HHS Archives - Page 6 of 28 - 51��Ƶ Health News

Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown

Episode 418

Oct. 16, 2025

Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.

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A photo illustration of a sky filled with airplanes releasing contrails behind them.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy’s HHS

The idea that airplane vapors are toxic to people or that there are ongoing efforts to intentionally change the climate made the social media rounds. Now, it has found advocates at the Department of Health and Human Services.

By Stephanie Armour

Oct. 16, 2025

51��Ƶ Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash

The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.

By Arielle Zionts

Oct. 15, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

Starting To Feel the Shutdown’s Bite

Episode 417

Oct. 9, 2025

The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations — like for Medicare telehealth programs — is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.

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A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing.

Inside the High-Stakes Battle Over Vaccine Injury Compensation, Autism, and Public Trust

The evidence is unequivocal: Vaccines do not cause autism. Yet adding autism to the list of conditions covered by a federal payout program, as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems inclined to do, could threaten its financial viability. Such a move also would suggest that the science is unsettled, that vaccines may be riskier than diseases, which is a fallacy.

By Céline Gounder

Oct. 6, 2025

A photo of a hand holding a syringe of the hepatitis B vaccine.

In Hepatitis B Vaccine Debate, CDC Panel Sidesteps Key Exposure Risk

At a recent meeting of a key vaccine advisory panel, members debated changes to the timing of hepatitis B vaccination, while largely ignoring the risk of early childhood transmission from day care or household contact. A few days later, President Donald Trump did the same.

By Jackie Fortiér

Sept. 29, 2025

The Week in Brief

‘Historic’ White House Announcement on Autism and Tylenol Causes Confusion

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Amy Maxmen

Sept. 26, 2025

A photo illustration showing a brain and a child's face. Above it is the chemical 51��Ƶ for leucovorin.

Off-Label Drug Helps One Boy With Autism Speak, Parents Say. But Experts Want More Data.

This week, the FDA began the process of approving leucovorin, an inexpensive, generic drug derived from folic acid, to help children diagnosed with autism.

By Céline Gounder

Sept. 26, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

Public Health Further Politicized Under the Threat of More Firings

Episode 415

Sept. 25, 2025

In a rambling news conference that shocked public health experts, President Donald Trump — without scientific evidence — blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, and too many childhood vaccines, for the increase in autism diagnoses in the U.S. That came days after a key immunization advisory panel, newly reconstituted with vaccine doubters, changed several long-standing recommendations. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Demetre Daskalakis joins 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories. Meanwhile, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join Rovner with the rest of the news, including a threat by the Trump administration to fire rather than furlough federal workers if Congress fails to fund the government beyond the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year.

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51��Ƶ Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump Claims ‘No Downside’ to Avoiding Tylenol During Pregnancy. He’s Wrong.

Doctors say acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, is safe to take during pregnancy. Other over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen aren’t recommended because they can harm fetal development. Untreated fever in pregnancy can pose maternal and fetal health risks.

By Madison Czopek, PolitiFact

Sept. 24, 2025

A close up view of a woman getting vaccinated.

Amid Confusion Over US Vaccine Recommendations, States Try To ‘Restore Trust’

The decisions by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices matter, because insurers and federal programs rely on them, but they are not binding. States can follow the recommendations, or not.

By Céline Gounder

Sept. 24, 2025

A photo of President Donald standing at a podium speaking into a microphone flanked by four other people

‘Sick to My Stomach’: Trump Distorts Facts on Autism, Tylenol, and Vaccines, Scientists Say

The White House’s autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.

By Amy Maxmen

Sept. 22, 2025

Mercury in Your Hot Dog? Vaccine Skeptics Face Their Limits at Crucial CDC Meeting

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on vaccines pitted scientific expertise against vaccine skepticism. An often confusing debate ended with critics of the current vaccine schedule tabling a vote to remove one of its cornerstones.

By Arthur Allen and Renuka Rayasam

Sept. 19, 2025

A man in a suit sits at a table in front of a microphone

Kennedy’s Take on Vaccine Science Fractures Cohesive National Public Health Strategies

A lack of faith in the soundness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new direction has led states to explore enacting their own vaccine policies. A patchwork of divergent recommendations and requirements could result.

By Stephanie Armour, Christine Mai-Duc, Amy Maxmen, and Arthur Allen

Sept. 19, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

Ousted CDC Officials Clap Back at RFK Jr.

Episode 414

Sept. 18, 2025

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Former CDC Director Susan Monarez speaks inside a Senate hearing room.

Watch: Fired CDC Chief Says RFK Jr. Demanded She Roll Back Vaccine Policies Without Evidence

Susan Monarez and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief medical officer Debra Houry described turmoil in an agency dominated by anti-vaccine political officials nominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

By Arthur Allen and Hannah Norman

Sept. 17, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seated in a Senate hearing room.

RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Panel Expected To Recommend Delaying Hepatitis B Shot for Children

A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote on delaying the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Pediatricians warn that could open the door to a comeback for a disease virtually eradicated among U.S. children.

By Jackie Fortiér

Sept. 16, 2025

51��Ƶ Health News On Air

Journalists Talk New ‘MAHA’ Strategy, RFK Jr.’s Tack at HHS, and Plight of Rural Hospitals

51��Ƶ Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Sept. 13, 2025

A photo of Marty Makary in a Senate hearing room speaking to Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Under Trump, FDA Seeks To Abandon Expert Reviews of New Drugs

Advisory committee meetings help FDA scientists make decisions and increase public understanding of drug regulation, and abandoning them doesn’t make sense, former officials said.

By Arthur Allen

Sept. 12, 2025

What the Health? From 51��Ƶ Health News

Countdown to Government Shutdown

Episode 413

Sept. 11, 2025

With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 51��Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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