Latest KFF Health News Stories
States, Congress, Industry Are Split On What To Do About Silica Dust Deaths
In a push to prevent countertop cutters’ deaths, California is discussing whether to ban the cutting of so-called engineered stone, quartz, which emits the lung-damaging dust when cut. But at least one manufacturer says there is a way that quartz “can be fabricated safely.” Meanwhile, Republicans in Washington are discussing a bill that would ban workers from suing the makers of the slabs.
Organ Donations Fall For First Time In Years As Health Care Mistrust Grows
The vast majority of people on transplant waiting lists need a kidney, AP reported. An analysis of federal data found that 116 fewer kidney transplants were performed in 2025 than the year before. The decrease would have been even larger, experts said, were it not for an increase last year in the number of transplants from healthy, living donors.
Kaiser Permanente Settles Lawsuits Over Fraud, Data-Sharing Allegations
Affiliates of the California-based health care provider have agreed to pay $556 million to settle claims that KP bilked Medicare by bumping up diagnoses to reap more reimbursements. Plus: The United States spent $5.28 trillion on health care in 2024, a CMS report shows.
GOP Senators Seek FDA Review Over Telehealth Dispensing Of Mifepristone
The Senate health committee convened Wednesday to discuss the safety of telehealth prescribing of the abortion pill. Also: Senate negotiations on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies might get derailed over abortion disagreements.
School Cafeterias Now Allowed To Offer Whole Milk, 2%, And Nondairy Options
The newly signed bill reverses an Obama-era provision aimed at reducing children’s consumption of saturated fats to slow obesity and boost health. The change could take effect as soon as this fall. Other news looks at HHS’ reversal of its funding cuts for mental health and addiction.
First Edition: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Records System Epic Launches Lawsuit Over Illegally Accessed Files
The lawsuit alleges fraud and breach of contract by health information network Health Gorilla and its customers over improperly accessing nearly 300,000 patient records managed by Epic. Plus: The second day of the New York City nursing strike sees no negotiations; providers are flummoxed by CMS’ new payment models; and more.
Opinion writers discuss these public health issues.
Thanks To New Treatments, 7 In 10 Cancer Patients Survive Over 5 Years
The milestone was reported Tuesday in a report from the American Cancer Society. The report estimated 4.8 million cancer deaths were prevented from 1991 to 2023, and many cancers have gone from death sentences to chronic diseases.
Missouri Supreme Court Permits Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Parents do not have a right to secure treatment for a child that “the state legislature deems inappropriate for minors,” the court ruled. The ban, known as the SAFE Act, is set to expire in 2027. Also in the news: New York, West Virginia, Idaho, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Connecticut.
Trump Administration Reinstates Hundreds Of NIOSH Employees
Bloomberg reports that employees of the agency — which conducts and supports research on workplace safety and health — were informed that their layoff notices were “hereby revoked.” Other administration news is on Planned Parenthood funding, the continuing wake of USAID, and more.
On Eve Of Sign-Up Deadline, Deal To Extend ACA Subsidies Looks Unlikely
In most states, tomorrow is the deadline to enroll in an Obamacare plan, although a handful of states have delayed it until later in January. Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told The Hill that the issue of abortion funding remains the main sticking point.
RFK Jr. Adds, Removes Vaccine Advisers
The Health and Human Services secretary has appointed to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices two doctors with histories of publicly questioning the safety of vaccines. HHS also told a member of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccinations that her term is ending early.
First Edition: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers tackle these public health topics.
New Way To Fight Alzheimer’s Uses Protein Found In Garlic
Johns Hopkins is exploring an Alzheimer’s treatment that focuses on increasing hydrogen sulfide production at the cellular level. Meanwhile, researchers at Brown University have discovered a noninvasive way to predict the likelihood of people with mild cognitive impairment developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Science, Not Politics, Guided FDA’s Decisions On Abortion Pill: Analysis
One noted exception to the finding that agency leaders largely adhered to the evidence-based recommendations of scientists happened during the first Trump term, while covid restrictions were in place, when agency brass declined to lift a required in-person visit to acquire mifepristone.
UnitedHealth’s Extreme Tactics Upped Medicare Payouts, Senate Inquiry Finds
The Senate report does not accuse UnitedHealth of wrongdoing, but it describes in detail how the company used artificial intelligence and other data-mining techniques to scan patient medical records for new diagnoses and “appears to use all of these mechanisms to the utmost degree.” A UnitedHealth spokesman said the company disagreed with the Senate report’s characterizations.
More Than 230 Groups Demand That Congress Investigate Vaccine Overhaul
The letter from medical groups and public health organizations urged lawmakers to prove “why the schedule was changed, why credible scientific evidence was ignored, and why the committee charged with advising the HHS secretary on immunizations did not discuss the schedule changes as a part of their public meeting process.”
