a novel path for rapid approval. (Gilbert, 11/5)

A new study found links between a toxic dry cleaning chemical and liver cancer. Trump officials are reconsidering an EPA plan to phase it out. (Ajasa, 11/6)

Those silver strands could be an outward sign of the body’s own intricate defenses against cancer, a recent study in mice has shown. (Stebbing, 11/5)

This month, tens thousands of white flags have been planted on the National Mall to memorialize the 120,000 Americans who die from lung cancer every year. (Segraves, 11/5)

In other pharma and tech news —

U.S. health regulators on Wednesday sent warning letters to 18 websites selling counterfeit or unapproved versions of Botox and similar injectable drugs commonly used to smooth wrinkles. The Food and Drug Administration said it was taking action after receiving reports of injuries in connection with the products, including toxic side effects. Botox is a diluted, purified form of botulinum, one of the most toxic substances in the world. The ingredient works by temporarily blocking nerve signals and causing muscles to relax. (Perrone, 11/6)

The FDA approved linaclotide (Linzess) capsules to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in children age 7 years and older, the agency announced Wednesday. The decision makes the guanylate cyclase-C agonist the first treatment approved for IBS-C in pediatric patients, with a recommended dose of 145 µg orally once daily per linaclotide's updated label. (McCreary, 11/5)

A judge denied Pfizer Inc.’s request to temporarily block Novo Nordisk A/S’ $10 billion bid to acquire the obesity startup Metsera Inc., saying the US pharmaceutical company’s objections to the deal don’t warrant a delay. Delaware Chancery Judge Morgan Zurn concluded Wednesday that Pfizer didn’t level legitimate complaints about Novo’s effort to supplant it as New York-based Metsera’s buyer and refused to bar the Danish company from proceeding with the transaction. (Feeley, 11/5)

Dexcom recalled its Android app for G6 and G6 Pro continuous glucose monitoring systems due to a software flaw that can cause it to shut down unexpectedly. The Food and Drug Administration labeled the action a Class I recall, the most serious kind. The issue means the user might not receive estimated glucose values, alarms, alerts or notifications, the FDA said. This could lead to a failure to detect a hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic event, potentially resulting in severe hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis or a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, the agency said. (Dubinsky, 11/5)

The sequence of chronic conditions before COVID-19 infection—rather than any single condition—may best predict the development of persistent symptoms, a study of Catalonians in northeastern Spain reveals. (Van Beusekom, 11/5)

Rare vascular and inflammatory conditions such as blood clots, myocarditis, and pericarditis occur more often in children after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination against the disease, UK researchers suggest in a study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. The largest of its kind, the study analyzed linked electronic health records for nearly all (13.9 million) children in England. (Van Beusekom, 11/5)

Also —

Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) may be slightly better than urinary protein-creatinine ratio (UPCR) at predicting kidney failure-related clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD), a patient-level meta-analysis suggested. (Monaco, 11/3)

The study of nearly 350,000 adults who were administered surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) before undergoing a major surgical procedure found that use of non–beta lactam antibiotics was associated with a nearly twofold increase in the surgical-site infection (SSI) rate compared with those who received SAP with beta-lactam antibiotics. (Dall, 11/3)

I say this as a parent: Day care is great. Good programs enhance children’s cognitive development and school readiness, increasing educational attainment and improving health outcomes decades later. There’s “a mountain of scientific evidence that the early years are the most important,” Philip Fisher, the director of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, told me. (Annie Lowrey, 11/5)

Research from public health and nutrition experts — including recent studies in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — has shown that older adults who maintain consistent nutrition have lower hospital readmission rates and fewer chronic-disease complications, saving taxpayers money in the long run. Yet too often, public policy focuses on short-term budgets rather than long-term health. (Candice Reed, 11/5)

Say this for Gov. Mike Kehoe and the rest of the GOP power structure that controls Missouri: They have shown lately that when they decide to get something done, they can do it. Steal a U.S. House seat with an unprecedented re-gerrymandering stunt ordered by the White House? Check. Gut the voters’ ability to go around the Legislature by sabotaging the ballot-initiative process? Check. Move to reimpose a draconian abortion ban that those voters overturned just last year? Check. (11/4)

Rahm Emanuel was our mayor. He was the U.S. ambassador to Japan. He’s a possible presidential candidate. He’s also a domestic violence advocate. Emanuel has co-founded ​​the WINGS Men’s Alliance to End Domestic Violence alongside attorney John Sciaccotta, and the group’s mission is to mobilize men as allies, advocates and leaders to help end domestic violence by promoting accountability, compassion and respect in all relationships. “It’s time for every brother, son, uncle, and father to take responsibility for ending violence in our homes and communities,” Emanuel posted on X last Friday. (11/5)

Ethan Benard hit 660 pounds and decided to share his weight loss on social media. It got him sponsorships and fame. But also unkind comments from strangers. (Monica Hesse, 11/6)