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Technological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.
The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans 鈥 including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administration鈥檚 anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 rapid downsizing of the federal government and attacks on the character of public workers have taken a toll on the mental health of some employees. That鈥檚 been felt especially in Washington, D.C., where nearly 50,000 people work for the federal government.
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities. Altogether, the layoffs mean the federal government, in a single day, shed hundreds if not thousands of combined years of health and science expertise. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
As House Republicans mull a massive $880 billion cut from federal programs likely including Medicaid, constituents, disability advocates, and health care providers are joining forces to lobby GOP members in California 鈥 including those who represent rural, deeply conservative pockets that stand to lose the most.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department 鈥 which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned 鈥淎dministration for a Healthy America鈥 will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss the news.
The anti-fluoride movement has more momentum than ever. In rural counties with few dentists, tooth decay could surge to levels that have not been seen in decades, experts warn.
Public health and science researchers are concerned about the Trump administration鈥檚 cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reductions in staff and budgets could undermine the nation鈥檚 ability to respond to threats, they say.
Recent arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in northern Virginia have put immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area on alert. Health clinics that serve those communities say they are working to continue to care for patients amid detention and arrest fears.
It鈥檚 the Trump administration vs. the federal courts, as the Department of Government Efficiency continues to try to cancel federal contracts and programs and fire workers. But in the haste to cut things, jobs and programs are being eliminated even if they align with the new administration鈥檚 goal to 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again.鈥 Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The Senate Finance Committee questioned Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump鈥檚 nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 吃瓜不打烊 reporters discussed the biggest takeaways from the hearing.
The Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jeff Grant, who recently retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after 41 years in government service.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is offline 鈥 for now. Here鈥檚 what that could mean for people with medical debt.
California businesses saw employees鈥 monthly family insurance premiums rise nearly $1,000 over a 15-year period, more than double the pace of inflation. And employees鈥 share grew as companies shifted more of the cost to workers.
Last year, the government stopped cutting off people鈥檚 monthly Social Security benefits to claw back overpayments. Last week, under President Donald Trump, it reversed that change.
The latest outbreak of bird flu has upended egg, poultry, and dairy operations, sickened dozens of farmworkers, and killed at least one person in the U.S. 吃瓜不打烊 national public health correspondent Amy Maxmen explains why scientists are worried.
Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.
The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Services鈥 public handling of Texas鈥 widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretary鈥檚 less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of 吃瓜不打烊 join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The House passed a budget plan that likely would result in major cuts to the Medicaid program. But the plan now faces a battle in the Senate, where even Republicans seem reluctant to dramatically reduce a health program that covers roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Meanwhile, federal judges and the Trump administration continue to differ over whether the administration has the authority to unilaterally cancel programs approved and funded by Congress and to fire federal workers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Victoria Knight of Axios join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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