Women's Health Archives - Page 4 of 49

Countdown to Government Shutdown

Episode 413

Sept. 11, 2025

With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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What the Health? From KFF Health News

On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC

Episode 412

Sept. 5, 2025

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.

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A woman in a bright pink blazer with a raised fist standing in front of a California and USA flag

Planned Parenthood Bets on Redistricting To Push Back Against GOP Funding Cuts

Alarmed at Republicans’ deep cuts to health care and restrictions on reproductive rights, advocates are supporting California’s effort to counter a mid-decade gerrymander by the Texas GOP to pad their party’s fragile U.S. House majority.

By Christine Mai-Duc

Aug. 20, 2025

Maryland Taps Affordable Care Act Fund To Help Pay for Abortion Care

The state is using an old source of funding to pay for a new money crunch: assisting out-of-state patients with the costs associated with abortion.

By Scott Maucione, WYPR

Aug. 15, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Kennedy Cancels Vaccine Funding

Episode 409

Aug. 7, 2025

The Health and Human Services secretary is winding down nearly $500 million in mRNA research funding, citing false claims that the technology is ineffective against respiratory illnesses — and notching a victory for critics of the covid vaccines. And President Donald Trump is demanding drugmakers drop their prices, quickly, but it’s unclear how he could make them comply. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.

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A close-cropped shot of a doctor wearing blue gloves giving second adhesive bandage to a young woman after administering vaccines.

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.

By Michelle Andrews

Aug. 4, 2025

A lawn sign near a sidewalk reads, "support federal workers."

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.

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Henry Larweh

Aug. 1, 2025

A photo of a sign outside of the Emory University Hospital emergency room.

A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Was Kept Alive in Georgia. It’s Unclear if State Law Required It.

The anti-abortion movement is rallying around new laws that establish fetal “personhood.” Doctors are scrambling to adjust, but even conservatives don’t always agree on how such laws should be applied.

By Jess Mador, WABE

July 29, 2025

What the Health? From 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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What the Health? From KFF Health News

The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding — For Now

Episode 406

July 17, 2025

The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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Closeup of a doula assisting a pregnant woman by placing a belly band while she's sitting on a fitness ball, providing support and comfort during pregnancy

Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States

Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.

By Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton

July 10, 2025

Watch: She’s at High Risk of Breast Cancer. She Moved, and Her Screening Costs Soared.

This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series explores how the type of medical facility where a patient seeks care can affect the cost of that care — particularly when that facility is a hospital.

By Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV and Jamie Grey, InvestigateTV

July 10, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Trump’s Bill Reaches the Finish Line

Episode 404

July 3, 2025

The House on Thursday moved to approve the largest-ever cuts to federal safety net programs, the last step before the measure goes to President Donald Trump’s desk. After the Senate very narrowly passed the bill, House GOP leaders ushered it past resistance from conservatives wary of adding trillions to the federal debt and moderates concerned about its cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to pursue his anti-vaccine agenda, despite promising that he would not. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A family portrait taken indoors. From left to right, the adolescent son, mother, father, and young daughter. They are wearing matching T-shirts.

HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk

The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.

By Rachana Pradhan

July 1, 2025

An unidentifiable female doctor works at a desk deep in thought.

Push To Move OB-GYN Exam Out of Texas Is Piece of AGs’ Broader Reproductive Rights Campaign

Following a petition from Democratic state attorneys general, the American Medical Association adopted a position that medical certification exams should not be required in person in states with restrictive abortion policies. The action’s success was hailed as a win for Democrats trying to regain ground after the fall of Roe.

By Annie Sciacca

June 24, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing.

Kennedy’s HHS Sent Congress ‘Junk Science’ To Defend Vaccine Changes, Experts Say

A look inside the Department of Health and Human Services document citing vaccine misinformation that could influence congressional perceptions.

By Jackie Fortiér

June 13, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!

Episode 400

June 5, 2025

The House’s gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade won’t make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.

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A photo of a pregnant woman sitting in a clinic, receiving a covid-19 vaccine.

RFK Jr. Says Healthy Pregnant Women Don’t Need Covid Boosters. What the Science Says.

Despite opposition by the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, existing evidence on the safety and efficacy of getting a covid vaccine during pregnancy all points the same way: The shots are important for maternal and fetal health.

By Jackie Fortiér

June 2, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

Episode 398

May 23, 2025

The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

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A woman in a white shirt and black vest pulled up to expose her belly lies on an exam table as another woman holds a device to the pregnant woman's stomach.

Postcard From South Dakota

Rural Patients Face Tough Choices When Their Hospitals Stop Delivering Babies

More than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2021, including a South Dakota hospital that serves small towns, farming communities, and a Native American reservation. Patients there now travel at least an hour to give birth.

By Arielle Zionts

May 19, 2025

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