Daily Edition for Monday, May 5, 2025
Soil Testing Shows High Levels Of Toxic Substances After LA Wildfires: The federal government decided not to test the soil of L.A.'s burn areas for hazardous substances. The Los Angeles Times launched its own investigation and found high levels of lead and other heavy metals. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
An Arm and a Leg: Why ‘The Pitt’ Is Our Fave New Drama
By Dan Weissmann
An emergency room doctor says what the TV show “The Pitt” gets right about hospitals, including why they’re so crowded and the bills so high.
Trump Team’s $500 Million Bet on Old Vaccine Technology Puzzles Scientists
By Arthur Allen
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS said an enormous, noncompetitive flu vaccine development grant to two favored NIH leaders would ensure “transparency, effectiveness, and comprehensive preparedness.” But their vaccine is in early stages, relies on old technology, and is just one of scores of similar efforts.
Alabama Can’t Prosecute Groups Helping Patients Get Abortions Elsewhere, Judge Rules
By Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom
Although most abortions remain illegal in Alabama, a judge’s 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.
In Reversal, FDA Rehires Staff Tasked With Releasing Public Records
By Rachana Pradhan
At least some workers who process public records in response to Freedom of Information Act requests have been reinstated, agency employees say.
Daily Edition for Friday, May 2, 2025
Grant To Support Students’ Mental Health Clawed Back: The West Contra Costa Unified School District Board has learned that the Department of Education intends to cut a five-year, $4.2 million grant to just one year. The Mental Health Services Professional Grant was supposed to enable the Bay Area district to address the mental health needs of its students. Read more from EdSource.
Covered California Pushes for Better Health Care as Federal Spending Cuts Loom
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Monica Soni, Covered California’s chief medical officer, oversees an effort to hold health plans financially accountable for the quality of care they provide, including childhood vaccination rates, which have fallen in California and nationwide. She worries federal spending cuts could soon bring turbulence to the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Government Watchdog Expects Medicaid Work Requirement Analysis by Fall
By Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam
This fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report on how much it costs to run Georgia Pathways to Coverage — the country’s only active Medicaid work requirement program — as other states and Congress consider similar programs.
Avanza análisis sobre el requisito de trabajo para Medicaid
By Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam
La idea de un mandato nacional que requiera que los beneficiarios de Medicaid trabajen, estudien o realicen otras actividades que cumplan los requisitos para mantener la cobertura está ganando terreno.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': 100 Days of Health Policy Upheaval
Members of Congress are back in Washington, and Republicans are struggling to find ways to reduce Medicaid spending without cutting benefits. Meanwhile, confusion continues to reign at the Department of Health and Human Services. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
