KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC
Just days after his firing of the brand-new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a defiant Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. secretary of health and human services, defended that action and others before a sometimes skeptical Senate Finance Committee. Criticism of Kennedy’s increasingly anti-vaccine actions came not just from Democrats on […]
Daily Edition for Friday, September 5, 2025
Anger Builds Over Covid Vaccine Confusion: Trying to get a routine shot has been anything but. A 70-year-old retiree from Long Beach said it has been frustratingly difficult to get a covid vaccine on time this year because of how the Trump administration has effectively postponed delivery of the shots and made it harder for people to get them. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and the VC Star.
Trump Administration Investigates Medicaid Spending on Immigrants in Blue States
By Angela Hart and Devi Shastri, The Associated Press
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is hunting for Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse in at least six Democratic-led states that expanded coverage to low-income and disabled immigrants without legal status, according to records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press.
La administración Trump investiga el gasto de estados demócratas en Medicaid para inmigrantes
By Angela Hart and Devi Shastri, The Associated Press
Estos estados brindan cobertura médica integral a inmigrantes pobres y con discapacidades que viven en el país sin estatus migratorio permanente.
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.
Daily Edition for Thursday, September 4, 2025
California, Oregon, And Washington Form West Coast Health Alliance: In response to the federal government’s confusing and inconsistent covid vaccine guidance, health officials in California, Oregon, and Washington state will form their own regional health alliance to issue vaccine recommendations, the states said Wednesday. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times. Keep scrolling for more vaccine news.
As Insurers Struggle With GLP-1 Drug Costs, Some Seek To Wean Patients Off
By Jamie Ducharme
Conventional wisdom says GLP-1 drugs must be taken indefinitely to maintain weight loss. But a growing number of researchers, payers, and providers are challenging that consensus and exploring whether — and how — to taper patients off expensive GLP-1 drugs.
Listen: Limiting Benefits and Adding Restrictions, ‘MAHA’ Reshapes Food Aid
By Renuka Rayasam
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.
Fighting a Health Insurance Denial? Here Are 7 Tips To Help
By Lauren Sausser
Many people don’t know they can fight a health insurance denial, let alone how to do it. Here are practical tips for consumers who want to appeal a prior authorization decision.
Watch: How Controversies Over Vaccine Changes Affect You
By Céline Gounder
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discusses leadership changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concerns over vaccine policy.
