Latest KFF Health News Stories
Administration Fires Border Health Inspectors Who Screen For Diseases
Experts warn that Americans may be more vulnerable to pathogens carried by plants, animals, and people. Meanwhile, the CDC is ending a successful campaign designed to encourage people to receive the flu vaccine. In other news: Experts say the egg shortage will not affect flu vaccines; bird flu lab techs in California are going on strike; and more.
Under Trump-Endorsed House Bill, Medicaid And SNAP Take $1T Hit
Despite promising just hours earlier to protect safety net programs, Trump said he supports a Republican-led proposal floated in the House that trims $880 billion from Medicaid and about $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
HHS Revises Sex-Based Definitions That Omit Gender Identity References
The move to recast sex as an “immutable biological classification” comes as data shows a pronounced uptick in the number of Americans who identify as LGBTQ. Separately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been advised to find a scientist who “can prove vaccines do cause autism.”
First Edition: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about these public health issues.
Study Shows Lifestyle More To Blame For Premature Death Than Genetics
In the age-old question of nature vs. nurture, it looks like we might have a winner. In other news: Bioengineers think they have found the key to reversing aging on a cellular level; supplements could harm your liver; and Apple starts a new health study based off of users’ data.
Nearly A Year After Cyberattack, Ascension Hasn’t Fully Rebounded
Modern Healthcare reports that the St. Louis-based health system spent about $140 million in response to the May 2024 hack and saw operating losses of almost $1 billion. Other names in the news include MultiPlan, CVS Caremark, and the Cleveland Clinic.
Lawmakers Ban Gender-Affirming Care For Minors In Kansas, Overriding Veto
Kansas is now the 27th state to ban or restrict this type of health care. In California, a law trying to stop pharmaceutical companies from paying to keep generic drugs off the shelves for longer has been struck down. More news comes from Georgia, Texas, New York, and Colorado.
Childhood Vaccine Schedule Will Be Scrutinized, RFK Jr. Pledges
Despite his pre-confirmation assurances that he would not make changes, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to investigate topics that “were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized.” Additional news is about cuts to the 9/11 survivor program, an FDA official’s ousting, and more.
IVF Treatment Should Cost Less, Trump Says In Latest Executive Order
On average, a patient spends $15,000 on each round of in vitro fertilization, and many patients require multiple treatments, The Hill reported. Still, President Donald Trump is likely to get pushback from anti-abortion conservatives and also Senate Republicans, who have blocked consideration of IVF legislation several times in the past.
USDA Mistakenly Fires Officials Working On Bird Flu Response
The Department of Agriculture is scrambling to reverse the terminations. Meanwhile, many CDC scientists who worked in a lab program created to address embarrassing lab-safety failures, and improve outbreak responses, have been let go.
White House Backs Off Plan To Shut Down Covid Website, Discard Tests
The federal government will keep its stockpile of tests, and people may still order them through COVIDtests.gov. In other news, more Americans are skipping covid vaccines, complicating the path to herd immunity.
First Edition: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: DOGE’s Slash-And-Burn Method Will Only Make Things Worse; Most Americans Want Vaccines
Opinion writers discuss these public health issues.
More People Search For Gambling Addiction Help As Sports Betting Grows
A new study suggests that the growing number of states legalizing sports gambling is cause for concern. Meanwhile, heart failure deaths are up, partly due to medical successes that enable people to live longer. Other news is on cancer treatments, the Senate Aging Committee, and more.
Missouri Judge Clears Way For Abortions To Restart
In November, voters approved enshrining abortion rights into the state constitution, but regulations on health centers were so strict that most didn’t meet them, AP reported. The latest ruling blocks those regulations. In other news, New Jersey has broadened elderly care outside of nursing homes.
Uncertain Times Delay Private Equity Investments In Home Care
Concerns about the economy and federal policy are causing investors to take a beat on investing in companies that provide in-home care. Also, states remove mental health questions from licensure forms so doctors won’t fear getting help. Other industry news: a medical oxygen shortage, medical delivery drones, and more.
Covid Vaccine Requirements Will Cost Schools Federal Funds, Per Trump Rule
Fifteen colleges would be affected by the executive order; K-12 schools nationwide no longer have such a requirement. Meanwhile, hospitals and medical providers are feeling the strain of the nation’s worst flu season in 15 years.
As ‘Disease Detectives’ Lose Their Jobs, Worry Escalates Over Bird Flu, Measles
“We’re heading in the wrong direction,” Caitlin Rivers, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told The Washington Post. Meanwhile, a measles outbreak in Texas has doubled in size, and a fourth American was hospitalized in Wyoming with human bird flu.
White House Chops Funding For ACA Health Insurance Navigators By 90%
Explaining the cuts, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the higher funding did not represent “a reasonable return on investment.” But The Hill reports that navigators were particularly effective in helping people enroll in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
