Happy Sunday! I hope you’re having a great weekend.
Here are the stories I’ve been following this week.
The FDA’s independent Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee spent two days reviewing seven peptides and ultimately voted to ease restrictions on six of them, despite strong objections from many of the agency’s career scientists.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids that perform many important functions in the body. Some peptide-based medications, including insulin, have been studied for decades and are supported by extensive evidence showing their safety and effectiveness.
But not all peptides are well studied or regulated. The six considered by the committee this week, BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTs-C, Epitalon, and Semax, have very limited human research behind them. Career scientists at the FDA raised concerns about the lack of clinical evidence needed to establish their safety and effectiveness, along with possible risks that include promoting tumor growth.
If the FDA follows the committee’s recommendation, compounding pharmacies will be allowed to make and market these peptides for a wide range of uses, even though compounded products do not undergo the same FDA review for safety, effectiveness, or quality as approved medications before reaching patients. Unlike pharmaceutical manufacturers, most compounders are also not required to report adverse events to the FDA, making it even harder to identify safety problems once these products are widely used.
The advisory committee does not make the FDA’s final decision, although the agency has historically given significant weight to its recommendations. RFK Jr. has repeatedly supported expanding access to peptides and said earlier this year that he wanted to move them from Category 2 to Category 1, which would make them easier for compounding pharmacies to produce. He has also appointed committee members who sell or promote peptide therapies themselves.
The stark irony here is that many of the same people who dismiss vaccines, despite decades of safety data and research, are enthusiastically embracing peptides supported by a fraction of the evidence. And while RFK Jr. built much of his public case for leading HHS around rooting out conflicts of interest, he has appointed several advisors with financial interests in peptide therapies to help decide how widely those products can be sold.
The FDA announced another Cyclospora outbreak this week affecting 72 people. Investigators have not identified the source, and the agency has not said where the cases occurred.
The FDA is now investigating six separate Cyclospora outbreak clusters. The multi-state outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico has expanded to nine states and now includes Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. It remains the only one of the six outbreaks tied to a specific food source.
With cases continuing to rise across the country, this has become the largest Cyclospora season on record.
Michigan alone has reported more than 8,100 cases and 160 hospitalizations, more than any other state. Nationally, there are now an estimated 11,000 cases across 41 states, although the exact number remains unclear. The CDC has confirmed 4,173 cases but says that figure significantly underestimates the scale of the outbreak because more than 7,400 additional cases are still awaiting confirmation.
The response has also been complicated by a lack of clear, coordinated communication. Earlier this week, RFK Jr. claimed the outbreak was “under control” and that the source had been identified. Neither statement reflects what state and federal public health agencies are reporting. Cases continue to rise, six outbreaks remain under investigation, and only one has been linked to a specific food.
The Big Beautiful Bill cut $187 billion in SNAP, while Republicans insisted that children would not be affected. USDA and state data now tell a very different story, showing that more than 4 million people have already lost benefits, including more than 1.5 million children.
In Arizona, SNAP participation has fallen by nearly 50%. Across the 19 states that have released age-specific data, one million children have lost benefits, accounting for nearly half of the 2.4 million people who are no longer receiving SNAP in those states.
Those numbers are expected to keep rising as more provisions take effect. New work requirements narrow eligibility while adding paperwork that makes it harder for eligible families to enroll and remain in the program. Beginning in 2027, states will also be required to cover a larger share of SNAP costs based on their administrative error rates, which could lead to service delays, reduced benefits, or even more barriers to enrollment.
The administration has framed these cuts as an effort to reduce waste and abuse, but the policies were specifically designed to reduce SNAP participation in the nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. Millions of people have already lost assistance, including more than 1.5 million children, and those numbers are expected to continue rising.
A federal judge ruled this week that the Trump Administration cannot cancel active research grants simply because they no longer align with its political priorities.
Last year, the administration terminated billions of dollars of university grants supporting research on topics including diversity, equity, and inclusion, vaccines, and climate science. It relied on existing grant termination clauses to withdraw funding that had already been awarded, arguing that the projects no longer served the government’s priorities.
Twenty-three states challenged that interpretation, and the judge agreed that while federal agencies can terminate grants under certain circumstances, a change in political priorities is not enough to cancel awards that have already been made.
The ruling does not automatically restore the grants that were previously terminated, but it gives universities a stronger basis to challenge those cancellations and offers greater protection for research that is still receiving federal funding.
The administration has already begun using other approaches to restrict research funding, including delaying continuation payments and suspending awards. In practice, those actions can have much the same effect as terminating a grant outright, even if they technically fall outside the scope of this ruling.
HHS announced that it is withholding more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota while it investigates allegations of “suspected fraud” and “noncompliance.”
RFK Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz said the states’ Medicaid data contain concerning “anomalies,” but they have not publicly provided evidence showing widespread fraud. This is also not the first time the administration has accused California and Minnesota of misusing Medicaid funds. HHS says the payments will remain frozen until the states can demonstrate that the spending was legitimate.
The governors of both states have called the move a political stunt that will disproportionately harm children, older adults, and people with disabilities. At the same time, both have said they oppose fraud and will cooperate with the CMS review in an effort to restore the funding.
New Jersey Senator Andy Kim introduced the MediKids Act, a bill that would guarantee free health coverage for every child from birth through age 26, regardless of income, immigration status, or health condition.
Parents could choose to opt out, but children would not lose coverage because a form was missed, household income changed, or eligibility had to be renewed.
About 4.4 million children in the United States are currently uninsured, while another 23 million are underinsured. An estimated two million more are expected to lose Medicaid or CHIP coverage because of cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill and changes to the Affordable Care Act.
The bill has already received support from several major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Realistically, the bill has little chance of advancing in the current Congress. But if the goal is truly to “Make America Healthy Again,” guaranteeing children access to healthcare seems like a conversation worth having.
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