Latest Morning Briefing Stories
As US Is Poised To Lose Measles-Free Status, RFK Jr.’s New CDC Deputy Downplays Its Significance
Measles is at a 30-year high in the U.S., but technicalities may stave off the loss of the nation’s measles elimination status.
Medicaid Tries New Approach With Sickle Cell: Companies Get Paid Only if Costly Gene Therapies Work
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.
GOP Promotes MAHA Agenda in Bid To Avert Midterm Losses. Dems Point to Contradictions.
As fractures emerge in the Make America Great Again movement, some Republicans see its health-focused “MAHA” counterpart as the party’s next big thing. But doubts abound.
Readers Balk at ‘Gold Standard’ of Autism Treatment
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
As Insurance Prices Rise, Families Puzzle Over Options
Millions of middle-class Americans who have Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are facing soaring premium payments in 2026. Some people are contemplating big life changes to deal with new rates that kicked in on Jan. 1.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Culture Wars Take Center Stage
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.
Kaiser Permanente To Pay $556 Million in Record Medicare Advantage Fraud Settlement
Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $556 million to settle allegations of billing the government for conditions patients didn’t have.
Native Americans Are Dying From Pregnancy. They Want a Voice To Stop the Trend.
Native American women face higher rates of death than other demographics. In response, Native Americans have been working with state and federal officials to boost tribal participation and leadership in maternal mortality review committees to better track and address pregnancy-related deaths.
GOP Cuts Will Cripple Medicaid Enrollment, Warns CEO of Largest Public Health Plan
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.
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.
States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives.
This California Strategy Safeguarded Some Medicaid Social Services Funding From Trump
Programs like Jamboree Housing Corp. have leveraged Medi-Cal funding to offer residents access to social services that experts say are key to keeping them off the streets. California intends to keep it that way, despite federal cuts.
RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam in Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect in 2026.
“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.
‘Abortion as Homicide’ Debate in South Carolina Exposes GOP Rift as States Weigh New Restrictions
A proposed abortion ban in South Carolina would have allowed the criminal prosecution of women who obtain the procedure. It’s unlikely to become law, but this bill and other proposals across the country show how some conservative lawmakers are embracing increasingly punitive abortion restrictions.
An estimated 4.8 million people are expected to go without health coverage because Congress did not extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. But even without a health plan, people will need medical care in 2026. Many of them have been thinking through their plan B to maintain their health.
California Ends Medicaid Coverage of Weight Loss Drugs Despite TrumpRx Plan
Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials advising diet and exercise instead. California and other states say the drugs are too costly, even as the Trump administration announces plans to lower prices.
Thrift Store. Clinic. Roller Rink. Center Becomes ‘Radical’ Lifeline Amid Homelessness, Drug Crises.
Located in the Lower 9th Ward, this abandoned building has become a community sanctuary and resource.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: New Year, Same Health Fight
Congress returned from its break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy, the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Solving the Home Care Quandary
Paid home care is buckling under the surging demands of an aging population. But there are alternatives that could upgrade jobs and improve patient care.
In Lodge Grass, Montana, a Crow Community Works To Rebuild From Meth’s Destruction
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.
