The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California warned of Trump administration “cuts” to Medicare telehealth access hitting March 31. But if Medicare recipients lose telemedicine benefits that day, it will be because Congress failed to act.
Almost 40 years ago, Joseph Borzelleca published a study on red dye No. 3, a petroleum-based food coloring. The FDA cited his work to ban the additive in January. But Borzelleca says it’s safe.
A bill proposed by kratom industry advocates is prompting consideration — and some concern — in the Montana Legislature.
Republicans’ moves to scale back Medicaid are leading to more misinformation about immigrants, especially Latinos, circulating on social media platforms. The misconceptions include the myths that Latinos covered by Medicaid don’t work and that they use Medicaid significantly more than others.
The Senate Finance Committee questioned Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. KFF Health News reporters discussed the biggest takeaways from the hearing.
Two senior scientists say National Institutes of Health officials advised them to remove references to mRNA vaccines in grant applications, and they fear the Trump administration will abandon a promising field of medical research.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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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.
Democratic state lawmakers in California have proposed bills to protect women, transgender people, and immigrants in response to concerns that their health data could be used against them. If the measures reach his desk, Gov. Gavin Newsom could lay such legislation aside to focus on securing federal funds.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is offline — for now. Here’s what that could mean for people with medical debt.
Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks — occupying beds that others need and driving up costs — because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.
Unnecessarily high radiation doses in scans have been linked to cancers. Under new federal rules, doctors and imaging centers have to more closely track and report the doses of radiation that patients receive.
California businesses saw employees’ monthly family insurance premiums rise nearly $1,000 over a 15-year period, more than double the pace of inflation. And employees’ share grew as companies shifted more of the cost to workers.
Last year, the government stopped cutting off people’s monthly Social Security benefits to claw back overpayments. Last week, under President Donald Trump, it reversed that change.
