Presented by PBM Accountability Project — Kennedy has a history of vaccine skepticism{beacon} Health Care Health Care    The Big Story Trump seeks to ease concerns over RFK Jr. President-elect Trump tried to downplay concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday, telling reporters that the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary won’t be “radical.”© Associated Press “I think he’s going to be much less radical than you would think,” Trump said during a wide-ranging news conference at Mar-a-Lago. “He’s going to have an open mind, or I wouldn’t have put him there.”    Trump’s comments came as Kennedy kicked off a week of meetings with GOP senators to shore up support for his nomination. Some Republican senators have expressed concerns over Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism and wanted to hear directly from the former Democrat about what he believes.  Trump also said he thinks there are “problems” with vaccines and again hinted at a false connection between vaccines and autism rates.     “There are problems. We don’t do as well as a lot of other nations, and those nations use nothing,” Trump said.    It’s a position Trump has flirted with for years, but it’s recently come to the forefront as the president-elect has allied with Kennedy.   Trump also signaled he was opposed to vaccine mandates, which have long been part of the country’s public health policy. “I don’t like mandates; I’m not a big mandate person,” Trump said when asked whether schools should mandate vaccines.    Trump’s opposition to school mandates was a common theme on the campaign trail, though his aides said he was only referring to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.   Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.  Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:  Trump says there are ‘problems’ with vaccines, rejects mandatesPresident-elect Trump said he thinks there are “problems” with vaccines and again drew a false connection between vaccines and autism rates on Monday.   “There are problems. We don’t do as well as a lot of other nations, and those nations use nothing,” Trump said during a wide-ranging press conference at Mar-a-Lago.  During the press conference, Trump again hinted that vaccines are driving up autism rates …  Full Story  Sanders defends Warren comments on ‘outrageous’ UnitedHealthcare CEO killingSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defended Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for her remarks about UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s shooting and the country’s health care system, calling it “outrageous” Thompson was killed. Sanders joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday and was asked about Warren’s comments that the “visceral” response to Thompson’s death is a “warning” about how Americans view the industry. …  Full Story  RFK Jr. seeks to win over Senate GOP skeptics as he begins HHS meetings Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be seeking to ease any skepticism over his confirmation this week as he begins meetings with Senate Republicans over his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Kennedy is among the highest-profile names that Trump has rolled out for his Cabinet, which has also featured battles surrounding Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s …  Full Story   In Other News Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Montana Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling that allows gender-affirming care for minors HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors will remain temporarily blocked, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, after justices unanimously agreed with a lower court judge who found the law likely violates the state’s constitutional right to privacy. The case against the Montana … Full Story   Around the Nation Local and state headlines on health care: Softened reports. Lax oversight. How state officials enabled Steward’s rise and fall (Boston Globe)  Louisiana resident hospitalized with first presumptive positive case of bird flu (The Daily Advertiser)   Hurricane Helene destroyed a Tennessee hospital. Officials knew it was a risk (KFF Health News)  What We're Reading Health news we've flagged from other outlets: How Donald Trump broke the ice between RFK Jr. and drug company CEOs (The Washington Post)  Outgoing CDC director girds against an overhaul, tries to calm staff nerves (Stat)  Polio vax petition could preview more challenges (Axios)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: 5 takeaways from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago press conference President-elect Trump gave his first formal press conference since winning last month’s election, announcing a major SoftBank investment in the … Read more Connolly bests Ocasio-Cortez in key vote to lead Democrats on Oversight panel Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) on Monday claimed the first round of the two-step contest to lead Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee … Read more What People Think Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: How RFK Jr. could actually reform industrial agriculture No justice, no peace: Why US insurers are facing a reckoning    Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Health Care newsletter Subscribe