Barbershop Killing Escalates Trauma for Boston Neighborhood Riven by Gun Violence
By Chaseedaw Giles
March 14, 2025
KFF Health News Original
American communities plagued by gun violence, including Four Corners in Boston, honor pockets of safety as sacred spaces. A brazen barbershop killing was a new and traumatic violation.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: The Cutting Continues
March 13, 2025
Podcast
The Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jeff Grant, who recently retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after 41 years in government service.
California Borrows $3.4 Billion for Medicaid Overrun as Congress Eyes Steep Cuts
By Christine Mai-Duc
Updated March 13, 2025
Originally Published March 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, borrowed $3.4 billion from the state — and will likely need even more — due to higher prescription costs and increased eligibility for seniors and immigrants. The top Republican in the state Senate is demanding a hearing “so the public knows exactly where their tax dollars are going.”
Can House Republicans Cut $880 Billion Without Slashing Medicaid? It’s Likely Impossible.
By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact Amy Sherman, PolitiFact
March 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A Republican House resolution, which needs the Senate’s buy-in, directed a committee to propose ways to reduce the deficit by at least $880 billion over a decade. Lawmakers have taken Medicare off the table for cuts, which makes it impossible to reach $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
Nearly 26 Years After Columbine High Massacre, Death Toll Rises By One
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
A coroner has determined that the cause of death for Anne Marie Hochhalter, who was paralyzed in the 1999 Colorado school shooting and died last month, was “best classified as homicide.” Hochhalter, 43, had sepsis related to the two gunshots she suffered. Her death raises the victim toll to 14, not including the two shooters.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
North Dakota Might Ask Supreme Court To End Same-Sex Marriage
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The resolution passed the Republican-led House last month but still needs Senate approval, which is not assured, AP reported. In other LGBTQ+ news, a federal judge questions the Pentagon’s transgender ban; President Donald Trump shares a link that included an image associated with the persecution of gay people during the Nazi regime; and more.
Montana Judge Voids 2 Abortion Laws, Ruling They Added Unneeded Hardship
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The laws, passed in 2023 and immediately halted by the courts, required those who use Medicaid to submit to unnecessary steps before receiving care, a district court judge determined. More abortion-related news comes from Wyoming, Kentucky, and Missouri.
MRNA Research Might Be Next On List Of NIH Grant Cuts
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
NPR reports on the National Institutes of Health funding cuts with insight from two NIH staffers and one person familiar with NIH’s activities who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Also in research-related news, a lawsuit over the removal of two research papers from a government website, stranded Fulbright Scholars, and more.
CMS Pulls Plug On Projects Aimed At Improving Care, Saving On Costs
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
One initiative that has been scrapped would have offered some generic drugs to Medicare enrollees for $2. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has backed off hospice oversight.
EPA To Reassess Whether Greenhouse Gases Truly Do Damage Public Health
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
The agency in 2009 determined that six greenhouse gases posed health risks and put regulations in place to mitigate any harm. The Trump administration intends to revisit 31 of those environmental regulations. Plus, news outlets examine the effects of budget cuts, layoffs, and reduced services.
First Edition: Thursday, March 13, 2025
March 13, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Hospital Gun-Violence Prevention Programs May Be Caught in US Funding Crossfire
By Stephanie Wolf
March 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Hospital-based violence intervention programs have operated in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. The public health approach to gun violence works, by many accounts. But recent moves by the White House are raising anxiety about the programs’ future.
In Trump’s Team, Supplement Fans Find Kindred Spirits in Search of Better Health
By Darius Tahir
March 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump’s health team has deep financial ties to the supplements industry. Now they’re poised to boost its growth and remake the government’s approach to health.
Recortes federales pueden afectar a programas en hospitales de prevención de la violencia con armas de fuego
By Stephanie Wolf
March 13, 2025
KFF Health News Original
El objetivo de estos programas es identificar los factores sociales y económicos que contribuyeron a que una persona terminara en una sala de emergencias.
Abortion Reporting Requirements Are Now Too Risky, Advocacy Group Says
March 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
Guttmacher data scientist Isaac Maddow-Zimet worries some of the information could be used to identify patients, AP reports. In other news, an Idaho health system is fighting the state’s abortion ban; a Louisiana mother in a cross-state abortion pill case pleads not guilty; and more.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, March 12, 2025
March 12, 2025
Morning Briefing
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