The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional, racist, and illegal. Then the $2.75 billion program for rural and underserved communities to gain internet access disappeared.
Ketamine, long used as an anesthetic or illegal party drug, is being combined with psychotherapy to treat severe depression and post-traumatic stress 鈥 a potential tool for those with high trauma rates, like firefighters and police officers. Yet the drug鈥檚 stigma and unregulated marketplace leave first responders in uncharted territory.
The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations 鈥 like for Medicare telehealth programs 鈥 is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.
Biomedical researchers and patients are caught in the middle as the Trump administration continues its campaign to strip grants from universities accused of bias. Courts have restored some frozen funds to California universities, but academics studying brain tumors, lung cancer, and strokes worry their grant dollars remain a bargaining chip.
On the “Today, Explained” podcast, 吃瓜不打烊’ Julie Rovner recaps the TrumpRx announcement and why the direct-to-consumer initiative may not save you money on prescription drugs if you have insurance through your employer or the government.
The Trump administration has restored promised funds to a program that teaches people in health care how to work with aging Americans.
California鈥檚 nursing shortage is projected to worsen, and hospitals say funding cuts will only add strain. But front-line nurses blame heavy workloads, not a shortage, for driving workers away.
Amid concerns that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining trust in vaccines and public health science, some states are seeking new sources of scientific consensus and changing how they regulate insurance companies, prescribers, and pharmacists. Colorado has been at the front of this wave.
Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend billions of dollars in federal tax credits that have dramatically lowered premiums and contributed to record-low rates of uninsured Americans. It鈥檚 a chance to talk about a winning issue 鈥 and maybe regain support from working-class voters.
The evidence is unequivocal: Vaccines do not cause autism. Yet adding autism to the list of conditions covered by a federal payout program, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems inclined to do, could threaten its financial viability. Such a move also would suggest that the science is unsettled, that vaccines may be riskier than diseases, which is a fallacy.
Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are generally ineligible for federally funded health care programs. Democrats鈥 funding proposal would restore access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for legal immigrants who will lose access once certain provisions of the Republicans鈥 tax and spending law take effect.
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
People who maintained the nation鈥檚 land-based nuclear missile arsenal are coming down with similar cancers. The Air Force is wrapping up a large study of the health risks they may have faced.
Community health centers are key to delivering care in underserved communities around the country, but their services could be disrupted or scaled back after governments did not renew their funding.
The foreshadowed federal shutdown came after Congress failed to pass required spending bills, with Democrats demanding Republicans renew the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their votes. While a shutdown does not affect Medicare and Medicaid, it could eventually hinder activities from every corner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as Democrats and Republicans point fingers, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pursues policies and personnel that would undermine vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Cara Anthony, who wrote a recent 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about an out-of-network eye surgery that left one kindergartner鈥檚 family with a big bill.
Barbara Kingsolver won a Pulitzer Prize for her bestselling novel about Appalachia鈥檚 drug crisis. She invested some of the proceeds into a home for women trying to beat substance use disorders.
Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people鈥檚 paychecks to cover old medical bills. A 吃瓜不打烊 investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.
As a warming climate intensifies storms, 吃瓜不打烊 has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration鈥檚 cuts leave the nation less prepared.
The senior producer of 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg鈥 starts planning for health insurance in 2026, and 鈥 like millions of others signing up during this year鈥檚 open enrollment 鈥 faces a steep price increase.
Submissions are open for 吃瓜不打烊鈥 seventh annual Halloween haiku competition. Conjure your most chilling verses 鈥 if you dare.
