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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Like local jails nationwide, Montana’s small holding facilities have become institutions of last resort as patients in mental health crisis stall in backlogs, waiting for beds at the state-run mental hospital.
When Congress returns next week, it will be writing a budget reconciliation bill that’s expected to cut taxes but also make deep cuts to Medicaid. But at least some Republicans are concerned about cutting a program that aids so many of their constituents. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rae Ellen Bichell about her story on how care for transgender minors is changing in Colorado.
Colorado was long considered a haven for gender-affirming care. But under this Trump administration, hospitals in the state have limited the treatments available for people under 19. Some services have been restored, but trans youth and their families say the state isn’t the rock they thought it was.
A purge of FDA staff spared some people tasked with responding to a judge’s orders to disclose government records on covid vaccines, according to agency employees. The FOIA litigation was brought by Aaron Siri, an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s who represents anti-vaccine interests.
A federal judge in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule to boost staffing at nursing homes. The decision comes even though many homes lack enough workers to maintain residents’ care.
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities. Altogether, the layoffs mean the federal government, in a single day, shed hundreds if not thousands of combined years of health and science expertise. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
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