HHS Archives - Page 4 of 27

Crunch Time for ACA Tax Credits

Episode 426

Dec. 11, 2025

Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin Jan. 1, and Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire and increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown professor Linda Blumberg about the GOP’s health plans.

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A photo of the ACIP hearing from the press section. Reporters type on laptops in the foreground. In front of them is a large TV screen showing Robert Malone speaking. The full panel is seen behind the screen.

In RFK Jr.’s Upside-Down World of Vaccines, Panel Votes To End Hepatitis B Shot at Birth

A session of a vaccine panel dominated by skeptics was chaotically at odds with past practices of the CDC, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described as a “cesspool of corruption.” His crew voted to end a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B.

By Arthur Allen

Dec. 5, 2025

An exterior photograph of an emergency entrance at a hospital at daybreak.

While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains

Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.

By Amy Maxmen

Dec. 5, 2025

A photo of Sen. Cassidy walking as reporters flank him on both sides.

Health Savings Accounts, Backed by GOP, Cover Fancy Saunas but Not Insurance Premiums

Health savings accounts can be used to cover medical expenses, tax-free. But while wealthier Americans are using them to pay for gym equipment, cedar ice baths, and hemlock saunas, poorer Americans can’t use them to pay their skyrocketing health insurance premiums.

By Amanda Seitz

Dec. 5, 2025

Under Kennedy, America’s Health Department Is in the Business of Promoting Kennedy

Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services increasingly uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda. Interviews with over 20 former and current employees provide a look inside an agency where personality and politics steer communications with the public.

By Darius Tahir

Dec. 4, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing.

RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.

A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.

By Jackie Fortiér

Dec. 2, 2025

A portrait of a young woman leaning gently on a cane.

Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the ‘Medically Frail.’ Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.

People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.

By Samantha Liss and Sam Whitehead

Dec. 1, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Trump Almost Unveils a Health Plan

Episode 424

Nov. 25, 2025

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.”

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A close-up photo of the header of the CDC website.

What To Know About the CDC’s Baseless New Guidance on Autism

A reshaped CDC website suggesting that vaccines cause autism has appalled the medical community.

By Arthur Allen

Nov. 21, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Episode 423

Nov. 20, 2025

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.

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A closely cropped shot of a preschool-aged girl coughing while holding a thermometer.

Waning Immunity and Falling Vaccination Rates Fuel Pertussis Outbreaks

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.

By Céline Gounder

Nov. 20, 2025

A Small Texas Think Tank Cultivated Covid Dissidents. Now They’re Running US Health Policy.

Fueled by covid backlash, a libertarian author created the Brownstone Institute in 2021. In recent months, people with ties to the group have catapulted to the highest levels of U.S. government, exercising significant authority over access to vaccines and scientific research.

By Rachana Pradhan

Nov. 19, 2025

Wielding Obscure Budget Tools, Trump’s ‘Reaper’ Vought Sows Turmoil in Public Health

Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.

By Amy Maxmen

Nov. 7, 2025

A vector illustration of a woman standing a bit hunched over in the middle of the frame while three dashed-line outlines of hands point at her.

While Politicos Dispense Blame, These Doctors Aim To Take Shame Out of Medicine

Clinicians and researchers are starting to embrace an effort to develop what’s known as “shame competence” in physicians to combat burnout and prevent that uncomfortable emotion from being passed along to patients.

By Charlotte Huff

Nov. 5, 2025

A sign is carved at the entrance to the Hubert H. Humphrey Building. It reads, "Department of Health and Human Services."

Trump’s HHS Orders State Medicaid Programs To Help Find Undocumented Immigrants

Federal health authorities have taken the "unprecedented" step of instructing states to investigate certain individuals on Medicaid to determine whether they are ineligible because of their immigration status, with five states reporting they’ve received more than 170,000 names collectively.

By Phil Galewitz

Nov. 3, 2025

A man sorts through a food delivery at a food bank

The Nation’s Largest Food Aid Program Is About To See Cuts. Here’s What You Should Know.

The federal government is making sweeping changes to SNAP, the program that helped feed about 42 million people in the U.S. last year. Here’s a breakdown of the changes to come and potential impacts.

By Katheryn Houghton, Samantha Liss, and Renuka Rayasam

Oct. 31, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Happy Open Enrollment Eve!

Episode 420

Oct. 30, 2025

A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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A photo of a woman in a medical office filling out a form.

The Quiet Collapse of America’s Reproductive Health Safety Net

The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.

By Céline Gounder

Oct. 30, 2025

A photo of a woman in a headscarf facing away from the camera.

Refugees Will Be Among the First To Lose Food Stamps Under Federal Changes

Under the budget law that Republicans call the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, food assistance for refugees will be sliced. The change is sowing fear, uncertainty, and a struggle for survival — a sign of what’s to come for millions of Americans.

By Renuka Rayasam

Oct. 30, 2025

A photo of Mehmet Oz holding up a phone during a White House meeting about health care and technology.

Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules

The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Sam Whitehead

Oct. 23, 2025

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