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Latest KFF Health News Stories

After Shutdown, Federal Employees Face New Uncertainty: Affording Health Insurance

KFF Health News Original

Average premium payments in the federal government’s insurance program for its employees are set to jump more than 12% next year, on top of a 13.5% hike in 2025. The two-year increase is higher than many private employers and their workers are experiencing.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Trump Almost Unveils a Health Plan 

Podcast

Just weeks before some tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums expire, the Trump administration floated a plan to extend the enhanced aid — but it was met with immediate GOP pushback. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to revise its website to suggest childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein about their new book, “Information Sick: How Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.”

More People Are Caring for Dying Loved Ones at Home. A New Orleans Nonprofit Is Showing Them How.

KFF Health News Original

Demand for home health care, including at-home hospice care, has skyrocketed since the onset of the covid pandemic. A New Orleans nonprofit is teaching people how to provide end-of-life care for relatives and community members.

Not Serious Enough To Turn on the Siren, Toddler’s 39-Mile Ambulance Ride Still Cost Over $9,000

KFF Health News Original

After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children’s hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.

Kennedy Sharpens Vaccine Attacks, Without Scientific Backing

KFF Health News Original

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that the aluminum ingredients in vaccines cause a variety of harmful reactions, from allergies to autism. Scientists say that’s wrong and warn of risks if they’re removed. Here are some of the basics.

Una crisis de salud oculta tras los desastres naturales: la proliferación de moho en los hogares

KFF Health News Original

Se estima que el 47% de los edificios residenciales de Estados Unidos tiene humedad o moho. Así que, aunque la última temporada de huracanes esté por terminar, siguen presentes los problemas de salud asociados al moho.

After Series of Denials, His Insurer Approved Doctor-Recommended Cancer Care. It Was Too Late.

KFF Health News Original

Eric Tennant’s doctors recommended histotripsy, which would target, and potentially destroy, a cancerous tumor in his liver. But by the time his insurer approved the treatment, Tennant was no longer considered a good candidate. He died in September.

Cancer Stole Her Voice. She Used AI, Curse Words, and Kids’ Books To Get It Back.

KFF Health News Original

After a total glossectomy and laryngectomy to treat her cancer, Sonya Sotinsky can no longer speak. She searched for a way to sound like herself again and now pays out-of-pocket for an artificial intelligence app that can replicate her old voice — emotion, inflection, and all.

US Cancer Registries, Constrained by Trump Policies, To Recognize Only ‘Male’ or ‘Female’ Patients

KFF Health News Original

Under Trump policies, cancer registries in 2026 will have to classify sex data strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of one of the nation’s most marginalized populations.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Podcast

Republicans are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the CDC altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy.

Cáncer de mama y anticonceptivos: un nuevo estudio revela cómo se puede distorsionar la ciencia

KFF Health News Original

Mientras la desinformación sobre la salud de las mujeres se propaga más rápido que nunca, médicos dicen que una nueva investigación pone en evidencia los desafíos de comunicar con matices en la era de las redes sociales.

Complaints About Gaps in Medicare Advantage Networks Are Common. Federal Enforcement Is Rare.

KFF Health News Original

Health systems drop out of Medicare Advantage plans all the time. Yet government documents obtained by KFF Health News show that federal regulators rarely warn plans that their networks of health providers are so skimpy they violate legal requirements.

Waning Immunity and Falling Vaccination Rates Fuel Pertussis Outbreaks

KFF Health News Original

New details from health officials suggest the whooping-cough surge may be part of a national pattern driven by slipping vaccine coverage and waning immunity, with infants bearing the brunt of the consequences.