Category: Trump Administration

Who’s Policing Opioid Settlement Spending? A Crowdsourced Database Might Help

Billions in opioid settlement money was meant to be spent on treating and preventing addiction — but what happens if it’s misspent? Some advocates say attorneys general need to pay closer attention. If they don’t, a new tool might empower the public.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law

President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.

World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos

After spearheading a 34% cut in cancer mortality, the National Cancer Institute at the NIH is bleeding resources and staff and could see its budget cut by nearly 40%.

In a Nation Growing Hostile Toward Drugs and Homelessness, Los Angeles Tries Leniency

A new care center for homeless people on Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row embraces the principle of harm reduction, a more lenient approach to drug use and addiction. County officials say criminalization only worsens homelessness.

In a Nation Growing Hostile Toward Drugs and Homelessness, Los Angeles Tries Leniency

A new care center for homeless people on Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row embraces the principle of harm reduction, a more lenient approach to drug use and addiction. County officials say criminalization only worsens homelessness.

States Brace for Reversal of Obamacare Coverage Gains Under Trump’s Budget Bill

States that run their own health insurance marketplaces fear an end to automatic Obamacare reenrollment under the tax and spending megabill would have an outsize effect on their policyholders.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump’s Bill Reaches the Finish Line

The House on Thursday moved to approve the largest-ever cuts to federal safety net programs, the last step before the measure goes to President Donald Trump’s desk. After the Senate very narrowly passed the bill, House GOP leaders ushered it past resistance from conservatives wary of adding trillions to the federal debt and moderates concerned about its cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to pursue his anti-vaccine agenda, despite promising that he would not. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

GOP Governors Mum as Congress Prepares To Slash Medicaid Spending for Their States

In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors — whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage — have gone quiet on the health consequences.

To Cut Medicaid, the GOP’s Following a Path Often Used To Expand Health Care

Republicans are attempting to use the budget reconciliation process to boost President Donald Trump’s priorities and reduce health coverage. That process has been used to pass nearly every major piece of health legislation for decades — except usually lawmakers use it to expand health care, not cut it, writes Julie Rovner.

Republican Megabill Will Mean Higher Health Costs for Many Americans

Spending cuts hitting medical providers, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act enrollees, and lawfully present immigrants are just some of the biggest changes the GOP has in store for health care — with ramifications that could touch all Americans.