We previously reported that the number of people receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center - known as America's research hospital - declined from February-April. Since then, I obtained newer data through mid-August. And it's gotten worse. youtube.com/shorts/yT5Vc...

Firearm violence is killing Americans at the scale of a public health epidemic, especially in Black neighborhoods damaged by various forms of racial discrimination. Meanwhile, federal, state, & local government officials have undermined efforts to save lives. Via @kffhealthnews.org

Amid political chatter about vaccines and the government entities that oversee them, it’s understandable to wonder where all this leaves the 2025-26 flu vaccine. Here are some answers to common questions. Via: @madisonczopek.bsky.social

There was no doctor on-site when a patient arrived at the emergency room in the small hospital at intersection of two dirt roads in Ekalaka, MT. There never is. Experts believe ERs, especially in rural areas, increasingly operate with few or no doctors. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

On Aug. 8, a gunman identified by Georgia authorities as Patrick Joseph White fired shots at CDC buildings in Atlanta. White was possibly motivated by his views on vaccines, according to news reports. Via: Rebecca Grapevine & Andy Miller for @healthbeat.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Erica Kahn ended up with a wild bat in her mouth — and nearly $21,000 in medical bills. Health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment for injuries sustained shortly before a customer buys a policy. Kahn found that out the hard way. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Native American groups declare that tribal sovereignty trumps state and federal efforts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for two-spirit and LGBTQ+ tribal citizens. Tribes are analyzing the risk of opposing Trump’s policies, advocates say. ✍️: Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez of @kffhealthnews.org

The anti-abortion movement is rallying around new laws that establish fetal “personhood.” As a recent incident in Georgia shows, there remains disagreement over interpretations of such laws. Via Jessica Mador of @wabe.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A Texas family was charged thousands of dollars for immunizations for their kids. Their insurance didn’t cover the shots, and the $1,400 measles vaccine was more than 5X what health officials say it costs in the private sector. Via @kffhealthnews.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A history of systemic exclusion from pools is one factor that has led to higher drowning rates among Black children and adults than their white peers. KFF Health News correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on @wamu.org.web.brid.gy's “Health Hub” to discuss the issue. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” platform has boosted the agenda of a conservative think tank that’s been working for more than a decade to reshape the nation’s public assistance programs. Via: Katheryn Houghton & Samantha Liss of @kffhealthnews.org

My latest, for @kffhealthnews.org and @cbsnews.com: Social Security is cracking. It's declaring people wrongly dead. Beneficiaries and lawyers say records are getting misplaced. Checks are getting sent to the wrong address. The agency is getting worse, they think, at sending money to people:

Community-based groups in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana & Tennessee told @kffhealthnews.org they reduced spending on HIV testing & outreach because of delayed or slashed federal funds — or they were making plans to do so, anticipating cuts. Via: @amymaxmen.bsky.social.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office expects to release a report this fall on how much 💰 it costs to run Georgia Pathways — the country’s only active Medicaid #workrequirement program — as other states and Congress consider similar programs. Via: @kffhealthnews.org

BRAG: Our series on racial disparities in health care, led by @sabriyarice.bsky.social, has won the Columbia Journalism School's Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award. journalism.columbia.edu/news/berger-... Congratulations to all the @kffhealthnews.org staff involved in this important work.

Welcome @draveneljoseph.bsky.social! Looking forward to your posts and reading updates about @rwjf.bsky.social's work.

As Congress mulls potentially massive cuts to federal Medicaid funding, health centers that serve Native American communities are bracing for catastrophe. Medicaid helps tribes cover chronic funding shortfalls from the Indian Health Service. Via Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez of @kffhealthnews.org

mRNA technology is under study at the NIH for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, including flu and AIDS, and also cancer. Scientists say they have been asked to remove all references to it from their grant applications. kffhealthnews.org/news/article... 🤷🏿

Shootings send ripples of trauma through communities. Exposure to gun killings has been linked to higher levels of depression, suicidal ideation, and other mental health difficulties. Black youth were disproportionately affected. Via Chaseedaw Giles of @kffhealthnews.org.

About 93 million CT scans are performed every year in the U.S., market research shows. Yet there is scant regulation of radiation levels. ☢️ Dosages are erratic, varying widely from one clinic to another, and are too often unnecessarily high, reports @joannekenen.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org.

Compared with those in other regions, patients across the rural South, Appalachia, and remote West are most often unable to make a video call to their doctor or log into their patient portals. Both are essential ways to participate in the U.S. medical system. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Last year, the government stopped cutting off people’s monthly Social Security benefits to claw back 💲 overpayments. Last week, under President Donald Trump, it reversed that change. 🤔 kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Recently terminated CDC employees helped prevent and respond to outbreaks such as dengue fever and the flu. 🤒 They worked with local officials to test for viruses and ensure that public health labs comply with federal regulations. 🦠 Latest from @rachanadpradhan.bsky.social of KFF Health News.

More police pursuits mean more risks to bystanders. But some officials see little choice. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Updated from West Texas: 146 cases mainly in children, 20 hospitalizations & 1 death. Some schools have had to close due to sickness. Parents staying home from work, public health departments curbing other programs to handle this. Outbreaks are bad for the economy, too.

Please help welcome KFF Health News reporter @ajzionts.bsky.social to Bluesky! Be on the lookout for her insightful reporting from South Dakota...like this one posted today about how some states have stopped requiring foreign-trained providers to repeat residencies before they’re fully licensed.

A man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. 🚗 Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center — which released him with no further treatment. The ambulance bill? Almost $13,000. 🥴 Via @sandywestreporter.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org.

Government regulation of health care prices used to be heresy for most Republicans. But polls show many of the voters who sent Donald Trump back to the White House welcome more robust government action to rein in an out-of-control health care system, reports Noam Levy for @kffhealthnews.org

NEWS: 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. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Even with the threat of an H5N1 bird flu pandemic, and some other plague on the horizon — U.S. public health officials face ebbing public trust as well as a disruptive new health administration led by skeptics of established medicine. Via @kffhealthnews.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Medicaid — the $880 billion-a-year state-federal program that offers health coverage to millions of disabled and low-income Americans — is complex. And recent federal budget proposals could curtail the program. Here are some basics on Medicaid. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

As Republicans consider adding work requirements to Medicaid, Georgia and Arkansas — two states with experience running such programs — want to scale back the key parts supporters have argued encourage employment and personal responsibility. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Thanks to everyone who submitted to KFF Health News' Health Policy Valentines. Roses are red. Valentines are fun. 💟 Here's where you can read, The entries that won. 🥇 kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A rural Florida town is seeking a family doctor to practice locally. Incentives include rent-free office space and medical equipment. With a physician shortage hitting small communities hard, town leaders put want ads in newspapers and on social media. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

We’d like to speak with personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services or its component agencies who believe the public should understand the impact of what’s happening within the federal health bureaucracy. Share your story: kffhealthnews.org/hhs-tips/

Among states, Georgia has the highest rate of new HIV infections, but residents — especially women and Black patients — are often not getting PrEP. Black people generally are underserved by PrEP, and women are underserved relative to men, reports Rebecca Grapevine for @kffhealthnews.bsky.social.

Make @kffhealthnews.bsky.social swoon by sending us your sweetest “health policy valentines.” Submit your poem by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9, and we’ll share or favorites on social media on Valentine's Day. Include your handle and let us know if it’s OK to give you a shoutout.

The 19th’s Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship is now OPEN for applications! If you’re an HBCU grad or alum looking for newsroom experience, mentorship and a pathway to a career in journalism, apply now!

State legislatures are spending millions to improve rural health outcomes and access. For years, though, most Southern states have refused billions of federal dollars to provide public health insurance to more low-income adults. That isn’t likely to change soon. Via Lauren Sausser, KFF Health News.

Reporter Lauren Sausser has been diving into insurance denials over the past year or so. Here's where you can follow the stories she and other reporters have shared: kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/pri...

Two Senate committees are expected to question Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on how his disproven views of science and medicine qualify him to run the $1.7 trillion, 80,000-employee federal health system, reports Arthur Allen for @kffhealthnews.bsky.social. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

As one of the world’s largest funders of global health — through both international and national agencies — America’s step back may curtail efforts to provide lifesaving health care and combat deadly outbreaks, writes @amymaxmen.bsky.social for KFF Health News. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Georgia reports first flu deaths of the season, but most data show declines in respiratory viruses https://www.healthbeat.org/atlanta/2025/01/24/georgia-flu-deaths-respiratory-diseases-covid-rsv/

Thanks for the follows and warm welcome, everyone. Here's a story from @kffhealthnews.bsky.social reporters, Sam Whitehead and Daniel Chang, looking at the increasing rate for which people are opting their kids out of childhood vaccines — especially in the South. wamu.org/story/25/01/...

Hi! 👋 I'm the southern bureau editor for @kffhealthnews.bsky.social, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Follow me to learn about the biggest health care stories happening in our region. We also welcome your story tips. kffhealthnews.org/topics/state...