Category: Public Health

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump’s Nontraditional Health Picks

Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.

CDC warns about trench fever in homeless population, organ transplants

The CDC released three papers warning about a rare bacterial disease that primarily poses a danger to people experiencing homelessness and organ transplant recipients who have received infected organs, The Washington Post reported Nov. 20.

A Closely Watched Trial Over Idaho’s Near-Total Abortion Ban Continues Tuesday

Women with serious pregnancy complications who were denied abortion care have turned to state courts after appeals to state lawmakers to clarify medical exceptions have largely failed.

What Trump's presidency could spell for the CDC: 5 notes

The CDC could face budget cuts and restructuring under Donald Trump’s second presidential term, according to reports from NPR and Politico. 

First US case of mpox strain reported in California

The California Department of Public Health has confirmed the first known case of Clade I mpox in the U.S., following laboratory testing of a patient who recently traveled from East Africa. 

First US case of mpox strain reported in California

The California Department of Public Health has confirmed the first known case of Clade I mpox in the U.S., following laboratory testing of a patient who recently traveled from East Africa. 

Social Security Tackles Overpayment ‘Injustices,’ but Problems Remain

With his term soon to expire, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley’s efforts to address the agency’s overpayments to beneficiaries remain incomplete.

Three-fourths of adults are overweight or have obesity, study estimates

Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults are overweight or have obesity, with rates projected to increase further by 2050 without significant interventions, according to a large study published Nov. 14 in The Lancet.

Trust in scientists improves, still below pre-COVID levels

Confidence in scientists has slightly increased among Americans since 2023, but it remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October. 

Watch: Why the US Has Made Little Progress Improving Black Americans’ Health

KFF Health News senior correspondents Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam discuss how government decisions undermine Black health.