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.

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.

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.

FTC Has Long Said Products Must Back Up Health Claims. A MAHA Lawsuit Would Upend That.

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.

As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.

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.

Native Americans Want To Avoid Past Medicaid Enrollment Snafus as Work Requirements Loom

As states prepare to implement changes to Medicaid required by President Donald Trump’s recent tax-and-spending law, tribal leaders say they are concerned Native American enrollees could lose their coverage, despite exemptions made by Congress.

Planned Parenthood Bets on Redistricting To Push Back Against GOP Funding Cuts

Alarmed at Republicans’ deep cuts to health care and restrictions on reproductive rights, advocates are supporting California’s effort to counter a mid-decade gerrymander by the Texas GOP to pad their party’s fragile U.S. House majority.

Guns, Race, and Profit: The Pain of America’s Other Epidemic

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.

Experts Say Rural Emergency Rooms Are Increasingly Run Without Doctors

Some doctors and the groups that represent them say physicians’ extensive training leads to better emergency care, and that some hospitals are trying to save money by not hiring them. They support new laws in Indiana, Virginia, and South Carolina that require physicians to be on-site 24/7.

Watch: Millions of Americans Live Where Telehealth Is Out of Reach

In this video report, InvestigateTV and KFF Health News take viewers to Alabama, Idaho, and West Virginia to explore how gaps in internet connectivity and telehealth access cause residents to live sicker and die younger on average than their peers in well-connected regions.