He said, she said

Daniel Payne and Isabella Cueto provide highlights and takeaways from the Senate hearing with former CDC Director Susan Monarez and Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry. They gave their side of the story of Monarez’s ouster and the resignations of Houry and other top officials.

Monarez said her boss, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., directed her to not speak to people outside his staff, including to senators, despite the secretary’s insistence that he would usher in an era of “radical transparency.”

Health committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) repeatedly called for more transparency throughout the federal government, noting the committee had requested HHS records related to the changes at CDC. He also indicated he would ask HHS officials to testify at future hearings.

There are far too many details to cover here. Read more.

vaccines

Monarez says RFK Jr. plans to change vaccine schedule

Among the hearing revelations, Monarez said that Kennedy told her he plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month, Daniel and Isabella report.

Monarez said Kennedy did not present her with data supporting changes to the schedule. She told Kennedy she would be “open to changing” the schedule if data supported it. To that, the secretary responded that “CDC had never collected the science or the data to make it available related to the safety or efficacy,” Monarez said.

On a related note: The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, remade by Kennedy, will meet today and tomorrow to discuss several childhood shots, and my STAT colleagues will be covering it.

One item on the agenda is hepatitis B vaccines. Experts have speculated that ACIP might alter the recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, a move that could lead to a resurgence of the virus, and the liver disease and cancer it causes.

But major health insurers plan to effectively ignore any changes to the panel’s recommendations, at least for next year, Tara Bannow reports. (Insurers are required to cover shots backed by ACIP).

The news should come as a relief to people who were worried and confused about the future of vaccine coverage. Read more.

cdc

Fear and ‘politicals’ in Atlanta

Elizabeth Cooney writes about Monarez’s and Houry’s description of CDC as an organization hollowed out by job losses and chilled by fear of external mistrust in science.

With ‘politicals’ in charge, Monarez and Houry say, scientists “won’t speak about vaccines” and the agency’s mission to help states is suffering. Houry said the CDC subject matter experts are no longer presenting at ACIP meetings, for example.

“It’s taken up to a leadership level because we did that to protect our staff and scientists, so that they would be disconnected and their names not associated, so that they won’t be targeted,” she said.

ACA insurance

The sought-after voters who will pay higher premiums

Many enrollees of Affordable Care Act insurance who are facing premium spikes next year, when enhanced subsidies expire, are part of sought-after voting demographics: aged 50 to 64, and small business owners and workers.

As premium spikes loom, Congressional Democrats and Republicans are at a standoff over plans to extend the credits.

About 5 million adults ages 50 to 64 will face higher premiums in 2026 for marketplace insurance, according to AARP. And nearly half of adults under age 65 enrolled in individual market plans own a small business, are employed by a business with fewer than 25 workers, or are self-employed entrepreneurs. Read more.

drug prices

Trump tries to play NICE

During his visit to the U.K., President Trump urged the Brits to pay more for drugs to help bring down their prices in the U.S.

Drugmakers say the U.K. agency NICE uses an outdated formula to assess the value and price of cutting-edge medicines.

Trump says Americans are subsidizing drug costs abroad, and he’s pushing a plan to tie U.S. prices to those in other rich countries. Read more.

drug ads

Getting tough on drug ads

Last year, the FDA warned six drugmakers that their advertisements were misleading. Last week, the agency sent about 100 enforcement letters, Lizzy Lawrence and Ed Silverman report.

That’s a huge crackdown, but it comes after DOGE gutted the agency’s drug promotion shop, so it’s not clear how the agency will follow through on them.

Most of the letters target telehealth companies selling compounded versions of FDA-approved brand drugs, especially GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Another large chunk take issue with elements of ads, such as distracting scene changes, the exclusion of key side effects, and actors appearing cured after a single dose. Read more for the details and for the reaction from experts in the field.

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What we’re reading

Democrats introduce bill to break up health care conglomerates like UnitedHealth Group, STAT
How a Texas vaccine expert tried — and failed — to get through to Kennedy, KERA News
Sara Carter, former Fox News journalist, defends qualifications to serve as ‘drug czar’, STAT
Western states issue their own vaccine recommendations to counter Kennedy,