After the Trump administration gave deportation officials access to Medicaid data, hospitals and states are in a bind over whether to alert patients that their information could help ICE locate them.

A growing number of U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) doctors, nurses, and officers are resigning rather than accepting deployments to the Trump administration’s expanded immigration detention operations at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This story was published in partnership with @kff.org.

Some detainees didn't know they were at Guantanamo—until a public health worker told them. Other nurses, doctors, etc., are quitting rather than participating in Trump's immigration camps www.wired.com/story/public...

More than 2 million Americans could benefit from PrEP, but only about a quarter of them are getting the HIV prevention medication. Zach Dyer reports on @wamu.org ⤵️

President Trump has signed the annual spending bill for the Dept. of Health & Human Services. But will the administration spend the money as directed? Panelists @julierovner.bsky.social, @annaedney.bsky.social, @joannekenen.bsky.social and @sandhyawrites.bsky.social discuss.

Reporters tested lead in soil at dozens of city parks across New Orleans. Nearly half had lead concentrations that exceeded federal hazard levels. @veritenews.org investigates ⤵️

As he weighs a bid for president, California Gov. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social is angering progressives by proposing more cuts to immigrants’ health care while drawing ire from the GOP for covering them at all.

The physician workforce is aging fast, and some hospitals now require that older clinicians undergo testing for cognitive decline. Many have resisted, including by suing their employers.

In the @nytimes.com and @kffhealthnews.org's  “The New Old Age” column, some interesting alternatives to improve paid home care:

Contest closing soon! Submit your poems today. We want to see your most clever, heartfelt, or hilarious tributes to the policies that shape health care. And we’ve sweetened the deal with prizes. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

When federal funding to Joan Brugge’s cancer research lab at Harvard Medical School was frozen last year, she lost seven of 18 lab employees. Brugge doubts work in her lab to prevent breast cancer will ever return to normal. “There’ll always be, now, this existential threat,” she said.

When Tammy MacDonald needed a new family doctor outside Boston, she was told she would have to wait a year or more. Then, a nearby hospital offered her an AI tool to set up a telehealth visit. “I think I got an appointment the next day,” she said. More from @wbur.org ⤵️

So far, 1.2 million fewer people have signed up for Obamacare plans compared with last year as out-of-pocket costs soar. More could lose coverage as they fail to pay their premiums. Read more ⤵️

A premium that’s more than a mortgage and a deductible that’s too high to meet. The rising cost of health care is pushing middle-income people to the brink. @renukarayasam.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

When hospitalized detainees can’t be found by family members or attorneys, advocates say, it leaves patients vulnerable to abuse and isolation and deprives them of their constitutional right to counsel.

The Trump administration’s enthusiasm for deregulation has undone long-sought rules to improve care for the aged. And a new Medicare experiment with prior authorizations has alarmed eldercare advocates.

Before her eye appointment, Barbara Tuszynski checked to make sure the optometrist was listed as "in-network." She assumed that meant her policy would cover the appointment. Then the bill came.

“This is just wrong,” Wisconsin retiree contends about UnitedHealthcare denying payment at an eye clinic that the insurer’s website listed as in-network. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

When hospitalized detainees can’t be found by family members or attorneys, advocates say, it leaves patients vulnerable to abuse and isolation and deprives them of their constitutional right to counsel. Read the full story ⤵️

A federal program is supposed to help people suffering from rare vaccine reactions pay their medical bills while protecting vaccine supply. But allies of HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. routinely transfer cases from the program to launch lawsuits against drugmakers. Read the investigation ⤵️

LISTEN: The actions of federal ICE agents are having ramifications far beyond immigration. In Washington, the backlash from a second fatal shooting by agents in Minnesota has stalled action on an eleventh-hour suite of spending bills. @julierovner.bsky.social 🎙️ kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

The Trump administration has a plan that could curb billions of dollars each year in overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans. But will they follow through on it?

We want to see your clever, heartfelt, or hilarious tributes to the policies that shape health care. Submit your health policy Valentine today ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Since last year, more calls to Georgia’s 988 mental health crisis line have been rerouted out of state. Many callers hang up or disconnect before reaching a counselor. They're not the only state struggling with disconnected or rerouted 988 calls. @rgrapevine.bsky.social and Andy Miller report ⤵️

After her husband died, Susannah Reed-McCullough and her kids continued to receive health insurance through his job as a firefighter in Maryland. Then, she got an unexpected medical bill and learned the insurance company had dropped the children’s coverage. Experts say it's a common problem.

New studies show unexpected, long-term health issues from covid, including increased risk of autism in children, cancer relapses, and brain damage. Meanwhile, Trump officials have narrowed covid vaccine recommendations and cut research. @stephaniearmour.bsky.social reports ⤵️

In Los Angeles, there are more than 70 #medicareadvantage plans to choose from. So why did the UCLA Health system create two more? My latest for @kffhealthnews.org. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A growing body of research is pointing to the unexpected health risks from covid, including childhood autism, heart attacks, cancer relapses and brain damage. “We are going to be learning about the chronic effects of the virus for some time,” said @mtosterholm.bsky.social

Doctors say AI scribes let them focus on their patients, rather than their keyboards. About a third of providers have access to ambient AI scribe technology. Early studies indicate the tool might help reduce burnout.

More patients are signing up for Medicare Advantage plans offered directly by hospitals, as an alternative to commercial insurance. A recent study found patients in these hospital-owned plans had fewer complications after major surgeries than those covered by commercial Medicare Advantage plans.

Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest pregnancy-related mortality ratio among major demographic groups. Native organizations, the CDC, and some states are working to boost tribal participation in state maternal mortality review committees, reports @kffhealthnews.org.

If hospitals gave financial assistance to everyone who qualified, it would save patients $14 billion a year. Jared Walker of dollarfor.bsky.social is on a mission to make that a reality. He shares how the group helped clear $55 million in medical debt last year with armandalegshow.bsky.social

#LISTEN: Lawmakers appear on the brink of passing a spending bill for the Dept. of HHS and a bipartisan health policy bill delayed for over a year. But the outlook is bleaker for the health care outline released by President Trump last week. https://youtu.be/LMfJVOfLHzY?si=5QkQ2-HX8hO8qeMs

Two Trump administration regulatory rollbacks affect nursing home staffing and home care workers, and a new AI experiment in Medicare has alarmed eldercare advocates and congressional Democrats. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

With abortions still on the rise nationwide, curtailing mifepristone is a top priority for abortion opponents — and they’re frustrated that the Trump administration isn’t doing more to limit its use. @julierovner.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

It's that time again! Affordable health care is our love language. We want to see your most clever, heartfelt, or hilarious tributes to the policies that shape health care. And we’ve sweetened the deal with prizes. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/health-policy-valentines-annual-contest/

🦠My latest: RFK's new CDC appointee shrugs off the potential loss of the U.S.’ measles-elimination status and deflects blame to other countries. “It’s just the cost of doing business with our borders being somewhat porous.” @kffhealthnews.org kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

The loss of enhanced ACA subsidies, coupled with the challenging economic conditions, has made health coverage unaffordable for many farmers. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

New CDC appointee Ralph Abraham shrugs off the potential loss of the U.S.’ measles-free status and deflects blame to other countries. “It’s just the cost of doing business with our borders being somewhat porous.” @amymaxmen.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

The Trump administration is using multimillion-dollar gene therapies for sickle cell patients to test a strategy introduced under President Biden: paying only if treatments work. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

KFF Health News received dozens of letters in response to an article last month describing how state budget shortfalls have led to cuts targeting therapies that many families of autistic people call essential. Here is a sampling:

Vice President JD Vance says the “Make America Healthy Again” movement is “a critical part of our success in Washington.” But polls show the movement’s core ideas are not voters’ top issues. @stephaniearmour.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Abortion bills continue to surface in state legislatures more than three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Such bills have already been pre-filed in South Carolina, Florida, and Missouri.

Lifesaving or wasteful? Opinion is divided on the ways local communities are using opioid settlement funds. Survivors of the overdose crisis and families who’ve lost loved ones to it are raising alarms about what some perceive as wasteful spending. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Millions of people who bought health plans on the Obamacare marketplaces face soaring 2026 premium payments. Some are considering going without insurance, taking on extra jobs, or even postponing marriage. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

“There is a ground-level swell of hope that’s starting to come up around your ankles,” said Megkian Doyle, who heads the local nonprofit working to build a recovery center in Lodge Grass, Montana.

State officials are hiring staff, hosting conferences, organizing advisory committees, and posting funding opportunities in a race to spend millions of dollars they will receive from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program.

LISTEN: Millions are paying more for health insurance after enhanced ACA subsidies expired Jan. 1, as Washington focuses on culture-war issues and HHS reels from staffing and grant upheaval. youtu.be/oKtE7Xvpo94?...

BREAKING: The Justice Department settled a whistleblower lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente for $556 million — a record. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A Texas rural health consultant said he has “a ton of concerns” about companies taking the money instead of it helping rural hospitals and residents. “I was blown away about how many for-profit companies reached out.”