Latest KFF Health News Stories
On Medicaid, Some In GOP Must Pick: Against Trump Or Against Constituency
A handful of Republicans represent areas where large parts of the population receive SNAP or Medicaid, NBC News reported. A Trump-endorsed budget plan going through the House right now could result in steep cuts to both programs.
Trump Halts Vaccine Advisory Panel Meetings, Quashes 2 Other Committees
The directive comes just as the CDC panel was set to gather next week to weigh guidance on flu and other vaccines. Committees addressing long covid and health equity were scrapped altogether. Meanwhile, a federal judge today will hear arguments regarding NIH research cuts.
First Edition: Friday, Feb. 21, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about these public health issues.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Sepsis Rates Increased After Abortion Ban In Texas, Analysis Shows
Rates shot up by more than 50% for pregnancies lost in the second trimester, and the maternal mortality rate rose in Texas, bucking national trends. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood in Missouri has resumed abortion procedures after a judge temporarily blocked state licensing requirements imposed on clinics. Other news comes from Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, and California.
US Hospitals On Track To Exceed Critical Capacity By 2032, Study Shows
According to the author of the study: “If the U.S. were to sustain a national hospital occupancy of 85 percent or greater, it is likely that we would see tens to hundreds of thousands of excess American deaths each year.” Other big names in the news: UnitedHealth, Sutter Health, Hims & Hers, and more.
Medical Device Lobby Urges HHS To Rethink Trump’s FDA Cuts
The CEO of the medical device lobby, AdvaMed, raised concerns over the cuts’ impact on patient health and medical device innovation. Separately, the former administrator of CMS spoke up to caution Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency against acting too quickly. Also: a protest over cuts; aid groups head to court; and more.
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.
