Policy-ish
What happens when a Chicago hospital bows to federal pressure on trans care for teens
Patients and parents speak out after Lurie Children's in Chicago joined other hospitals in stopping gender-affirming surgeries. President Trump's executive order threatened their federal funding.
From TV to CMS: How Dr. Oz could shape Medicare and Medicaid
Dr. Oz lacks policy experience but has TV show chops. Tom Scully, who led Medicare & Medicaid for President George W. Bush, argues that Oz is well-suited to be a spokesman for Trump's health care agenda.
After historic indictment, doctors will keep mailing abortion pills over state lines
Doctors who mail abortion medication pills across state lines have been on alert ever since Louisiana, which bans abortion, indicted a New York doctor for mailing the pills to a woman there.
Trump vowed to end surprise medical bills. The team working on that just got slashed
Trump's first round of staff cuts to federal agencies eliminated dozens of positions at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, in charge of implementing the No Surprises Act.
Some Trump voters want him to rein in health care costs. It’s unclear if he will
In polls and focus groups, Trump voters say they want the government to do something about big medical bills. It's a big change from 5 years ago, pollsters say, and may not be on Trump's agenda.
NIH funding freeze stalls applications on $1.5 billion in medical research funds
The National Institutes of Health had to stop considering new grant applications, delaying funding for research into diseases ranging from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's and allergies.
Trump’s picks to oversee Medicare and biomedical research will divest stock
Dr. Mehmet Oz, nominated to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will sell shares in Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, NIH nominee, will shed stock in Walmart and Nvidia.
Republican proposals to cut Medicaid could be politically fraught
Republicans are proposing deep cuts to Medicaid to finance tax cuts and other priorities. Pushback is coming not only from Democrats, but also from hospitals that rely on revenue from the program.
Trump’s ban on gender-affirming care for young people puts hospitals in a bind
Hospitals and clinics that have offered gender-affirming treatments to transgender youth reacted in a variety of ways to an executive order that aims to halt the care.
Why many Republicans think shrinking Medicaid will make it better
Republicans proposals to change the public health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans could amount to more than $2 trillion of cuts over the next decade.
Health care is key for youths getting out of prison. A new law helps them get it
It's common for young people leaving jails and prisons to end up back behind bars, often after lapses related to untreated mental illness or substance abuse. A new law will help them get Medicaid.
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
The executive order speaks of transgender identity in sweeping and dismissive terms, and sets the stage for a policy that is more restrictive and punitive than the ban from Trump's first term.
Doctors opposing RFK Jr. rally in the lead-up to his confirmation
Many health professionals are lining up against Trump's pick for health secretary. They say his anti-vaccine views could cost lives. Some of his supporters embrace his stance.
Trump tries to erase Biden’s health legacy with early executive orders
Trump issued a flurry of executive orders and other actions on health care this week. Other than signaling he intends to reverse many of Biden's moves, the orders will have little immediate impact.
Trump’s federal health website scrubs ‘abortion’ search results
The most "relevant" results that come up in a search of "abortion" on HHS.gov, the website for the federal Department of Health and Human Services, are several years old, from the first Trump administration.
Biden’s Medicaid director shares lessons learned and concerns for the program’s future
Dan Tsai discusses how he ran Medicaid under Biden, and his fears for how Republicans might try to change the program.
A record 24 million people now get Obamacare health plans. Will it last under Trump?
Enrollment in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans has grown every year of the Biden administration, leading to a record high rate of people with insurance.
New rules will ban medical debt from your credit report
The move, which comes less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, represents a challenge to the new administration.
‘A very, very small number’ of teens receive gender-affirming care, study finds
A new analysis of private insurance claims data finds less than 0.1% of youth accessed puberty blockers or hormones for gender transition. This small group has garnered a huge amount of attention from Republican lawmakers in recent years.
