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Federal health workers' pent-up frustration with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is boiling over in the aftermath of an attack on the CDC's Atlanta headquarters that they believe he helped stoke with inflammatory rhetoric and misinformation.

Why it matters: After eight months of upheaval, layoffs and grant terminations, more than 750 HHS employees on Wednesday went public in a letter to Kennedy and members of Congress that accused Kennedy of contributing to harassment and violence against government employees.

"We are civil servants. We don't tend to speak out a lot. But ... I don't feel like we can afford to be silent anymore," said Elizabeth Soda, a CDC employee speaking with Axios in her personal capacity.

• "I know that there are risks" in speaking out publicly, she said. "But to me, this is more important than the current state of my job."

Kennedy has driven the narrative that the vast bureaucracy he oversees has been captive to the industries it regulates. He's called the CDC a "cesspool of corruption" and questioned whether vaccines for measles and other viruses are safe.

• Workers are starting to push back. They're publicly demanding that Kennedy stop spreading inaccurate and misleading claims about the shots, disease transmission and public health institutions.
• NIH post-doctoral fellow Ian Morgan told Axios that he signed the letter because he wants to hold the administration accountable for vilifying federal employees and repeating anti-science rhetoric.

The other side: HHS said in a statement to Axios that CDC employees' safety and well-being is a top priority for Kennedy.

• "Any attempt to conflate widely supported public health reforms with the violence of a suicidal mass shooter is an attempt to politicize a tragedy," the statement said.

What to watch: Some signers of the letter told Axios they are hoping Congress launches an oversight probe if Kennedy digs in or doesn't respond.

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Tens of millions of dollars in CDC funding for injury and violence prevention and other public health programs that had been blocked or delayed by the Trump administration are starting to reach grantees.

Why it matters: State and local health departments that rely on the money were beginning to eye layoffs stemming from the cuts, NPR reported.

• The freezes to certain CDC projects occurred after the White House Office of Management and Budget issued the directions in a footnote on an appropriations memo in July, the Wall Street Journal reported.

State of play: It's unclear exactly how much money had been held up, but projects that involved preventing adverse child events, youth violence and firearm violence were informed yesterday the funding had begun flowing again, Sharon Gilmartin, executive director of the Safe States Alliance, told Axios.

• "It's been a roller-coaster ride, luckily with a happy ending this time," she said.

HHS referred questions to OMB. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton yesterday sent cease-and-desist letters to three websites that promote mailing abortion pills to Texas residents, threatening $100,000 penalties for their "flagrant violation of both state and federal laws."

Why it matters: It's the latest escalation of efforts from red states whose abortion bans have been circumvented by teleprescribing and the mailing of drugs like mifepristone.

Driving the news: In a release, Paxton (R) called on Plan C, Her Safe Harbor and an affiliate of Aid Access to stop "promoting, selling, or facilitating the shipment of abortion drugs."

• Failure to comply could result in litigation and civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation under Texas law, the letters said.

It comes after 16 Republican state attorneys general last month called on Congress to pass a federal law to prevent state "shield laws" that protect providers in states where abortion is legal from shipping abortion pills to states where it is not.

What to watch: The Texas legislature is eyeing a bill in a special session that would allow lawsuits against anyone who manufactures, mails, delivers, prescribes or distributes abortion pills and take aim at other state shield laws, CBS News reported.

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A growing number of startups are turning to new AI tools to help patients navigate the processes to appeal insurance denials, according to NBC News.

Why it matters: Few patients appeal claim denials. Health plan critics say denials of service requests have become more common and blame insurers' use of AI in claims processing and prior authorization requests.

• The number of prescription drug claims denied by insurance grew by 25% between 2016 and 2023, according to the New York Times.
• Affordable Care Act insurers denied 20% of claims in 2023, Axios reported.

Zoom in: Counterforce Health, a Durham, North Carolina-based startup, is among those that says it's trying to even the playing field for patients.

• The company's AI assistant drafts customized appeal letters that comb through a patient's policy, looking for the best line of defense, greatly reducing the amount of hours many patients spend drafting appeals.
• "You end up spending hours and hours researching, fighting on the phone and just stressing the hell out," Counterforce's co-founder Neal Shah told Axios. "Many people will be too intimidated and scared to do that."
• In the battle of AI against AI, the tool may help patients have the confidence to fight those denials in the first place and even begin to win, he said.

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⚕️ The Office of Personnel Management barred health plans for government workers from covering gender-affirming care for the 2026 plan year. (Government Executive)