The Week in Brief: Friday, Oct. 24, 2025
When a Hearing Aid Isn’t Enough
Paula Span
More older adults have turned to cochlear implants after Medicare expanded eligibility for the devices.
Despite the Hoopla, Vaccines Should Be in Reach This Cough-and-Cold Season
Michelle Andrews
Recommendations surrounding covid vaccinations and other such shots have been confusing. Ultimately, though, little has changed. Here’s what you need to know.
GOP Talking Point Holds ACA Is Haunted by ‘Phantom’ Enrollees, but the Devil’s in the Data
Victoria Knight
Enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies have emerged as a flash point in the congressional standoff over the federal government shutdown. Republicans point to what they characterize as increasing amounts of fraud as a reason to hold up the subsidies. But there are two sides to the story.
Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules
Rae Ellen Bichell and Sam Whitehead
The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.
A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K
Phil Galewitz
KFF data shows that 2025 marked the first time in two decades that the annual cost of covering a family of four rose by 6% or more for three consecutive years.
Private Medicare, Medicaid Plans Exaggerate In-Network Mental Health Options, Watchdogs Say
Tony Leys
A federal probe of Medicare and Medicaid plans run by private insurance companies found that the plan operators often overstated how many mental health providers were available in their networks. In some cases, investigators found providers had never had contracts with plans they were listed on.
Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown
Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
Listen: Amid Shutdown Stalemate, Families Brace for SNAP Cuts and Paycheck Limbo
Julie Rovner
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting food benefits and the help many Americans get to offset their health insurance premiums.