Latest News On Washington

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Wary of RFK Jr., Colorado Started Revamping Its Vaccine Policies in the Spring

KFF Health News Original

Amid concerns that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining trust in vaccines and public health science, some states are seeking new sources of scientific consensus and changing how they regulate insurance companies, prescribers, and pharmacists. Colorado has been at the front of this wave.

At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.

KFF Health News Original

As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.

AI Will Soon Have a Say in Approving or Denying Medicare Treatments

KFF Health News Original

A pilot program testing the use of artificial intelligence to expand prior authorization decisions in Medicare has providers, politicians, and researchers questioning Trump administration promises to curb an unpopular practice that has frustrated patients and their doctors.

Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’

KFF Health News Original

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.

States Are Cutting Medicaid Provider Payments Long Before Trump Cuts Hit

KFF Health News Original

North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.

Kennedy’s Take on Vaccine Science Fractures Cohesive National Public Health Strategies

KFF Health News Original

A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.

When I Go, I’m Going Green

KFF Health News Original

In a survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, more than 60% of respondents said they would be interested in exploring green and natural burial alternatives.

Trump Administration Investigates Medicaid Spending on Immigrants in Blue States

KFF Health News Original

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is hunting for Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse in at least six Democratic-led states that expanded coverage to low-income and disabled immigrants without legal status, according to records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press.

California Immigrants Weigh Health Coverage Against Deportation Risk

KFF Health News Original

Immigrants without legal status who live in the state are facing a Medi-Cal enrollment freeze next year. But the spate of immigration raids has raised fears that signing up before the deadline will put them on the radar of federal officials.

Despite Historic Indictment, Doctors Will Keep Mailing Abortion Pills Across State Lines

KFF Health News Original

When a New York physician was indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. But some physicians vowed not to stop.