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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.
Public health experts and advocates say the outbreak has been fueled by a confluence of local factors, including the sweeping of a homeless encampment and shuttering of a sterile-syringe program. But those issues may not remain local for long. The Trump administration is leading efforts to promote similar tactics nationwide.
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.
With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Although the FDA has approved the vaccines for anyone 65 or older and anyone at least 6 months old who is at risk of a severe covid infection, barriers to coverage and access persist.
As extremism and radicalization worsen in the United States, a group of researchers is trying out a new approach that addresses the issue as a public health problem.
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A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, 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’ Tony Leys, who discusses his “Bill of the Month” report about a woman’s unfortunate interaction with a bat — and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discusses leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concerns over vaccine policy.
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.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.
KFF Health News correspondent Amy Maxmen traces the political turmoil at the CDC under President Donald Trump.
Four senior officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced their resignations in recent days, citing what they described as growing political interference in the agency's scientific work, particularly regarding vaccines.
Xlear, a maker of xylitol gum, has sued the Federal Trade Commission, saying the onus should be on government to prove that ingredients don’t live up to advertised claims. RFK Jr.’s “medical freedom” allies have rallied to the cause.
Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together, these linked outbreaks have sickened more than 4,500 and killed at least 16 in the U.S. and Mexico.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is targeting the government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, without which manufacturers might cease producing shots.
Firearm violence is killing Americans at the scale of a public health epidemic. The suffering is concentrated in Black neighborhoods damaged by segregation, disinvestment, hate crimes, and other forms of racial discrimination.
Doctors and public health leaders, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend that most people 6 months old and older get the 2025-26 flu vaccine — and it’s still covered by most insurance plans.
President Donald Trump’s latest executive order about science and medicine seeks to take funding decisions out of the hands of career scientists and give them to political appointees instead. And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, shoots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a law enforcement officer. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the health services research group AcademyHealth, about how to restore the public’s trust in public health.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to defund mRNA research is just the latest to put ideology above public health.
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