NIH Archives - Page 2 of 9 - KFF Health News

Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes

Episode 407

July 24, 2025

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.

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Demonstrators march in a street holding signs, including one that says "Freeze cancer, not funding"

World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos

After spearheading a 34% cut in cancer mortality, the National Cancer Institute at the NIH is bleeding resources and staff and could see its budget cut by nearly 40%.

By Rachana Pradhan and Arthur Allen

July 9, 2025

A photo of a White House event with three people sitting at the end of the table: Brooke Rollins, Donald Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘MAHA Report’ Calls for Fighting Chronic Disease, but Trump and Kennedy Have Yanked Funding

Scientists and public health advocates see disconnects between what the Trump administration says about health — notably, in its “MAHA Report” — and what it’s actually doing.

By David Hilzenrath

July 2, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

Episode 403

June 26, 2025

In this special episode taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, three former governors — one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — discuss how state and federal officials can work together to improve Americans’ health. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and HHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner.

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The Week in Brief

NIH Workers Risk Retaliation by Openly Protesting Trump Policies

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Rachana Pradhan

June 13, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldn’t

Episode 401

June 12, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week did something he had promised not to do: He fired every member of the scientific advisory committee that recommends which vaccines should be given to whom. And he replaced them, in some cases, with vaccine skeptics. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees of the National Institutes of Health sent an open letter to the agency’s director, accusing the Trump administration of policies that “undermine the NIH mission.” Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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

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.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

June 12, 2025

A photo of the NIH campus on a partly-cloudy day. A few pedestrians walk past an entrance to the building.

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

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.

By Rachana Pradhan

June 9, 2025

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Recap State of NIH Cancer Research and Abortion Law’s Effect on Clinical Decisions

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

June 7, 2025

A row of three vials with a syringe sticking out of the third.

Trump Administration Is Ending Multiple HIV Vaccine Studies, Scientists and Officials Say

The cuts will shutter two major HIV vaccine research efforts, and a National Institutes of Health senior official said the agency has been instructed not to issue any more HIV vaccine research funding in the next fiscal year, with few exceptions.

By Céline Gounder and Alexander Tin, CBS News

June 3, 2025

A photo of a crowd of protesters marching in a Montana town.

Federal Cuts Ripple Through a Bioscience Hub in Rural Montana

The National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, is one of only a few dozen research facilities of its type. The threat of staffing and grant cuts has town leaders worried and has added to long-standing tension around the lab’s presence in this politically conservative region.

By Katheryn Houghton

May 27, 2025

A photo of President Trump seated at a desk, gesturing with his hands, holding a magic marker. Three men stand behind him; they are heads of federal health agencies.

How Trump Aims To Slash Federal Support for Research, Public Health, and Medicaid

One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

May 20, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits

Episode 397

May 15, 2025

GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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Letters to the Editor

Readers Scrutinize Federal Cuts and Medical Debt

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

May 12, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP

Episode 396

May 8, 2025

Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.

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A photo of Senator Ron Wyden speaking at the dais during a Senate hearing.

Sen. Ron Wyden Seeks Answers on RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff

“Citizen oversight is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanding answers to more than two dozen questions, including who was involved in decisions to fire staff who handled Freedom of Information Act requests.

By Rachana Pradhan

May 8, 2025

A photo illustration shows the exterior of the White House seen behind a blurred picture of an American flag waving in the wind against a blue sky.

Trump Policies at Odds With ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Push

On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation’s high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.

By Stephanie Armour

May 7, 2025

An illustration in watercolor of a syringe and vaccine vial against a soft background of dotted light.

Trump Team’s $500 Million Bet on Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS said an enormous, noncompetitive flu vaccine development grant to two favored NIH leaders would ensure “transparency, effectiveness, and comprehensive preparedness.” But their vaccine is in early stages, relies on old technology, and is just one of scores of similar efforts.

By Arthur Allen

May 5, 2025

A photo of a woman in a lab coat using a pipette and flask.

As a Diversity Grant Dies, Young Scientists Fear It Will Haunt Their Careers

The Trump administration defunded the National Institutes of Health’s MOSAIC grant program, which launched the careers of scientists from diverse backgrounds.

By Brett Kelman

April 29, 2025

A photo of a scientist's gloved hands using a pipette to take a sample from a petri dish.

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump

A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan

April 17, 2025

Trump 2.0

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