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Hear from six pediatricians in measles hot spot Utah as the U.S. faces infection levels not seen in over three decades and prepares to lose its status as a country that eliminated the dangerous disease.
A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also, as part of the 鈥淗ow Would You Fix It?鈥 series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
A year after the Environmental Protection Agency stripped grant money from dozens of communities nationwide during Trump鈥檚 DEI crackdown, a small Georgia city is struggling to address environmental health concerns.
In a church in rural Missouri, mourners lined up to say goodbye to Lloyd Gilmore, a 44-year-old Black father who died in police custody last month. His death sparked protests in a city with a long history of racial violence, even as the national conversation about police brutality has waned. Six years after worldwide calls for change, what鈥檚 happened to the movement?
Federal officials charged two virologists they stopped en route from an African disease outbreak with violating import rules. But scientists tell 51视频 Health News the inactivated samples they carried posed no threat to the public, and they characterize the arrests as part of a government harassment campaign.
The Office of Personnel Management said it will 鈥減seudonymize鈥 medical records it collects on more than 8 million people 鈥 federal workers and retirees, and their family members. Democrats and employee unions say the agency鈥檚 move is an overreach.
The opioid settlements are a multibillion-dollar windfall with only loose spending suggestions rather than strict requirements. Some people directly affected by the crisis want stronger guardrails. But New York state鈥檚 experience highlights the challenge in finding a fiscal watchdog.
Complex computer systems that decide whether people, including the disabled, get Medicaid benefits have a history of errors. Now changes to comply with Trump鈥檚 signature tax and domestic policy law are inundating those systems.
Prisoners with severe medical conditions can be granted compassionate release, but without a long-term care facility willing to accept them, many continue to wait in prison as their conditions worsen.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be fertile ground for violence between residents with dementia, including fatal assaults. A 51视频 Health News examination of health reports and court records shows how warning signs are missed and safeguards fall short.
Final regulations on Medicaid work requirements say enrollees must regularly obtain documentation 鈥 possibly from medical professionals 鈥 to prove that they鈥檙e too sick to work. Doctors say the rules put them in a tough spot.
The deaths of Harmony Ball-Stribling and her unborn daughter five years ago have galvanized local leaders determined to reopen a Mississippi Delta hospital. But once a rural community loses a hospital, bringing it back can be nearly impossible.
51视频 Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell, the president and CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health, about systemic healthcare changes backed by large employers, which cover millions of Americans.
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains commonplace, and there’s no evidence the government is trying to hold insurers to account.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, expressed support for vaccines, including covid shots, in her confirmation hearing. That contrasts with the stance of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Most of the federal Medicaid cuts don鈥檛 take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but progress on legislative priorities remains slow. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. And as part of the 鈥淗ow Would You Fix It?鈥 series, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell of the Purchaser Business Group on Health.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri鈥檚 income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
51视频 Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
