Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Conflicting Advice on Covid Shots Likely To Ding Already Low Vaccine Rates, Experts Warn

KFF Health News Original

About 1 in 4 American adults got a covid vaccine shot during the 2024-25 virus season, a fraction health care experts warn could be smaller this year as millions wrestle with conflicting advice from the government and trusted medical organizations about the value of a shot.

ICE Crackdown Heightens Barriers for Immigrant Domestic Violence Victims

KFF Health News Original

Immigrant victims of domestic violence have long encountered hurdles when seeking help from police and courts. The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has made victims without legal status even more afraid to report abuse, advocacy groups say.

Wielding Obscure Budget Tools, Trump’s ‘Reaper’ Vought Sows Turmoil in Public Health

KFF Health News Original

Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.

White House Calls This 9/11-Era Fund ‘Wasteful.’ Red and Blue States Rely on It.

KFF Health News Original

States from California to Texas say they rely on tens of millions in federal funding to help them prepare for the next pandemic, cyberattack, or mass-casualty catastrophe. The Trump administration wants to cut it.

From Narcan to Gun Silencers, Opioid Settlement Cash Pays Law Enforcement Tabs

KFF Health News Original

Local governments have received hundreds of millions of dollars from the opioid settlements to support addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts. Their spending decisions in 2024 were sometimes surprising and even controversial. Our new database offers more than 10,500 examples.

Sock Hops and Concerts: How Some Places Spent Opioid Settlement Cash

KFF Health News Original

States, counties, and cities are receiving millions in opioid settlement money to address the addiction crisis. The ways they spent the dollars in 2024 sometimes drew criticism from advocates and at least one state official, who alleged misuse.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Happy Open Enrollment Eve!

Podcast

A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

Médicos, callados mientras Florida busca terminar con décadas de mandatos de vacunación infantil

KFF Health News Original

Sin embargo, si las tasas de vacunación bajan, aumentan los casos de enfermedades como sarampión, hepatitis, meningitis y neumonía e incluso podrían regresar enfermedades como la difteria y la poliomielitis.

Doctors Muffled as Florida Moves To End Decades of Childhood Vaccination Mandates

KFF Health News Original

Florida has announced plans to end mandatory vaccination. Now scientists are assessing which of several diseases deadly to children — whooping cough, measles, polio, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus — are likely to make a resurgence and when.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown

Podcast

Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.