Daniel Payne
danielpayne.bsky.social
Daniel Payne
@danielpayne.bsky.social
Washington Correspondent @statnews.com
daniel.payne (at) statnews (dot) com
Signal: danielp.100
@politico.com / Ole Miss alum
Reposted by Daniel Payne
Children’s Health Defense, the vaccine-skeptical organization once led by now-health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is playing the long game.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/r...
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.
Children’s Health Defense is leveraging its ties to HHS to lock in legal and cultural shifts that could shape policy long after RFK Jr. leaves.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.

@danielpayne.bsky.social on the ambitions of a group that is at once at the pinnacle of its success and fiercely opposed by many in medicine.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/r...
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.
Children’s Health Defense is leveraging its ties to HHS to lock in legal and cultural shifts that could shape policy long after RFK Jr. leaves.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
Children’s Health Defense is playing the long game, honing a strategy to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.'s tenure.

The public health implications are immense.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/r...
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.
Children’s Health Defense is leveraging its ties to HHS to lock in legal and cultural shifts that could shape policy long after RFK Jr. leaves.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:34 PM
There are plenty of open questions about Trump's GLP-1 deal

www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/t...
7 burning questions about Trump’s big deal for cheaper weight loss drugs
Trump's weight loss drug announcement raises questions from the commercial market to Medicare.
www.statnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Trump announces deal with Lilly, Novo to expand access to weight loss drugs, cut prices

Details here:

www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/t...
Trump announces deal with Lilly, Novo to expand access to weight loss drugs, cut prices
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Eli Lilly's Zepbound to be sold at discounted prices on TrumpRx, covered by Medicare.
www.statnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
TOMORROW at 1pm ET: STAT reporters @jasonmast.bsky.social and Damian Garde unpack Jason’s recent investigation into how Moderna — once seen as a company that helped save the world — began to unravel.
www.statnews.com/event/modern...
The Once and Future Moderna
A live look at STAT’s reporting on the unraveling of Moderna with Jason Mast and Damian Garde.
www.statnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM
News: Amid a MAHA insurgence in Washington, one health industry group is changing its approach.

Inside the Children's Hospital Association's new strategy:

www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/c...
Children’s hospital lobby shifts strategy amid MAHA’s rise in Washington
The Children's Hospital Association is expanding its lobbying to champion children's health more broadly.
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
#Breaking: Trump administration nears deals for cheaper weight-loss drugs with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/t...
Trump administration nears deals for cheaper weight-loss drugs with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly
A deal with Lilly and Novo would be significant for the administration’s push for lower drug prices for Americans.
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Trump administration nears deals for cheaper weight-loss drugs with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly

www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/t...
Trump administration nears deals for cheaper weight-loss drugs with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly
A deal with Lilly and Novo would be significant for the administration’s push for lower drug prices for Americans.
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
Dr. Oz posted that several states had spent large amounts on Medicaid coverage for undocumented immigrants. Some states are pushing back. www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d...
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Officials from Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington say CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz posted incorrect figures about their Medicaid spending on X.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Sharp reporting by @danielpayne.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d... via @statnews.com
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Officials from Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington say CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz posted incorrect figures about their Medicaid spending on X.
www.statnews.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Dr. Oz said yesterday that states made $1B+ in illegal Medicaid payments.

But several state officials tell me his figures are wrong — and one said CMS has privately acknowledged Oz’s post is incorrect.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d...
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Officials from Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington say CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz posted incorrect figures about their Medicaid spending on X.
www.statnews.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Health care is set to be a major issue in the midterms.

Democrats and Republicans are already testing new lines of attack.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/g...
Health care takes center stage in this year’s elections, a sign of midterm strategies to come
Health care has become a central issue in this year’s elections, a sign of parties' midterm strategies to come.
www.statnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
EXCLUSIVE: A slow-boiling feud between Vinay Prasad and his staff at the FDA is threatening the future of the center that regulates the nation’s vaccines, biological products, and blood supply. Read more here:
www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/v...
Under Vinay Prasad, employees at a key FDA center fear speaking out, look for the exits
Exclusive: Vinay Prasad has rattled FDA staff by expanding his power and pushing out senior leaders.
www.statnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
Goodbye, SAMHSA?

After the Trump administration's latest layoffs at the federal agency for mental health and addiction treatment, the agency is in shambles.

On the sacking of SAMHSA and what it means for the country's behavioral health, w/ @levfacher.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/s...
Trump cuts have decimated the federal addiction and mental health agency
The Trump administration has dismantled big chunks of the federal agency focused on mental health and addiction treatment, reducing its staff by more than half
www.statnews.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Moderna, a hero of the pandemic, charted a course to change medicine with mRNA.

"It has not worked out that way," @jasonmast.bsky.social reports in this must-read.
October 30, 2025 at 1:31 PM
FDA moves to ease path for biosimilars as Trump seeks to cut drug costs

www.statnews.com/2025/10/29/f...
FDA moves to ease path for biosimilars as Trump seeks to cut drug costs
The FDA is aiming to make it easier to get biosimilar drugs approved.
www.statnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
How did these nine companies win priority drug review vouchers? Lizzy has the answers: www.statnews.com/2025/10/24/h...
October 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Trump’s IVF deal spurs hopes — and adjustments — across fertility sector

www.statnews.com/2025/10/23/t...
Trump’s IVF deal spurs hopes — and adjustments — across fertility sector
Fertility benefits firms hope Trump's IVF announcement will help them win over more clients.
www.statnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:37 PM
New reporting now in this updated story —

EMD Serono had been discussing IVF with the administration for months, even before Trump was sworn in.

Those conversations culminated in a deal this week.

But more is on the horizon, including new U.S. investment announcements from the company.
October 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Trump announces plan to expand fertility treatment coverage alongside latest pharma deal

www.statnews.com/2025/10/16/t...
Trump announces plan to expand fertility treatment coverage alongside latest pharma deal
The Trump administration has struck a deal with EMD Serono to lower drug prices — part of a larger push from the administration to expand coverage and improve affordability for fertility services.
www.statnews.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Daniel Payne
Update: CMS said late Wednesday that it was not pausing all Medicare payments to doctors, after a statement earlier in the day stated it would.
October 16, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Update: CMS said late Wednesday that it was not pausing all Medicare payments to doctors, after a statement earlier in the day stated it would.
October 16, 2025 at 4:12 AM