The Growing Inequality in Life Expectancy Among Americans
To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
61-80 of 659 results
To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.
For all of President Donald Trump’s showmanship, the share of Americans his policies will likely help remains slim, even if some patients do come out ahead.
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.
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.
Congress has passed — and President Trump has signed — the annual spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services. But it’s unclear whether the administration will spend the money as Congress directed. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss that story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Renuka Rayasam about a new reporting project, “Priced Out.”
A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.
By withdrawing from the World Health Organization and overhauling aid, Trump’s new executive orders endanger Americans and the globe, researchers warn. The move also cedes U.S. power to other nations.
Federal regulations prevent gay and bisexual men from donating tissue, such as corneas, ligaments, and blood vessels. Similar restrictions have been relaxed or lifted for donated blood and organs in recent years.
Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.
Clinicians and epidemiologists warn the decision to no longer recommend the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine could unravel decades of progress and expose newborns to a deadly, preventable disease.
A letter signed by more than 300 National Institutes of Health workers — some still working, others who were fired this year — is an extraordinary public rebuke of actions taken under Director Jay Bhattacharya and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.
Although most abortions remain illegal in Alabama, a judge’s decision in early April allows doctors and advocacy groups to tell patients about abortion options in other states, and help with travel and other costs.
Donald Trump put Springfield, Ohio, in a harsh spotlight by spreading misinformation about its legal Haitian population. But what is really happening in this small city is a microcosm of the health care challenges immigration hot spots throughout the country are facing.
One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.
The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The White House’s autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.
On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation’s high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.
The "KFF Health News Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.
The Trump administration's cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News analysis shows.
© 2026 KFF