We are so back. Hope everyone had a restful August Recess, because Congress returns with FY26 funding bills to pass before September 30 to avoid a shutdown. Plus, a stack of year-end packages are still in play. Below is a recap of what moved in public health last month and what Congress and the Trump administration are teeing up next.

In this week’s Nimitz Health:

• Federal News: CDC leadership shake-up, HHS halts mRNA projects,ARPA-H program cuts, and RFK Jr. set for Senate testimony

• State News: California protects Medicaid data, Texas declares measles outbreak over; Maryland confirms screwworm case

• Industry News: Lawmakers’ UnitedHealth stock sales in the spotlight; Eli Lilly signals EU price hikes

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Tuesday, September 2nd

• House Appropriations: “Markup of the FY26 Labor, HHS, & Education Bill” at 5pm. Watch here.

Wednesday, September 3rd

• *House Energy & Commerce: “Examining Opportunities to Advance American Health Care through the Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies” at 10:15am. Watch here.

Thursday, September 4th

• *Senate Finance: “Hearings to Examine the President’s 2026 Health Care Agenda” at 10am. Watch here.

*Will be covered by Nimitz Health. Please email [email protected] if you would like a readout of any other hearings.

NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

Federal News

The White House fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after just a month on the job, prompting immediate resignations from three senior CDC leaders and leaving the agency without a permanent chief amid an already bruising stretch that included a fatal shooting on campus. HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill has been tapped to serve as acting CDC head. RFK Jr. is scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday to answer questions on CDC governance, vaccine policy, and ARPA-H strategy.

Against that leadership backdrop, HHS moved to cancel or wind down 22 BARDA-managed mRNA vaccine investments totaling ~$500M, signaling a strategic pivot away from broad respiratory applications and drawing sharp pushback from researchers and cancer-vaccine developers who warn of a chilling effect on oncology programs.

HHS also trimmed the ARPA-H portfolio—canceling & suspending programs spanning hospital cybersecurity, AI imaging, and preventive-care financing—reflecting a near-term shift from high-variance bets toward projects with clearer operational payoffs.

In an emergency ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to pause certain NIH grants it said advanced DEI or “gender ideology extremism,” letting the policy take effect while litigation proceeds. Immediate impacts include project interruptions and administrative churn for affected investigators, while the merits fight continues over agency authority and academic freedom.

On the budgeting front, House Republicans are proposing an HHS appropriations plan that trims the department’s topline by roughly 6 percent while carving out priorities like the Make America Healthy Again initiative—positioning September for a high-stakes negotiation with the Senate.

State News

A federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction blocking HHS/DHS from using Medicaid recipients’ data for immigration enforcement in the 20 plaintiff states, finding the abrupt policy likely violated the APA. The court left the door open for the agencies to try again after a reasoned decision-making process.

Texas declared its measles outbreak over after crossing the two-incubation-period threshold without new cases in affected counties, even as officials warned of continued importations given global transmission; school immunization enforcement and outreach remain in the spotlight as the year begins.

Maryland confirmed a travel-associated human case of New World screwworm—the parasitic infestation sometimes dubbed a “flesh-eating” maggot—after a patient returned from Central America; CDC assesses U.S. public risk as low, while USDA expands sterile-fly capacity in South Texas to guard against cross-border spread to livestock and pets.

Industry News

Biopharma and research institutions are recalibrating pipelines after the federal mRNA pullback and ARPA-H cancellations, with oncology and infectious-disease teams resequencing milestones to protect near-term readouts; investor focus is shifting to non-mRNA modalities and indications with clearer regulatory glide paths.

Payer/policy risk remains elevated as members of Congress and some officials sold UnitedHealth shares during the stock’s slide on cost trends and regulatory probes—a signal that Medicare Advantage billing and prior-auth practices will stay under the microscope into the fall.

Pricing strategy is also in motion internationally: Eli Lilly plans list-price increases in parts of Europe as part of a broader approach to lower U.S. sticker prices and navigate reference-pricing pressure—an approach peers are watching as IRA implementation evolves.

FOR FUN

In college football news, Florida State beat #8 ranked Alabama on Saturday. Emily is still beaming with joy. Check out the highlights here!

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