Latest Morning Briefing Stories
After Promising Universal Health Care, California Governor Must Reconsider Immigrant Coverage
Gov. Gavin Newsom was elected to office in 2019 on a promise of universal health care. He dramatically expanded coverage, but after six years, the Democrat is forced to contemplate deep cuts — including to the nation’s largest health care expansion to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Medicaid Payments Barely Keep Hospital Mental Health Units Afloat. Federal Cuts Could Sink Them.
Patients seeking mental health care are more likely to be on Medicaid than patients in more profitable areas of care, such as cancer or cardiac treatment.
Trump Once Vowed To End HIV in America. His Funding Cuts Are Rolling Back Progress.
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Honey, Sweetie, Dearie: The Perils of Elderspeak
A new training program teaches workers to stop the baby talk and address older people as adults.
A California Lawmaker Leans Into Her Medical Training in Fight for Health Safety Net
As California’s budget deadline looms, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a physician-turned-lawmaker, says state leaders may soon have to make some tough decisions on health care spending. With the state’s Medi-Cal program billions of dollars short, California’s health care safety net is at risk — even without federal cuts to Medicaid.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
Meet the Florida Group Chipping Away at Public Benefits One State at a Time
The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that’s been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs.
Seeking Spending Cuts, GOP Lawmakers Target a Tax Hospitals Love To Pay
Republicans, on the hunt for spending cuts, are eyeing a special kind of Medicaid tax that nearly every state uses to boost funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers.
Trump Policies at Odds With ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Push
On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation’s high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.
As Republicans Eye Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Missouri Offers a Preview
Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid — and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Missouri offers a window into how cuts ripple through people’s lives.
At Social Security, These Are the Days of the Living Dead
In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.
HIV Testing and Outreach Falter as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep the South
A disruption in federal funds has jeopardized HIV testing and outreach in Mississippi, and researchers warn of a resurgence of the epidemic in the South.
Despite Historic Indictment, Doctors Will Keep Mailing Abortion Pills Across State Lines
When a New York physician was indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. But some physicians vowed not to stop.
Alabama Can’t Prosecute Groups Helping Patients Get Abortions Elsewhere, Judge Rules
Although most abortions remain illegal in Alabama, a judge’s decision in early April allows doctors and advocacy groups to tell patients about abortion options in other states, and help with travel and other costs.
Journalists Explore Medicaid Work Rules, CDC Layoffs, and RFK Jr.’s ‘MAHA’ Mission
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Work Requirements Might Cut Medicaid Spending. But at What Cost?
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Montana Lawmakers Approve $124M To Revamp Behavioral Health System
The legislation calls for a new mental health facility in eastern Montana, upgrades to existing state facilities, expansion of community services, and revisions to commitment procedures.
Government Watchdog Expects Medicaid Work Requirement Analysis by Fall
This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage — the country’s only active Medicaid work requirement program — as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Covered California Pushes for Better Health Care as Federal Spending Cuts Loom
Monica Soni, Covered California’s chief medical officer, oversees an effort to hold health plans financially accountable for the quality of care they provide, including childhood vaccination rates, which have fallen in California and nationwide. She worries federal spending cuts could soon bring turbulence to the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Preparan análisis sobre el requisito de trabajo para Medicaid
La idea de un mandato nacional que requiera que los beneficiarios de Medicaid trabajen, estudien o realicen otras actividades que cumplan los requisitos para mantener la cobertura está ganando terreno.
