The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
1 - 20 of 122 Results
Amid falling birth rates and presidential approval numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services convened doctors, tech executives, and influencers to discuss women’s health. Panelists criticized reliance on birth control pills to treat health problems and encouraged doctors to talk with girls about whether they want to have babies.
Health care got barely a mention in President Trump’s State of the Union address. Ahead of the midterms, the Trump administration has presented few concrete plans to address what Americans say is the biggest problem with health care: its skyrocketing costs. Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for surgeon general, Casey Means, got her long-delayed nomination hearing in the Senate, where she faced skeptical questions from Democrats and Republicans alike. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
The study sought to answer questions about how breast cancer risk differs by type of hormonal contraceptive. Doctors say the results won’t change how they counsel patients.
A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
The HHS office that administers the Title X family planning program has been effectively shut down. And with cuts to federal funding for other family health programs, expected Medicaid cuts, and the potential lapse of ACA subsidies, health leaders fear they are seeing the biggest setback to U.S. reproductive care in half a century.
The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.
Some clinics that provide abortions are closing, even in states where voters have passed some of the nation's broadest abortion protections. It’s happening in places like New York, Illinois, and Michigan, as reproductive health care faces new financial pressures.
The Biden administration shut off federal family planning grants to Tennessee and Oklahoma after the states directed clinics not to provide abortion counseling. The Trump administration restored the money, claiming two lawsuits were settled. They weren’t.
The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care, including many forms of contraception, without cost to patients — but not if they’re “grandfathered” plans, which predate the law.
With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest ϳԹ News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.
The Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment would enshrine in the state constitution a right “to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy.”
Small-town doctors may not offer IUDs and hormonal implants because the devices require training to administer and are expensive to stock.
The vice presidential debate showcased the very different views of Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick, on health policies past and present.
Anti-abortion groups and their allies secured a generational victory in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned "Roe v. Wade." A lawsuit in Texas demonstrates how those same forces threaten access to other health services, including birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.
Former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from a Heritage Foundation document that outlines positions on abortion and a range of other social issues. But Democrats view it as a window into the far right’s to-do list and a clear opening for political attack.
For years, Tennessee has required anyone convicted of prostitution while HIV-positive to register as a sex offender for life. In response to DOJ and ACLU discrimination suits, the state has agreed to reverse course.
An ongoing lawsuit aims to set aside the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that insurers cover preventive care, such as contraception. If that happens, state reproductive health laws — varying across the country — would carry more weight, resuming the “wild West” dynamic from before Obamacare.
© 2026 KFF