Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread
By Amy Maxmen
Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
Daily Edition for Friday, February 21, 2025
Gateways Expands Mental Health Care In LA County: Gateways Hospital this week broke ground on a 27,000-square-foot youth mental health center in Echo Park. The new hospital wing at the Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Center will have 37 new inpatient beds. The project is expected to be completed by late 2026. Read more from the Los Angeles Blade.
GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk
By Phil Galewitz
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals — and every state.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Daily Edition for Thursday, February 20, 2025
Sutter Health Expanding In East Bay: Sutter Health plans to build a $1 billion comprehensive medical campus in Emeryville with outpatient care and a 200-bed hospital. It will replace the 339-bed Alta Bates hospital. Outpatient care, including primary or family medicine as well as specialties, is set to start in 2028, with the hospital opening in 2032-33. Read more from Berkeleyside, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Becker’s Hospital Review.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, February 19, 2025
California Bill Would Prevent Youths From Buying Anti-Aging Products: Under a bill introduced Tuesday by Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San José), retailers would be prohibited from selling cosmetic products to shoppers under 18 if they contain retinol, alpha hydroxy acid, or other anti-aging ingredients. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
The Covid ‘Contrarians’ Are in Power. We Still Haven’t Hashed Out Whether They Were Right.
By Arthur Allen
Jay Bhattacharya, nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health, opposed most covid mandates. Without an honest public debate about what worked and what didn’t, public health experts say, we’re even less prepared for the next pandemic.
Republicans Are Eyeing Cuts to Medicaid. What’s Medicaid, Again?
By Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
Los republicanos están considerando recortes a Medicaid. De nuevo, ¿qué es Medicaid?
By Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead
Más de 79 millones de personas reciben servicios de Medicaid o del relacionado Programa de Seguro de Salud Infantil (CHIP). Esto representa aproximadamente el 20% de la población total de Estados Unidos.
Deny and Delay? California Seeks Penalties for Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong
By Christine Mai-Duc
A state lawmaker wants health insurers to disclose denial rates and explain those denials as anger grows over rising costs and uncovered medical care. If the bill is signed into law, health experts say, it could be one of the boldest attempts in the nation to rein in denials.
