Health Hub Archives - �鶹Ů�� Health News

Millions of Kids Could Lose Insurance as GOP Healthcare Cuts Start To Bite

Julie Rovner — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

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have lost insurance since President Donald Trump took office in 2025. Another million could lose it amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and new Medicaid eligibility rules. On WAMU’s Health Hub on June 3, �鶹Ů�� Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explained how fear and confusion complicate access to health coverage.

(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Last year’s big cuts to federal healthcare programs in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act created an affordability crunch for many Americans. They’ve ushered in higher health insurance premiums and confusion about who’s covered under new Medicaid rules.

Another result has been falling enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans and Medicaid. That’s leaving uninsured, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Center for Children and Families. �鶹Ů�� Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared June 3 on WAMU’s Health Hub to explain who’s vulnerable to losing coverage and what it all could mean for the prices Americans pay for health insurance next year.

�鶹Ů�� Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

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ICE Arrests Are Separating Families. Here’s How To Plan Ahead.

Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez — Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has parents who lack legal residency worried about the welfare of children left behind. Some jurisdictions are taking action. Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., allow families to name temporary guardians if a parent is detained or deported.

�鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez appeared on WAMU’s May 13 Health Hub segment to explain why keeping the children of immigrants out of foster care can increase the likelihood of families reuniting and reduce the health impacts of a traumatic separation.

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Listen: A Federal Agency Is After Workers’ Health Data, and Critics Are Alarmed

Amanda Seitz — Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Privacy between doctors and patients is . But the Trump administration is, in effect, trying to peek into the exam room. The Office of Personnel Management is seeking unredacted federal worker health data from insurers. The unusual request, which would give the government detailed personal and health information, alarmed health policy and legal experts, lawmakers, and insurance executives.

�鶹Ů�� Health News Washington health policy reporter Amanda Seitz appeared on WAMU’s Health Hub on April 29 to discuss why the government’s request has many worried about how this personal information would be handled.

Maia Rosenfeld contributed to this report.

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Listen: With Little Federal Regulation, States Are Left To Shape the Rules on AI in Health Care

Lauren Sausser — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: Quashing innovation or risking a patient’s health? Lauren Sausser told WAMU’s Health Hub on April 15 why the White House and some states are at odds over how to regulate AI in health care.

Speed, efficiency, and lower costs. Those are the traits artificial intelligence supporters celebrate. But the same qualities worry physicians who fear the technology could lead to insurance denials with humans left out of the loop.

With scant federal regulation, states are left to shape the rules on AI in health care. For residents in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, a divide is playing out on opposite sides of the Potomac River. Maryland and Virginia have taken very different approaches to regulating AI in health insurance.

�鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Lauren Sausser joined WAMU’s Health Hub on April 15 to explain why where you live may determine how much of a role AI plays in your coverage.

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Listen: What To Do When Health Insurance Slips Out of Reach

Sam Whitehead — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: Can’t afford health insurance this year? Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about money and the cost of care. On WAMU’s “Health Hub” on March 4, �鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Sam Whitehead shared tips for people seeking affordable options without skipping care.

Health insurance could be out of reach for many Americans in 2026.

About a for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage this year. The Congressional Budget Office told lawmakers that more could opt out in coming years after the GOP-led Congress let expire subsidies that helped many afford a plan. Meanwhile, plan premiums jumped, and new, stricter Medicaid eligibility rules kicked in.

If you lost health insurance this year, there may be ways to see the doctor without breaking the bank. On March 4, in conversation with WAMU host Esther Ciammachilli, �鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Sam Whitehead shared tips on .

Renuka Rayasam and Taylor Cook contributed reporting.

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Effective but Underprescribed: HIV Prevention Meds Aren’t Reaching Enough People

Zach Dyer — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Listen: More than 2 million Americans could benefit from PrEP, but only about a quarter of them are getting the HIV prevention medication. On Feb. 4, during WAMU’s “Health Hub,” �鶹Ů�� Health News reporter Zach Dyer shared tips for overcoming common hurdles to care.

Billing mistakes. Stigma. Doctors who aren’t keeping up with the latest research. Those are just some of the hurdles that for many Americans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 2 million Americans could benefit from a treatment known as PrEP, but only a quarter of them are getting a form of the drug. Zach Dyer appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on Feb. 4 to share tips patients can use to avoid those pitfalls and find a doctor who knows more about PrEP.

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Listen: Many Tents Are Gone, but Washington’s Homeless — And Their Health Problems — Aren’t

Angela Hart — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: In this audio portrait of homeless people displaced by the Trump administration’s crackdown on encampments in the nation’s capital, �鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart tells of residents living outside this winter and their search for medical care and shelter.

January’s extreme cold has put a spotlight on the conditions homeless people face. They get sicker and die younger than housed people, often because health problems go untreated. The Trump administration’s in Washington, D.C., has made it more difficult for health workers to reach that vulnerable population this winter.

�鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart takes WAMU “Health Hub” listeners to Washington’s streets to hear how homeless people are juggling their health and shelter after the Trump administration’s crackdown.

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Trump Rules Force Cancer Registries To ‘Erase’ Trans Patients From Public Health Data

Rachana Pradhan — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: “People get better care when we know who they are.” That belief is at the heart of why scientists and LGBTQ+ health advocates oppose a new rule that makes it harder to collect data on trans patients with cancer. �鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Rachana Pradhan appeared on WAMU’s Health Hub on Dec. 10 about the change from the Trump administration.

In 2026, the Trump administration will require U.S. cancer registries that receive federal funding to classify patients’ sex as male, female — or not stated/unknown. That last category is for when a “patient’s sex is documented as other than male or female (e.g., non-binary, transsexual), and there is no additional information about sex assigned at birth,” the new standard says.

LGBTQ+ health advocates say that move in effect erases transgender and other patients from the data. They say the data collection change is the latest move by the Trump administration that restricts health care resources for LGBTQ+ people.

�鶹Ů�� Health News correspondent Rachana Pradhan appeared on WAMU’s Health Hub on Dec. 10 to explain why LGBTQ+ health advocates worry this change could hurt public health and the care patients receive.

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Listen: Nation’s Capital Cuts Traffic Deaths as Rates Rise Across US

Chaseedaw Giles — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: Distracted. Reckless. Drunk. Americans’ driving has gotten since the covid pandemic. Chaseedaw Giles appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on Nov. 26 to share her reporting on that deadly trend.

Traffic deaths have climbed nationwide over the past decade. In some major cities, traffic deaths have . But this year, Washington, D.C., has recorded a in these kinds of deaths. Chaseedaw Giles, audience engagement editor with �鶹Ů�� Health News, appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on Nov. 26 to share her reporting on the ways design and better enforcement can contribute to safer streets.

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Listen: New Federal Guidelines Could Weaken Consumer Protections Against Medical Debt

Noam N. Levey — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000

LISTEN: Bad credit can keep you from getting a job, a car loan, or an apartment to rent. For many Americans, health care debt is to blame. �鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Noam N. Levey appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on Nov. 12 to explain why new federal guidelines on health care debt and credit reports worry some consumer protection advocates.

More than 100 million Americans are estimated to have health care debt. In response, more than a dozen states have instituted laws to keep these unpaid bills off consumer credit reports.

The Trump administration has been chipping away at these protections.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, headed by President Donald Trump’s budget director, issued new guidance that challenges state laws, saying only the federal government can decide what can go in a credit report. Consumer advocates say that move could undercut state-level protections and worsen the financial strain on Americans burdened by medical bills.

�鶹Ů�� Health News senior correspondent Noam N. Levey appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on Nov. 12 to explain why state laws like these could be especially important in the wake of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, set to kick millions off Medicaid, and the potential lapsing of enhanced tax credits for people buying health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

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