KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP
May 8, 2025
Podcast
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
An Arm and a Leg: Self-Defense 101: Keeping Your Cool While You Fight
By Dan Weissmann
January 30, 2024
Podcast
On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann seeks advice for fighting unfair medical bills from an unexpected source: an expert in self-defense.
Nikki Haley Wants ‘Consensus’ on Contraception. It’s Not That Easy.
By Julie Rovner
February 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Nikki Haley, the last candidate standing between Donald Trump and the GOP presidential nomination, insists that being “unapologetically pro-life” doesn’t make her anti-birth control. “Let’s find consensus,” she urged at a GOP presidential debate in November. “Let’s make sure we make contraception accessible.” If only consensus were that easy. In some conservative circles, contraception is […]
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Nursing Home Staffing Rules Prompt Pushback
June 6, 2024
Podcast
The nursing home industry — as well as a healthy number of Congress members — are all pushing back on the Biden administration’s new rules on nursing home staffing. Industry officials say that there are not enough workers to meet the requirements and that the costs would be prohibitive. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to force Republicans to explain their exact positions on assuring access to contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but.
A Runner Was Hit by a Car, Then by a Surprise Ambulance Bill
By Sandy West
February 28, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A San Francisco man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center — which released him with no further treatment. The ambulance bill? Almost $13,000.
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
July 17, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.
A New $16,000 Postpartum Depression Drug Is Here. How Will Insurers Handle It?
By April Dembosky, KQED
March 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A pill form of an effective drug for postpartum depression hit the market in December, but most insurers do not yet have a policy on when or whether they will pay for it. The hurdles to obtain its predecessor medication have advocates worried.
As Republicans Wrestle With IVF, the Biden Administration Expands Benefits
By Michelle Andrews
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
While Republican lawmakers try to walk a fine line on in vitro fertilization — expressing support for the popular procedure, even as some of their supporters argue life begins at conception — the federal government expanded fertility benefits for millions of workers this year, including up to $25,000 a year for IVF. Many employers have […]
GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk
By Phil Galewitz
February 21, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals — and every state.
As States Mull Medicaid Work Requirements, Two With Experience Scale Back
By Renuka Rayasam Sam Whitehead
February 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas — two states with experience running such programs — want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility.
Voters Fret High Medical Bills Are Being Ignored by Presidential Rivals
By Noam N. Levey
Updated October 24, 2024
Originally Published October 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Health care hasn’t figured prominently on the campaign trail this fall. These voters wish it would.
Opposition to Medicaid Expansion Thaws in an Unexpected Place: The Deep South
By Daniel Chang Andy Miller
February 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For more than a decade, some Southern states have resisted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, even though data suggest it could help their residents. Today, the large majority of uninsured Americans who would gain coverage under Medicaid expansion — and who would benefit from affordable access to care — live in non-expansion states […]
An Arm and a Leg: Winning a Two-Year Fight Over a Bogus Bill
By Dan Weissmann
April 24, 2025
Podcast
How one “Arm and a Leg” listener stayed encouraged during a two-year fight over a bill she didn’t owe.
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
By Daniel Chang Andy Miller
February 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
January 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Trump’s Early Health Moves Signal Intent To Erase Biden’s Legacy. What’s Next Is Unclear.
By Julie Appleby Stephanie Armour
Updated January 23, 2025
Originally Published January 23, 2025
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders and other actions on health care soon after reentering office. Other than signaling he intends to reverse many of Joe Biden’s moves, the orders will have little immediate impact.
Trump Is Wrong in Claiming Full Credit for Lowering Insulin Prices
By Jacob Gardenswartz
July 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Though the Trump administration established a voluntary, temporary program lowering insulin costs for some older Americans on Medicare, the mandatory price caps implemented through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act go significantly further.
9 States Poised To End Coverage for Millions if Trump Cuts Medicaid Funding
By Phil Galewitz
December 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
About 3.7 million people are at immediate risk of losing health coverage should the federal government cut funding for Medicaid expansions, as some allies of President-elect Donald Trump have proposed. Coverage could be at risk in the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid.
Black Americans Still Suffer Worse Health. Here’s Why There’s So Little Progress.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly Renuka Rayasam
October 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit.
Biden’s Got a New Set of Orders for Obamacare. Is It His Last?
By Julie Appleby
December 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration has issued its latest official wish list for Obamacare insurance plans, potentially one of the last major Affordable Care Act health policy efforts in the president’s first term. Changes on tap for 2025? For one, the administration wants states that run their own ACA marketplaces to crack down on what’s called “network […]
