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A Headless CDC

Episode 439

March 26, 2026

The Trump administration faces the challenge of naming a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who can both satisfy the Make America Healthy Again movement and get confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, a new Senate bill to rescind the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is again elevating the abortion debate, which some Republicans would prefer to stay on the back burner until after the midterms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University Law Center’s Katie Keith about the state of the Affordable Care Act on its 16th anniversary.

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A man with muscular dystrophy works at a desk with multiple computer monitors.

Oz Escalates Medicaid Fraud Claims Against States After Focus on Minnesota

The Trump administration’s unprecedented actions targeting Medicaid funding in Minnesota are part of what could become a playbook as officials turn pressure toward California, Florida, Maine, and New York.

By Bram Sable-Smith

March 20, 2026

A photo of Mehmet Oz speaking at a podium at the White House. American flags are seen behind him.

Oz Says California’s Not Fighting Health Care Fraud, but Data Shows It’s Part of a Larger Battle

Trump administration officials say the state allows rampant fraud and have promised to investigate, blaming the “Russian, Armenian mafia” in the hospice and home health care industry. But data shows hotbeds of health care fraud throughout the country, with California outperforming most other states in recovering fraud dollars.

By Don Thompson

March 19, 2026

A photo of a laptop screen with Facebook Ad Library open. It shows three ads by Medicare Advantage Majority.

Medicare Advantage ‘Dark Money’ Group Attempts To Win Higher Payments for Insurance Companies

Medicare Advantage insurers say a proposal by the Trump administration to keep their payments nearly flat next year may lead to service cuts that harm seniors struggling to afford health care. A decision is due by early next month.

By Fred Schulte, Maia Rosenfeld, and David Hilzenrath

March 13, 2026

What the Health? From KFF Health News

RFK Jr.’s Very Bad Week

Episode 437

March 12, 2026

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had another tough week. In addition to Kennedy having rotator cuff surgery, the nomination of his ally to become surgeon general is teetering, the controversial head of the FDA's vaccine center is resigning next month, and a new survey shows Americans trust government health officials less than they do former Biden official Anthony Fauci. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, 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 these stories and more.

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Rural Health Payout

Lawmakers, Health Groups Resist Their States’ Rural Health Fund Plans

Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.

By Arielle Zionts and Sarah Jane Tribble

March 4, 2026

A man and woman seated at a table with papers, bills, receipts, and a calculator in front of them

Bill of the Month

Even Patients Are Shocked by the Prices Their Insurers Will Pay — And It Costs All of Us

Health care prices are on the rise, and patients are flummoxed that even insurance companies aren’t doing more to control costs.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

March 3, 2026

A photo illustration of the Wyoming State Capitol in black and white, with a green arrow pointing up across it.

Rural Health Payout

Wyoming Wants To Make Its Five-Year Federal Rural Health Funding Last ‘Forever’

State officials believe they’ve found a way to extend the life of federal Rural Health Transformation Program money Wyoming is receiving as part of last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — by investing most of it.

By Arielle Zionts

Feb. 18, 2026

A vector illustration of a "$" symbol between two hands.

Trump Required Hospitals To Post Their Prices for Patients. Mostly It’s the Industry Using the Data.

Politicians have pushed for price transparency in health care. But instead of patients shopping for services, it’s mostly health systems and insurers that are using the information, as fodder for negotiations over pay.

By Darius Tahir

Feb. 17, 2026

A physician stands in an examination room at a clinic. She has a stethoscope draped over her neck.

Clinics Sour on CMS After Agency Scraps 10-Year Primary Care Program Only Months In

A planned 10-year federal program called Making Care Primary was supposed to help primary care doctors by easing administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on improving patients’ health. A year after the Trump administration eliminated the program, federal officials created an alternative plan that favors companies.

By Andrew Jones

Feb. 13, 2026

An exterior shot of the Hennepin County Medical Center emergency room entrance.

With ICE Using Medicaid Data, Hospitals and States Are in a Bind Over Warning Immigrant Patients

The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is forcing hospitals and states to consider alerting immigrant patients that information from emergency medical coverage applications could be used in efforts to remove them from the country.

By Phil Galewitz and Amanda Seitz

Feb. 6, 2026

A green clipboard with a Medicare Part C form. A pen rests on top of the form.

Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans

Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospital systems say their Advantage plans can avert such upheaval, giving patients peace of mind.

By Susan Jaffe

Jan. 26, 2026

A senior man stands in a hallway with a walker. His reflection is visible, slightly blurred, in a mirror across from him.

THE NEW OLD AGE

These 3 Policy Moves Are Likely To Change Health Care for Older People

Two Trump administration regulatory rollbacks affect nursing home staffing and home care workers, and a new AI experiment in Medicare has alarmed eldercare advocates and congressional Democrats.

By Paula Span

Jan. 23, 2026

A woman wearing a yellow headband and a brown sweatshirt stands in front of a garage door, posing for a portrait.

Medicaid Tries New Approach With Sickle Cell: Companies Get Paid Only if Costly Gene Therapies Work

The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program — created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump — could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.

By Phil Galewitz

Jan. 21, 2026

A photo of an emergency room sign for Bellville Medical Center. The American flag and the Texas flag are seen on poles next to it.

Rural Health Payout

States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans

Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives.

By Sarah Jane Tribble, Arielle Zionts, and Maia Rosenfeld

Jan. 14, 2026

The Week in Brief

State Exchange Directors Seeing Consumers’ Fears — In Real Time — About Obamacare Premium Hikes

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

By Julie Appleby

Dec. 19, 2025

A laptop screen shows Idaho's Affordable Care Act marketplace website, with "Open Enrollment Ends December 15" in all-cap tyoe.

Sticker Shock: Obamacare Customers Confront Premium Spikes as Congress Dithers

With subsidies that give consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums set to expire, lawmakers are again debating the Affordable Care Act. The difference this time: It’s happening in the middle of ACA open enrollment.

By Julie Appleby

Dec. 12, 2025

A photo of enrollment agents with laptops helping people shop for Obamacare plans.

Plan-Switching, Sign-Up Impersonations: Obamacare Enrollment Fraud Persists

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office were able to register nearly 20 fake ACA enrollments in a probe of healthcare.gov. The federal government paid subsidies to insurers for some of the fake customers.

By Julie Appleby

Dec. 10, 2025

A man wearing a black hat and glasses stands with his arm around a woman with long, dark hair and wearing glasses

Broken Rehab

How Delays and Bankruptcy Let a Nursing Home Chain Avoid Paying Settlements for Injuries and Deaths

Genesis HealthCare’s bankruptcy case in Dallas will allow the nursing home chain to avoid paying millions of dollars it promised for residents who were injured or died while in its care. Families say bankruptcy nullifies one of the main ways to hold nursing home owners accountable for poor care.

By Jordan Rau

Dec. 9, 2025

Rural Health Payout

Tracking Applications for Rural Health Transformation Funds

KFF Health News is working to collect and post complete application materials, by state, here and will update this repository as new materials, released in response to public records requests, arrive.

Dec. 4, 2025

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