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The CDC is recommending fewer childhood vaccines, although the ones it has jettisoned from the recommended schedule have successfully battled serious illness for years. Experts warn that if vaccine uptake falls, millions could be hospitalized 鈥 or worse 鈥 as a result of preventable diseases.
The “吃瓜不打烊 Minute鈥 brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Millions of people gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reducing pressure on counties in states that fund care for the uninsured. With federal policies expected to reverse that trend, county officials wonder how they will fill the gap 鈥 and who will pay for it.
In some studies, half of patients stopped taking GLP-1s within a year despite the benefits, citing the expense and side effects.
Abortion bans like Iowa鈥檚 have put OB-GYNs under increasing strain and surveillance, complicating the standard medical treatments for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, premature membrane rupture, and other pregnancy problems. As many rural areas face worsening maternity care deserts, some physicians fear these laws could drive much-needed doctors out of state and dissuade others from moving in and establishing a practice.
It鈥檚 been more than 10 years since the FDA first approved an HIV prevention drug. Today, people who could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis often struggle to access the lifesaving medicine or run into doctors without the education or empathy to offer affirming care. And those lapses can produce billing headaches.
While federal officials say they are cracking down on misleading drug ads, cosmetic surgery remains a 鈥渂uyer beware鈥 market.
“An Arm and a Leg” looks back on state laws passed in 2025 aimed at removing medical debts from credit reports and reining in corporate influence on medicine.
States facing yawning budget shortfalls have begun cutting Medicaid reimbursements for a wide variety of services. In some states, dramatic cuts are targeting therapies that many families of autistic people say are essential to caring for their loved ones.
As the crowdsourced investigative series from 吃瓜不打烊 approaches its eighth anniversary, 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 offers its top takeaways of 2025 to help patients manage, decipher, and even fight their medical bills.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care 鈥 and some died, court records show.
There has been a steep rise in the share of people with severe mental illnesses being sent to state psychiatric hospitals on court orders after being accused of serious crimes. The shift has all but halted patients鈥 ability to get care before they have a catastrophic crisis.
A spike in shootings during the covid pandemic propelled community violence intervention, a field that aims to stop gun deaths at the root. Baltimore used federal funds to launch a violence prevention office. But President Donald Trump has throttled such funds and instead is sending troops into cities.
Even as President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act targets waste, fraud, and abuse, Medicaid health plans are hosting events across the U.S. to prevent low-income families from losing health insurance and food benefits next year.
吃瓜不打烊 journalists made the rounds on regional media recently to discuss topical stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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During the covid pandemic, gun marketers told many Americans they needed firearms to defend against criminals and protesters. Then firearm deaths mounted rapidly in racially segregated and low-income neighborhoods, according to federal data.
Federal officials reversed their stance on medical debt credit reporting, then came a lawsuit in Colorado. As lawmakers in other states forge ahead with attempts to protect consumers from medical debt, some are reconsidering how they go about it.
Homemade hot sauce sent a Colorado man to the emergency room with what he called 鈥渢he worst pain of my life.鈥 But stomach cramps were only the beginning. Two years later, the bill came.
An internal email claiming covid vaccines killed children triggered a formal response from a dozen past FDA commissioners. The email, sent by the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, outlines a framework that could have significant impact on the nation鈥檚 vaccine policies.
