Listen to the Latest '��ýҕ�l Health News Minute'

December 9, 2025

Dec. 4

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Immigration enforcement personnel are showing up in hospitals, and road-safety advocates worry regulations aren’t keeping up with the popularity of e-bikes.

Nov. 27

Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: The Trump administration is making it easier for health care companies to merge, which can push patients’ bills up, and air pollution from fuel exhaust and wildfire smoke can contribute to cognitive decline.

Nov. 20

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Some American cities such as L.A. and Houston have more traffic fatalities than homicides, and though most children and adults would benefit from annual covid shots, few are getting them.

Nov. 13

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: You have until Jan. 15 to pick an Affordable Care Act health plan for next year, and the Trump administration is taking aim at state laws that protect consumers’ credit scores from medical debt.

Nov. 6

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: What to do when your health insurer stops covering your medical provider, and the Republican budget law will make it harder for some people to pay for medical school.

Oct. 30

Arielle Zionts reads the week’s news: Though 13 states cover GLP-1s such as Wegovy for weight loss for people on Medicaid, many eligible people are missing out, and advance planning can help seniors aging alone maintain more control over their final days.

Oct. 23

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: More men are developing osteoporosis, but insurance often won’t pay to screen them, and the Trump administration’s cuts to a digital equity program are setting back efforts to help some rural communities access telehealth.

Oct. 16

Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: Most states allow medical providers to force employers to send them part of a patient’s paycheck to cover unpaid medical bills, and the Trump administration’s cuts to federal funding are making flood-prone hospitals more vulnerable.

Oct. 9

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Some cosmetic surgeons who have been sued multiple times for injuring patients have been able to get jobs with other clinics, and millions of people could dodge new Medicaid work rules where unemployment rates are high.

Oct. 2

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Hospital charity care programs can still leave patients who qualify with big bills, and the Trump administration is rolling out a pilot program to use AI to deny care for Medicare patients in six states.

Sept. 25

Arielle Zionts reads this week’s news: Asking AI tools to interpret your lab results can have downsides, and more Americans are choosing environmentally friendly “green burials.”

Sept. 18

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Some independent rural hospitals are joining forces to try to survive, and public health guidance on head lice at school clashes with parents’ preferences.

Sept. 11

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: Federal cuts to food assistance could make it harder for families to stay healthy, and some health insurers are planning to reduce coverage of popular but expensive weight loss drugs.

Sept. 4

Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: New research shows that regular, moderate use of devices like computers and smartphones can be good for the cognitive health of older people, and human resources departments can help employees get health insurance companies to pay for covered care.

Aug. 28

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Emergency rooms with no doctor on staff are becoming more common in rural areas, and higher costs for Affordable Care Act plans could hit early retirees and small-business owners hard next year.

Aug. 21

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Some doctors are changing how they talk to patients about immunizations because of changes to federal vaccine policy, and 26 is the age with the highest uninsured rate.

Aug. 14

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: Many states are making doulas more accessible, and opioid settlement money may get used to fill budget holes from federal funding cuts to Medicaid.

Aug. 7

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: New Trump administration policies could limit patient access to qualified medical interpreters, and physicians often miss the signs of iron deficiency in older adults.

July 31

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: The Republican megabill President Donald Trump signed July 4 could lead rural health facilities to close, and previously rare mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue are on the rise in the U.S.

July 24

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Affordable Care Act health plans will likely be more expensive next year, and work requirements for Medicaid recipients can be expensive and hard to navigate for enrollees.

July 17

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is threatening nursing home staff, and the country’s largest health insurers say they’ll simplify the process they use to decide whether to pay for doctor-ordered care.

July 10

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Federal funding cuts have left some of the nation’s most popular beaches without lifeguards this summer, and new research shows vaccines are good at keeping older adults out of the hospital.

July 3

Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: The Trump administration is cutting some programs intended to prevent gun violence, and seniors who don’t sign up for Medicare at age 65 can be on the hook for medical bills, even if they still have health insurance through work.

June 26

Jackie Fortiér reads the week’s news: Gatherings called “memory cafés” can help both people with dementia and their caregivers reduce depression and isolation, and the looming end of some Affordable Care Act subsidies will make ACA plans much more expensive.

June 19

Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Cannabis use could be riskier for older adults, and research shows covid vaccines in pregnancy can protect pregnant women as well as newborns.

June 12

Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Inadequate communications infrastructure is harming the health of rural Americans, and ministroke symptoms may look mild but need medical treatment.

June 5

Katheryn Houghton reads the week’s news: More than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2021, and the federal government failed to warn the public about a major E. coli outbreak.

May 29

Jackie Fortier reads the week’s news: New programs teach Black kids to swim competitively and help their parents learn too, and people in prison are often denied basic health care at the end of their lives.

May 22

Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: Federal funding cuts are gutting HIV prevention programs, and financial pressures are leading to the closure of clinics that provide abortion care even in states where it’s legal.

May 15

Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Using “elderspeak” with seniors can be harmful, and independent pharmacists worry tariffs could force them to close.

May 8

Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: CPR and defibrillator training can give people the skills to help others survive cardiac arrest, and doctors are using telehealth to help thousands of patients each month access abortion care in states where it’s banned.

May 1

Katheryn Houghton delivers the week’s news: A new survey finds that more Americans are hearing false claims about measles and the vaccine that prevents it, and changes to federal health funding have advocates worried the White House is deprioritizing fighting addiction.

April 24

Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: Concierge medicine could worsen the physician shortage in rural areas, and the Trump administration has canceled medical research grants that it says aren’t in line with its priorities.

April 17

Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Families that rely on home health aides could pay the price for the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies, and some local health departments are canceling scheduled services because the federal government is trying to take back health grants.

April 10

Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: The Trump administration is rolling back accommodations for people with disabilities, and a charity is about to wipe out $30 billion of medical debt, but that won’t stop Americans from accruing more.

April 3

Katheryn Houghton reads this week’s news: The Trump administration may stop using a “Housing First” approach to ending homelessness, and Medicaid rules can force people with disabilities not to work in order to keep services they need.

March 27

Zach Dyer delivers this week’s news: Federal regulators want to collect more data to figure out why some CT scans deliver much more radiation than others, and opposition to mRNA vaccines could end promising efforts to cure diseases including pancreatic cancer.

March 20

Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: Recent firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could make it harder to control infectious disease outbreaks, and hoarding disorder can be especially dangerous for older people.

March 13

Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Trump voters may favor government regulation to cut health care costs, and health workers are being trained on the law to deal with possible raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in health care settings.

March 6

Zach Dyer reads this week’s news: The current bird flu outbreak is gaining momentum despite mass culling of infected poultry, and the Trump administration is embracing the conservative policy playbook known as Project 2025.

Feb. 27

Katheryn Houghton reads this week’s news: Republicans in Congress are considering cuts to Medicaid, and the dietary supplement industry is hoping to cash in on RFK Jr.’s new role as head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Feb. 20

Jackie Fortiér reads this week’s news: Some states are turning to laundromats to reach people who could qualify for programs including Medicaid and food assistance, and cross-border telehealth is helping Spanish-speaking farmworkers get care.

Feb. 13

Sam Whitehead reads this week’s news: Hospital systems are looking for ways to help people in the U.S. without legal status get care, and some schools say staffing shortages make it hard to meet the needs of students with diabetes who use continuous glucose monitors.

Feb. 6

Katheryn Houghton delivers this week’s news: Pediatricians believe a decline in childhood vaccination rates could drive a return of deadly vaccine-preventable diseases, and addiction experts say legalizing sports betting has downsides for health.

Jan. 30

Renu Rayasam delivers this week’s news: There are still no proven therapies for long covid despite more than $1 billion in federal funding, and some hospitals are assigning dogs to work alongside medical staff in hospitals to help them cope with burnout and stress.

Jan. 23

This week on the ��ýҕ�l Health News Minute: Stable housing is scarce for a rapidly increasing number of homeless seniors, and insurers sometimes deny coverage for prosthetic limbs by deeming them experimental or not medically necessary.

Jan. 16

This week on the ��ýҕ�l Health News Minute: AI tools in medicine might not save money, and credit agencies can no longer include medical debt on credit reports.

Jan. 9

This week on the ��ýҕ�l Health News Minute: Small interventions at the doctor’s office, such as removing a splinter, can be billed as surgeries, and billing problems with the Indian Health Service are leaving Native American communities with significantly higher medical debt than the national average.

Jan. 2

This week on the ��ýҕ�l Health News Minute: Hyperthermia deaths are rising, and millions of people could lose Medicaid if the incoming Republican-controlled Congress follows through on proposed cuts to federal funding.