Courts Archives - Page 4 of 37

Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes

Episode 407

July 24, 2025

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.

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A photo of a Black man posing for a portrait by a window. It is casting dramatic shadows across his face.

Louisiana Upholds Its HIV Exposure Law as Other States Change or Repeal Theirs

State lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to extend the law this year to cover the intentional exposure of other sexually transmitted infections.

By Halle Parker, Verite News

July 21, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding — For Now

Episode 406

July 17, 2025

The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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What the Health? From KFF Health News

Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law

Episode 405

July 10, 2025

President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.

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What the Health? From KFF Health News

Trump’s Bill Reaches the Finish Line

Episode 404

July 3, 2025

The House on Thursday moved to approve the largest-ever cuts to federal safety net programs, the last step before the measure goes to President Donald Trump’s desk. After the Senate very narrowly passed the bill, House GOP leaders ushered it past resistance from conservatives wary of adding trillions to the federal debt and moderates concerned about its cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to pursue his anti-vaccine agenda, despite promising that he would not. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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An outside view of the University of Michigan Hospital, a tan building with a large M on the outside

Feds Investigate Hospitals Over Religious Exemptions From Gender-Affirming Care

Federal health officials are investigating claims that a Michigan health system fired an employee who sought a religious exemption to avoid calling transgender patients by their pronouns or referring them for gender-affirming care. Legal experts say the investigation escalates the Trump administration’s effort to curb medical care for transgender patients.

By Kate Wells, Michigan Public

July 1, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Gender-Affirming Care

Episode 402

June 20, 2025

The Supreme Court this week said Tennessee may continue to enforce its law banning most types of gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling is likely to greenlight similar laws in two dozen states. And the Senate is preparing to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that includes even deeper Medicaid cuts than the House version. Victoria Knight of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A photo of a psychologist writing in a notebook in a dark office.

$20K Bonuses Among Latest Moves To Improve California’s Prison Mental Health System

After decades of unsuccessful efforts to improve California prison conditions, advocates and a federal judge are betting that bonuses and better work accommodations will attract and keep the mental health professionals needed to better treat prisoners.

By Don Thompson

June 9, 2025

A photo of a worker wearing reflective gear, hard hat, and a mask, stands by a coal cutting machine in a coal mine.

Feds Chop Enforcement Staff and Halt Rules Meant To Curb Black Lung in Coal Miners

The Trump administration has paused implementation of a rule limiting miners’ exposure to airborne silica dust days after a federal court agreed to put it on hold to hear an industry challenge. The protections are meant to head off a surge in cases of black lung disease. Meanwhile, any enforcement of new standards might be meager due to workforce cuts.

By Taylor Sisk

May 29, 2025

The Week in Brief

Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ to Brokers

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

By Julie Appleby

May 23, 2025

A photo of an older man having his blood pressure checked by a doctor in an exam room.

Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ for Primo Customers

The Department of Justice alleges that several major health insurers paid brokerages “hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks” to get agents to steer consumers into their Medicare Advantage plans, allegations the insurers strongly dispute.

By Julie Appleby

May 19, 2025

A photo of a man in a suit walking outside a courthouse with another man following behind him.

Pain Clinic CEO Faced 20 Years for Making Patients ‘Human Pin Cushions.’ He Got 18 Months.

Michael Kestner, CEO of Pain MD, was convicted of 13 fraud felonies after his company gave patients hundreds of thousands of questionable injections at clinics in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.

By Brett Kelman

May 15, 2025

A photo of a crowd of protesters holding signs that read, "Protect Oak Flat."

Trump’s Fast-Tracked Deal for a Copper Mine Heightens Existential Fight for Apache

Apache tribal members are already feeling psychological and spiritual harm as the Trump administration moves to fast-track a deal to turn their sacred land of Oak Flat, Arizona, into a copper mine.

By Melissa Bailey

May 14, 2025

A photo illustration of a person's head with their brain drawn as tangled threads. Three hands work to unknot the threads.

Trump Team Faces Key Legal Decision That Could Put Mental Health Parity in Peril

The administration is facing a May 12 deadline to declare if it will defend Biden-era regulations that aim to enforce laws requiring parity in insurance coverage of mental and physical health care.

By Aneri Pattani

May 9, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP

Episode 396

May 8, 2025

Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.

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Watch: How the FDA Opens the Door to Risky Chemicals in America’s Food Supply

To a great extent, the FDA leaves it to food companies to determine whether their ingredients and additives are safe. Some chemicals and additives are tied to health risks while others are absent from product labels. Watch this video explainer to learn more.

By David Hilzenrath, Hannah Norman, and Oona Zenda

May 7, 2025

A photo of a mail package containing mifepristone and misoprostol.

Despite Historic Indictment, Doctors Will Keep Mailing Abortion Pills Across State Lines

When a New York physician was indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. But some physicians vowed not to stop.

By Rosemary Westwood, WWNO

May 6, 2025

A photo of a man sitting in a Senate hearing room, speaking into a microphone at a desk.

Alabama Can’t Prosecute Groups Helping Patients Get Abortions Elsewhere, Judge Rules

Although most abortions remain illegal in Alabama, a judge’s decision in early April allows doctors and advocacy groups to tell patients about abortion options in other states, and help with travel and other costs.

By Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom

May 5, 2025

A photograph showing the ornate ceiling of the dome in the Montana Capitol.

Montana Lawmakers Approve $124M To Revamp Behavioral Health System

The legislation calls for a new mental health facility in eastern Montana, upgrades to existing state facilities, expansion of community services, and revisions to commitment procedures.

By Sue O'Connell

May 2, 2025

A close-up shot of a blister pack of contraceptive pills.

Trump Restores Title X Funding for Two Anti-Abortion States — While Wiping It Out Elsewhere

The Biden administration shut off federal family planning grants to Tennessee and Oklahoma after the states directed clinics not to provide abortion counseling. The Trump administration restored the money, claiming two lawsuits were settled. They weren’t.

By Rachana Pradhan

April 30, 2025

Trump 2.0

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