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Biden administration bans asbestos as part of Cancer Moonshot initiative

Asbestos, a known carcinogen, is linked to more than 40,000 deaths a year. 

Maia Anderson

New bill aims to help providers identify patients at risk for suicide 

The legislation comes as suicide rates have increased dramatically.

Direct Care

Nicole Ortiz

Occasionally, we schedule our rounds with Healthcare Brew readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition?

Loneliness epidemic. Mental health crisis. These terms are often used to describe the state of mental health in the US, all while the country is also experiencing a behavioral health 

These mental health professionals provide counseling without going through the traditional state licensure process. One group, the 

 (LCA), is helping train groups like social workers, legal aid staff, and community health workers to become lay counselors.

Co-founder Alli Moreno brings her own expertise as a defense investigator and lay counselor to provide guidance for others interested in a “nonconventional pathway.”

After leaving the legal field when she started a family, she told us she was looking “for something that would be intervening or making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.” She joined up with co-founder Elizabeth Morrison in 2021 to see how Morrison’s psychology background and Moreno’s experience could help shape the field.

Healthcare Brew spoke with Moreno about her career and what people might not know about lay counseling.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about lay counselors?

One that comes to mind is this misconception that mental health counseling is only being provided by licensed professionals. The reality is that, as we all know, the mental health crisis is acute, and the 

 is severe, so there’s that ongoing barrier to access.

There’s tons of different ways to approach this issue, but one of them is to acknowledge that mental health counseling is happening. Really pour in rigorous professional development like workshops, training, practice opportunities, adding weekly clinical supervision and support, all of that to make structural adjustments so that counseling that’s already happening is more effective and the people providing it are more confident in doing so.

[Another] misconception is the idea of a triage, or the idea [lay counseling] is a cheaper way to provide care. Our hope is that it is equivalent in terms of value.

What are the biggest challenges you’re trying to address through the LCA?

It’s really access to quality mental health support. The need is so severe, and it’s only increasing as more marginalized, vulnerable communities are targeted in government policies and 

. It’s already affecting young people and immigrants and LGBTQ+ community members; it’s already affecting people in 

There are so many competent, skillful people who are nowhere in this conventional licensure pipeline. But they have skill, and they have community connection, and they have the desire to be helpful. So, bridging that gap of helping folks, who are already in connection with people who need the help, to help them be able to do that even better and more competently and confidently and feel acknowledged is the biggest challenge.

What are the ways health equity plays into how you’re approaching this?

When you think about people who have lower resources, have lower social power, they’re less likely to be able to get care that they need. When we’re supporting people who are already in those communities—who already have relationships to meaningfully respond to those needs and to do so in a way that’s supported and there’s continual learning and growth—we’re responding to people who have the least access. That’s where we’re gravitating toward first.

What’s your biggest achievement in your career so far?

These [cohorts] are hearing these mental health struggles from people, which means that they’re doing something to indicate to the people that they’re safe. And that means that they have some sort of skill. And then not only is that person telling them, but they keep coming back.

I always feel so proud and happy to be able to elevate and amplify and acknowledge that skill in other people who come through our course and who are on our team, too.

A portrait of Alli Moreno, co-Creator of the Lay Counselor Academy & Counselor.

Lay Counselor Academy's Alli Moreno discusses lay counseling and reaching underserved patients

Through the Lay Counselor Academy, Moreno is addressing a provider shortage in behavioral health.

Alli Moreno discusses lay counseling and reaching underserved patients

Cassie McGrath

Accessing maternal care in rural areas is 

 don’t even provide birthing services, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

So the Hope Women’s Resource Clinic, based in Beaumont, Texas, is hitting the road and bringing care to patients.

The maternal health clinic launched a “mobile medical unit” in 2020, and in 2023 switched to a 38-foot van that has two exam rooms, a waiting area, and a lab, Jeanette Harvey, executive director of the clinic, told Healthcare Brew. The mobile unit provides free care for pregnant people and only operates in Texas, mainly serving Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Chambers, and Galveston counties surrounding Beaumont, a city of 115,000+ people.

“There’s nothing like us—nobody that does what we do,” Harvey said.

The mobile unit was created after clinic staff realized how hard it was for patients to reach them without access to public transportation, she said. The 

 reported that 21% of US adults who didn’t have vehicle or public transit access could not access “needed medical care” in 2022.

The facility initially started to provide Lyfts for patients in need of transportation, but soon realized it would be easier to go to them instead, according to Harvey.

It runs Monday through Thursday and serves each area consistently—always Jefferson County on Mondays, for example.

 In Texas, patients can get access to Medicaid coverage if they are pregnant (the Texas Standard reported 

 of 31.3 million Texas residents were pregnant and on Medicaid as of 2022), so a big part of the clinic’s work is conducting the medical testing required to get patients covered.

“If somebody’s trying to get on insurance, they don’t want to go somewhere where they have to pay to get proof that they need to be on insurance,” Harvey said, explaining that people need to provide documentation of pregnancy from a medical examiner to qualify for Medicaid.

The unit conducts ultrasounds and STD testing and also has the Hope Academy, which provides educational resources to parents until their baby turns one, according to Harvey.

At the academy, any parent patient of the clinic can take in-person or online classes about healthy behaviors, like going to the doctor and exercising, in exchange for points that help them access donated baby beds, car seats, diapers, wipes, and formula, Harvey said. The clinic delivers these items via the mobile unit.

Staff includes a medical director, a radiologist, an ob-gyn, registered nurses, licensed sonographers, a life coach, and a licensed counselor. The unit also provides a list of doctors that are covered by Medicaid.

The Hope Clinic does not receive government funding, Harvey said, operating solely on donations.

The clinic served about 3,800 patients in total in 2023, 273 of which were at its mobile unit. The total was nearly 4,700 total last year, 399 of which were mobile patients. It’s on track to treat 500 people through its mobile unit by the end of this year, Harvey said.

Additionally, the Hope Clinic is adding a physical site in Port Arthur, a city in Jefferson County about 30 minutes from the clinic’s main location, Harvey said. Once that building is finalized—they’re aiming for the end of the year, she said—staff will take the mobile unit to another area that’s yet to be determined.

At the Beaumont site, the clinic just opened a 3,400-square-foot parenting center, Harvey said, with the aim of serving parents and babies up to three years after birth.

“That’s where we see a lot more of the need,” she said, “beyond the prenatal.”

Babies do a lot of development in those first three years, which can have lasting effects on their life, the national 

 at Vanderbilt University reported in 2021.

The clinic acquired in 2020 donated property across the street, where it plans to build a shelter to support unhoused women and children. Harvey said the center’s waiting for $500,000 in funding to come through, but once it’s built, the shelter will have a caretaker on-site and operate as sort of a “mini hotel” to allow families to find permanent housing.

R Cody Stringer, senior director of innovation and product development at nonprofit March of Dimes, which has a number of mobile maternity units and works to improve maternal and infant care, said in an emailed statement the vans are “a lifeline for the families without access to appropriate pregnancy care.”

According to March of Dimes, only 2% of mobile health units in the US offer maternity care.

“We need more of these community-based interventions to ensure every mom and baby can access quality care, no matter where they live,” Stringer said.

Blue and white bus that reads Free ultrasound, pregnancy, and STD testing

Hope Women’s Resource Clinic Texas clinic is providing maternity care from a van 

The van travels to five counties in East Texas, helping pregnant people get on Medicaid and access prenatal care. 

This Texas clinic is providing maternity care from a van 

illustrated headshot of caroline catherman, healthcare brew reporter

Caroline Catherman

Angel Foster only enters the US via Canada, where she’s a professor. She doesn’t drive a car outside Massachusetts. And she doesn’t visit Florida, South Carolina, or other states that ban or restrict abortion.

These are the precautions this MD takes as founder of the Massachusetts Abortion Access Project (the MAP). It’s a service that prescribes and ships abortion medication via telehealth under Massachusetts’s shield law, which protects those physically present in Massachusetts from out-of-state penalties for accessing or assisting with abortion care.

Legal challenges to providing abortions via shield law have popped up over the last few months, but Foster and others 

. Foster envisions a future with even more providers working similarly from other states that have comprehensive shield laws.

“We have been trying to identify folks in those states who are willing to provide [this care], and then work with them to build out a practice so that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Foster said. “They can piggyback on a lot of the things that we’ve learned.”

Twenty-two other states and Washington, DC, currently have shield laws, according to the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Eight of those—California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—

 protect telehealth abortion even if the recipient is located in a state where it’s illegal for them to get care.

The Supreme Court struck down constitutional protections for abortion 

. The MAP was founded in September 2023. It serves 2,000 to 2,500 patients a month, 95% of whom are from states with bans and restrictions, Foster said. In 2024, about 10,000 abortions in the US were provided under shield laws each month, according to the nonprofit research organization the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount tracker.

Though not a prescriber herself, Foster still faces a risk of prosecution if she leaves the state of Massachusetts. The MAP’s five prescribers know the risks, too. “I think we all went into working in the shield law space with the expectation that there would be a lawsuit at some point,” Foster said.

Beyond Foster’s practice, telehealth abortions are growing rapidly, making up to 

 by the end of 2024, compared to 19% at the end of 2023 and 7% at the end of 2022, according to #WeCount.

 found that this form of treatment is just as safe and effective as in-person abortion.

No one has been jailed for providing a telehealth abortion to someone in a state where the procedure is banned.

Recently, however, 15 attorneys general from banned states signed a 

“These laws are blatant attempts to interfere with states’ ability to enforce criminal laws within their borders and disrupt our constitutional structure,” they wrote.

 against a New York doctor who allegedly prescribed pills to a minor in the state. So far, New York’s governor has held strong and refused to turn the doctor over for prosecution. This, and the MAP’s close working relationship with the Massachusetts government, gives Foster hope.

“We’re feeling very confident about the ability of the Massachusetts shield law to protect us,” she said.

White pills floating across between two phones with a checkmark on one screen. Credit: Anna Kim

Abortion shield law provider encourages others to follow her lead

Recent laws have challenged the practice, but that isn’t deterring providers.

Wondering who’s in and who’s out at major health companies, emerging startups, hospitals, and more? We’ve got you covered.

After more than four years as a regional CEO at UnitedHealthcare Community & State, the company made Cotton CEO of its Medicaid business, filling a role that now Optum Health COO Krista Nelson left in May, Becker’s Payer Issues 

The president and CEO of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health has been named as the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees chair-elect designate. He’ll serve as chair-elect of the trade group in 2026 and become chair in 2027.

 post, Hunter announced he’s now UnitedHealthcare’s CEO of government programs, an expansion of his previous role, CEO of Medicare and retirement.

Medications savings platform GoodRx has tapped Jensen as its chief commercial officer and president of pharma solutions, effective July 28, where she’ll manage and grow partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. She was previously head of manufacturer and provider business development at Amazon Pharmacy.

 Xaira Therapeutics, a Brisbane, California-based biotech startup, appointed Jonker as president and COO on July 9. He previously served as president and CEO of drug discovery company Belharra Therapeutics.

Biotech startup Diagonal Therapeutics appointed the physician–scientist as its chief medical officer on July 8. He has held executive roles at Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, and most recently was chief medical officer of another biotech startup, Nuevocor.

Bristol Myers Squibb turned to AstraZeneca for its new EVP, chief medical officer, and head of development. Massacesi—up until now, chief medical officer and oncology chief development officer for AstraZeneca—will take on the new roles on Aug. 1, when the old chief medical officer and head of development, Samit Hirawat, leaves.

 Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) tapped Muhsin to be the company’s EVP plus the president of its soon-to-begin Connected Care segment, which will focus on advanced analytics and AI solutions. Muhsin came to BD after 25 years at Masimo, a health tech and consumer electronics manufacturer.

The Stanford University school of medicine professor was appointed director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research on July 21.

Healthcare Brew's August on Rotation editorial feature

On Rotation: July 2025

We keep our fingers on the pulse of who’s moving where in the healthcare world.

The US recently hit a new record—and not a good one. The country has now seen more measles cases in 2025 than in any single year since the virus was 

As of July 29, there have been 1,333 confirmed measles cases in the US, according to the CDC. The previous record was 1,274 cases in 2019, which largely occurred in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York that had a 

Most of the cases this year (762) have been in Texas, connected to an 

 that started in January. New Mexico and Kansas are also seeing upticks in cases this year, with New Mexico reporting 96 as of July 24 and Kansas reporting 90 as of July 23.

 and deadly virus continuing to rise, Healthcare Brew asked executives across the healthcare industry how the spread of 

 is affecting their respective sectors as well as what health leaders can do to slow the spread.

Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Kansas Medical Center, told Healthcare Brew that while measles so far hasn’t significantly impaired the US healthcare system as a whole, the uptick in cases is putting a strain on local systems in outbreak areas, particularly in 

 “where we know that access to healthcare tends to be significantly less than in some urban areas.”

“It is important to remember and consider it is not only the population health of the growing measles epidemic but also the individual toll it takes,” Hawkinson said. “Getting sick or needing to be hospitalized significantly impacts each patient and typically their family.”

To help combat the spread of measles, he said hospital leaders and public health authorities need to “be vigilant in providing accurate, transparent messaging about potential risks of the measles, which could include death.

“While there is no treatment for measles itself, we have a very safe and effective preventative intervention with vaccination,” Hawkinson said. “It is a combination of these things—measles awareness, accurate messaging, access to healthcare and vaccination—that will help to combat the rise of measles cases.”

Brad Perkins, chief medical officer of Karius, a health tech company that focuses on infectious disease diagnostics, told us measles outbreaks are “exposing systemic vulnerabilities in vaccination coverage and public trust, undermining decades of progress in US measles control and elimination.”

“The resurgence of measles in the US is placing renewed strain on a healthcare system already stretched by chronic 

, persistent post-pandemic disruptions, and chronic budget uncertainties,” Perkins said.

Like Hawkinson, he stressed the need for health tech leaders to combat misinformation and support vaccine education.

“Leadership in this moment means advocating for evidence-based foundations of public health and the critical importance of routine childhood vaccinations,” he said.

Anita Patel, VP of pharmacy services development at Walgreens, told Healthcare Brew the growing number of measles cases in the US is a “reminder of how essential routine vaccinations are,” adding that the virus puts an “unnecessary strain on our healthcare systems and leads to avoidable hospitalizations and suffering.”

As pharmacies are one of the most common places where people are immunized, pharmacy leaders “play a critical role in vaccine education and access,” Patel said. 

Amy Compton-Phillips, EVP and chief medical officer at CVS Health, said the rise in measles cases are placing an “unnecessary strain” on the healthcare system, increasing costs by requiring additional staffing and resources.

Providers should “take steps to remind patients about the illness, its dangers, and the safe and effective ways to help prevent it,” she added. “Pharmacies can also play an important role in the fight against measles by reinforcing the importance of preventive vaccination for patients, particularly for those with known vaccination gaps.”

Alison Hunt, a spokesperson for GSK, a UK-based drugmaker that makes the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine Priorix, told us the company has been working with “local governments, healthcare providers, and public health partners” to boost vaccination rates in outbreak areas.

GSK has enough MMR vaccines for the current outbreaks, and the company is monitoring the situation to make sure it maintains an adequate supply, Hunt said.

Illustration of faces with one yellow one in the middle that has red spots around it

Healthcare execs on how the measles outbreak is affecting the industry 

Leaders from across tech, pharma, and hospitals say public health messaging is crucial as the virus spreads. 

Occasionally, we schedule our rounds with Healthcare Brew readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? 

 column, where we feature experts in the healthcare industry and highlight what they do, the challenges and misconceptions they face, and the parts of their jobs that bring them the most joy.

We spoke with Robert Andrews, CEO of the Health Transformation Alliance (HTA), a group of healthcare organizations working to provide better healthcare experiences for employees and their families. Before starting HTA, Andrews served as a member of the New Jersey House of Representatives for almost 25 years.

“Put simply, we’re all working together to do one thing: fix our broken healthcare system,” he told us about the company’s goals.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?

At the HTA, we have learned the immense value of saying a polite “no” when a potential partner’s services are not a good fit for our members. By embracing the practice of politely declining partnerships that do not align with our collective goals, we ensure that our valuable resources and efforts are focused on collaborations that have a higher probability of success and a positive impact. While it can be challenging to turn down opportunities, especially when a potential partner presents an appealing solution, we believe it is crucial to assess every opportunity for the greater good of the collective.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

One of the most common misconceptions about our work at the HTA is that our sole focus is on saving money for employers. While it’s true that we do strive to achieve cost efficiencies, our primary mission is focused on the people we serve. We are passionately dedicated to driving meaningful change in the healthcare system by focusing on better health outcomes for millions of employees and their families.

What healthcare trend are you most optimistic about?

The growing emphasis on consumer-centric care signifies a pivotal step toward better healthcare outcomes. When healthcare services are tailored to meet the needs and preferences of the patients, it fosters a stronger sense of engagement and empowerment among individuals. This, in turn, can lead to higher levels of adherence to treatment plans, increased participation in preventive care, and, ultimately, better health outcomes.

As more and more consumers demand convenient healthcare delivery, it can also act as a catalyst for innovation in the industry. Healthcare providers and systems may respond to this demand by adopting and integrating technologies that enhance access to care, such as telemedicine, remote monitoring devices, and digital health platforms. These advancements can break down barriers to access, making healthcare more readily available to a broader population, including those in remote or underserved areas.

What healthcare trend are you least optimistic about?

While the intention behind making pricing information more transparent is noble, there are two key reasons why I am cautious about its impact.

Firstly, the process of obtaining and disseminating accurate and comprehensive price data is taking far too long. The implementation of price transparency initiatives has faced significant challenges, including data collection, standardization, and collaboration between various healthcare stakeholders. As a result, the information made available to consumers might not be as up-to-date or as comprehensive as needed to make fully informed decisions.

Secondly, the publication of price data in the absence of quality data raises concerns about potential unintended consequences. While knowing the price of healthcare services is essential, it is equally vital to consider the quality of care being offered. Relying solely on price data without accompanying information about the quality of services or outcomes may lead patients to make decisions based on cost alone, overlooking critical aspects like provider expertise, treatment effectiveness, and patient safety.

Health Transformation Alliance CEO Robert Andrews

Health Transformation Alliance CEO Robert Andrews on what led him to leave his government role and found the collective

The group of health organizations is trying to “fix our broken healthcare system,” CEO  Robert Andrews says.

Health Transformation Alliance CEO on what led him to leave his government role and found the collective

Medical debt will be allowed to remain on consumer credit reports after a Texas federal judge overturned a rule on July 11 that would have banned the information from being used to determine someone’s credit worthiness.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) 

 in June 2024 and finalized it this January in an effort to shield consumers from the negative consequences of high medical costs. Rohit Chopra, who was the CFPB director at the time, said in a statement “medical bills on credit reports too often are inaccurate and have little to no predictive value when it comes to repaying other loans.”

The Biden-era CFPB estimated last year that roughly 15 million people in the US had a combined $49 billion in medical debt that was negatively affecting their credit scores. In 2021, about 8% of all US adults had medical debt totaling at least $220 billion, according to the 

Though the rule was set to take effect this March, two credit agency trade groups—Cornerstone Credit Union League and the Consumer Data Industry Association—sued the CFPB, arguing only Congress has the power to pass such a change.

A court order delayed the rule’s implementation, and in April, the CFPB, now under the Trump administration, 

 the credit agency plaintiffs in asking for it to be thrown out.

US District Judge Sean Jordan of the Eastern District of Texas sided with the plaintiffs, agreeing the CFPB had exceeded its authority when it passed the rule.

“As it stands, [the Fair Credit Reporting Act] authorizes [credit reporting agencies] to include information about a consumer’s medical debts in consumer reports when properly coded to conceal the name of the provider and the nature of the services provided. It also permits creditors to use that information to determine a consumer’s credit eligibility,” Jordan wrote in his decision.

 Colin Reusch, director of policy at Community Catalyst, a nonprofit that advocates for an equitable health system, said in a July 16 statement Jordan’s ruling is a “disappointing setback.”

“The CFPB’s rule would have kept unfair, often inaccurate medical bills from destroying people’s credit scores. Instead, a court sided with corporate profiteers rather than the public,” he said.

A group of senators, including Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, were also seemingly not pleased with the judge’s decision, saying in a July 18 

 they would “push” the CFPB to release information on why it decided to drop the rule.

On the other side, Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association—one of the credit agencies that sued the CFPB—reportedly told 

 in a statement that “information about unpaid medical debts is an important element in assessing a consumer’s ability to pay. This is the right outcome for protecting the integrity of the system.”

Ge Bai, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Healthcare Brew last year when the rule was proposed that it may be bad news for hospitals, as it could make it harder to collect unpaid debts.

“Once hospitals know that the chance for them to collect debt becomes lower, they will have to take other actions to remedy. That actually will make it harder for low-income patients to access care,” Bai told us.

Two business hands shaking with money in between falling out. (Credit: Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock)