The Week in Brief: Friday, Aug. 1, 2025
A Tourist Ended Up With a Wild Bat in Her Mouth — And Nearly $21,000 in Medical Bills
Tony Leys
Health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment for injuries sustained shortly before a customer buys a policy. A Massachusetts woman found that out the hard way.
California Looked to Them To Close Health Disparities, Then It Backpedaled
Vanessa G. Sánchez
A statewide initiative to formalize the role of community health workers and expand their ranks was meant to improve the health of underserved communities, particularly Hispanic populations, who often experience higher rates of chronic illnesses. But years in, California has abandoned a certification program and rescinded public support.
Lawfully Present Immigrants Help Stabilize ACA Plans. Why Does the GOP Want Them Out?
Bernard J. Wolfson
The GOP’s tax and spending law and a new rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make it harder to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans, will raise consumers’ out-of-pocket costs, and could prompt younger, healthier people, including lawfully present immigrants who will lose financial aid, to drop coverage.
This Test Tells You More About Your Heart Attack Risk
Paula Span
Coronary artery calcium scans can offer a more precise estimate of a patient’s chances for major cardiac events. Some cardiologists say it remains underused.
Immigrant Kids Detained in ‘Unsafe and Unsanitary’ Sites as Trump Team Seeks To End Protections
Sandy West
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department seeks to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, which since 1997 has required U.S. immigration officials to hold migrant children in facilities that are safe and sanitary, among other protections. Even with the consent decree in place, court records show unsafe conditions for immigrant kids.
Tribal Groups Assert Sovereignty as Feds Crack Down on Gender-Affirming Care
Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Native American groups declare that tribal sovereignty trumps state and federal efforts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for two-spirit and LGBTQ+ tribal citizens. Tribes are analyzing the risk of opposing Trump’s policies, advocates say.
Chronically Ill? In Kennedy’s View, It Might Be Your Own Fault
Stephanie Armour
In their zeal to “Make America Healthy Again,” top Trump administration officials depict patients and the doctors who treat them as partly responsible for whatever ails them.
Deep Staff Cuts at a Little-Known Federal Agency Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Health Programs
Sarah Jane Tribble and Henry Larweh
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.
Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.
A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Was Kept Alive in Georgia. It’s Unclear if State Law Required It.
Jess Mador, WABE
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.
Journalists Drill Down How Federal Cuts Will Affect Medicaid, Cancer Research, and Uninsured Rates
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Readers Weigh In on Making American Health Care Affordable Again
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.