STAT's magnum opus on HHS turmoil

A team of 10 reporters, led by Andrew Joseph, stepped back from the many stories STAT has written about the HHS layoffs, eliminated programs, and canceled funding to take stock of the turmoil.

They interviewed more than two dozen employees to describe the challenges that staff face, which are more dire than a mere downsizing of the workforce might suggest.

The story is full of details, including accounts of NIH staff scrounging for basic lab supplies, even food for research animals. The Trump administration insists it protected core functions at agencies. But it turns out that scientists can't do their jobs without the administrative support of employees who buy supplies and explain to the public and Congress what agencies are doing.

research funding

Finally, some positive news for research funding

STAT Megan Molteni scooped some positive news for proponents of federal medical research funding last week.

After being indefinitely suspended in the first days of the Trump administration, key National Institutes of Health committees that approve research grants have resumed meeting. It appears to reopen the spigot for billions of dollars in biomedical research funding to universities and medical schools.

But that doesn't mean everything is back to normal. Read more from Megan.

Medicaid

Trump is already cutting Medicaid spending

The Trump administration will no longer help states fund non-medical services that often are aimed at improving housing and nutrition for people in the Medicaid program.

Democrats warn that Republicans plan to drastically cut Medicaid funding to pay for Trump's tax cuts. Republicans accuse Democrats of handwringing. The administration's announcement last week shows that it is at least fine with cutting a relatively small amount of funds for services it does not consider to be a core part of the program.

Democrats say that providing Medicaid enrollees with social services can improve Medicaid and in some cases save the system money by avoiding other costs in the health care system, such as hospitalizations. The Trump administration says the programs divert resources from the services and people on which Medicaid should be focused.

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz also announced a ban on using Medicaid funds for some transition-related medical care for minors, such as surgeries or hormone treatments. Those are medical expenses, but the administration says they put vulnerable kids at risk of irreversible harm. Major medical associations support gender-affirming care.

Rfk Jr.

Mixed messages

You might have noticed in last week's DC Diagnosis that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the MMR vaccine is "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles."

That statement seemed to be a sign that Kennedy might be changing his tune on vaccines, and it angered Kennedy's anti-vaccine supporters. Days later, he returned to sowing doubt about some vaccines, beyond the measles shot, and arguing the government shouldn't mandate their use, Daniel Payne reports.

He also raised questions about what killed an 8-year-old girl whose death was attributed to measles by health officials, his latest remarks that downplay the threat of the virus.

Meanwhile, Kennedy and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz are headed to Indiana today to appear with Gov. Mike Braun to tout his Make Indiana Healthy Again effort. We'll be watching to see what they say.

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