Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mangione Back In Court Exactly 1 Year After United Healthcare CEO’s Death
CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down Dec. 4, 2024, on a sidewalk outside a Manhattan hotel where UnitedHealth Group was holding its annual investors’ meeting. In the year since, the case against shooting suspect Luigi Mangione, 27, has played out in pop culture in a way unlike anything in the modern media age, Baltimore Magazine writes.
At Wednesday Hearing, Senators Leave Door Open To Extending ACA Subsidies
No major overhaul seems possible before the end of the year, but optimism remained for an extension. Other news from Capitol Hill is on fraudulent Obamacare signups, President Donald Trump’s role in any potential health care deal, health insurance affordability, and more.
Viewpoints: Removing Designations Will Worsen Nursing Shortage; Overdiagnosis Debate Gets It Wrong
Opinion writers delve into these public health topics.
FDA Is Reshuffling Leadership Roles As Angst Deepens With Pazdur Exit
Theresa Michele, the director of the Office of Nonprescription Drugs, has been reassigned. Tracy Beth Høeg will take the reins at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Also, Richard Pazdur’s abrupt retirement from CDER has reignited fears that the agency is imploding, Axios reports.
Vaccine Committee Could Vote Today To End Newborn Hepatitis B Shots
The birth-dose recommendation has been in place since 1991. The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices will meet again Friday to debate broader changes to the timing of vaccines given to children, as well as whether aluminum salts should be removed from vaccines, The New York Times reported. Plus, CIDRAP takes a deeper dive into the success of the newborn hep B shot.
First Edition: Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers examine these public health topics.
San Francisco Alleges 10 Big Companies Knew Harms Of Ultraprocessed Food
The city’s lawsuit names Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle USA, Kellogg, Mars, and ConAgra Brands. Other news is on dementia, cancer, norovirus, and more.
HHS Officially Repeals Biden-Era Nursing Home Staffing Mandate
Consumer groups expressed concern over the pullback. Other health care industry news is on physician burnout, AI scribes, pharmacy benefit managers, and more.
Judge Lifts Ban On Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding, With Caveat
The federal judge’s new injunction would remove the onus on states to figure out which of their health care providers are covered by the ban and to stop funding the non-abortion services the clinics provide to Medicaid patients, Politico reports. The injunction is paused for seven days to allow the Justice Department to appeal to a higher court.
Hospital-At-Home Funding Extended Five Years Under House-Passed Bill
The measure has bipartisan support in the Senate and is expected to pass. Meanwhile, with the clock ticking down on Affordable Care Act subsidies, it doesn’t appear Congress will find common ground and extend those tax credits to Americans insured through Obamacare.
Pazdur Retiring From FDA Just 1 Month After Taking Job As Top Drug Regulator
Richard Pazdur was named director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER, in November. He was the fourth person in the position this year and had been expected to help stabilize the agency. More administration news is on SNAP, Veterans Affairs, ICE activity, and more.
ACIP Appears Poised To Shake Up Childhood Immunization Schedule
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices this week is reconsidering whether hepatitis B shots should be given at birth and whether some combination vaccines should be given separately.
First Edition: Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers tackle these public health issues.
Supreme Court To Review Case On Disclosure Of Anti-Abortion Donors
In 2023, New Jersey’s attorney general subpoenaed the names of donors to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers as part of an investigation into whether the organization was misrepresenting itself. Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case.
CMS To End Medicare Experiment Meant To Fix Kidney Dialysis Shortage
The trial, which will end Dec. 31, studied whether giving financial incentives to providers would move more patients with end-stage kidney disease onto home dialysis and through the transplant process, Stat reports. That approach was not proven to work.
Congress May Punt Funding Bills To January As Another Shutdown Looms
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) appeals to centrist Republicans in an effort to extend ACA subsidies before they expire at the end of the month.
US Opts Out Of World AIDS Day, Frustrating Activists On The Front Line
Other countries marked the day with public health declarations and commemorative ceremonies, while the Trump administration stayed silent about the epidemic. “I think it’s emblematic of an administration that doesn’t seem to care,” one activist said.
