Latest KFF Health News Stories
RFK Jr. Said ‘Everybody Can Get’ a Covid Vaccine. Is That True?
Although the FDA has approved the vaccines for anyone 65 or older and anyone at least 6 months old who is at risk of a severe covid infection, barriers to coverage and access persist.
Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.
In the Fallout From Trump’s Health Funding Cuts, States Face Tough Budget Decisions
The Trump administration has pushed a significant amount of health costs to states, whose budgets may already be strained by declining state tax revenues, a slowdown in pandemic spending, and economic uncertainty. State and local governments now face difficult decisions.
Researchers Shift Tactics To Tackle Extremism as Public Health Threat
As extremism and radicalization worsen in the United States, a group of researchers is trying out a new approach that addresses the issue as a public health problem.
In a survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, more than 60% of respondents said they would be interested in exploring green and natural burial alternatives.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC
A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who discusses his “Bill of the Month” report about a woman’s unfortunate interaction with a bat — and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.
He Built Michigan’s Medicaid Work Requirement System. Now He’s Warning Other States.
Michigan’s former top health official spent a year and $30 million building a system to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The difficulties he encountered have him worried about 40 states and Washington, D.C., having to launch such systems by 2027.
Trump Administration Investigates Medicaid Spending on Immigrants in Blue States
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is hunting for Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse in at least six Democratic-led states that expanded coverage to low-income and disabled immigrants without legal status, according to records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press.
RFK Jr. Faces Senate Finance Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Stephanie Armour, Julie Rovner, and Arthur Allen and KFF’s Josh Michaud discuss the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Fighting a Health Insurance Denial? Here Are 7 Tips To Help
Many people don’t know they can fight a health insurance denial, let alone how to do it. Here are practical tips for consumers who want to appeal a prior authorization decision.
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.
Listen: Limiting Benefits and Adding Restrictions, ‘MAHA’ Reshapes Food Aid
The White House and congressional Republicans have made historic changes to the federal anti-hunger program SNAP. They say the changes will boost healthy eating for low-income Americans. Some nutrition experts aren’t so sure.
Watch: How Controversies Over Vaccine Changes Affect You
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discusses leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concerns over vaccine policy.
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.
Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research
The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.
At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.
When Hospitals and Insurers Fight, Patients Get Caught in the Middle
About 90,000 people spent months in limbo as central Missouri’s major, and often only, provider fought over insurance contracts. Patients getting caught in the crossfire of disputes has become a familiar complication, as about 8% of hospitals have left an insurer network since 2021. Trump administration policies could accelerate the trend.
Listen: As Kids Head Back to School, Parents Sort Out Confusion Over Vaccine Access
Confusion over federal immunization policy could have major implications for how families with private insurance and Medicaid pay for routine vaccinations. Some doctors are encouraging parents not to wait and get their children shots as soon as they are eligible.
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.
Blue States That Sued Kept Most CDC Grants, While Red States Feel Brunt of Trump Clawbacks
The Trump administration’s cuts of public health funds to state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of where someone lives, a new KFF Health News analysis shows.
