KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Gender-Affirming Care
The Supreme Court this week said Tennessee may continue to enforce its law banning most types of gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling is likely to greenlight similar laws in two dozen states. And the Senate is preparing to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that includes even deeper Medicaid cuts than the House version. Victoria Knight of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Daily Edition for Friday, June 20, 2025
Aid Agencies Sound Alarm On Lost Funding: Local aid organizations declared a state of emergency this week for San Diego’s low-income communities after the Trump administration cut more than $80 million in funding for nonprofits to provide critical resources. San Diegans are losing housing, food, health care, and other necessities, as nonprofits can’t afford to provide key services. Read more from Times of San Diego.
Q&A: What Does the Budget Bill Mean for Your Health?
By Julie Rovner
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner answers listeners’ questions about how the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could affect health care in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
With Property Seized and Federal Funding Uncertain, Montana Asbestos Clinic Fights for Its Life
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, closed in May after a court judgment allowing BNSF Railway to seize its assets. Now, the clinic’s federal funding is in jeopardy, too.
Federal Proposals Threaten Provider Taxes, Key Source of Medicaid Funding for States
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Republican proposals to tighten the use of special taxes to fund Medicaid programs could deprive states of billions of dollars for safety net health care. In California, any such limit would come on top of Medicaid cuts proposed by California Democrats in response to a $12 billion state deficit.
Trump Team’s Reworking Delays Billions in Broadband Build-Out
By Sarah Jane Tribble
A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
5-Day Strike Will Shutter Most Of Children’s Hospital Oakland: Health care workers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland plan to begin a five-day strike today over what they say are cuts in take-home pay under new union contracts slated to take effect in July. The hospital system’s outpatient locations — in Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Brentwood, and Emeryville — will largely be closed to in-person activities such as appointments and procedures. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
An Arm and a Leg: The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part I
By Dan Weissmann
In Part 1 of a two-part series on dealing with the high price of prescription drugs, a father explains the strategies he used to get his daughter the medicine she needs to treat her epilepsy.
Have Job-Based Health Coverage at 65? You May Still Want To Sign Up for Medicare
By Michelle Andrews
Patient advocates say they frequently hear from people who thought they didn’t need to sign up for Medicare when they turned 65 because they had group health coverage. That delay sometimes forces people to cover medical expenses themselves.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
States Agree To New $7.4 Billion Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement: California will receive up to $440 million to fund addiction treatment and other services under a nationwide settlement agreement announced Monday with Purdue Pharma, the company responsible for inventing, manufacturing and marketing the highly addictive opioid OxyContin. Read more from KQED.
