NIH Has Whacked $2.3B In Research Grants Since Trump Took Office
April 25, 2025
Morning Briefing
Stat analyzed the funding cuts that have taken place and noted that the changes appear to be “the beginning of the end of the federal-academic partnership that has been propelling American biomedical innovation to untouchable heights for close to eight decades,” per scientific leaders.
Insurers Bilked $50B From Medicare For Dubious Diagnoses, Review Finds
July 8, 2024
Morning Briefing
In its analysis of the Medicare Advantage program, The Wall Street Journal looked at details of “doctor visits, hospital stays, prescriptions and other care.” Separately, a Stat review has found that more than two dozen Medicare Advantage insurers now qualify for big taxpayer-funded bonuses.
Oncology Doctors Say the Build Back Better Act Will Slash Cancer Care Funding — A Skewed Argument
By Julie Appleby
December 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Community Oncology Alliance is targeting the prescription drug provisions of the Build Back Better Act, saying they will trigger deep cuts in oncologists’ pay, causing clinics to close and health care costs to rise. But it leaves out some important details.
EU Countries Scolded, Urged To Share Mpox Stockpiles With Africa Now
August 23, 2024
Morning Briefing
A WHO official said if countries are “not willing to share, then we are not going to be able to stop the next pandemic.” France has already pledged 100,000 vaccines. Also, an infection in Thailand was confirmed as clade 1b — the new deadly mpox strain.
PBMs, the Brokers Who Control Drug Prices, Finally Get Washington’s Attention
By Arthur Allen
May 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?
Concerns Rise Over Vitamin B3 And Link To Heart Health Risks
February 20, 2024
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on worrying results from a study that linked niacin — vitamin B3 — with increased risks of heart attack and stroke. The vitamin is, by law, added to cereal products. Also in the news: lab-grown testicles; inflammatory bowel disease drugs; and more.
Silence in Sikeston: Hush, Fix Your Face
By Cara Anthony
September 17, 2024
Podcast
In Episode 2 of the “Silence in Sikeston” podcast, host Cara Anthony speaks with Sikeston, Missouri, resident Larry McClellon, who grew up being told not to talk about the 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright. He is determined to break the cycle of silence in his community. Anthony also unearths a secret in her own family and grapples with the possible effects of intergenerational trauma.
Morning Briefing for Friday, October 27, 2023
October 27, 2023
Morning Briefing
Vaccine, HIV relief funds, “yellow flag” gun laws, health worker burnout, 340B discounts, covid, miscarriages, and more are in the news.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’
June 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Hospital Investigated for Allegedly Denying an Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke
By Harris Meyer
November 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials have ordered the probe after reports that a woman whose water broke at 18 weeks could not get medical care recommended by her doctors to end the pregnancy because hospital officials were concerned about Missouri’s strict abortion law.
Appeals Court Revives Sutter Health $411 Million Antitrust Class Action
June 5, 2024
Morning Briefing
The California health provider is accused of anticompetitive behavior that increased insurance costs and now must face a new trial. Also in the news: possible reforms for the 340B drug discount program, insurers address the affordable housing crisis, and more.
Trump Halts $2B For Harvard Over DEI; Scientists ‘Excited’ School Isn’t Bowing
April 15, 2025
Morning Briefing
The White House had demanded that the university, a health research powerhouse, eliminate DEI programs and change its hiring policies. Other research universities, such as Columbia, have recently acquiesced to President Trump’s demands. In other administration news: DOGE is reportedly trying to remove immigrants from their housing and jobs.
After $1B Donation, Johns Hopkins Medical School Is Now Free For Most
July 9, 2024
Morning Briefing
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who earned a degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins in 1964, offered the gift in an attempt to ease the nation’s “serious” shortage of doctors. Free tuition begins this fall for any med student whose family earns less than $300,000 a year.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control
June 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.
Ex-Outcome Health Executive Gets 7 Months In Prison For Role In $1B Fraud
September 20, 2024
Morning Briefing
Ashik Desai was the star witness against his bosses in a trial last year, the Chicago Tribune reports. Other news is on Optum layoffs, Allina Health, the Mayo Clinic, and more.
Medicare Patients Win the Right to Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
By Susan Jaffe
January 28, 2022
KFF Health News Original
If federal officials accept a court’s decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
Inflation Reduction Act Contains Important Cost-Saving Changes for Many Patients — Maybe for You
By Michael McAuliff
August 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The legislation, which the House is expected to pass Friday, would allow the federal government, for the first time, to negotiate the price of some drugs that Medicare buys. It also would extend the enhanced subsidies for people who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Conservatives on Supreme Court, as Expected, End Nationwide Right to Abortion
By Julie Rovner
June 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The 6-3 decision, telegraphed in May by an unprecedented leak of a draft opinion, eliminates the right to abortion as if it never existed at all.
Medicare Premiums Will Go Up 6% Next Year, CMS Announces
October 13, 2023
Morning Briefing
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a 6% hike in premiums for Medicare Part A and B in 2024. Meanwhile, open enrollment for next year’s plans starts this weekend.
Después de un aborto espontáneo, trabajadoras no tienen ni tiempo libre ni ayuda de las empresas
By Bryce Covert
January 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
El aborto espontáneo, que se produce en una cuarta parte de los embarazos, es la forma más común de pérdida de un embarazo. Y, sin embargo, no hay leyes nacionales que protejan a las personas cuando necesitan tomarse un tiempo para afrontar la pérdida.
