Latest Morning Briefing Stories

This Teen Never Got His Day in Vaccine Court. His Former Lawyer Now Advises RFK on Its Overhaul.

KFF Health News Original

The federal government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was supposed to help patients with their medical bills while protecting vaccine supply. But allies of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are routinely transferring cases from that program to launch lawsuits against drugmakers.

Trump Policies at Odds With Emerging Understanding of Covid’s Long-Term Harm

KFF Health News Original

Studies increasingly offer insights into the health risks and burdens faced by people who have had covid infections. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has narrowed covid vaccine recommendations and cut research.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Health Spending Is Moving in Congress

Podcast

Lawmakers appear on the brink of passing a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services and a bipartisan health policy bill delayed for over a year. But the outlook is bleaker for the health care outline released by President Trump last week. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel to discuss his new book, “Eat Your Ice Cream.”

Medicaid Tries New Approach With Sickle Cell: Companies Get Paid Only if Costly Gene Therapies Work

KFF Health News Original

The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program — created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump — could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.

Los pagos de Medicaid por el tratamiento de la anemia falciforme dependerán de su éxito

KFF Health News Original

Actualmente hay dos terapias génicas aprobadas por la FDA, con costos de $2,2 millones por paciente en un caso y $3,1 millones en el otro, sin incluir el gasto de la hospitalización prolongada que requieren.

Estados Unidos podría perder su estatus de país libre de sarampión

KFF Health News Original

Esto marca un cambio importante desde que Estados Unidos eliminara el sarampión en el año 2000. Hasta ahora, el virus aparecía de manera esporádica, con personas infectadas en el extranjero, pero rara vez provocaba brotes locales debido a las altas tasas de vacunación.

How Is Your County Spending Opioid Settlement Cash? Our New Tool Follows the Money.

KFF Health News Original

Lifesaving or wasteful? Opinion is divided on the ways local communities are using opioid settlement funds. Survivors of the overdose crisis and families who’ve lost loved ones to it are raising alarms about what some perceive as wasteful spending.

GOP Cuts Will Cripple Medicaid Enrollment, Warns CEO of Largest Public Health Plan

KFF Health News Original

Martha Santana-Chin, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, last year took the helm of L.A. Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan. She warns that looming federal cuts will push up to 650,000 people off L.A. Care’s Medicaid rolls by the end of 2028.

RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam in Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect in 2026.

KFF Health News Original

“Make America Healthy Again” policies driven by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made major strides in state legislatures, with food additives among the most common targets. The trend is expected to continue this year.

Tienda de segunda mano. Clínica. Lugar de encuentro. Centro se convierte en espacio vital en medio de la crisis de vivienda y drogas

KFF Health News Original

Aunque lleva varios años en funcionamiento, el espacio se ha vuelto aún más crucial en los últimos meses, con la administración Trump recortando fondos a muchas organizaciones de servicios sociales y adoptando una postura agresiva frente a las personas sin hogar y el consumo de drogas.

In Lodge Grass, Montana, a Crow Community Works To Rebuild From Meth’s Destruction

KFF Health News Original

Meth is a problem most everywhere, but particularly in Indian Country. On the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, new buildings serve as symbols of a town trying to rebuild after being devastated by addiction.