Trump administration appeals ruling blocking limits on international student visas
The newsletter leads with STAT’s Jason Mast reporting from Shanghai on China’s ascendant biotechs, which attendees said are 'blowing everyone’s minds.' At a two-day biotech summit, investors and dealmakers sought to cash in on Chinese-designed drugs, which now make up about one-third of the global pipeline and draw more than half of all licensing or collaboration deals. The Chinese Communist Party is confident its drug developers will have at least five blockbuster drugs by 2030, raising the question of whether the U.S. still has the scientific edge.
A KFF Health News analysis estimates 281,000 legal immigrants may lose government health benefits starting in October simply because they were not born on U.S. soil, amid Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill. Hundreds of thousands more may lose Affordable Care Act plan subsidies and Medicare coverage in January. Those affected include refugees of war, asylees who fled persecution, victims of sex trafficking, and interpreters who risked their lives assisting U.S. service members in Afghanistan — all residing in the U.S. with federal permission. The newsletter frames this as another sign that Trump’s signature tax bill last year may impact more people than expected, especially immigrants.
A separate KFF analysis found Nebraska’s Medicaid work requirement is already costing people coverage: 14% of new applicants and 7% of individuals trying to renew benefits were denied or lost coverage for not meeting work requirements. Disenrollment rates could get worse in January, when Nebraska residents will be forced to provide additional documents to prove their qualifications, and the state will most likely further restrict who qualifies for a 'medical frailty' exemption. STAT’s Isabello Cueto also reported on how confusing the state has made it for residents to understand who qualifies.
The newsletter also notes pharma’s new top lobbyist is no stranger to Washington, referencing Eric Cantor in an aside about a recurring 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' gag; the excerpt cuts off as it turns to 'the drug industry.'
The item title separately says the Trump administration appealed a ruling blocking limits on international student visas, but the excerpt does not provide further details on that appeal.