Latest KFF Health News Stories
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': End-of-Year Chaos on Capitol Hill
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.
Trump’s Picks for Top Health Jobs Not Just Team of Rivals but ‘Team of Opponents’
The president-elect’s choices to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, FDA, and CDC, hold positions on issues including abortion and vaccination that are often at odds.
How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
Por qué el sarampión, la tos ferina y otras enfermedades graves podrían resurgir con RFK Jr.
Expertos afirman que una confluencia de factores podría causar el resurgimiento de epidemias mortales de enfermedades como el sarampión, la tos ferina y la meningitis, o incluso de polio.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Colorful Cast Could Lead Key Health Agencies
President-elect Donald Trump has made his choices to fill some top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. They include controversial figures who were vocal critics of the Biden administration’s handling of the covid pandemic and have proposed sweeping changes to the agencies they would lead. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard its first two health-related cases of the term, challenging a Tennessee law barring transgender medical care for minors and, separately, challenging the FDA’s handling of e-cigarettes. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University and Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post Well+Being “Bill of the Month” feature, about an emergency room bill for a visit that didn’t get past the waiting room.
Journalists Reflect on Trump Picks, Racism and Public Health, and Unnecessary Dental Implants
KFF Health News staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Federal Watchdog Urges Crackdown on Medicare Advantage Home Visits
Medicare officials are pushing back against a federal watchdog’s call to crack down on home visits by Medicare Advantage health plans — a practice the watchdog says may waste billions of tax dollars every year. In late October, a Health and Human Services inspector general audit found that the insurers pocketed $7.5 billion in 2023 from diagnosing health conditions that […]
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump’s Nontraditional Health Picks
Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.
Does Fluoride Cause Cancer, IQ Loss, and More? Fact-Checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Claims
Research has generally shown that drinking fluoridated water at the recommended levels is safe and beneficial for oral health, especially in children. But many people feel that more research is needed to better understand whether and when health risks kick in.
What To Know About RFK Jr.’s Stances on Key Health Issues and What He Could Do at HHS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is coming into the nomination process in an unusual position, with a long list of his own policy priorities separate from the president-elect’s, and a public promise by Trump to let him “go wild” on his ideas. Céline […]
Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’
As federal health scientists await a potential takeover by RFK Jr. and other medical skeptics in the second Trump administration, some are preparing résumés or retirement papers.
Qué le depara a la salud pública si se confirma Robert F. Kennedy Jr. como secretario de Salud
Científicos de las agencias federales de salud esperan la segunda administración de Donald Trump con incertidumbre y temor, preguntándose cómo el presidente electo conciliará filosofías radicalmente diferentes entre los líderes de su equipo.
KFF Health News Sues To Force Disclosure of Medicare Advantage Audit Records
Freedom of Information Act case targets HHS inspector general’s reviews of billions of dollars in health plan overpayments.
Watchdog Calls for Tighter Scrutiny of Medicare Advantage Home Visits
Medicare officials defend the use of home visits that often spot medical conditions that are never treated.
Cyberattacks Plague the Health Industry. Critics Call Feds’ Response Feeble and Fractured.
Health care weathered more ransomware attacks last year than any other sector, and that was before a debilitating February hack of payments manager Change Healthcare. Executives, lawyers, and policymakers are worried the federal government’s response is underpowered, underfunded, and too focused on hospital security.
Project 2025 Would Recast HHS as the Federal Department of Life
It has become a rhetorical theme for Democrats working to hold on to the White House: Allies of former president Donald Trump, they say, want to infuse conservative ideals into how the federal government does business. That vision is outlined in the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page blueprint produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation and other conservative organizations […]
Native American Public Health Officials Are Stuck in Data Blind Spot
For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.
Biden Team, UnitedHealth Struggle to Restore Paralyzed Billing Systems After Cyberattack
The cyberattack on a unit of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum division is the worst on the health care industry in U.S. history, hospitals say. Providers struggling to get paid for care say the response by the insurer and the Biden administration has been inadequate.
Montana Vows Changes to Avoid Delayed Contracts. Some Health Providers Still Await Back Pay.
The head of Montana’s health department said the agency is catching up on a months-long backlog of contracts with organizations that connect people to medical care that left organizations without pay, halted some services, and triggered job cuts.
Biden Cracks Down on Prior Authorization — But There Are Limits
More than a year after it was initially proposed, the Biden administration announced a final rule yesterday that will change how insurers in federal programs such as Medicare Advantage use prior authorization — a long-standing system that prevents many patients from accessing doctor-recommended care. “When a doctor says a patient needs a procedure, it is […]
