The Week in Brief: July 10, 2026
Florida Hospitals Act Fast To Discharge Gun Victims — Especially if They’re Not Insured
By Daniel Chang and Fred Clasen-Kelly and Olga Pierce, The Trace
Uninsured patients made up about 1 in 4 of the more than 20,000 gunshot wound inpatient hospitalizations in Florida from 2018 to 2024, an analysis of state data by KFF Health News and The Trace found. They also had shorter hospital stays than those with any form of coverage.
Patients Face a Thicket of Red Tape Trying To Maintain Consistent Health Coverage
By Renuka Rayasam
Many Americans are shopping around for affordable options as the cost of health insurance soars. But some who hope to keep the same doctors and medications face a thicket of red tape and disruption after they switch plans.
Affordable Care Act Insurers Want More Premium Increases as Enrollment Sags
By Rachel Spears
Insurers that sell plans in Obamacare marketplaces across 16 states and the District of Columbia have asked regulators to approve a 14% median premium increase for 2027, according to a new Peterson-KFF analysis.
Copay Assistance Is Meant To Defray Patient Drug Costs. Some Insurers Keep It Instead.
By Daniel Chang
Drugmakers provide financial assistance to help patients afford increasingly expensive medications. But some insurers do not count those payments toward a plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum and make patients pay instead.
Affordable Healthcare Emerges as a Voter Priority in Purple Nevada
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
The Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP may complicate Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s reelection chances.
These Church Members Disagree on Politics. Together They’re Wiping Out Medical Debt.
By Noam N. Levey
Trinity Moravian Church, a politically diverse congregation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been raising money to retire medical debt in the surrounding community.
She Struggled To Get a Lifesaving Drug Even After Insurers Vowed To Help
By Samantha Liss
Margaret Hvatum ended up in the hospital after her insurer denied coverage of a medicine she relies on to boost her immune system. Hvatum got entangled in the preapproval process, which the insurance industry has vowed to improve.
HealthQ Special: Caregiving in the Sandwich Generation
By Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio and Katherine Ruppelt, Nashville Public Radio and Emily Siner, Nashville Public Radio
Join the conversation as the HealthQ team explores the messiness, humor, and satisfaction that comes with caregiving when you’re sandwiched between aging parents and growing kids.
A New Option for Long-Term Care Costs
By Paula Span
Washington state has launched the first program to help cover home care and other supports. Several other states are paying attention.
Would Hunters Take a Lyme Disease Vaccine? We Asked
By Bram Sable-Smith and Hannah Norman and Kyle Pyatt
American hunters skew conservative, rural, and male — all associated with increased hesitancy about or resistance to vaccines. At the same time, hunters spend more time than most people outdoors and potentially exposed to Lyme disease. So how do they feel about a potential new vaccine against the tick-borne illness?
New Disease Threats Follow Trump Administration’s Health Program Cuts
By Stephanie Armour
From screwworm to flesh-eating bacteria, mounting public health risks are emerging in the wake of deep cuts to federal health agencies and programs.
My Search for a Psychiatric Bed in an Overburdened Health System
By Helen Santoro and Oona Zenda
Over the past 70 years, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has dropped dramatically, leaving many without critical care when they experience mental health crises. I was one of the lucky ones to get a bed — after 21 hours of waiting.
Newsom Vowed To Transform Kids’ Mental Health. Many California Schools Are Still Waiting.
By Christine Mai-Duc
Gov. Gavin Newsom launched an ambitious initiative to make public schools the epicenter of mental health services for young people. Five years after he promised transformation, many schools have struggled to get the program up and running, and hundreds more have yet to try.
They Harvest the Nation’s Food, but a New Rule May Strip Them of Health Insurance
By Paula Andalo
New Medicaid work requirements could make a complex system even harder for farmworkers to navigate.
New Medicaid Work Rule Means More Opportunities To Lose Coverage
By Sam Whitehead
A work requirement is coming to Medicaid. Sam Whitehead tells WAMU’s “Health Hub” how to keep your coverage — and who’s exempt from the new rule.
A Mom Said Infant Formula Killed Her Baby. The Manufacturer Closed the File.
By David Hilzenrath and Holly K. Hacker
When makers of infant formula hear that babies got sick or died while using their products, what happens next is left largely to the manufacturers. They decide whether to inform the FDA about possible harm, which could trigger steps to protect the public.
Thousands of Medicare Beneficiaries Thought Their Drug Plan Was Free. Then They Lost It.
By Susan Jaffe
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again until 2027.
In California Governor’s Race, Voters Face Stark Choice on Immigrant Healthcare
By Christine Mai-Duc
California’s next governor will face tough decisions on a highly controversial piece of healthcare policy: what to do about health coverage for the more than 1.4 million low-income residents without legal status. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton present starkly different choices as public opinion wavers.
He Dreamed of Becoming a Physician Assistant. New Loan Rules May Thwart Him.
By Lauren Sausser
Starting in July, the government will cap what graduate students may borrow in federal loans, forcing many toward private lenders with higher interest rates. The borrowing limits will affect students pursuing healthcare degrees, and some clinicians and student loan experts worry they may impede efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce.
The Politics of Health at Midyear
Just a few months before the midterm elections, Democrats appear to be doubling down on healthcare as a campaign issue as costs rise and insurance coverage declines. Meanwhile, Congress is taking aim at nonprofit hospitals. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month.”
Supreme Court Makes Health Policy
The Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of its 2025-26 term this week, including in an immigration case that could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.
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Journalists Discuss Healthcare Costs’ Political Fallout, Concerns About Canceled ICE Facility
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Reporters Talk Through FDA Sunscreen Move and Closure of Rural Dialysis Clinics
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national media last week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.