What the Health? From KFF Health News

The “Make America Healthy Again” movement held a big shindig in Washington, D.C., this week. But rather than moms arguing to get pesticides and processing chemicals out of their kids’ food, the room was full of Trump administration officials and industry representatives looking to promote health-related products. Meanwhile, as the fiscal year ends, the administration for the second year in a row i...

Healthcare in general, and health costs in particular, are a top issue for voters in 2026. But it remains unclear exactly how voters want lawmakers to fix the problem. As a result, candidates in both parties are offering a wide variety of possible solutions.  Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubled down on its fraud-fighting efforts, announcing that it is cutting off more than 750,000 enrollee...

Reports from a top artificial intelligence company that it found and stopped attempted uses of its product to manufacture a potential bioweapon caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington this week, although it is still unclear whether or when they will act to regulate the fast-moving industry.  Meanwhile, President Donald Trump wants to send $500 checks to about a million enrollees in Afforda...

Amid a campaign already focusing on affordability, anxious voters are unlikely to be assuaged by headlines about healthcare costs rising even more next year.  And a lawsuit that could cut off access nationwide to the abortion pill mifepristone gets a hearing at a federal appeals court.  Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico...

As summer comes to a close, some of the season’s major health policy stories continue to simmer, including declining insurance coverage, increasing measles cases, and cuts to federal health programs.  Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week,...

President Donald Trump is nominating Heidi Overton, a physician who is currently a White House policy adviser, to lead the FDA, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since May. Overton has a controversial history and may face some obstacles to winning confirmation, though Republicans have been reluctant to push back too strongly against most of the president’s picks.  Alice Miranda Olls...

President Donald Trump is trying to unilaterally change the number and schedule of childhood vaccines in the U.S., though it remains unclear how much of an impact his orders will have. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Paula And...

Michigan voters this week chose former Detroit public health director Abdul El-Sayed as the Democratic nominee for the state’s open Senate seat. El-Sayed has made “Medicare for All” a major part of his campaign and further elevated the issue.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Healt...

The revelation in court documents that the Trump administration used politics alone to decide which grants to fund and which to cancel has provoked surprisingly little outcry from Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Republicans renewed their campaign against Anthony Fauci’s handling of covid.  Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th jo...

A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes.  Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Po...

Most of the federal cuts to the Medicaid program don’t take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting their own budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but forward progress on legislative priorities remains slow.  Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law...

About halfway through 2026 — and just a few months before the critical midterm elections — Democrats appear to be doubling down on healthcare as a campaign issue as costs rise and insurance coverage declines. Meanwhile, Congress is taking aim at nonprofit hospitals. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government join KFF Health News’...

The Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of its 2025-26 term this week, including in an immigration case that could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.   V...

With the fiscal year mostly over, hundreds of millions of dollars in health-related grants approved by Congress still have not reached their designated recipients, with the Trump administration again delaying distribution. Meanwhile, on the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to ban abortion, the number of abortions in the U.S. is actually rising.  Maya Goldman of...

Senate Democrats hope to highlight rising healthcare prices by forcing a vote on the Trump administration’s changes to the Affordable Care Act before the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Alabama is the latest state to try to cut off residents’ access to medication abortion via telehealth.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News...

As predicted, the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans is causing many people to lose coverage for failing to make premium payments.  Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded angrily to a New York Times article suggesting he’s not actively engaged in the work of his sprawling department.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post...

Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration — the opposite of what state officials were informally told would be the case.  Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding.  Margot Sa...

When Republicans passed their big budget bill in 2025, they thought the effects of cuts to health programs wouldn’t show up until after the 2026 midterms. They were wrong.  Meanwhile, the party is trumpeting its efforts to lower drug prices.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and mo...

In just the first few days after losing his bid for reelection in Louisiana, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy has already started signaling that his loyalty to President Donald Trump has waned. But how much Cassidy will try to accomplish toward his health agenda in his remaining months in office remains to be seen.  Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Ti...

In one of the most widely expected departures in recent memory, Marty Makary stepped down as head of the FDA this week.  Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is considering blocking telehealth prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss thes...

A federal court’s decision to override the FDA and restrict availability of the abortion pill mifepristone has launched abortion back into the national spotlight. It’s also raised new questions about the job security of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.  Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these...

Democrats and Republicans on one of the House committees that oversees the Medicare program had strong words about high hospital pricing at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week, but it remains unclear whether the reality will match their rhetoric when it comes to reining in those prices.  Meanwhile, some good health policy news: A study found the 988 suicide prevention hotline reduced suicides sign...

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his whirlwind tour of House and Senate committees this week, ostensibly to promote President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for his department but also to answer for some of his more controversial positions, particularly on vaccines.  Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental...

President Donald Trump tapped a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director — a former deputy surgeon general and vaccine supporter. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the rounds on Capitol Hill to testify about the president’s budget request, though the topics lawmakers wanted to discuss ran the gamut.  Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Health...

This week, the Trump administration won a court battle to delay a ruling on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, angering its own anti-abortion allies. Meanwhile, the president’s budget arrived on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are unlikely to agree to its proposed cuts to Health and Human Services programs.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Maya Gol...