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Health Care

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The Big Story

Measles cases see biggest rise in over a month

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 80 new measles cases this week, the biggest jump since April.

A total of 1,168 confirmed measles cases were reported in 34 states as of Thursday. The number of cases has quadrupled since 2024, when the country saw just 285 cases.

At the current rate, the U.S. will likely soon surpass the 1,274 cases from 2019, the highest annual number since the disease was eliminated in 2000. The 2019 outbreak was driven largely by spread among under-vaccinated communities in New York City and the state.

Measles was officially eliminated in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, but vaccinations have waned, and the 2019 outbreak threatened that status.

According to the CDC, vaccination coverage for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) among kindergarteners is below the 95 percent target — and much lower in some communities. And it’s decreasing. During the 2023 to 2024 school year, just under 93 percent of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine.

Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC said 95 percent are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

An outbreak has been spreading in West Texas, but has slowed in recent weeks. There have been 742 cases confirmed in the state since late January, but no new cases since Tuesday.

Many of the latest cases seem to be linked to travel, as the CDC reported 17 separate outbreaks. Of cases reported so far, 89 percent are linked to outbreaks, the agency said.

There have been three confirmed deaths this year. Two of them were unvaccinated children in Texas who had no known underlying conditions. A third death was reported in New Mexico in an unvaccinated adult who tested positive after dying.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to 9 out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Essential Reads

How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

FBI Director Kash Patel said in an interview this week that his agency made a “breakthrough” as it continues to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key player in the U.S.’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, Patel cautioned Fauci’s critics from expecting too much. “We just had a great breakthrough …

Full Story

Warren, Wyden warn Trump policies could ‘decimate retirees’ savings’

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) are pressing the Trump administration over the impact the president’s sweeping trade policies will have on the finances of retirees and people close to retirement. “The economic chaos triggered by President Trump’s disastrous tariff policy has the potential to decimate retirees’ savings,” they wrote in a letter to the White House on Friday that …

Full Story

Nearly 100 House Democrats urge RFK Jr. to restore millions in family planning grants

Nearly 100 House Democrats are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore tens of millions of dollars in federal family planning grants to more than a dozen organizations that have been frozen for more than two months. In a letter to Kennedy sent Friday and seen first by The Hill, 95 lawmakers said the organizations that had their Title X funding frozen on March 31 — including …

Full Story

In Other News

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Agencies they can’t enforce anti-trans bias policies against Catholic groups: Judge

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two federal agencies cannot punish Catholic employers and health care providers if they refuse for religious reasons to provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients or won’t provide health insurance coverage for such care to their workers, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling from U.S. District …

Full Story

Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

Texas reined in recreational THC for more medical marijuana this legislative session (The Texas Tribune)
In a dusty corner of California, Trump’s threatened cuts to asthma care raise fears (KFF Health News)
CDC: Bird flu virus that infected Michigan dairy farmer capable of airborne transmission (Detroit Free Press)

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Weight-loss drugs linked to higher risk of eye damage to diabetic patients (The Guardian)
RFK Jr. is shrinking the agency that works on mental illness and addiction (NPR)
Vaccine opponent hired by RFK Jr. scours official records for link to autism (Wall Street Journal)

What Others are Reading

Most read stories on The Hill right now:

Hegseth could be ‘on the hook’ for hundreds of millions on Qatari jet, says Raskin

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he could be “on the hook” for hundreds of millions … Read more

Supreme Court hands DOGE big wins in Social Security, records cases

The Supreme Court on Friday handed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) two major victories in its expanding legal battle over drastic efforts … Read more

What People Think

Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:

What the budget bill’s public health cuts mean for public safety
America has a health care affordability gap. Congress is working toward change.