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The next phase of DOJ’s fight on gender-affirming care

March 06, 2026
March 6, 2026
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Disability in Health Care Reporting Fellow

Happy Friday. Alex Hogan's latest video (an excellent romp into the new semaglutide pills) sent me tumbling down a rabbit hole that ended with Monty Norman, the guy who composed the James Bond theme song.

How did I get there? Watch the video.

POLITICS

The next phase of DOJ's fight against gender-affirming care

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Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images

Oral arguments start today in a Ninth Circuit court case that could determine whether the Justice Department is able to access patient records — including names, Social Security numbers, and diagnoses — from telehealth company QueerDoc. 

This case is part of a suite of 20 subpoenas that the DOJ sent to clinics and doctors that provide medication or surgery to young trans people. Federal officials are appealing a district judge's October ruling that stopped the subpoena issued to QueerDoc. It's the latest development in the Trump administration's crusade against pediatric gender-affirming treatment, which has led to many hospitals pausing or ending this lifesaving care.

Legal experts say this first case could influence the Justice Department's strategy in the other appeals, which are likely to last through the end of the year. STAT's Theresa Gaffney has you covered from tip to tail on the case, its likely outcome, and future implications. 

HEALTH TECH

Should patient health data be treated like a public utility?

Last year, HHS quietly proposed a revolutionary approach to public health: patient data as a commodity that fosters innovation and progress, much like electricity powers our homes. Why not treat patients' interactions with the health care system as a natural resource?

A group of researchers and companies echoed this idea on Thursday in a piece published in Science. If health data were treated more like the valuable commodity it is, they argue, the individuals whose care creates it should have the ability to understand what's being done with it and to mediate access. It should be governed and guarded like a public utility to ensure that it can't be exploited. 

STAT's Katie Palmer spoke with one of the Science piece's co-authors Alastair Thomson, the former chief data officer of ARPA-H. Where did this idea come from? How realistic is it? Read more.

POLLING

Americans trust Fauci more than RFK Jr.

Americans have more confidence and trust in professional health associations and career scientists at federal health agencies compared to the political appointees who lead them, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

The survey, conducted in February among 1,650 U.S. adults, had several notable findings. Two-thirds of respondents said they have confidence in career scientists working at U.S. federal health agencies, compared with 43% who have confidence in agency leaders. 

Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, ranked more favorably in the public's eyes than both health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Lots of interesting data points in this poll — you should take a look yourself.

STATUS REPORT

Licensed to pill

STAT/Alex Hogan

If you get Morning Rounds, you've likely read our many explanations for how semaglutide shots like Ozempic have revolutionized obesity care. But the pill version of these drugs from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and others could further upend how we treat weight loss. Alex Hogan with another great STATus Report video — and maybe his best title yet?

Also, Alex answers an important question: is Novo Nordisk trolling Hims & Hers with their latest advertisement?

AUTISM

The impact of Trump's 'Don't take Tylenol'

Acetaminophen use in emergency departments for pregnant women plummeted in the wake of last year's press conference in which President Trump and his health officials cautioned against the use of the drug, according to a new study published yesterday.

Health officials said taking the painkiller increased the risk of having a kid with autism, even though the scientific consensus finds no link and untreated fevers carry their own risks to the pregnant person and the neurodevelopment of the fetus. Researchers found that orders of the painkiller decreased in the twelve weeks after the announcement — just as outpatient prescriptions of leucovorin, a little-known cancer drug that has not shown broad effectiveness in alleviating autism symptoms, dramatically rose.

How significant were the drops and spikes? Read more from me.

MAHA

Medical schools will update their approach to nutrition education

More than 50 medical schools have agreed to revamp their nutrition education at the behest of the Trump administration. The agreements, unveiled Thursday, demonstrate the Make American Healthy Again movement's ability to find common ground with the medical establishment even as they spar over issues like vaccine policy, its leaders say.

The schools agreed to conduct a curriculum assessment, nominate a "faculty champion" to advance nutrition education, and post a public plan for getting to 40 hours of nutrition education or the equivalent starting in fall 2026.

Nutrition experts generally support strengthening education on the connections between diet and health, though some argue that the most important thing doctors can learn is to refer patients to registered dietitians and nutritionists with more specialized knowledge. Read more from STAT's Sarah Todd.

More around STAT
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What we're reading

  • What Jay Bhattacharya wants from the CDC, The Atlantic
  • When ICE came, Minneapolis created underground health networks. Should other cities?, NPR
  • How Stand Up For Science is trying to 'pull every lever' to win over the public, STAT
  • Trump's cuts to Medicaid threaten services that help disabled people live at home, KFF Health News

  • Down the disability data rabbit hole, Health API Guy

Thanks for reading! 
Rose

Timmy

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