State and federal audits have raised questions about improper payments for a popular autism treatment. But as states move to rein in costs, families worry their access to the treatment could be disrupted. @realbrambo.bsky.social and @arjonesreports.bsky.social report ⤵️

Dozens of patients’ lawsuits accuse cosmetic surgery chains of failing to promptly treat painful infections and other serious complications — including for four patients who died, a new KFF Health News investigation has found. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

KFF Health News examined firearm violence during the covid pandemic and found government policies helped fuel gun sales even as gun deaths reached record levels. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/guns-marketing-safety-protection-hunting-diversity-profit-black-minority-communities/

CalOptima in Orange County, California, is stepping up community outreach in response to federal eligibility changes that could affect millions of #Medicaid and #SNAP recipients. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/one-big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-snap-food-benefits-orange-county-california/

@kffhealthnews.org journalists @jackie-fortier.bsky.social and Arthur Allen share what this administration’s stance on vaccines has meant practically—for both vaccine access and uptake.

It’s “easier to criminalize somebody than to get them help,” said a mother who for more than a decade has been trying to get her son the care he needs. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/criminally-ill-state-mental-psychiatric-hospitals-prisons-waitlists-ohio/

Baltimore’s Safe Streets program has helped prevent gun deaths. But other cities may have a hard time replicating the model without the type of federal funding that helped it expand. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

“The U.S. allows and enables gun industry practices that would be totally unacceptable anywhere else in the world,” said lawyer and gun control advocate @jlowy.bsky.social. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/guns-marketing-safety-protection-hunting-diversity-profit-black-minority-communities/

With Affordable Care Act insurance premiums poised to skyrocket, some are considering going outside of the marketplace to find more affordable options. But that requires caution. From @kffhealthnews.org:

15 states have struck medical debt from credit reports. Other states are now mulling what to do after the federal government reversed its stance on the issue. @raelnb.bsky.social reports ⤵️ https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/credit-reports-medical-debt-state-legislation-cfpb-trump-reversal/

Vinay Prasad considers his proposed vaccine framework to be corrective. Former FDA commissioners consider his view “a threat to evidence-based vaccine policy and public health security.” https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/vaccine-uproar-fda-former-commissioners-vinay-prasad-memo-worldview/

More than a hundred people suing Genesis HealthCare for unpaid personal injury settlements plan to sue the company’s primary investor, their lawyers said. Jordan Rau reports ⤵️ https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nursing-homes-genesis-bankruptcy-judge-ruling-delayed-settlement-payments/

Homemade hot sauce sent a Colorado man to the ER with what he called “the worst pain of my life.” But stomach cramps were only the beginning. Then the bill came—two years later. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/scorpion-peppers-spicy-food-colorado-bill-of-the-month-december-2025/

“Washington, DC is a safer, cleaner, and more beautiful city thanks to President Trump’s historic actions to restore the nation’s capital,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

Maria, a Mississippi resident from Honduras, said she and her two children have missed routine doctors’ appointments because they are “terrified” to leave the house. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/immigration-deportation-risk-immigrants-avoid-health-care-new-orleans-mississippi/

“We’re hearing from people with complex medical conditions who don’t think they can survive if they don’t have access to medical care,” says Audrey Morse Gasteier, head of the Massachusetts ACA exchange. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A new investigation from @kffhealthnews.org finds that Genesis HealthCare, a nursing home chain with a large footprint in New Hampshire, used bankruptcy and delays to avoid paying out settlements following injuries and deaths in their custody.

“We’re in survival mode,” says one Shoshone-Bannock tribal leader of the health care challenges her people face without access to telehealth and more in-person care. @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: To get food benefits, more people now have to prove they’re working, and doctors say all newborns benefit from a hepatitis B shot, despite changing federal guidelines. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Every state has a federally funded agency that defends the rights of disabled people to live outside of institutions, but the Trump administration wants to slash their support. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/disability-lawyers-doj-civil-rights-division-protection-advocacy-organizations-iowa/

California hospitals sue state affordability office over caps on health care spending. #bigbeautifulbill #OCHA kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

As millions face skyrocketing health insurance premiums, the “Arm and a Leg” team navigates their own limited options. @danweissmann.bsky.social, @armandalegshow.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

Mental health issues such as suicide and overdoses are the leading cause of maternal death in the U.S. Several FDA panelists recently cautioned against using antidepressants during pregnancy despite widespread medical backing. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A national survey of older Americans found that only a minority saw themselves as having a disability. But responses to questions about specific types of disabilities told a different story. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/older-people-disability-ada-michigan/

“Before I sign up, I will wait and see what happens.” How one Chicago woman is dealing with a topsy-turvy Obamacare enrollment season. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

After a CDC panel voted to end the universal U.S. recommendation for the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, clinicians and epidemiologists worry the move could reverse decades of progress against a disease that still kills tens of thousands each year. @celinegounder.com reports ⤵️

LISTEN: Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin Jan. 1, and Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire and increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. youtu.be/4Nj0R9DosXY?...

Disability “means you can’t do things,” says Dennis Meade, 86, of Michigan. “As long as you can work with it and it’s not affecting your life that much, you don’t consider yourself disabled.” https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/older-people-disability-ada-michigan/

In 2026, U.S. cancer registries will have to classify the sex of patients as strictly male, female, or unknown. @rachanadpradhan.bsky.social tells @wamu.org’s “Health Hub” why that will make it harder to see who’s getting sick and why.

On consolidation of the health care marketplace: “A lot of what they are attributing to the ACA would have happened anyway,” an expert tells KFF Health News. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

🧵My talk w/John Weiser, an HIV expert & doctor who resigned from CDC after refusing to censor data. "I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them...knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC." kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

“I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them,” said HIV physician John Weiser, “knowing that I had erased their existence from CDC.” @amymaxmen.bsky.social reports ⤵️

One ACA enrollee described being on the phone with healthcare.gov marketplace representatives to sort out a fraudulent plan sign-up in his name. During that call, he said, “literally, there was someone opening a new policy without my consent.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Genesis HealthCare agreed to $925,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s had been sexually assaulted in one of its nursing homes. The company filed for bankruptcy, and it may never have to pay.

A rural North Dakota hospital has been trying to hire a lab tech since late summer. No U.S. citizens have applied. Hiring a foreign applicant will mean paying the Trump administration’s new $100,000 H-1B visa fee.

Health orgs asked Sec. Noem to exempt health care workers from the new $100K H-1B visa fee. They haven't received a response. Learn about a rural hospital that may have to pay the fee after it received job apps from international, but no American workers. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

It’s back to the future as Trump and congressional Republicans push for more health accounts and high deductibles. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/trump-health-accounts-hsa-cash-patient-debt-high-deductible-insurance/

Health vs. pocketbook? People with chronic conditions such as diabetes are especially vulnerable to the health care pinch if they have high-deductible insurance plans. This year, more people will need to make that choice. @charlottehuff.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Regulations designed to limit rapid, unregulated health care growth are leaving a rural North Carolina community without enough hospital beds. Local officials and health providers say the rules are getting in the way of meeting patients’ needs — and they’re pushing for changes.

On “What the Health? From KFF Health News,” distributed by @wamu.org, chief Washington correspondent and podcast host @julierovner.bsky.social sat down with Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser, to talk about how health care has evolved as a Republican Party issue. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A vaccine-skeptical CDC panel ends a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B, a practice that helped reduce childhood infections of the virus by 99%. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. The findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status. @amymaxmen.bsky.social reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

President Trump wants more health savings accounts. A catch: They can’t pay insurance premiums. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

LISTEN: The Senate is scheduled to vote on a Democrat-led plan to extend the temporary additional subsidies that have lowered out-of-pocket costs for ACA health plans. Tune into this week’s "What the Health?" podcast hosted by @julierovner.bsky.social ⤵️ youtu.be/aLYzKbP2Tf0?...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created a $50 billion fund for rural health but doesn’t require states to consult Native American tribes. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

SNAP got a lot of attention during the government shutdown. More lasting changes are coming for food stamps. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

LISTEN: Traffic deaths have risen across America despite years of safety campaigns. But Washington, D.C., has seen a big improvement this year. What’s happening there that might save lives in other cities? Chaseedaw weighs in on @wamu.org ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A college student who hopes to pursue a career after graduation questioned how Trump’s “baby bonuses” could be an incentive. “That wouldn’t even cover my month’s rent.” kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A federal judge ruled last year Missouri’s food aid system was “overwhelmed,” had wrongly denied assistance to applicants, and had caused many to go hungry. (@kffhealthnews.org)

Only 347 of the nation’s roughly 14,500 nursing homes have specialized units dedicated to people on ventilators, forcing people with ALS or MS to move far from families. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...