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Louisiana took months to sound alarm after two babies died in whooping cough outbreak

When there's an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, state health officials typically take certain steps to alert residents and issue public updates about the growing threat.

4 Nov 2025

Trump’s HHS orders state Medicaid programs to help find undocumented immigrants

The Trump administration has ordered states to investigate certain individuals enrolled in Medicaid to determine whether they are ineligible because of their immigration status, with five states reporting they've together received more than 170,000 names — an “unprecedented” step by the federal government that ensnares the state-federal health program in the president's immigration crackdown.

3 Nov 2025

The nation’s largest food aid program is about to see cuts. Here’s what you should know.

The Trump administration's overhaul of the nation's largest food assistance program will cause millions of people to lose benefits, strain state budgets, and pressure the nation's food supply chain, all while likely hindering the goals of the administration's "Make America Healthy Again" platform, according to researchers and former federal officials.

31 Oct 2025

At the hollow in Florida, the ‘medical freedom’ movement finds its base camp

MAGA and MAHA are happily married in Florida, and nowhere more at home than in Sarasota County, where on a humid October night a crowd of several hundred gathered to honor state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, his wife, and an unlicensed Canadian radiologist who treats cancer with horse paste.

31 Oct 2025

Refugees will be among the first to lose food stamps under federal changes

After fleeing the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Antoinette landed in the Atlanta area last November and began to find her footing with federal help.

30 Oct 2025

A ticking clock: How states are preparing for a last-minute Obamacare deal

One family in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just found out their health plan's deductible will jump from $800 to $20,000 next year.

28 Oct 2025

Updated COVID-19 vaccines continue to offer strong protection, research shows

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are still providing effective protection against infection, emergency department visits, hospitalization and death, according to new research published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

27 Oct 2025

Study highlights need to establish clinical practice guidelines for surgical patients receiving MOUDs

In an effort to stem the death toll from opioid overdose, United States public health officials have promoted the prescription and use of medications like buprenorphine that blunt the effects of illicit opioids such as fentanyl.

27 Oct 2025

Doctors muffled as Florida moves to end decades of childhood vaccination mandates

Florida plans to end nearly a half-century of required childhood immunizations against diseases that have killed and maimed millions of children. Many critics of the decision, including doctors, are afraid to speak up against it.

27 Oct 2025

GOP talking point holds ACA is haunted by ‘phantom’ enrollees, but the devil’s in the data

The idea that Affordable Care Act marketplaces are riddled with fraud has become a major talking point among Republicans, as lawmakers in Congress argue about whether to extend the enhanced tax credits that are helping offset the cost of health care marketplace coverage for low- and middle-income people.

24 Oct 2025

Loneliness interventions can be effective but do not yet offer a complete solution

Interventions designed to reduce loneliness can be effective, but do not yet offer a complete solution to what is becoming a worldwide public health problem, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

23 Oct 2025

Officials show little proof that new tech will help Medicaid enrollees meet work rules

This summer, the state of Louisiana texted just over 13,000 people enrolled in its Medicaid program with a link to a website where they could confirm their incomes.

23 Oct 2025

Despite the hoopla, vaccines should be in reach this cough-and-cold season

For people whose autumn agenda includes getting vaccinated against respiratory diseases — covid, flu, and, for some, RSV — this year may be surprisingly routine.

22 Oct 2025

Food allergy diagnoses plummet after guideline implementation

Peanuts represent one of the most common causes of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated, or anaphylactic, food allergies in children, yet a landmark study found that early introduction of peanut to infants may lower their risk of developing this allergy.

21 Oct 2025

Private Medicare, Medicaid plans exaggerate in-network mental health options, watchdogs say

Companies running private Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans inaccurately list many mental health professionals as being available to treat the plans' members, a new federal watchdog report says.

20 Oct 2025

After chiding democrats on transgender politics, Newsom vetoes a key health measure

California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a suite of privacy protection bills for transgender patients amid continuing threats by the Trump administration.

17 Oct 2025

States jostle over $50B rural health fund as Trump’s Medicaid cuts trigger scramble

Nationwide, states are racing to win their share of a new $50 billion rural health fund. But helping rural hospitals, as originally envisioned, is quickly becoming a quaint idea.

17 Oct 2025

RFK Jr. misses mark in touting rural health transformation fund as historic infusion of cash

At a September Senate hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. boasted about a rural health initiative within President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

15 Oct 2025

In Mississippi, Medicaid coverage of weight loss drugs fails to catch on

April Hines has battled with her weight since she was a teenager. But in the past couple of years, she's fallen from 600 pounds to 385, and her blood pressure and blood sugar levels are down, too. "I'm not as fatigued as I used to be, and I've been able to go back to church," she said.

15 Oct 2025

Evaluating the link between sound quality, speech recognition and cochlear implant-related quality of life outcomes

More than a million people around the world rely on cochlear implants (CIs) to hear. CI effectiveness is generally evaluated through speech recognition tests, and despite how widespread they are, CI sound quality is typically not considered an indicator of users' quality of life.

14 Oct 2025

Health and Human Services News and Research

Louisiana took months to sound alarm after two babies died in whooping cough outbreak

Trump’s HHS orders state Medicaid programs to help find undocumented immigrants

The nation’s largest food aid program is about to see cuts. Here’s what you should know.

At the hollow in Florida, the ‘medical freedom’ movement finds its base camp

Refugees will be among the first to lose food stamps under federal changes

A ticking clock: How states are preparing for a last-minute Obamacare deal

Updated COVID-19 vaccines continue to offer strong protection, research shows

Study highlights need to establish clinical practice guidelines for surgical patients receiving MOUDs

Doctors muffled as Florida moves to end decades of childhood vaccination mandates

GOP talking point holds ACA is haunted by ‘phantom’ enrollees, but the devil’s in the data

Loneliness interventions can be effective but do not yet offer a complete solution

Officials show little proof that new tech will help Medicaid enrollees meet work rules

Despite the hoopla, vaccines should be in reach this cough-and-cold season

Food allergy diagnoses plummet after guideline implementation

Private Medicare, Medicaid plans exaggerate in-network mental health options, watchdogs say

After chiding democrats on transgender politics, Newsom vetoes a key health measure

States jostle over $50B rural health fund as Trump’s Medicaid cuts trigger scramble

RFK Jr. misses mark in touting rural health transformation fund as historic infusion of cash

In Mississippi, Medicaid coverage of weight loss drugs fails to catch on

Evaluating the link between sound quality, speech recognition and cochlear implant-related quality of life outcomes

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