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Latest KFF Health News Stories

CDC Staffing Upheaval Disrupts HIV Projects and Wastes Money, Researchers Say

KFF Health News Original

Researchers laid off in April were putting the finishing touches on in-depth HIV surveys that guide treatment and prevention. Some staff have been reinstated, but data remains in limbo.

‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Batter Rural Hospital Finances, Researchers Say

KFF Health News Original

Rural hospitals would take an outsize hit from Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and other federal health programs. Researchers say the financial erosion would trigger hospital closures and service cuts, especially in communities where large shares of patients are enrolled in Medicaid.

Listen: With Vital Health Research Defunded, Who’s Losing Out? 

KFF Health News Original

From Florida to California, National Institutes of Health grant cuts have halted research studies on HIV, vaccines, and health equity — affecting red and blue states alike.

Four Ways Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Undermine Access to Obamacare

KFF Health News Original

The combination of the House-passed spending and tax bill and the Trump administration’s regulatory action could change Affordable Care Act enrollment and the cost of insurance. The result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is that millions of people may become uninsured.

What Are ‘Improper’ Medicaid Payments, and Are They as High as a Trump Official Said?

KFF Health News Original

The vast majority of improper payments stem from documentation mistakes and do not fit the definition of waste, fraud, or abuse. They also typically stem from health care providers’ actions, not beneficiaries’ abuse.

Echoing 2020, Police Use Rubber Bullets Against Protesters in Los Angeles

KFF Health News Original

“Less lethal” weapons are once again being used in Los Angeles — against people protesting the Trump administration’s immigration raids. With terms like “foam,” “sponge,” and “bean bag,” the projectiles may sound harmless. They’re not.

As Federal Health Grants Shrink, Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers

KFF Health News Original

Memory cafes are small social gatherings for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The events are cheap to run and can offer measurable benefits. Memory loss experts say they may become an even more important tool in the face of federal cuts to health programs.

‘We Dissent’: NIH Workers Protest Trump Policies That ‘Harm the Health of Americans’

KFF Health News Original

A letter signed by more than 300 National Institutes of Health workers — some still working, others who were fired this year — is an extraordinary public rebuke of actions taken under Director Jay Bhattacharya and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

El riesgo de consumir marihuana aumentaría en los adultos mayores

KFF Health News Original

Treinta y nueve estados y el Distrito de Columbia permiten ahora el consumo de cannabis con fines médicos, y en 24 de esos estados, y en el distrito, el consumo recreativo también es legal.

$20K Bonuses Among Latest Moves To Improve California’s Prison Mental Health System

KFF Health News Original

After decades of unsuccessful efforts to improve California prison conditions, advocates and a federal judge are betting that bonuses and better work accommodations will attract and keep the mental health professionals needed to better treat prisoners.

In Axing mRNA Contract, Trump Delivers Another Blow to US Biosecurity, Former Officials Say

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration is eroding national pandemic flu defenses as it guts health agencies, cuts research and health budgets, and withdraws funding for bird flu vaccines, health security experts said.