Medicaid Payments Barely Keep Hospital Mental Health Units Afloat. Federal Cuts Could Sink Them.
By Tony Leys
May 12, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Patients seeking mental health care are more likely to be on Medicaid than patients in more profitable areas of care, such as cancer or cardiac treatment.
An Arm and a Leg: A Health Policy Veteran Puts 2025 in Perspective
By Dan Weissmann
May 12, 2025
Podcast
Two stories from Washington, D.C., give listeners a sense of what changes the Trump administration has been making to health policy, with KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner and Arthur Allen.
Journalists Zero In on Medicaid Threats and Social Security Hiccups
May 10, 2025
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Trump Once Vowed To End HIV in America. His Funding Cuts Are Rolling Back Progress.
By Amy Maxmen
May 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
As House Eases Up On Medicaid Cuts, Trump Tells Congress To Tax The Rich
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, the GOP is looking to nix a Trump-backed Medicaid drug-pricing plan, and Democrats are urging cuts to excess spending in Medicare Advantage.
US Infant Mortality Fell In 2024; Vaccines May Have Played A Role
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Experts have pointed to RSV vaccine campaigns as a possible reason why. A separate CDC report shows that infant hospitalizations in the 2024-25 respiratory virus season were more than 40% lower than past averages. Also: the uptick in cancer in people under 50; avian flu in cats; and more.
Abu Dhabi Grows Health Care Presence In San Francisco To Lure More Startups
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
This is part of Abu Dhabi Investment Office’s project to expand its health care cluster in the UAE. Other industry news is on NeueHealth going private; layoffs at New York-Presbyterian Health System; Mass General Brigham’s AI to detect cancer; and more.
Thousands Line Up For Free Care At Mega Health Clinic In St. Louis
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
The downtown event brought in more than 1,800 providers and served more than 7,000 people. Other states making news include Montana, Hawaii, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, and Florida.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on Pope Leo XIV’s health care stances, measles vaccination efforts, the WHO, ethics in AI, and loneliness.
Morning Briefing for Friday, May 9, 2025
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Behind on your reading? Catch up on this week's KFF Health News stories with The Week in Brief, delivered every Friday to your inbox. Sign up here !
Senators Grill Pick For HHS Deputy Chief On Vaccines, Transparency, More
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
At his confirmation hearing, James O’Neill reiterated his pro-vaccine stance and noted he would “commit to prioritizing real transparency and sharing information with Congress and the American public.” Meanwhile, President Trump’s surgeon general pick has rankled the MAGA base.
Anxiety, Fear Keeping Migrants From The Medical Care They Need
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Health care professionals worry about the risks posed to immigrants when people forego medical treatment out of fear that ICE will come for them, The New York Times reports. Plus, news about family separations, deportation plans, foreign aid cuts, and more.
First Edition: Friday, May 9, 2025
May 9, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A California Lawmaker Leans Into Her Medical Training in Fight for Health Safety Net
By Christine Mai-Duc
May 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
As California’s budget deadline looms, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a physician-turned-lawmaker, says state leaders may soon have to make some tough decisions on health care spending. With the state’s Medi-Cal program billions of dollars short, California’s health care safety net is at risk — even without federal cuts to Medicaid.
Trump Team Faces Key Legal Decision That Could Put Mental Health Parity in Peril
By Aneri Pattani
Updated May 13, 2025
Originally Published May 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce laws requiring parity in insurance coverage of mental and physical health care.
Honey, Sweetie, Dearie: The Perils of Elderspeak
By Paula Span
May 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A new training program teaches workers to stop the baby talk and address older people as adults.
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.
Sen. Ron Wyden Seeks Answers on RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff
By Rachana Pradhan
May 8, 2025
KFF Health News Original
“Citizen oversight is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanding answers to more than two dozen questions, including who was involved in decisions to fire staff who handled Freedom of Information Act requests.
Judge Sides With FDA Over Removing Zepbound From Shortage List
May 8, 2025
Morning Briefing
As Stat reports, the federal judge’s ruling means patients will lose access to less-expensive versions of Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, as well as diabetes treatment Mounjaro, from compounding pharmacies. Also in industry news: Hims & Hers Health, the Lorna Breen Act, medtech innovations, and more.
