Washington, DC

1. ACA subsidies latest
2. Research funding win
3. Vaccine messaging
4. Health care jobs numbers
5. Where Americans get medical advice

ACA subsidies take center stage in campaigns

Democrats are looking to the campaign trail for their next move on the expired Affordable Care Act subsidies — and to 2027, if they regain control of Congress. The bipartisan talks to revive the enhanced subsidies collapsed a few days ago, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost salience. “It’s going to be a major issue in the election coming up this year, and I think it’s going to hurt Republicans considerably,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. Democrats are also considering how they would devise legislation to address spiking health care costs. Resurrecting lapsed subsidies are “part of it, but it needs to be part of a holistic approach to lowering prices,” said Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass. He said “the first question to ask is how to lower the bill — and that’s where I want to see Democrats focus when we take back the gavels.”

— Burgess Everett and Eleanor Mueller

Republicans spurn Trump’s health research cuts

The bipartisan government funding deal that President Donald Trump signed into law earlier this month includes a small increase for the National Institutes of Health — which represents a huge turnaround from the 40% cut that the president’s budget had proposed. In addition to that spurning of the White House, which followed a lobbying effort by academic researchers, health care advocacy groups, and others, the funding deal also specifically prevents a 15% cap on federal reimbursement of so-called “indirect costs” related to research projects. The Trump administration’s proposed reimbursement cap would have imperiled a significant number of research efforts, including those aimed at combating disease, by limiting federal dollars available to cover the broad costs of laboratory science. “[G]ood policy emerged from the negotiations,” said American Medical Association board of trustees chair David H. Aizuss in a statement on the deal.

Trump official pushes measles vaccine

As measles cases rise, at least one top US health official is making a forceful case for vaccination. Over the weekend, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, urged Americans to “take the vaccine” in an interview on CNN. The comments stood in stark contrast to the administration’s otherwise questioning of vaccine safety; they were also more forceful than Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advice on the subject. The administration recently overhauled the federal vaccine schedule for kids, though notably the new schedule continues to recommend that children be vaccinated against measles. “Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses,” Oz told CNN, before making clear that measles is one vaccine that should not be skipped.

— Shelby Talcott

Health care jobs power US economy

January’s miraculous jobs numbers look geriatric upon closer examination: More than half of the 130,000 jobs added last month were in health care-related fields, a sector that generally grows regardless of the state of the broader economy. That isn’t a new phenomenon: US hiring in 2025 would have been negative if not for health care jobs. But it’s an open question how sustainable that growth is. Government spending on Medicaid has slowed; insurers are pulling back on Medicare; and artificial intelligence, already powering the economic growth that the US has experienced, will only further disrupt the health care space and potentially moderate hiring there.

— Rohan Goswami

Most Americans get health advice from their doctor

Americans’ confidence in government health agencies might be declining, but a majority of US adults still seek health care advice from the websites of established medical authorities, like government agencies and hospitals. A new survey from Gallup shows that 53% of American adults reported seeking out these sources for health information. However, Americans view their doctors as the most trusted sources, with 73% saying they seek medical advice from medical professionals they regularly see. One-third of US adults reported getting medical advice from their friends or family members who work in the medical field, and a similar share said they get information from less familiar medical professionals working at walk-in clinics or emergency departments. And while Americans are increasingly getting their news from social media, they’re more reluctant to use it for medical advice: Only 16% of respondents said they do so.

White House

• The Trump administration proposed new Obamacare rules for 2027.
• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is emphasizing food — not vaccines — with an eye on the midterms. — NYT

Congress

• Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Senate Health Committee, queried a private company in Texas profiting off of a federal drug program meant to help needy patients. — NYT
• The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed eight Obamacare health insurers as part of an investigation into possible fraud. — Axios

Business

• FDA official Vinay Prasad overruled the FDA’s staff experts in denying Moderna’s application for a review of its new flu shot. — Stat
• The American Medical Association plans to review evidence of vaccine effectiveness and safety as the federal government changes its recommendations on certain vaccinations without new information.

Courts

• Democrat-led states are suing the Trump administration over planned cuts to health care grants.
• A federal judge in Boston will consider a challenge to the Trump administration’s changes to immunization policy during a hearing tomorrow.
• A federal judge in California ordered ICE to offer “constitutionally adequate health care” to people detained in California’s biggest immigration detention facility.

Semafor DC Team

Edited by Morgan Chalfant, deputy Washington editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor

Emily Ford, editor

Graph Massara and Marta Biino, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel