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Update: What We’re Watching, May 29, 2025
Hill to the Heartland: Federal Health Policy Briefing
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced changes to the COVID-19 vaccine approval process that may limit access for healthy children and adults. In Congress, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a federal budget bill that includes major changes to Medicaid, SNAP and Affordable Care Act provisions. Here is some of the news we are watching that could have an impact on Kansas.
The views expressed in the following news stories, news releases or documents are not necessarily those of the Kansas Health Institute (KHI). They are being shared with the intent of keeping Kansans informed of the latest developments related to federal health policy.
1. HHS Updates
FDA Changes COVID-19 Vaccine Approval Process: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is changing the type of evidence needed from manufacturers to approve updates to COVID-19 vaccines. This means that while the vaccine will likely be available to adults age 65 and older and individuals with underlying health conditions, others who previously had access to the vaccine may no longer be able to receive it. The Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Dr. Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H., and the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., both said there is not enough evidence to support that healthy adults and children benefit from receiving the vaccine on a regular basis.
🔗 Read more from CNN: FDA may limit future Covid-19 shots to older people and those at risk of serious infection
🔗 Read more from the New England Journal of Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination
FDA Approves Alzheimer Diagnosis Test: The FDA has approved a blood test supporting the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The test measures the ratio of two proteins in blood plasma that signal indicators of Alzheimer’s. However, there is still not a single way to diagnose the disease and the FDA stated other diagnostic tools must be utilized alongside the test for a definitive diagnosis.
🔗 Read more from CNN: FDA greenlights first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in the US
CMS Announces Pharmaceutical Drug Pricing Targets: On May 20, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Administration is taking immediate steps to implement President Trump’s Executive Order, Delivering Most-Favored- Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients. Key details in the announcement include setting price targets for pharmaceutical manufacturers, requiring them to align U.S. pricing for all pharmaceuticals that do not currently have generic or biosimilar competition with the lowest price in a set of economic peer countries.
🔗 Read more from HHS: HHS, CMS Set Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Targets to End Global Freeloading on American Patients
🔗 Read more from the Trump Administration: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Actions to Put American Patients First by Lowering Drug Prices and Stopping Foreign Free-riding on American Pharmaceutical Innovation
🔗 Read more from the American Journal of Managed Care: HHS Set Pricing Target for Trump’s
Most Favored Nation Drug Price Model
2. House Passes Budget Bill with Spending Cuts
On May 22, the United States House of Representatives narrowly passed a budget bill (215–214) that extends 2017 tax cuts, adds new tax breaks, raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion and reduces projected spending on programs including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Medicaid changes include new work requirements for adults without disabilities, more frequent eligibility checks for adult expansion enrollees and a ban on new or increased provider taxes. SNAP changes include work requirements for more participants, including older adults and some parents, and shifting more costs to states. The bill also impacts the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance marketplace by increasing eligibility redeterminations and shortening open enrollment. The bill does not include provisions to extend the premium tax credits, scheduled to expire after 2025. Kansas Representatives Tracy Mann (KS-1), Derek Schmidt (KS-2) and Ron Estes (KS-4) voted for the bill, aligning with the GOP majority. Representative Sharice Davids (KS-3) voted against the bill, citing concerns about reduced access to Medicaid, ACA coverage and food assistance for Kansans. Governor Laura Kelly, along with other Democratic governors, also opposed the bill, citing limited state capacity to absorb federal funding reductions.
🔗 Read more from Congress: H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act
🔗 Read more from The Hill: GOP House passes Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ after marathon session
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: U.S. House Delegation from Kansas votes along party lines on federal budget bill
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Democratic governors denounce ‘big beautiful bill’ as U.S. House prepares to vote
3. USDA Approves First SNAP Food Restriction Waiver; Legislator Appointed to Federal Role
On May 19, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke Rollins approved a waiver allowing Nebraska to prohibit the purchase of soda and energy drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — the first waiver of its kind. Kansas and five other states have submitted similar waivers. Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Laura Howard notified lawmakers of the state’s waiver request that would exclude the purchase of soda and sugary drinks on May 13. The move followed Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 79, which would have required DCF to make the waiver request. Lawmakers then included a budget proviso in Senate Bill 125, withholding $3.7 million from DCF until the waiver was submitted. On Wednesday, May 27, Kansas Representative Patrick Penn announced his transition plans from the Kansas Legislature to Washington, D.C., where he will serve as USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. Penn will oversee federal nutrition benefits, including SNAP, the School Breakfast Program, the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and 13 other nutritional initiatives. He identified fraud prevention as his primary area of focus in this new role.
🔗 Read more from USDA: Secretary Rollins Approves First Ever State Waiver to Restrict Soda and Energy Drinks from Food Stamps in Nebraska
🔗 Read more from the Topeka Capitol Journal: Kansas ban on food stamps for candy and soda is a step closer to USDA approval
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Trump appoints former Kansas legislator to USDA post
4. White House Releases First MAHA Report
The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission, led by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., released its initial report on May 22. The report cites four potential contributing drivers to declining child health: poor diet due to consumption of ultra processed foods, cumulative exposure to chemicals such as food additives and pesticides, low physical activity and increased chronic stress, and “overmedicalization,” including concerns of prescription and vaccine use. Prior to the report’s release, the agriculture industry voiced concerns about possible criticism of agricultural chemicals. Echoing these concerns, 79 Republican lawmakers — including Kansas Senator Jerry Moran, and Representatives Tracy Mann (KS-1) and Derek Schmidt (KS-2) — sent a letter to Secretary Kennedy. In a May 21 hearing, Kennedy stated that the report was not intended to cause concern among farmers or undermine the agricultural industry. Speaking at the May 22 MAHA Commission event at the White House, Kansas Senator Roger Marshall highlighted the surge in chronic health issues — from gestational diabetes to declines in youth physical and mental health—and emphasized that solutions begin with soil health. He described farmers as the original environmentalists and noted some farmers have already started improving soil through using less pesticides.
🔗 Read more from the White House: The MAHA Report
🔗 Read more from CBS News: RFK Jr. “MAHA” report on childhood chronic disease. Here’s what to know
🔗 Read more from STAT: 4 takeaways from the MAHA commission’s report on children’s health
🔗 Read more from AP: RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report worries farmers, Republicans ahead of release
🔗 Read more from The Fence Post: Marshall praises MAHA report, Hyde-Smith, Boozman, Thompson differ
5. Maternal Health Reform Proposed as New Report Details Kansas Access Challenges
In May 2025, Members of Congress announced plans to reintroduce the Momnibus Act, a 14-bill package aimed at improving maternal health and addressing disparities through increased funding, perinatal workforce development and eligibility expansion for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. A previous version of the Act introduced in 2023 was co-sponsored by Representative Sharice Davids (KS-3). In Kansas, a new report from the University of Kansas School of Nursing and the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund highlights persistent maternal care barriers in rural communities, particularly concentrated in Western Kansas. The report found that more than 46 percent of Kansas women live in a maternal care desert, while 41 percent of Kansas counties lack prenatal services and 59 percent lack inpatient obstetrical services. These gaps are linked to financial challenges facing rural hospitals, where low patient volumes and reimbursement models may contribute to service reductions and hospital closures, leaving residents with longer travel times to access essential maternal care services.
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Momnibus Act aims to improve maternal health nationally despite budget cuts
🔗 Read more from the Kansas Reflector: Barriers to maternity care in rural Kansas leave many moms-to-be miles from services
🔗 Read more from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund: Access to Maternity Care in Kansas
Stay tuned for further updates on policy shifts that may affect health programs and services in Kansas. For related work on how federal policies could impact Kansans, please check out Hill to the Heartland.
Funding for Hill to the Heartland is provided in part by the Sunflower Foundation: Health Care for Kansans, a Topeka-based philanthropic organization with the mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of Kansans. KHI retains editorial independence in the production of its content and its findings. Any views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sunflower Foundation.
About Kansas Health Institute
The Kansas Health Institute supports effective policymaking through nonpartisan research, education and engagement. KHI believes evidence-based information, objective analysis and civil dialogue enable policy leaders to be champions for a healthier Kansas. Established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, KHI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Topeka.