The Week in Brief: Friday, June 5, 2026
Baffling. Frustrating. Frightening. What It’s Like To Be Sued Over Medical Debt.
By Katy Golvala, CT Mirror and Jenna Carlesso, CT Mirror and Noam N. Levey
Patients’ experiences encapsulate breakdowns in a healthcare system that traps patients in debt. The industry’s key players blame one another.
RFK Jr. Seeks To Peek at Americans’ Medical Records for Clues on Autism and Vaccines
By Amanda Seitz and Darius Tahir
To collect and scrutinize millions of Americans’ health data, U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to work with state organizations that help health systems share medical records. In Nebraska, millions in federal dollars has flowed into one nonprofit cooperating with Kennedy’s project.
‘We Live With Fear’: In Congo, Doctors Face Ebola With Little Protection
By Amy Maxmen
Travel bans and conflict have disrupted supply chains in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving health workers without Ebola tests and protective gear needed to contain the outbreak.
Amid Ebola, Hantavirus Outbreaks, Democrats Decry Trump’s Health Cuts
By Stephanie Armour and Rachel Spears and Eric Harkleroad
Infectious disease specialists say the viruses are unlikely to become pandemics, but some are still raising concerns about the federal health response and what it portends should a pandemic similar to or worse than covid occur.
Michigan Found a Way To Reduce School Vaccine Waivers. Until It Backfired.
By Kate Wells
The state had high rates of parents not vaccinating their children, so it started making them attend vaccine education sessions to opt out their kids. It seemed to work. Then things got ugly.
Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules Force States To Scrap Plans and Rework Systems
By Rachana Pradhan and Samantha Liss
Health experts and advocates for low-income people say federal rules implementing President Donald Trump’s new Medicaid work requirements upend months of work by state governments to prepare the computer systems that determine who’s eligible for benefits.
Medicaid Work Rules Surprise States
Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month.”
Louisiana’s Reporting Law Chills Immigrant Medicaid Applications
By Halle Parker, Verite News
A year after the measure’s passage, a state law is keeping immigrants and their children from accessing Medicaid even when they qualify.
Focused on Work, Needed at Home: A Federal Caregiving Policy Might Help
By Katherine Ruppelt, Nashville Public Radio and Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for caregiving. But the federal policy has noteworthy limitations. The HealthQ team explains.
At a Tennessee Hospital, a Nurse Stole Fentanyl and AI Missed It, State Records Say
By Brett Kelman and Darius Tahir
Sentri7, drug diversion software powered by artificial intelligence and used at hundreds of U.S. hospitals, did not catch a months-long string of fentanyl thefts in Tennessee in 2025, according to a state document.
Telehealth Booms as Demand for GLP-1s Surges and Questions Mount About Safety, Oversight
By Lauren Sausser and Maia Rosenfeld
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded. Meanwhile, researchers and doctors are concerned that some of these online companies aren't properly screening or monitoring patients. “It gives a black eye to telemedicine,” one researcher said.
Upcoming Billing Change Could Make Pregnancy Pricier
By Michelle Andrews
Come January, pregnancy care physician billing codes will change from a bundled system to an à la carte one. Many obstetricians say this approach will better reflect the amount and type of care they provide. But it could incentivize providers to pile on visits and services.
Millions of Kids Could Lose Insurance as GOP Healthcare Cuts Start To Bite
By Julie Rovner
Big cuts to healthcare programs in the 2025 GOP budget law are creating an affordability crunch for many Americans: Higher health insurance premiums. Confusion about who Medicaid will cover under the new rules. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explains how the changes could leave nearly 2 million children uninsured.
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Gounder Gives Lowdown on Ebola, Peptides, and Colorectal Screenings
KFF Health News' editor-at-large for public health discussed peptides, colorectal cancer screening, and Ebola in TV appearances this week.