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All Coverage

The Peculiar Politics of Hospitals

Episode 444

April 30, 2026

Democrats and Republicans on a House panel that oversees Medicare had strong words about high hospital pricing at a hearing this week, but it remains unclear whether reality will match the rhetoric when it comes to reining in those prices. Meanwhile, a study found the 988 suicide prevention hotline reduced suicides significantly in its first two years. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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When Natural Disasters Strike, Another Crisis Hits Those Recovering From Opioid Addiction

Using Hurricane Helene as a teachable moment, a group of doctors outlined concrete steps that lawmakers can take to reverse a crisis in getting substance use medications during natural disasters.

By Andrew Jones

April 30, 2026
States Rush To Figure Out How To Enforce Trump’s Medicaid Work Requirements

A KFF survey of state Medicaid officials offers insight into lingering uncertainty and differing plans for work requirement implementation as the Jan. 1 deadline approaches.

By Rachel Spears

April 30, 2026
ELEVEN MINUTES

Saving Lives by Changing Lives: The Next Frontier in Suicide Prevention

Someone in America dies by suicide every 11 minutes. It’s a tragic and entrenched problem. A new approach to prevention shifts the focus from stopping harm in moments of crisis to upstream policies that give people reasons to live.

By Aneri Pattani

April 29, 2026
Trump’s Medicaid Work Mandate Debuting in Nebraska to Much Dismay

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.

By Phil Galewitz

April 29, 2026
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’

The “KFF Health News Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.

April 28, 2026
Bill of the month

An Urgent Care Treated Her Allergic Reaction. An ER Monitored Her — For $6,700.

A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.

By Andrew Jones

April 28, 2026
Rural Health Payout

Big Companies Position Themselves for Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund

A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

April 28, 2026
Priced Out

Florida Delays Children’s Health Insurance Expansion as Uninsured Rate Rises

Florida’s KidCare expansion has been stuck in legal limbo since February 2024. Since then, the number of uninsured children in Florida has risen to 400,000 — one of the highest state tallies.

By Daniel Chang

April 27, 2026
The New Old Age

The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most

With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community healthcare workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.

By Paula Span

April 27, 2026
KFF Health News On Air

Gounder Culls the News, From Ticks and AI to Who Might Lead CDC

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

April 25, 2026
The Week in Brief

In Connecticut, Doctors and Dentists Are More Likely Than Hospitals To Sue Patients

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Noam N. Levey

April 24, 2026
Readers Chime In on Reproductive Rights, Therapy Chatbots, Medical Debt, and More

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

April 24, 2026
A ‘Barbaric’ Problem in American Hospitals Is Only Getting Bigger

Patients are getting stuck in the emergency department for days while waiting for a spot in an inpatient ward.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

April 24, 2026
How Would You Fix It?

Watch: Acknowledging Health Care’s Great Divide

As part of her “How Would You Fix It?” series, podcast host Julie Rovner chats with health policy expert David Blumenthal about how politics can gum up health policy progress.

By Julie Rovner and Hannah Norman

April 23, 2026
RFK Jr. vs. Congress

Episode 443

April 23, 2026

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his tour of House and Senate committees this week, ostensibly to promote President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for his department but also to answer for some of his more controversial positions, particularly on vaccines. Meanwhile, Trump signed an order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental health conditions. Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, as part of our “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Harvard public health professor David Blumenthal.
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Food Stamp Work Rules Don’t Increase Employment, Researchers Say

Work requirements will encourage people who are able to work to seek and maintain jobs, proponents say. But researchers haven’t found that they lower the unemployment rate.

By Taylor Sisk

April 23, 2026
Medigap Premiums Leap, and Consumers Have Few Alternatives

Millions of people rely on the supplemental insurance to offset the deductibles, copayments, and other costs faced by enrollees in the traditional Medicare program.

By Julie Appleby

April 23, 2026
California Lawmakers Seek Protections for Patients in ICE Custody

Moving through the California Senate are two bills, informed by KFF Health News reporting, that would strengthen protections for patients brought to health facilities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

April 22, 2026
Montana Moves Ahead With Doula Pay but Warns Medicaid Cuts Still May Come

Montana health officials say they’re seeking to add doula services to the state’s Medicaid program, reversing a previous statement that they would “not be moving forward” amid a budget shortfall.

By Katheryn Houghton

April 22, 2026

Morning Briefing

Thursday, April 30, 2026 • 9:14 a.m. ET

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Noticias en español

Florida retrasa la ampliación de seguro médico infantil mientras aumenta el número de niños sin cobertura

By Daniel Chang

April 28, 2026
La ayuda que más necesitan muchos estadounidenses mayores

By Paula Span

April 27, 2026
En Connecticut, los médicos ahora demandan a pacientes por facturas impagas más que los hospitales

By Noam N. Levey, Katy Golvala, CT Mirror, and Jenna Carlesso, CT Mirror

April 27, 2026
En California, legisladores buscan proteger a pacientes bajo custodia del ICE

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

April 22, 2026
Tu nuevo terapeuta: conversador, indiscreto… y difícilmente humano

By Darius Tahir

April 17, 2026