The Week in Brief: Friday, July 25, 2025
Louisiana Upholds Its HIV Exposure Law as Other States Change or Repeal Theirs
Halle Parker, Verite News
State lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to extend the law this year to cover the intentional exposure of other sexually transmitted infections.
Amid PFAS Fallout, a Maine Doctor Navigates Medical Risks With Her Patients
Marina Schauffler
A doctor doing environmental health research in rural Maine is working to establish the best practices to treat patients exposed to “forever chemicals,” potentially leading the way for practitioners across the nation.
Fearing Medicaid Coverage Loss, Some Parents Rush To Vaccinate Their Kids
Jackie Fortiér
Worried parents are hurrying to get their children vaccinated, fearing future federal policy changes will limit access to free immunizations. Pediatricians worry that any changes to the childhood vaccine schedule will leave families without affordable options for essential shots.
Republicans Call Medicaid Rife With Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice but To Break the Rules.
Katheryn Houghton and Oona Zenda
Congressional Republicans successfully pushed to add hurdles to qualify for Medicaid by saying they would eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. This is the story of a Montana man who explains why he said he is breaking the rules to keep his health insurance and his job.
Georgia Shows Rough Road Ahead for States as Medicaid Work Requirements Loom
Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead
President Donald Trump signed legislation that requires many Medicaid recipients to prove they’re working to qualify for health care coverage, allocating $200 million for states that expanded Medicaid to prepare systems to verify people’s eligibility. Georgia’s program, which has been expensive and difficult to administer, has had limited enrollment.
Are 5 Million Nondisabled Medicaid Recipients Watching TV All Day? That’s Unsupported
Loreben Tuquero, PolitiFact
CNN pundit Scott Jennings said almost 5 million nondisabled Medicaid recipients "simply choose not to work" and "spend six hours a day socializing and watching television." But a recent analysis found only about 300,000 cited a lack of interest in working as the reason they were unemployed.
Watch: What Are Medicaid Work Requirements?
Renuka Rayasam
KFF Health News' Renuka Rayasam breaks down what you need to know about Medicaid work requirements.
$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism
Sarah Jane Tribble
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.
Cuts to Food Benefits Stand in the Way of RFK Jr.’s Goals for a Healthier National Diet
Renuka Rayasam
The Trump administration has said improving American nutrition is a priority, but deep cuts to federal food assistance could lead people to forgo healthy food in favor of cheaper alternatives.
Listen: Some Scientists Speak Out on Deep Cuts to National Cancer Institute, While Others Flee
Rachana Pradhan
The U.S. has made enormous progress reducing cancer mortality since the 1990s, partly due to significant investment in research at the National Cancer Institute. But scientists say the Trump administration has been hollowing out the agency in its push to dramatically shrink the federal government.
Trump Voters Wanted Relief From Medical Bills. For Millions, the Bills Are About To Get Bigger.
Noam N. Levey
Moves by the Trump administration to pare back Medicaid, rescind medical debt rules, and loosen vaccine requirements threaten to increase medical bills for millions of Americans.
States Pass Privacy Laws To Protect Brain Data Collected by Devices
Kate Ruder
Colorado, California, and Montana have passed neural data privacy laws meant to prevent the exploitation of brain information collected by consumer products.
Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes
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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Journalists Dig Into Megabill’s Slashing of Medicaid. Plus, How To Avoid Tick Bites.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.