The Week in Brief: Friday, April 17, 2026
How To Make a High-Deductible Health Plan Work for You
Jackie Fortiér and Oona Zenda
Lower premiums often mean higher costs when you get sick and need care. Among the ways to plan ahead and soften the financial hit: health savings accounts, which act like a medical piggy bank.
Rural Nebraska Dialysis Unit Closes Despite the State’s $219M in Rural Health Funding
Arielle Zionts
A rural Nebraska dialysis unit that was hemorrhaging money closed, upending patients’ lives. That’s despite a federal rural health program that granted the state more than $200 million this year to improve health care in rural communities.
Medi-Cal Immigrant Enrollment Is Dropping. Researchers Point to Trump’s Policies.
Claudia Boyd-Barrett
A KFF Health News analysis found Medi-Cal lost almost 100,000 immigrants without legal status in the second half of 2025. California officials say it’s not clear if immigrants are losing coverage faster than other populations, but researchers said the most obvious driver is fear of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
New Federal Medicaid Rules Require One Month of Work. Some States Demand More.
Samantha Liss
Starting next year, about 18.5 million adults will be subject to new Medicaid work rules in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Applicants must show they’ve been working for at least a month before receiving benefits. Some Republican-controlled states want to triple the required work period.
Pennsylvania Town Faces Fallout From Trump’s Environmental Rule Rollback
Stephanie Armour and Maia Rosenfeld
Even as the Trump administration publicly embraces the Make America Healthy Again movement and its ideals about reducing corporate harm to the environment, it has taken steps to stall environmental protections that MAHA followers hold dear.
New Orleans Takes Steps To Assess and Clean Lead in Playgrounds After Investigation
Halle Parker, Verite News
New Orleans’ mayor signed an executive order, and the city is requesting $5 million in federal funds to address lead in playgrounds.
Your New Therapist: Chatty, Leaky, and Hardly Human
Darius Tahir and Oona Zenda
With high demand for mental health care, a wave of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots are being marketed as therapy apps — with little evidence they work and few regulations.
Listen: With Little Federal Regulation, States Are Left To Shape the Rules on AI in Health Care
Lauren Sausser
As artificial intelligence embeds itself into health care, some physicians and patient advocates worry it could be used by insurance companies to refuse payment for care. Maryland passed one law banning AI from acting alone on a denial. Meanwhile, Virginia’s then-governor vetoed that state’s attempt at regulating AI in health insurance.
As US Birth Rate Falls, Feds’ Response May Make Pregnancy More Dangerous
Céline Gounder
A funding notice for Title X shifts the program’s emphasis from contraception to fertility, family formation, and addressing conditions that could cause infertility, including endometriosis. Experts say these priorities overlook key demographic trends, epidemiology, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and the nation's high maternal mortality.
Rovner Recaps Medicaid Cuts’ Impact on Hospitals and Fields Caller Questions on Affordability
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner recently made the radio rounds to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances.