Category: Kaiser Health News

In Arizona County That Backed Trump, Conflicted Feelings About Cutting Medicaid

Medicaid plays a vital role in many rural communities that favored President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. But residents still seem open to Republican proposals to cut perceived waste in the program.

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

Food safety inspections are being scaled back and the public was not notified after an investigation into E. coli contamination.

Federal Cuts Ripple Through a Bioscience Hub in Rural Montana

The National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, is one of only a few dozen research facilities of its type. The threat of staffing and grant cuts has town leaders worried and has added to long-standing tension around the lab’s presence in this politically conservative region.

A Ministroke Can Have Major Consequences

What are known as transient ischemic attacks can eventually lead to cognitive declines as steep as those following a full-on stroke, new research finds.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Trump’s Team Cited Safety in Limiting Covid Shots. Patients, Health Advocates See More Risk.

The FDA will encourage new clinical trials on the widely used vaccines before approving them for children and healthy adults. The requirements could cost drugmakers tens of millions of dollars and are likely to leave boosters largely out of reach for hundreds of millions of Americans this fall.

Republicans Aim To Punish States That Insure Unauthorized Immigrants

A GOP tax-and-spending bill the House approved Thursday would slash federal Medicaid reimbursement for states that offer health coverage to immigrants without legal status.

Volunteers Help Tornado-Hit St. Louis Amid Wait for Federal Aid

As St. Louis deals with more than $1.6 billion in estimated property damage from the May 16 tornado, locals are pouring in to help the hard-hit area of North St. Louis. It’s unclear if residents can count on federal support as they rebuild.

Call Centers Replaced Many Doctors’ Receptionists. Now, AI Is Coming for Call Centers.

Artificial intelligence products with lifelike voices are being marketed to schedule or cancel medical visits, refill prescriptions, and help triage patients. Soon, many patients might initiate contact with the health system by speaking not with a human but with AI.

3 Things to Watch on Mental Health in Trump’s Early Budget Proposals

President Donald Trump’s budget office says he’ll continue to fund the new 988 suicide prevention hotline, but documents sent to Congress offer clues — amid some mixed messages — about the administration’s approach to two pressing public health issues: mental health and addiction.