The Week in Brief: Friday, March 6, 2026
Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone
Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton and Eric Harkleroad
Cancer treatments, disease outbreaks, addiction science: Scientists say an exodus from the National Institutes of Health will harm the nation's ability to respond to illness.
The People — And Research — Lost in the NIH Exodus
Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton and Eric Harkleroad
Government data shows the National Institutes of Health lost about 4,400 people — more than 20% of its staff — as the Trump administration slashed the federal workforce. Hear from six scientists on why they walked out the door and the work they left behind.
As ICE Moved In, Minnesotans Set Up a Shadow Medical System. It’s a Lesson for Other Cities.
Arthur Allen and Kate Wells
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis forced families into hiding and catalyzed informal medical networks to deliver critical health care services.
40 Years of Health Policy
This month is 40 years since host Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, began reporting on health policy in Washington. To mark the anniversary, Rovner is joined by two longtime sources to discuss what has — and has not — changed since 1986.
Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans
Arielle Zionts and Sarah Jane Tribble
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
Trump’s Cuts to Medicaid Threaten Services That Help Disabled People Live at Home
Tony Leys
Iowa patient advocates say that in the face of federal Medicaid cuts, the state is quietly reducing in-home services that help people avoid being institutionalized. National groups are bracing for similar cuts elsewhere.
Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts
Bram Sable-Smith
Idaho is positioning to slash Medicaid funding as state lawmakers grapple with the effects of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year. On the table are in-home care services.
Medicaid Is Paying for More Dental Care. GOP Cuts Threaten To Reverse the Trend.
Phil Galewitz
More than three dozen states cover dental services for low-income and disabled individuals on Medicaid, in recognition of such care’s importance to overall health. But with about $900 billion in funding cuts expected to hit states over the next decade, many programs could roll back dental coverage.
Listen: What To Do When Health Insurance Slips Out of Reach
Sam Whitehead
2026 has been a challenging year to buy health insurance. Contributing factors include changes to the Medicaid program and hikes to the cost of Obamacare plans. But doctors and researchers say there are ways people without insurance can find affordable care.
Even Patients Are Shocked by the Prices Their Insurers Will Pay — And It Costs All of Us
Elisabeth Rosenthal
Health care prices are on the rise, and patients are flummoxed that even insurance companies aren’t doing more to control costs.
This Doctor-Senator Who Backed RFK Jr. Now Faces a Fight for His Job — And His Legacy
Amanda Seitz
A year after Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, warily cast the vote ensuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ascension to Health and Human Services secretary, his life’s work — in medicine and in politics — is unraveling.
Despite Their Successes, Some Mobile Crisis Response Teams Are in Crisis
Aaron Bolton, MTPR
Mobile crisis units are trained to respond to emergency calls when people are experiencing delusions or hallucinations. But unlike police departments, which are generally funded by local taxpayers, mobile crisis teams don’t have a single, reliable funding source. As a result, some are closing down, despite successful operations and local support.
Federal Aid for Lead Cleanup Is Receding. That’s a Problem for Cash-Strapped Cities.
Halle Parker, Verite News
Congress and the Trump administration are rolling back some lead remediation resources. Case studies of two cities and a state that faced lead contamination problems could give cash-strapped cities ideas of how to address such pollution themselves.
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
The "KFF Health News Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.
ICE, ALS, Addiction Medicine, and Robotic Ultrasounds: Journalists Sound Off on All That and More
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Readers Lean On Congress To Solve Crises in Research and Rehab
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.