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Make America Healthy Again groups are spending nearly $2 million ahead of the November midterms in an effort to elect candidates who have made Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s movement targeting chronic disease a centerpiece of their campaigns. The new spending is the most significant outlay from Kennedy-aligned groups since they helped Rep. Julia Letlow defeat Sen. Bill Cassidy in a Louisiana Republican primary in May. Cassidy had criticized Kennedy’s efforts to reduce the number of vaccines the government recommends. (Hooper, 10/15)

The race’s fourth and final debate centered around whether Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, was as independent as she claimed to be from President Trump. ... Ms. Collins was pressed on her votes to confirm specific members of the Trump administration, such as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She articulated her disapproval on his outlook on vaccines, but applauded his focus on chronic diseases and ultraprocessed foods. When pressed, she said she did not regret her vote for him. (Davies, 10/15)

On Wednesday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated $1 million to fight Proposition 1. If voters approve the initiative, it would restore reproductive rights in Idaho, allowing abortions up to fetal viability and in medical emergencies. (Luchetta, 10/15)

Boise State University senior Cade Syvock opposes abortion. As president of the school’s chapter of the conservative group Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, Syvock helped coordinate anti-abortion protests on campus. But he’s not spending much time this fall campaigning against an Idaho ballot initiative that would restore abortion access. (Moseley-Morris and Spoerre, 10/15)

A new state law derailed a campaign to put Medicaid expansion on Florida’s 2026 ballot. Organizers are now aiming for 2028 as health care costs rise. (Pedersen, 10/15)

51ÊÓƵ Health News: Next Governor To Face Thorny Choices After California’s Rapid Medicaid Expansion

In March 2025, when California ran out of Medicaid funds to pay doctors and hospitals, the state borrowed $3.4 billion to keep the program afloat. It was, as a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom insisted, nothing new. Indeed, a handful of times over the years, the state had taken out internal, short-term loans to sustain its healthcare program for the poor and disabled. The unprecedented move came a few months later, when Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers agreed to pay down the loan — which grew to $4.4 billion — over 10 years instead of later in the year. California’s healthcare safety net, it seemed, was buckling. (Mai-Duc, 10/16)

For more than six months, Stefanie Wheat-Johnson’s jaw has throbbed in pain. The 44-year-old mother of three needs a root canal, but her health plan doesn’t include dental work. Paying cash at her local Texas clinic will cost $3,600 — money Wheat-Johnson and her husband Eric simply don’t have. The couple, who make $60,000 per year after taxes, weighed their options, including asking for payment extensions on their utilities and even delaying rent payments to get her care. (Swetlitz, 10/15)

51ÊÓƵ Health News: 51ÊÓƵ Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: Early Voting Begins

This week, Trump administration officials announced their latest efforts to trim what they identified as duplicative and ineligible enrollees from government health programs. They tied the efforts to the administration’s broader crackdown on waste, fraud, and abuse — just as some states are opening polling stations for early voting. The outcome of the midterm elections is expected to affect how and whether Congress addresses several healthcare issues during the lame-duck session, not the least of which is government spending. (Carey, 10/15)