The Week in Brief: Friday, May 1, 2026
An Urgent Care Treated Her Allergic Reaction. An ER Monitored Her — For $6,700.
Andrew Jones
A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.
Florida Delays Children’s Health Insurance Expansion as Uninsured Rate Rises
Daniel Chang
Florida’s KidCare expansion has been stuck in legal limbo since February 2024. Since then, the number of uninsured children in Florida has risen to 400,000 — one of the highest state tallies.
Big Companies Position Themselves for Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund
Sarah Jane Tribble
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most
Paula Span
With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community healthcare workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.
Trump’s Medicaid Work Mandate Debuting in Nebraska to Much Dismay
Phil Galewitz
On May 1, the state will become the first to require people on the government health program to fulfill a work requirement or lose their coverage under a new rule that was a key part of congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
States Rush To Figure Out How To Enforce Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements
Rachel Spears
A KFF survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.
Delays in Visa Program Threaten Placement of Hundreds of Doctors in Underserved Areas
Arielle Zionts and Oona Zenda
A federal agency has dramatically slowed its review of visa waiver applications that allow international physicians completing U.S. training programs to stay in the country to work in underserved areas. The delay may send hundreds of doctors back to their home countries.
Gavin Newsom, Early Champion of Single-Payer, Moderates in the Face of Fiscal Limits
Angela Hart
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who campaigned on single-payer, has called healthcare a human right. In practice, however, the potential presidential candidate emphasizes safety net services, from expanding coverage to immigrants to constructing behavioral health supports, often for those experiencing homelessness.
When Natural Disasters Strike, Another Crisis Hits Those Recovering From Opioid Addiction
Andrew Jones
Using Hurricane Helene as a teachable moment, a group of doctors outlined concrete steps that lawmakers can take to reverse a crisis in getting substance use medications during natural disasters.
The Peculiar Politics of Hospitals
Democrats and Republicans on a House panel that oversees Medicare had strong words about high hospital pricing at a hearing this week, but it remains unclear whether reality will match the rhetoric when it comes to reining in those prices. Meanwhile, a study found the 988 suicide prevention hotline reduced suicides significantly in its first two years. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Gounder Culls the News, From Ticks and AI to Who Might Lead CDC
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.