Under Trump, Federal Agencies Are Collecting Massive Sets of Medical Records
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They Worked To Protect Public Health. Now They Want the Public’s Votes.
They’re known for touting pandemic precautions, Affordable Care Act plans, and testing for lead in schools. This year, some former public health officials are touting themselves — for governor or senator.
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Hospice’s Bad Reputation Amid Fraud Crisis Will Hurt Patients, Industry Experts Warn
While acknowledging that changes must be made to the hospice industry, health policy researchers and providers worry that negative attention and the potential for overly punitive regulations could put patients at risk.
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Trump Has Quietly Throttled an Agency Devoted to the Safety of American Healthcare
Congress appropriated $345 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the 2026 fiscal year, but the agency has spent less than $15 million on grants. AHRQ hasn’t issued a new one in over a year.
By Arthur Allen -
Cyclospora Boosts Fears That Worse Foodborne Outbreaks Are Ahead
The recent outbreak of a foodborne parasite sickened thousands and hospitalized hundreds across the U.S. before federal investigators identified the suspected source. Food safety experts say cuts to the public health system hobbled the response — and that the next outbreak could be much worse.
By Kate Wells and Stephanie Armour -
Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
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Watch: GOP Senator Says Trump’s Tariffs Could Mean Safer Drugs — For a Price
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana chairs the Senate’s health committee. In an interview with KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner, he discusses the drug supply, his proposal to defray out-of-pocket costs, and his controversial vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
By Julie Rovner and Hannah Norman -
POSTCARD FROM GEORGIA
Public Health Improvements Stall Amid Trump’s DEI Crackdown
A year after the Environmental Protection Agency stripped grant money from dozens of communities nationwide during Trump’s DEI crackdown, a small Georgia city is struggling to address environmental health concerns.
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American Scientists See Prosecutions as Part of Federal Campaign Against Them
Federal officials charged two virologists they stopped en route from an African disease outbreak with violating import rules. But scientists tell KFF Health News the inactivated samples they carried posed no threat to the public, and they characterize the arrests as part of a government harassment campaign.
By Katheryn Houghton and Arthur Allen -
Trump’s Personnel Agency Says It Will Remove Some Identifying Info as It Sweeps Up Medical Records
The Office of Personnel Management said it will “pseudonymize” medical records it collects on more than 8 million people — federal workers and retirees, and their family members. Democrats and employee unions say the agency’s move is an overreach.
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Severely Ill Prisoners Granted Early Release Are Left Stuck Behind Bars
Prisoners with severe medical conditions can be granted compassionate release, but without a long-term care facility willing to accept them, many continue to wait in prison as their conditions worsen.
By Ashley Mizuo -
A Deloitte-Run System Denied Medicaid Benefits for Michigan’s Disabled. Now Trump’s Law Piles On.
Complex computer systems that decide whether people, including the disabled, get Medicaid benefits have a history of errors. Now changes to comply with Trump’s signature tax and domestic policy law are inundating those systems.
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Doctors ‘Cringe’ at Possibility of Documenting Which Medicaid Enrollees Too Sick To Work
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation — possibly from medical professionals — to prove that they’re too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
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Insurers Hedge on Trump-Backed Pledge To Improve Denials Process
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains commonplace, and there's no evidence the government is trying to hold insurers to account.
By Lauren Sausser and Renuka Rayasam -
Trump’s CDC Nominee Praises Vaccines, Without Vowing Independence From Kennedy
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, expressed support for vaccines, including covid shots, in her confirmation hearing. That contrasts with the stance of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Facing Funding Losses, States Call Out Big Businesses With Employees on Medicaid
With the federal Medicaid work requirements looming in January, Democrats are considering state legislation to call out big companies that employ workers enrolled in the safety net health program. Business giants such as Amazon and Walmart said the figures are misleading.
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Lawmakers Look To Make Abortion Shield Laws Less Dependent on Who’s Governor
California’s laws still leave extradition decisions related to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care to its governor. But as states with abortion bans target California physicians who prescribe abortion pills across state lines, Democrats want to lock in protections for doctors, no matter who the next governor is.
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As GOP Cries Fraud, Newsom Backs Medicaid Spending on Housing and Food
Republicans say California’s use of Medicaid money for social services amounts to waste, fraud, and abuse. But even as Gov. Gavin Newsom voices concern about losing funding, he says he’s proud of the state’s holistic approach to caring for its sickest and most expensive patients.
By Angela Hart -
Journalists Discuss Raw-Milk Marketing, Extreme Heat, Opioid Settlement Spending
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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They Harvest the Nation’s Food, but a New Rule May Strip Them of Health Insurance
New Medicaid work requirements could make a complex system even harder for farmworkers to navigate.
By Paula Andalo