The Week in Brief: Friday, July 11, 2025
Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs for Many Americans
Phil Galewitz and Julie Appleby and Renuka Rayasam and Bernard J. Wolfson
Spending cuts hitting medical providers, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act enrollees, and lawfully present immigrants are just some of the biggest changes the GOP has in store for health care — with ramifications that could touch all Americans.
Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law
President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.
To Keep Medicaid, Mom Caring for Disabled Adult Son Faces Prospect of Proving She Works
Bram Sable-Smith
A proposed work requirement would make Medicaid expansion enrollees prove they’re working or meet other criteria. Most already work, but millions are expected to lose coverage if the provision passes, many from red tape. A Missouri mother who cares for her disabled son would probably be subject to the rule.
To Cut Medicaid, the GOP’s Following a Path Often Used To Expand Health Care
Julie Rovner
Republicans are attempting to use the budget reconciliation process to boost President Donald Trump’s priorities and reduce health coverage. That process has been used to pass nearly every major piece of health legislation for decades — except usually lawmakers use it to expand health care, not cut it, writes Julie Rovner.
GOP Governors Mum as Congress Moves To Slash Medicaid Spending for Their States
Phil Galewitz
In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors — whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage — have gone quiet on the health consequences.
California Immigrants Weigh Health Coverage Against Deportation Risk
Claudia Boyd-Barrett
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.
Insurers Fight State Laws Restricting Surprise Ambulance Bills
Rae Ellen Bichell and Katheryn Houghton
A Colorado bill banning surprise billing for ambulance rides passed unanimously in both legislative chambers, only to be met with a veto from the governor. As more states pass such legislation, some are hitting the same snag — concerns about raising premiums.
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part II
Dan Weissmann
In this second part of a two-part series on dealing with the high price of prescription drugs, experts share their insider tips.
States Brace for Reversal of Obamacare Coverage Gains Under Trump’s Budget Bill
Julie Appleby
States that run their own health insurance marketplaces fear an end to automatic Obamacare reenrollment under the tax and spending megabill would have an outsize effect on their policyholders.
In a First, Trump and GOP-Led Congress Prepare To Swell Ranks of US Uninsured
Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead
Fewer Americans will likely have health insurance, compromising their physical and financial health, as the Trump administration and GOP-controlled Congress weigh major changes to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. “The effects could be catastrophic,” one policy analyst predicts.
World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos
Rachana Pradhan and Arthur Allen
After spearheading a 34% cut in cancer mortality, the National Cancer Institute at the NIH is bleeding resources and staff and could see its budget cut by nearly 40%.
Feds Investigate Hospitals Over Religious Exemptions From Gender-Affirming Care
Kate Wells, Michigan Public
Federal health officials are investigating claims that a Michigan health system fired an employee who sought a religious exemption to avoid calling transgender patients by their pronouns or referring them for gender-affirming care. Legal experts say the investigation escalates the Trump administration’s effort to curb medical care for transgender patients.
Trump’s Bill Reaches the Finish Line
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.
A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400.
Julie Appleby
A family living in Galveston was surprised to be charged thousands of dollars for immunizations for their children. Their insurance plan didn’t cover the shots, and the cost of the measles vaccine in particular was more than five times what health officials say it goes for in the private sector.
Watch: She’s at High Risk of Breast Cancer. She Moved, and Her Screening Costs Soared.
Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV and Jamie Grey, InvestigateTV
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.
Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States
Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton
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.
HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk
Rachana Pradhan
The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.
Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts
Aneri Pattani
Efforts to decrease alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers and prevent burnout in health care workers are in jeopardy after the firing of hundreds of employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The Foster Care System Has a Suicide Problem. Federal Cuts Threaten To Slow Fixes.
Cheryl Platzman Weinstock
Children and young adults in the U.S. foster care system suffer from mental health disorders and die by suicide at far higher rates than the general population, yet the system doesn’t uniformly screen and treat children who are at risk.
Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help
Aneri Pattani
Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. If they don’t, a new tool might empower the public.
In a Nation Growing Hostile Toward Drugs and Homelessness, Los Angeles Tries Leniency
Angela Hart
A new care center for homeless people on Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row embraces the principle of harm reduction, a more lenient approach to drug use and addiction. County officials say criminalization only worsens homelessness.
As Mosquito Season Peaks, Officials Brace for New Normal of Dengue Cases
Phillip Reese
In recent years, locally acquired dengue cases have appeared in California, Florida, and Texas, parts of the U.S. where the disease isn’t endemic. Health and vector control officials worry that with climate change and the lack of a vaccine, dengue will take hold in a larger swath of North America.
Journalists Assess Health Impacts of Trump’s Megabill, Who Will Feel Them, and When
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and regional media this week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Journalists Break Down Reconciliation Bill, Vaccine Panel Meeting, and ‘Dobbs’ Anniversary
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.