As Trump Punts on Medical Debt, Battle Over Patient Protections Moves to States
Some states are enacting medical debt laws as the Trump administration pulls back federal protections. Elsewhere, industry opposition has derailed legislation.
Health Industry
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She Had a Broken Arm, No Insurance — And a $97,000 Bill
Deborah Buttgereit knew piecing together the broken bone in her elbow would be expensive. But complications the doctor deemed a surprise, midsurgery, drove the total bill tens of thousands of dollars above the original estimate.
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Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’
The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.
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Mercury in Your Hot Dog? Vaccine Skeptics Face Their Limits at Crucial CDC Meeting
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on vaccines pitted scientific expertise against vaccine skepticism. An often confusing debate ended with critics of the current vaccine schedule tabling a vote to remove one of its cornerstones.
By Arthur Allen and Renuka Rayasam -
Exactech Will Pay $8M To Settle Lawsuits Over Defective Knee Implant Parts
Whistleblower lawsuits alleged that Exactech covered up defects in knee implants while patient injuries mounted.
By Fred Schulte -
Team Trump’s Answer to Ballooning Obamacare Premiums: Less Generous Coverage
Tens of millions of people face sticker shock enrolling in Affordable Care Act insurance for 2026. To save money, the Trump administration wants them to consider less generous coverage.
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Projected Surge in Uninsured Will Strain Local Health Systems
In South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, many people go without health insurance, and the health system struggles as a result. Similar communities dot the nation, and more could face such difficulties under President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending law.
By Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam -
RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Expected To Recommend Delaying Hepatitis B Shot for Children
A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that could open the door to a comeback for a disease virtually eradicated among U.S. children.
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An AI Assistant Can Interpret Those Lab Results for You
While patients wait to hear back from their doctors about test results, many turn to AI assistants for answers despite cautions over privacy and accuracy.
By Kate Ruder -
Watch: Why Is Having a Baby So Expensive in the US?
KFF Health News video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.
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He Built Michigan’s Medicaid Work Requirement System. Now He’s Warning Other States.
Michigan’s former top health official spent a year and $30 million building a system to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The difficulties he encountered have him worried about 40 states and Washington, D.C., having to launch such systems by 2027.
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Fighting a Health Insurance Denial? Here Are 7 Tips To Help
Many people don’t know they can fight a health insurance denial, let alone how to do it. Here are practical tips for consumers who want to appeal a prior authorization decision.
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As Insurers Struggle With GLP-1 Drug Costs, Some Seek To Wean Patients Off
Conventional wisdom says GLP-1 drugs must be taken indefinitely to maintain weight loss. But a growing number of researchers, payers, and providers are challenging that consensus and exploring whether — and how — to taper patients off expensive GLP-1 drugs.
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Listen: Limiting Benefits and Adding Restrictions, ‘MAHA’ Reshapes Food Aid
The White House and congressional Republicans have made historic changes to the federal anti-hunger program SNAP. They say the changes will boost healthy eating for low-income Americans. Some nutrition experts aren’t so sure.
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Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research
The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.
By Arthur Allen -
Do Pediatricians Recommend Vaccines To Make a Profit? There’s Not Much Money in It
Four pediatricians said evidence-based science and medicine and a desire to keep kids healthy drive doctors’ childhood vaccination recommendations. And while pediatric practices might make money immunizing privately insured children, most practices likely break even or lose money from providing the shots.
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When Hospitals and Insurers Fight, Patients Get Caught in the Middle
About 90,000 people spent months in limbo as central Missouri’s major, and often only, provider fought over insurance contracts. Patients getting caught in the crossfire of disputes has become a familiar complication, as about 8% of hospitals have left an insurer network since 2021. Trump administration policies could accelerate the trend.
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Social Security Praises Its New Chatbot. Ex-Officials Say It Was Tested but Shelved Under Biden.
Social Security, under the leadership of a tech enthusiast, rolled out an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot to answer calls. But as beneficiaries complain about glitches, lawmakers and former officials ask whether it’s a preview of a less human agency at which rushed-out AI takes the place of pushed-out government workers.
By Darius Tahir -
Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks
The Trump administration's cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News analysis shows.
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Optum Rx Invokes Open Meetings Law To Fight Kentucky Counties on Opioid Suits
In a Goliath-versus-David fight, UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager, Optum Rx, has filed lawsuits in five counties to stop them from including the company in national opioid litigation.