Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Health Providers Gird for Immigration Crackdown
Different states are offering starkly different guidelines to hospitals, community clinics, and other health facilities for interacting with immigrant patients as President Donald Trump issues a flurry of executive orders on immigration.
What Trump’s Executive Order on Gender Means for Trans Health Care
In his first days in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on gender that affects transgender health care. The order aims to directly limit care for trans people incarcerated in federal prisons, but the broader implications on health aren’t clear-cut.
A Program To Close Insurance Gaps for Native Americans Has Gone Largely Unused
Health leaders say a tool to boost medical coverage for Native Americans, a population that has long faced worse health outcomes than the rest of the nation, has been underused by many states and tribes since it was written into the Affordable Care Act more than a decade ago.
As States Diverge on Immigration, Hospitals Say They Won’t Turn Patients Away
California and Massachusetts are teaching immigrants their rights while Florida and Texas are collecting patients’ immigration status. As states offer differing guidelines for interacting with immigrant patients, hospitals around the U.S. say they won’t turn people away for care because of their immigration status.
Hospitales dicen que no rechazarán pacientes, mientras los estados se posicionan sobre inmigración
Mientras Trump inicia la “operación de deportación más grande” en la historia de la nación, estados han emitido pautas marcadamente diferentes a los hospitales, clínicas comunitarias y otros centros de salud, sobre cómo actuar con pacientes inmigrantes.
The Growing Inequality in Life Expectancy Among Americans
To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.
La creciente desigualdad en la expectativa de vida entre los estadounidenses
La salud de los estadounidenses ha sido desigual durante mucho tiempo, pero un nuevo estudio muestra que la disparidad entre las expectativas de vida de diferentes grupos poblacionales casi se ha duplicado desde el año 2000.
Dogs Paired With Providers at Hospitals Help Ease Staff and Patient Stress
Some hospitals are bringing in dogs to spend entire shifts with doctors and nurses. The trained canines help staffers cope with the stress of their work amid high levels of burnout.
For Homeless Seniors, Getting Into Stable Housing Takes a Village — And a Lot of Luck
The number of unhoused seniors in the U.S. is expected to triple by 2030. About half of this population is becoming homeless for the first time. Homeless services struggle to help. Finding affordable housing that’s also accessible for older Americans with medical conditions is an extra challenge.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Hello, Trump. Bye-Bye, Biden.
With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.
Childhood Vaccination Rates, a Rare Health Bright Spot in Struggling States, Are Slipping
Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia — states with some of the worst health outcomes — also have some of the highest childhood vaccination rates. But doctors and health officials worry a rising tide of vaccine skepticism is causing those public health bright spots to dim.
New California Laws Target Medical Debt, AI Care Decisions, Detention Centers
California has a few major changes coming to its health policy landscape in 2025. New laws that took effect Jan. 1 ban medical debt from credit reports, allow public health inspections of private immigration detention centers, and ban toxic chemicals in makeup.
Defensores, médicos, investigadores, y funcionarios de salud pública temen que estos logros en algunos estados como Mississippi y Tennessee estén desapareciendo.
I’m Moving Forward and Facing the Uncertainty of Aging
Our “Navigating Aging” columnist sets off on a new phase in life with lessons she’s learned reporting on aging and health.
Midwives Blame California Rules for Hampering Birth Centers Amid Maternity Care Crisis
Birth centers, where midwives deliver babies with emergency backup from hospitals, can offer an alternative for families as hospitals close maternity units. But the state’s stiff regulations and what many call a dysfunctional licensing process are hobbling new initiatives and forcing some facilities to shut down.
Beyond Hard Hats: Mental Struggles Become the Deadliest Construction Industry Danger
The physical hazards of construction work have long been a focus of safety professionals. Yet attention on the psychosocial hazards is relatively new, with suicide and substance use soaring among male construction workers. Mitigating those risks requires more than hard hats, safety vests, and protective goggles.
Voters Backed Abortion Rights but State Judges Have Final Say
Though abortion rights supporters prevailed on ballot measures in seven of the 10 states where abortion was up for a vote on Nov. 5, the state supreme courts voters have elected indicate legal fights to come aren’t clear-cut.
Can Medical Schools Funnel More Doctors Into the Primary Care Pipeline?
More medical schools say they will no longer charge tuition, in hopes that more students, graduating free of debt, will choose lower-paying primary care careers. But evidence suggests it will take a lot more than a free ride to replenish the primary care pipeline.
Trump’s Return Puts Medicaid on the Chopping Block
Republicans in Washington are working on plans to shrink Medicaid, the nearly $900-billion-a-year government health insurance program that covers 1 in 5 Americans.
Cinco cambios críticos que puede sufrir Medicaid bajo Trump
Los republicanos en Washington afirman que planean utilizar recortes de financiamiento y cambios regulatorios para reducir drásticamente Medicaid, el programa de salud federal gerenciado por los estados
