Category: Kaiser Health News

HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk

The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.

A Texas Boy Needed Protection From Measles. The Vaccine Cost $1,400.

A family living in Galveston was surprised to be charged thousands of dollars for immunizations for their children. Their insurance plan didn’t cover the shots, and the cost of the measles vaccine in particular was more than five times what health officials say it goes for in the private sector.

In a First, Trump and GOP-Led Congress Prepare To Swell Ranks of U.S. Uninsured

Fewer Americans will likely have health insurance, compromising their physical and financial health, as the Trump administration and GOP-controlled Congress weigh major changes to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. “The effects could be catastrophic,” one policy analyst predicts.

Kennedy’s Vaccine Advisers Sow Doubts as Scientists Protest US Pivot on Shots

A new vaccine advisory panel appointed by the HHS secretary, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, reflected his unsupported claims about the safety of childhood inoculations.

Too Sick To Work, Some Americans Worry Trump’s Bill Will Strip Their Health Insurance

Republicans claim 4.8 million Americans on Medicaid who could work choose not to. The GOP’s work-requirement legislation could sweep up disabled people who say they’re unable to hold jobs.

Thune Says Health Care Often ‘Comes With a Job.’ The Reality’s Not Simple or Straightforward.

Sixty percent of Americans have health insurance through their own workplace or someone else’s job. But not all employers provide health insurance or offer plans to all their workers. When they do, cost and quality vary widely, making Thune’s statement an oversimplification.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

In this special episode taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, three former governors — one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — discuss how state and federal officials can work together to improve Americans’ health. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and HHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner.

At Some Federal Beaches, Surf’s Up but the Lifeguard Chair’s Empty

Some of the nation’s most well-known beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the quasi-agency Department of Government Efficiency, then led by Elon Musk. The void has become a serious public health and safety concern.

Dual Threats From Trump and GOP Imperil Nursing Homes and Their Foreign-Born Workers

Understaffed nursing homes face a workforce crisis if President Donald Trump and Republicans further curtail immigration and cut Medicaid.

What RFK Jr. Isn’t Talking About: How To Make Vaccines Safer

Vaccines are under fire from the top of the Trump administration. Federal programs to monitor them and make them safer have always been underfunded.