Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade 鈥 as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
The Trump administration鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥 platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that鈥檚 been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation鈥檚 public assistance programs.
On the surface, President Donald Trump embraced the MAHA movement with a pledge to end the nation鈥檚 high rates of chronic disease. But the broader Trump agenda may prove to be the biggest barrier this effort confronts.
A disruption in federal funds has jeopardized HIV testing and outreach in Mississippi, and researchers warn of a resurgence of the epidemic in the South.
When a New York physician was indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. But some physicians vowed not to stop.
Although most abortions remain illegal in Alabama, a judge鈥檚 decision in early April allows doctors and advocacy groups to tell patients about abortion options in other states, and help with travel and other costs.
麻豆女优 Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage 鈥 the country鈥檚 only active Medicaid work requirement program 鈥 as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Food banks nationwide are being pinched by record demand, high food prices, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal budget cuts. As the economy plods onto shaky ground, food bank leaders hope Congress patches the holes by passing a new farm bill.
The Biden administration shut off federal family planning grants to Tennessee and Oklahoma after the states directed clinics not to provide abortion counseling. The Trump administration restored the money, claiming two lawsuits were settled. They weren鈥檛.
The Trump administration defunded the National Institutes of Health鈥檚 MOSAIC grant program, which launched the careers of scientists from diverse backgrounds.
Breakups between health providers and Advantage plans are increasingly common. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allowed whole groups of patients to leave their plans.
In many cases, the money flowed to addiction recovery programs that help rebuild lives by driving people to medical appointments and court hearings, crafting r茅sum茅s and training them for new jobs, finding them housing, and helping them build social connections unrelated to drugs.
State-level efforts to regulate fertility coverage reveal the gauntlet of budgetary and political hurdles such initiatives face 鈥 obstacles that have led to millions of people being left out even when mandates become law.
Attitudes about a debunked link between measles vaccines and autism haven鈥檛 budged that much. But there鈥檚 a sharp partisan divide over whether the vaccine is safe.
Roughly 20 states now have laws permitting families to place cameras in the rooms of loved ones. Facility operators are often opposed.
A 麻豆女优 Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.
Republicans are pushing to implement requirements that Medicaid recipients work in order to obtain or retain coverage. Some states try to help enrollees find jobs. But states lack the data to show whether they鈥檙e effective.
Amid a youth mental health crisis and a shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds, residents of a St. Louis suburb opposed a plan to build a 77-bed pediatric mental health hospital. Resistance to such facilities has occurred in other communities as misconceptions about mental health spur fear.