Health Industry Archives - Page 15 of 197

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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A photo of VA Secretary Doug Collins testifying at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

A Million Veterans Gave DNA To Aid Health Research. Scientists Worry the Data Will Be Wasted.

Retired service members donated genetic material to help answer health questions for not only others in the military but all Americans, creating one of the largest repositories of health data in the world. The Trump administration is dragging its heels on agreements to analyze it with supercomputers.

By Darius Tahir

July 16, 2025

A woman wearing glasses and a mask helps another woman balance on one leg while holding a ball

Broken Rehab

How To Find the Right Medical Rehab Services

Specialized hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home health agencies provide rehab therapy. Insurers may limit the services you can get.

By Jordan Rau

July 15, 2025

From left, a man, a woman, and another man stand in a cemetery, looking at a gravestone

Broken Rehab

Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed

For-profit hospitals provide most inpatient physical therapy but tend to have worse readmission rates to general hospitals. Medicare doesn’t tell consumers about troubling inspections.

By Jordan Rau and Irena Hwang, The New York Times

July 15, 2025

In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry

The health industry couldn’t persuade GOP lawmakers to oppose big Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill for many reasons. A big one: Congressional Republicans were more worried about angering Trump than a backlash from hospitals and low-income constituents back home.

By Phil Galewitz and Stephanie Armour

July 14, 2025

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking in a House of Representatives hearing room. He is also seen on a screen behind him broadcasting the hearing.

Vested Interests. Influence Muscle. At RFK Jr.’s HHS, It’s Not Pharma. It’s Wellness.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lambasted federal agencies he accused of being overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. But he and other “Make America Healthy Again” notables have their own financial ties to the vast and largely unregulated $6.3 trillion global wellness industry that ethicists say raise red flags.

By Stephanie Armour

July 14, 2025

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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Closeup of a doula assisting a pregnant woman by placing a belly band while she's sitting on a fitness ball, providing support and comfort during pregnancy

Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States

Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.

By Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton

July 10, 2025

Watch: She’s at High Risk of Breast Cancer. She Moved, and Her Screening Costs Soared.

This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series explores how the type of medical facility where a patient seeks care can affect the cost of that care — particularly when that facility is a hospital.

By Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV and Jamie Grey, InvestigateTV

July 10, 2025

A photo of an ambulance. Paramedics load a patient on a gurney into the ambulance.

Insurers Fight State Laws Restricting Surprise Ambulance Bills

A Colorado bill banning surprise billing for ambulance rides passed unanimously in both legislative chambers, only to be met with a veto from the governor. As more states pass such legislation, some are hitting the same snag — concerns about raising premiums.

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Katheryn Houghton

July 9, 2025

A man stands before a room of seated construction workers wearing high-vis clothing and hard hats.

Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts

Efforts to decrease alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers and prevent burnout in health care workers are in jeopardy after the firing of hundreds of employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

By Aneri Pattani

July 8, 2025

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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A photo of an ambulance driving by in Washington, D.C. The rotunda of the U.S. Capitol is prominent in the background.

Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs for Many Americans

Spending cuts hitting medical providers, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act enrollees, and lawfully present immigrants are just some of the biggest changes the GOP has in store for health care — with ramifications that could touch all Americans.

By Phil Galewitz, Julie Appleby, Renuka Rayasam, and Bernard J. Wolfson

July 2, 2025

A photo of a White House event with three people sitting at the end of the table: Brooke Rollins, Donald Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

‘MAHA Report’ Calls for Fighting Chronic Disease, but Trump and Kennedy Have Yanked Funding

Scientists and public health advocates see disconnects between what the Trump administration says about health — notably, in its “MAHA Report” — and what it’s actually doing.

By David Hilzenrath

July 2, 2025

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

An older man in a suit and tie with glasses is seated while a sign that reads "CDC" is in the distance behind him

Kennedy’s Vaccine Advisers Sow Doubts as Scientists Protest US Pivot on Shots

A new vaccine advisory panel appointed by the HHS secretary, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, reflected his unsupported claims about the safety of childhood inoculations.

By Arthur Allen and Sam Whitehead

June 27, 2025

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

Episode 403

June 26, 2025

In this special episode taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, three former governors — one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — discuss how state and federal officials can work together to improve Americans’ health. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and HHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner.

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What RFK Jr. Isn’t Talking About: How To Make Vaccines Safer

Vaccines are under fire from the top of the Trump administration. Federal programs to monitor them and make them safer have always been underfunded.

By Arthur Allen

June 25, 2025

A photo of Mehmet Oz speaking at a podium. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stands behind him.

Deadly Denials

5 Takeaways From Health Insurers’ New Pledge To Improve Prior Authorization

Dozens of health insurance companies pledged on Monday to improve prior authorization, a process often used to deny care. The announcement comes months after the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, whose death in December sparked widespread criticism about insurance denials.

By Lauren Sausser and Phil Galewitz

June 24, 2025