March 2026 Health News
Date postedMarch 6, 2026
Topics in this News Roundup
- Cancer
- Cardiology
- Care and Insurance Costs
- Chronic Health Conditions
- Consumer and Patient Safety
- Criminalization of Medicine
- Disabled Populations and Health Care
- Environmental Health
- Federal Autism Research
- Flu and Respiratory Virus Season
- Food, Nutrition, and Food Safety
- Gastrointestinal Health
- Good News
- Government and Advocacy
- Health Care Systems
- Health Equity and Access to Care
- Health Technology
- Immunology and Allergies
- Infectious Diseases and Infections
- Insurance Coverage
- Measles Outbreak
- Medical Care
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Medications and Prescribing
- Mental and Behavioral Health
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Physicians and Health Care Providers
- Public Health
- Public Safety
- Reproductive and Sexual Health
- Respiratory Health
- Rural Populations and Health Care
- Social Factors Affecting Health
- Social Safety Nets
- Substance Use and Treatment
- Vaccination
Cancer
- Medicaid Expansion Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Deaths, but Disparities Persist (American Journal of Managed Care, 3/4/26)
- Reduced Risk for Invasive Cervical Cancer Persists After HPV Vaccination (HealthDay, 3/4/26)
- Three decades later, racial gaps in curative lung cancer care persist in Medicare (Managed Healthcare Executive, 3/4/26)
Cardiology
- Did you make the list? CMS targets cardiologists for new heart failure payment model (Cardiovascular Business, 3/3/26)
Care and Insurance Costs
- (New Hampshire) School health insurance rates are increasing across New Hampshire. There’s more at play than just GLP-1 weight loss drugs (Concord Monitor, 3/6/26)
- Financial aid nonprofits merge to do more for patients feeling pinched by medical bills on top of overall inflation (HealthExec, 3/4/26)
- US asks smaller drugmakers to discuss lowering prices for Medicaid (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
Chronic Health Conditions
- (general)
- Multiple chronic disease patients threaten systems' margins (Fierce Healthcare, 3/3/26)
- Anxiety and Depression
- Expert says whether to take antidepressants during pregnancy is a ‘risk-risk conversation’ (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Tylenol use in pregnant women visiting ED dropped after Trump’s unfounded autism claim (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/6/26)
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Chronic Kidney Disease Severity Linked With Cognitive Impairment Risk (Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/6/26)
- Crohn's Disease
- Blood Test Widens Door to Early Crohn’s Disease Diagnosis and Vaccination (Medscape, 3/3/26)
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
- Gastroparesis
- Autonomic Dysfunction May Be a Hidden Driver of Gastroparesis (Medscape, 3/6/26)
- HIV/AIDS
- Nearly 20 States Scale Back HIV Medication Programs (HealthDay, 3/3/26)
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- IBD Predicts Cognitive Loss — and Vice Versa – in Seniors (Medscape, 3/4/26)
- Long COVID
- (New Hampshire) A priest, a police officer, and a politician — each is living with long COVID in 2026 (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/5/26)
- Prepandemic respiratory illness tied to increased risk of long COVID (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- Neither Metformin Nor Ursodeoxycholic Acid Effective for Treating Long COVID (HealthDay, 3/4/26)
- Many with long COVID remain on the job despite reduced ability to work (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/2/26)
- Migraine and Headache Disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Mindfulness Therapy Tied to Fewer Auditory Hallucinations (Medscape, 3/6/26)
Consumer and Patient Safety
- 45,000 Halo Magic Sleepsuits for Babies Recalled Over Choking Risk (HealthDay, 3/6/26)
- About 81,000 Baby Monitors Recalled Over Possible Fire Risk (HealthDay, 3/4/26)
- FDA confirms more recalls for Johnson & Johnson heart pumps due to malfunction risk (Cardiovascular Business, 3/2/26)
Criminalization of Medicine
- (New Hampshire) State Senate votes down bill to protect medical providers offering abortions (NH Public Radio, 3/6/26)
- Bills that would classify abortion as homicide fizzle, while pill crackdowns advance (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/2/26)
- Court backs Calif. parents' right to be told about gender transitions (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Texas AG Paxton Declares Therapists Affirming Trans Youth To Be Illegal And Child Abuse (Erin In The Morning, 3/2/26)
- Texas attorney general: ‘Illegal’ for mental health providers to ‘transition’ kids in state (The Hill, 3/2/26)
Disabled Populations and Health Care
- Trump’s Cuts to Medicaid Threaten Services That Help Disabled People Live at Home (KFF Health News, 3/5/26)
- Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts (KFF Health News, 3/2/26)
Environmental Health
- DPH warns against eating fish caught in West River in West Haven and New Haven after fuel oil spill (CT State Department of Health, 3/5/26)
Federal Autism Research
- Autism Research Leaders Launch Independent Committee to Counter RFK’s Panel (American Journal of Managed Care, 3/4/26)
Flu and Respiratory Virus Season
- CDC reports 11 more pediatric flu deaths (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/6/26)
Food, Nutrition, and Food Safety
- Food Insecurity Defined by Racial Disparities Across the Country (American Journal of Managed Care, 3/6/26)
- BBQ Sauce Recall Issued Nationwide Due To Incorrect Label (HealthDay, 3/3/26)
- FDA Recalls More Than 651,000 Jugs of Water Over Sanitation Concerns (HealthDay, 3/3/26)
- Chocolate Male Supplement Recalled Over Hidden Erectile Dysfunction Drug (HealthDay, 3/2/26)
Gastrointestinal Health
- Autonomic Dysfunction May Be a Hidden Driver of Gastroparesis (Medscape, 3/6/26)
- Blood Test Widens Door to Early Crohn’s Disease Diagnosis and Vaccination (Medscape, 3/3/26)
- Chronic, Noninfectious Diarrhea: A Review (Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/2/26)
Good News
- (New Hampshire) Dartmouth Health launches environmentally friendly sustainable prescription packaging (Dartmouth Health, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Dartmouth Health launches TeamBirth to enhance patient experience during labor and delivery (Dartmouth Health, 3/4/26)
- (New Hampshire) Dartmouth Health’s vascular surgery training program ranked #1 nationwide (Dartmouth Health, 3/2/26)
- (New Hampshire) More Than 600 Beth Israel Lahey Health Physicians Named Top Doctors (Exeter Hospital, 3/2/26)
Government and Advocacy
- Care and Insurance Costs - View more Care and Insurance Costs articles >>
- US asks smaller drugmakers to discuss lowering prices for Medicaid (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Disabled Populations and Health Care - View more Disabled Populations and Health Care articles >>
- Trump’s Cuts to Medicaid Threaten Services That Help Disabled People Live at Home (KFF Health News, 3/5/26)
- Health Equity and Access to Care - View more Health Equity and Access to Care articles >>
- (New Hampshire) New Hampshire House Passes Trans Public Bathroom Ban That Bans "Asserting" Ones Identity (Erin In The Morning, 3/6/26)
- (New Hampshire) Bathrooms Should Be Divided by Biological Sex, NH House Votes (InDepth NH, 3/5/26)
- The Supreme Court Just Handed Down Its Fifth Anti-Trans Decision In Less Than a Year (Erin In The Morning, 3/3/26)
- Court backs Calif. parents' right to be told about gender transitions (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Supreme Court blocks law against schools outing transgender students to their parents in California (AP, 3/2/26)
- Medical Care - View more Medical Care articles >>
- Medicare and Medicaid - View more Medicare and Medicaid articles >>
- Mental and Behavioral Health - View more Mental and Behavioral Health articles >>
- (New Hampshire) Notice of Need for 2026 Reapproval for Community Partners (NH Department of Health and Human Services, 3/4/26)
- (New Hampshire) Notice of Need for 2026 Reapproval for Northern Human Services (NH Department of Health and Human Services, 3/4/26)
- Texas AG Paxton Declares Therapists Affirming Trans Youth To Be Illegal And Child Abuse (Erin In The Morning, 3/2/26)
- Texas attorney general: ‘Illegal’ for mental health providers to ‘transition’ kids in state (The Hill, 3/2/26)
- Public Health - View more Public Health articles >>
- Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone (KFF Health News, 3/6/26)
- Nation’s largest AIDS Drug Assistance Program hit in Florida, other states follow suit (Managed Healthcare Executive, 3/5/26)
- Public Safety - View more Public Safety articles >>
- How Trump’s FEMA secretly dismantled program to prepare Americans for disasters (NH Union Leader, 3/1/26)
- Reproductive and Sexual Health - View more Reproductive and Sexual Health articles >>
- (New Hampshire) State Senate votes down bill to protect medical providers offering abortions (NH Public Radio, 3/6/26)
- Bills that would classify abortion as homicide fizzle, while pill crackdowns advance (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/2/26)
- Rural Populations and Health Care - View more Rural Populations and Health Care articles >>
- (New Hampshire) $773M for NH rural health care contracts tabled (NH Union Leader, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Executive Council pauses $773 million federal rural health spending, requesting details (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/5/26)
- Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans (KFF Health News, 3/4/26)
- (New Hampshire) NH to issue $641M in first contracts for rural health initiative (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Social Safety Nets - View more Social Safety Nets articles >>
- (New Hampshire) Proposed ban on using SNAP benefits for junk food hits a snag (NH Union Leader, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Senate committee scraps bill banning ‘non-nutritious’ SNAP purchases, suggests study commission instead (Concord Monitor, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Prohibiting Purchase of Candy, Soda with SNAP Benefits Supported (InDepth NH, 3/4/26)
- Vaccination - View more Vaccination articles >>
- Trump administration’s embattled FDA vaccine chief is leaving for the second time (AP, 3/6/26)
- The State of US Vaccine Policy — Mar 5, 2026 (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- RNA vaccine funding cuts threaten decades of scientific progress (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/4/26)
Health Care Systems
- Multiple chronic disease patients threaten systems' margins (Fierce Healthcare, 3/3/26)
Health Equity and Access to Care
- (New Hampshire) New Hampshire House Passes Trans Public Bathroom Ban That Bans "Asserting" Ones Identity (Erin In The Morning, 3/6/26)
- As ICE Moved In, Minnesotans Set Up a Shadow Medical System. It’s a Lesson for Other Cities. (KFF Health News, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Bathrooms Should Be Divided by Biological Sex, NH House Votes (InDepth NH, 3/5/26)
- The Supreme Court Just Handed Down Its Fifth Anti-Trans Decision In Less Than a Year (Erin In The Morning, 3/3/26)
- ASPS Members Demand Answers After Org Released Anti-Trans Statement From Behind Closed Doors (Erin In The Morning, 3/2/26)
- Court backs Calif. parents' right to be told about gender transitions (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Supreme Court blocks law against schools outing transgender students to their parents in California (AP, 3/2/26)
Health Technology
- ChatGPT’s health AI has dangerous flaws, study warns (The British Medical Journal, 3/4/26)
Immunology and Allergies
- Report: 1 in 5 Adults Developed Food Allergies After Age 18 (Medscape, 3/3/26)
Infectious Diseases and Infections
- Pandemic-related factors may lead to nearly 3,000 excess TB cases, 1,100 deaths by 2035 (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- Up to 56,000 people died from COVID-19 or RSV last year (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/3/26)
- Tuberculosis cases have been rising as public health agencies struggle to keep up (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/2/26)
- Outbreak Outlook - National - March 1 (Force of Infection, 3/1/26)
Insurance Coverage
- (New Hampshire) New Hampshire Uncharted Season 2, Episode 2: Should Health Insurance Cover GLP-1 Medications? (NH Fiscal Policy Institute, 3/2/26)
Measles Outbreak
- Sixth Measles Case Confirmed in a New Mexico Jail (HealthDay, 3/6/26)
- US measles total approaches 1,300 infections (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/6/26)
- A large immigration detention camp in Texas is closed to visitors amid measles outbreak (CNN, 3/4/26)
- CDC: Unvaccinated international traveler spread measles to 17 other travelers to, within US (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/2/26)
- U.S. Tops 1,100 Measles Cases This Year as Outbreaks Grow (HealthDay, 3/2/26)
Medical Care
- (New Hampshire) A priest, a police officer, and a politician — each is living with long COVID in 2026 (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/5/26)
- The task force that shapes Americans’ preventive care has not met in a year. Doctors now worry it’s being ‘abandoned’ by HHS (CNN, 3/3/26)
Medicare and Medicaid
- (New Hampshire) What Upcoming Changes to the Medicaid Enhancement Tax Could Mean for NH Patients, Providers, and the Economy (NH Fiscal Policy Institute, 3/6/26)
- Minnesota sues over withheld Medicaid funds (The Hill, 3/3/26)
- Trump’s Medicaid work mandates are meant to save money. But first states will have to spend millions (AP, 3/1/26)
Medications and Prescribing
- Lidocaine Local Anesthesia Less Effective Over Time in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Medscape, 3/6/26)
- Neither Metformin Nor Ursodeoxycholic Acid Effective for Treating Long COVID (HealthDay, 3/4/26)
- Nearly 20 States Scale Back HIV Medication Programs (HealthDay, 3/3/26)
Mental and Behavioral Health
- (New Hampshire) Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center to end outpatient mental health services (NH Union Leader, 3/6/26)
- Mindfulness Therapy Tied to Fewer Auditory Hallucinations (Medscape, 3/6/26)
- (New Hampshire) Notice of Need for 2026 Reapproval for Community Partners (NH Department of Health and Human Services, 3/4/26)
- (New Hampshire) Notice of Need for 2026 Reapproval for Northern Human Services (NH Department of Health and Human Services, 3/4/26)
- Mental Health Issues Peak Again More Than a Decade After Disasters (HealthDay, 3/3/26)
- Texas AG Paxton Declares Therapists Affirming Trans Youth To Be Illegal And Child Abuse (Erin In The Morning, 3/2/26)
- Texas attorney general: ‘Illegal’ for mental health providers to ‘transition’ kids in state (The Hill, 3/2/26)
Nephrology
- Chronic Kidney Disease Severity Linked With Cognitive Impairment Risk (Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/6/26)
Neurology
- IBD Predicts Cognitive Loss — and Vice Versa – in Seniors (Medscape, 3/4/26)
- AAN: GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Initiation for Chronic Migraine Tied to Improved Outcomes (HealthDay, 3/2/26)
Physicians and Health Care Providers
- (New Hampshire) Merwyn Bagan, Concord neurosurgeon and community volunteer, dies at 90 (Concord Monitor, 3/7/26)
Public Health
- Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone (KFF Health News, 3/6/26)
- Nation’s largest AIDS Drug Assistance Program hit in Florida, other states follow suit (Managed Healthcare Executive, 3/5/26)
- Poll: Americans increasingly trust career scientists, not leaders, at CDC, NIH, and FDA (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- Hep B vaccine rates declining, RSV is having a late surge, more disease=more economic cost, AI and triage, and the U.S. surgeon general (Your Local Epidemiologist, 3/3/26)
Public Safety
- How Trump’s FEMA secretly dismantled program to prepare Americans for disasters (NH Union Leader, 3/1/26)
Reproductive and Sexual Health
- (New Hampshire) State Senate votes down bill to protect medical providers offering abortions (NH Public Radio, 3/6/26)
- Tylenol use in pregnant women visiting ED dropped after Trump’s unfounded autism claim (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/6/26)
- Bills that would classify abortion as homicide fizzle, while pill crackdowns advance (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/2/26)
- COVID Vaccination Reduces Risk for Preeclampsia (Medscape, 3/2/26)
- Expert says whether to take antidepressants during pregnancy is a ‘risk-risk conversation’ (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
- Income Inequality Fuels Worsening Birth Outcomes (American Journal of Managed Care, 3/2/26)
Respiratory Health
- Prepandemic respiratory illness tied to increased risk of long COVID (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- Low vitamin D tied to hospitalizations from respiratory tract infections (Managed Healthcare Executive, 3/2/26)
Rural Populations and Health Care
- (New Hampshire) $773M for NH rural health care contracts tabled (NH Union Leader, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Executive Council pauses $773 million federal rural health spending, requesting details (New Hampshire Bulletin, 3/5/26)
- Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans (KFF Health News, 3/4/26)
- (New Hampshire) NH to issue $641M in first contracts for rural health initiative (NH Union Leader, 3/2/26)
Social Factors Affecting Health
- Many with long COVID remain on the job despite reduced ability to work (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/2/26)
Social Safety Nets
- (New Hampshire) Proposed ban on using SNAP benefits for junk food hits a snag (NH Union Leader, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Senate committee scraps bill banning ‘non-nutritious’ SNAP purchases, suggests study commission instead (Concord Monitor, 3/5/26)
- (New Hampshire) Prohibiting Purchase of Candy, Soda with SNAP Benefits Supported (InDepth NH, 3/4/26)
Substance Use and Treatment
- GLP-1s Reduced Risk of Developing Substance Use Disorders (American Journal of Managed Care, 3/5/26)
Vaccination
- Trump administration’s embattled FDA vaccine chief is leaving for the second time (AP, 3/6/26)
- The State of US Vaccine Policy — Mar 5, 2026 (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/5/26)
- RNA vaccine funding cuts threaten decades of scientific progress (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/4/26)
- Vaccine Integrity Project kicks off evidence review of Tdap vaccine in pregnancy (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/4/26)
- Medical societies recommend RSV vaccines for older or immune-compromised adults (The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 3/3/26)