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Measles misinformation is on the rise — and Americans are hearing it, survey finds

While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine and the threat of the disease are sharply polarized, fed by the anti-vaccine views of the country's seniormost health official.

23 Apr 2025

The ranks of Obamacare ‘fixers’ axed in Trump’s reduction of health agency workforce

They're the fixers, the ones who step in when Affordable Care Act enrollees have a problem with their coverage, like a newborn incorrectly left off a policy or discovering that a rogue broker had signed them up or switched their plan without consent.

22 Apr 2025

Fate of Black maternal health programs is unclear amid federal cuts

Eboni Tomasek expected to take home her newborn the day after he was born in a San Jose hospital. But, without explanation, hospital staff said they needed to stay a second night. Then a third. A nurse said her son had jaundice.

22 Apr 2025

Machine learning helps decode exercise motivation and behavior

Sticking to an exercise routine is a challenge many people face. But a University of Mississippi research team is using machine learning to uncover what keeps individuals committed to their workouts.

17 Apr 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On autism, it’s the secretary’s word vs. CDC’S

The secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., contradicted his agency's researchers this week with unsubstantiated or outright false claims about autism spectrum disorder and those with the condition.

17 Apr 2025

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump

The National Institutes of Health's sweeping cuts of grants that fund scientific research are inflicting pain almost universally across the U.S., including in most states that backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

17 Apr 2025

RFK Jr. struggles to navigate frustrated supporters and a demanding boss

After the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, supporters of his "Make America Healthy Again" movement cheered at having a champion in the federal government.

17 Apr 2025

Reserpine shows promise in treating retinitis pigmentosa in rat studies

New studies in rats suggest the drug reserpine, approved in 1955 for high blood pressure, might treat the blinding disease retinitis pigmentosa.

15 Apr 2025

Trump HHS eliminates office that sets poverty levels tied to benefits for 80 million people

President Donald Trump's firings at the Department of Health and Human Services included the entire office that sets federal poverty guidelines, which determine whether tens of millions of Americans are eligible for health programs such as Medicaid, food assistance, child care, and other services, former staff said.

11 Apr 2025

RFK Jr.’s purge of FOIA staff at FDA Spares people working on covid vaccine lawsuits

Mass firings at the FDA have decimated divisions tasked with releasing public records generated by the agency's regulatory activities in sectors including tobacco, food, medical devices, and veterinary medicine.

10 Apr 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The dismantling of HHS

A week into the reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services announced by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the scope of the staff cuts and program cutbacks is starting to become clear.

10 Apr 2025

Trump’s immigration tactics obstruct efforts to avert bird flu pandemic, researchers say

Aggressive deportation tactics have terrorized farmworkers at the center of the nation's bird flu strategy, public health workers say.

10 Apr 2025

Slashed federal funding cancels vaccine clinics amid measles surge

More than a dozen vaccination clinics were canceled in Pima County, Arizona.

9 Apr 2025

Rural hospitals and patients are disconnected from modern care

Leroy Walker arrived at the county hospital short of breath. Walker, 65 and with chronic high blood pressure, was brought in by one of rural Greene County’s two working ambulances.

9 Apr 2025

Twins begin pregnancy smaller than singletons earlier than expected

Twins—smaller at birth, on average, than singletons—start out smaller in pregnancy than was previously known, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

7 Apr 2025

Firings at federal health agencies decimate offices that release public records

Public access to government records that document the handling of illnesses, faulty products, and safety lapses at health facilities will slow after mass firings at the federal Department of Health and Human Services swept out staff members responsible for releasing records, according to transparency advocates and health experts.

7 Apr 2025

NIH trial demonstrates AI's effectiveness in opioid use disorder care

NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tool as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists.

3 Apr 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American health gets a pink slip

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 across the department were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities in such places as New Mexico, Montana, and Alaska.

3 Apr 2025

What’s lost: Trump whacks tiny agency that works to make the nation’s health care safer

Sue Sheridan's baby boy, Cal, suffered brain damage from undetected jaundice in 1995. Helen Haskell's 15-year-old son, Lewis, died after surgery in 2000 because weekend hospital staffers didn't realize he was in shock.

3 Apr 2025

Trump’s DEI undoing undermines hard-won accommodations for disabled people

For years, White House press conferences included sign language interpreters for the deaf.

3 Apr 2025

Health and Human Services News and Research

Measles misinformation is on the rise — and Americans are hearing it, survey finds

The ranks of Obamacare ‘fixers’ axed in Trump’s reduction of health agency workforce

Fate of Black maternal health programs is unclear amid federal cuts

Machine learning helps decode exercise motivation and behavior

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On autism, it’s the secretary’s word vs. CDC’S

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump

RFK Jr. struggles to navigate frustrated supporters and a demanding boss

Reserpine shows promise in treating retinitis pigmentosa in rat studies

Trump HHS eliminates office that sets poverty levels tied to benefits for 80 million people

RFK Jr.’s purge of FOIA staff at FDA Spares people working on covid vaccine lawsuits

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The dismantling of HHS

Trump’s immigration tactics obstruct efforts to avert bird flu pandemic, researchers say

Slashed federal funding cancels vaccine clinics amid measles surge

Rural hospitals and patients are disconnected from modern care

Twins begin pregnancy smaller than singletons earlier than expected

Firings at federal health agencies decimate offices that release public records

NIH trial demonstrates AI's effectiveness in opioid use disorder care

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American health gets a pink slip

What’s lost: Trump whacks tiny agency that works to make the nation’s health care safer

Trump’s DEI undoing undermines hard-won accommodations for disabled people

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