The Week in Brief: Feb. 21, 2025
GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk
Phil Galewitz
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals — and every state.
Iowa Medicaid Sends $4M Bills to Two Families Grieving Deaths of Loved Ones With Disabilities
Tony Leys
States are required to claw back health care costs from the estates of many Medicaid recipients. Some, including Iowa, are particularly aggressive in their pursuit.
Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The Covid ‘Contrarians’ Are in Power. We Still Haven’t Hashed Out Whether They Were Right.
Arthur Allen
Jay Bhattacharya, nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health, opposed most covid mandates. Without an honest public debate about what worked and what didn’t, public health experts say, we’re even less prepared for the next pandemic.
An Ice Rink To Fight Opioid Crisis: Drug-Free Fun vs. Misuse of Settlement Cash
Aneri Pattani
A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.
Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’
Brett Kelman and Oona Zenda
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
Deny and Delay? California Seeks Penalties for Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong
Christine Mai-Duc
A state lawmaker wants health insurers to disclose denial rates and explain those denials as anger grows over rising costs and uncovered medical care. If the bill is signed into law, health experts say, it could be one of the boldest attempts in the nation to rein in denials.
Journalists Talk Southern Health Care: HIV Drug Access, Medicaid Expansion, Vaccination Rates
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.