Latest California Healthline Stories
RFK Jr. Faces Senate Finance Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Stephanie Armour, Julie Rovner, and Arthur Allen and KFF’s Josh Michaud discuss the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Listen: Limiting Benefits and Adding Restrictions, ‘MAHA’ Reshapes Food Aid
The White House and congressional Republicans have made historic changes to the federal anti-hunger program SNAP. They say the changes will boost healthy eating for low-income Americans. Some nutrition experts aren’t so sure.
Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research
The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to politicos, NIH workers say.
At CDC, Worries Mount That Agency Has Taken Anti-Science Turn
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is more than an administrative shake-up. It marks a major offensive by Kennedy to seize control of the agency and impose an anti-science agenda, public health leaders say.
Listen: As Kids Head Back to School, Parents Sort Out Confusion Over Vaccine Access
Confusion over federal immunization policy could have major implications for how families with private insurance and Medicaid pay for routine vaccinations. Some doctors are encouraging parents not to wait and get their children shots as soon as they are eligible.
Watch: How Concerns of CDC Scientists Over Political Interference Have Grown This Year
KFF Health News correspondent Amy Maxmen traces the political turmoil at the CDC under President Donald Trump.
Senior CDC Officials Resign After Monarez’s Ouster, Citing Concerns Over Scientific Independence
Four senior officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced their resignations in recent days, citing what they described as growing political interference in the agency’s scientific work, particularly regarding vaccines.
As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.
Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together, these linked outbreaks have sickened more than 4,500 and killed at least 16 in the U.S. and Mexico.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump Further Politicizes Science
President Donald Trump’s latest executive order about science and medicine seeks to take funding decisions out of the hands of career scientists and give them to political appointees instead. And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, shoots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a law enforcement officer. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the health services research group AcademyHealth, about how to restore the public’s trust in public health.
Listen: Regulatory Rollbacks and Federal Layoffs Threaten America’s Food Supply
The Trump administration’s anti-regulatory approach and cost-cutting moves risk unraveling the system of checks and balances that helps ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply, say consumer advocates and former employees of the FDA and Department of Agriculture.