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Nonmainstream doctors and leaders in health business are wielding serious muscle in shaping the incoming Trump administration’s health policies and challenging prevailing thinking on public health, disease prevention, and chronic illness.
A private immigration detention center contractor has sued to block a California law allowing local public health officials to inspect facilities in response to allegations of medical neglect or unsanitary conditions.
Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz recently held broad investments in health care, tech, and food companies. Were he confirmed to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, his job would involve interacting with giants of the industry that have contributed to his wealth.
Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.
With a new Trump administration poised to move into the White House and Republicans set to control both chambers of Congress, party leaders are making a to-do list for the Affordable Care Act.
Research has generally shown that drinking fluoridated water at the recommended levels is safe and beneficial for oral health, especially in children. But many people feel that more research is needed to better understand whether and when health risks kick in.
With Republicans now set to control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives starting in January, their health agenda remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that just about anything could be on the table, from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, to drug prices and public health. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups are preparing to fight the implementation of abortion rights ballot measures just passed by voters in seven states. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
As federal health scientists await a potential takeover by RFK Jr. and other medical skeptics in the second Trump administration, some are preparing résumés or retirement papers.
Despite widespread support for protecting abortion rights, voters said the cost of gas, housing, food, and health care was more important to their choice for president.
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month” feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime champion of reproductive rights, is ready to lead California in the fight to protect abortion under Trump’s second presidency. In a Q&A, he shares how his upbringing prepared him for the role.
Voters in 10 states weighed in on abortion rights this election. Despite the results supporting abortion rights in seven of those states, much of the abortion landscape on abortion won’t change much immediately, as medical providers navigate the legal hurdles that remain.
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage. Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
Democrats and conservatives are divided over whether the federal health program for people over 65 should be run almost entirely by the private sector. If Trump retakes the White House, the shift to Medicare Advantage may accelerate.
Though the former president has repeatedly hyped the impact of his experimental drug program, there’s no basis for his claims in government data, and medical experts say he’s exaggerating.
Health care has ebbed and surged as an election issue throughout the presidential campaign. Here are the ways some of the most consequential changes in health policies could hinge on whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins.
Several Democratic-led states have expanded public insurance programs to cover immigrants in the U.S. regardless of legal status. Donald Trump is trying to blame Kamala Harris for the policies.
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