RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash
The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.
Trump Claims ‘No Downside’ to Avoiding Tylenol During Pregnancy. He’s Wrong.
Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen aren’t recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.
Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’
The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.
Watch: Fired CDC Chief Says RFK Jr. Demanded She Roll Back Vaccine Policies Without Evidence
Susan Monarez and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer Debra Houry described turmoil in an agency dominated by anti-vaccine political officials nominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Parents Fear Losing Disability Protections as Trump Slashes Civil Rights Office
The Education Department’s civil rights office often intervenes when students face discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or disability and their families can’t resolve complaints locally. Parents fear the effort to gut the federal agency will leave them with nowhere to seek justice.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC
A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who discusses his “Bill of the Month” report about a woman’s unfortunate interaction with a bat — and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.
RFK Jr. Faces Senate Finance Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Stephanie Armour, Julie Rovner, and Arthur Allen and KFF’s Josh Michaud discuss the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.
Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research
The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.
Watch: How Concerns of CDC Scientists Over Political Interference Have Grown This Year
KFF Health News correspondent Amy Maxmen traces the political turmoil at the CDC under President Donald Trump.
Senior CDC Officials Resign After Monarez’s Ouster, Citing Concerns Over Scientific Independence
Four senior officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced their resignations in recent days, citing what they described as growing political interference in the agency’s scientific work, particularly regarding vaccines.
Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks
The Trump administration’s cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News analysis shows.
Inside the CDC, Shooting Adds to Trauma as Workers Describe Projects, Careers in Limbo
Fired-then-reinstated workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worry about the future of public health amid proposed agency downsizing.
Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Have Plummeted Under Trump, Jeopardizing Care
The renowned research hospital that cares for people with rare or life-threatening diseases has been pummeled by an employee exodus and the gutting of research, both driven by the Trump administration.
This Physician-Scientist Is Taking on Trump on Behalf of Disadvantaged Communities
California researcher Neeta Thakur is leading a challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration — one that pits public health science against political ideology. Whether she prevails could influence both the future of academic research and the health of those she’s spent her life trying to help.
Sorting Out Covid Vaccine Confusion: New and Conflicting Federal Policies Raise Questions
Should you get vaccinated? Will your insurer pay for it? And will you still be able to find a vaccine? KFF Health News tries to sort out where things stand.
Aclarando la confusión sobre las vacunas contra covid-19
Las agencias dentro del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales responsables de especificar quién debe vacunarse no están necesariamente sincronizadas, emitiendo recomendaciones en apariencia contradictorias.
Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs
The workforce of a federal agency that oversees billions in grants for primary health care, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health services, and workforce training has been slashed, sparking fears of what’s to come.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.
Immigrant Kids Detained in ‘Unsafe and Unsanitary’ Sites as Trump Team Seeks To End Protections
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department seeks to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, which since 1997 has required U.S. immigration officials to hold migrant children in facilities that are safe and sanitary, among other protections. Even with the consent decree in place, court records show unsafe conditions for immigrant kids.
