Even Where Abortion Is Still Legal, Many Brick-and-Mortar Clinics Are Closing
By Kate Wells, Michigan Public
Some clinics that provide abortions are closing, even in states where voters have passed some of the nation’s broadest abortion protections. It’s happening in places like New York, Illinois, and Michigan, as reproductive health care faces new financial pressures.
Double Blow: Drug Tariffs and Wage Hikes Threaten California’s Pharmacies
By Jackie Fortiér and Arthur Allen
While Big Pharma seems ready to weather the tariff storm, independent pharmacists and makers of generic drugs — which account for 90% of U.S. prescriptions — see trouble ahead for patients.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits
GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Pain Clinic CEO Faced 20 Years for Making Patients ‘Human Pin Cushions.’ He Got 18 Months.
By Brett Kelman
Michael Kestner, CEO of Pain MD, was convicted of 13 fraud felonies after his company gave patients hundreds of thousands of questionable injections at clinics in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Daily Edition for Thursday, May 15, 2025
GOP 'Megabill' Will Hurt California’s Budget, Lawmakers Warn: Republicans are still negotiating how they plan to trim hundreds of billions from federal health care and environmental programs, but it appears that it will come at the cost of California’s budget. This legislation “rips massive holes in states’ budgets that are near impossible to fill,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep scrolling for more on the GOP’s “megabill” and the potential cuts to Medicaid.
Newsom’s Pitch as He Seeks To Pare Down Immigrant Health Care: ‘We Have To Adjust’
By Christine Mai-Duc and Vanessa G. Sánchez
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he’s proud his state expanded health care to all low-income residents regardless of immigration status but that tough budget times call for some adjustments. The Democrat’s new budget proposes scaling back benefits to adults living in the country illegally, as well as charging them a $100 monthly premium.
Californians Receiving In-Home Care Fear Medicaid Cuts Will Spell End to Independent Living
By Ronnie Cohen
Bay Area senior Carol Crooks doesn’t know where congressional Republicans will land on Medicaid cuts as they look to fund a tax bill, but her health has already deteriorated as she worries about losing the help she needs to remain in her Oakland apartment — and out of a nursing home.
RFK Jr.’s Hearing With Senate HELP Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner, Stephanie Armour, and Darius Tahir and KFF’s Jennifer Kates break down the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as HHS secretary — and answer your questions.
The GOP’s Trying Again To Cut Medicaid. It’s Only Gotten Harder Since 2017.
By Phil Galewitz
Donald Trump is back in the White House, the GOP controls Congress, and Republicans have dusted off their 2017 plans to reshape Medicaid, the government health program for those with low incomes or disabilities.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Newsom Backs Away From Free Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2025-26 revised budget proposal reneges on his signature policy to provide free health care coverage to all low-income undocumented immigrants as costs exceed expectations and the state anticipates challenging economic times ahead. The governor’s spending plan will be released this morning. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. Plus: More on California's budget shortfall.
