The Week in Brief: Friday, Sept. 12, 2025
Under Trump, FDA Seeks To Abandon Expert Reviews of New Drugs
Arthur Allen
Advisory committee meetings help FDA scientists make decisions and increase public understanding of drug regulation, and abandoning them doesn’t make sense, former officials said.
In the Fallout From Trump’s Health Funding Cuts, States Face Tough Budget Decisions
Stephanie Armour and Christine Mai-Duc and Sam Whitehead and Arielle Zionts
The Trump administration has pushed a significant amount of health costs to states, whose budgets may already be strained by declining state tax revenues, a slowdown in pandemic spending, and economic uncertainty. State and local governments now face difficult decisions.
Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Were Aimed at ‘Able-Bodied Adults.’ Hospitals Say Kids Will Be Hurt.
Phil Galewitz
The GOP said its overhaul of Medicaid was aimed at reducing fraud and getting more adult beneficiaries to work. Among the likely side effects: fewer services and doctors for treating sick children.
Climate Activists Cite Health Hazards in Bid To Stop Trump From ‘Unleashing’ Fossil Fuels
Jim Robbins
Buoyed by a Montana court ruling upholding state residents’ right to a “clean and healthful environment,” nearly two dozen people ages 7 to 24 hope to block the Trump administration’s executive orders on energy.
Watch: Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Tumble After Trump Cuts
Rachana Pradhan
Fewer people are seeking care at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, a renowned research hospital, under the second Trump administration.
Countdown to Government Shutdown
With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
A Surgical Team Was About To Harvest This Man’s Organs — Until His Doctor Intervened
Cara Anthony
A 22-year-old was shot in the head in St. Louis. As a surgical team prepared him for organ harvesting, his neurosurgeon raced to the operating room to stop it, saying that his patient had a chance at life. Today, the man is alive, sharing his story.
Watch: Why Is Having a Baby So Expensive in the US?
Hannah Norman
KFF Health News video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.
RFK Jr. Said ‘Everybody Can Get’ a Covid Vaccine. Is That True?
Grace Abels, PolitiFact and Maria Ramirez Uribe, PolitiFact
Although the FDA has approved the vaccines for anyone 65 or older and anyone at least 6 months old who is at risk of a severe covid infection, barriers to coverage and access persist.
Lice Pose No Health Threat, Yet Some Parents Push Back on Rules To Allow Affected Kids in Class
Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
Public health officials see lice as a nuisance, not a health threat, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended for years that students with live lice be allowed to remain in class. But as “no-nit” policies have been dropped in favor of “nonexclusion” rules, some school districts have seen parents and teachers push back.
Researchers Shift Tactics To Tackle Extremism as Public Health Threat
Taylor Sisk
As extremism and radicalization worsen in the United States, a group of researchers is trying out a new approach that addresses the issue as a public health problem.
When I Go, I’m Going Green
Paula Span
In a survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, more than 60% of respondents said they would be interested in exploring green and natural burial alternatives.
Affirmative Action Critics Refuse To Back Down in Fight Over Medical Bias Training
Ronnie Cohen
A nonprofit fighting affirmative action in medicine and a Los Angeles ophthalmologist have launched a long-shot legal appeal aimed at ending California’s requirement that every continuing medical education class include training to recognize and address unconscious bias.
Journalists Discuss Fallout of CDC Turmoil and Recap Bitter RFK Senate Hearing
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.