��ýҕ�l

All Coverage

What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

HHS Gets Funding, But How Will Trump Spend It?

Episode 432

Feb. 5, 2026

Congress has passed — and President Trump has signed — the annual spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services. But it’s unclear whether the administration will spend the money as Congress directed. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss that story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Renuka Rayasam about a new reporting project, “Priced Out.”
Listen Now
Newsom Walks Thin Line on Immigrant Health as He Eyes Presidential Bid

Progressives are assailing Gov. Gavin Newsom for proposing to pull back coverage for some legal residents, such as refugees and asylum-seekers, while conservatives lambaste the California Democrat for using limited state funds on Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status.

By Christine Mai-Duc

Feb. 5, 2026
Poison at Play: Unsafe Levels of Lead Found in Half of New Orleans Playgrounds

Verite News’ reporters tested soil in more than 80 playgrounds for lead contamination. Even in trace amounts, lead exposure in children can result in lower IQs, learning challenges, and behavioral issues.

By Tristan Baurick, Verite News and Halle Parker, Verite News

Feb. 5, 2026
Listen: Many Tents Are Gone, but Washington’s Homeless — And Their Health Problems — Aren’t

Sweeps of encampments scatter homeless people, as medications are tossed and street medicine providers scramble to reconnect with their patients. ��ýҕ�l Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart discusses the aftermath on the Jan. 28 edition of WAMU’s “Health Hub.”

By Angela Hart

Feb. 4, 2026
The New Old Age

When the Doctor Needs a Checkup

The physician workforce is aging fast, and some hospitals now require that older clinicians undergo testing for cognitive decline. Many have resisted.

By Paula Span

Feb. 4, 2026
HealthQ

If You’re Pregnant and Uninsured, Medicaid Might Be Your Answer

Prenatal care can make a huge difference to the long-term health of both the parent and baby. Every state offers health coverage to lower-income pregnant women who might otherwise go uninsured.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio, Cara Anthony, and Emily Siner, Nashville Public Radio

Feb. 3, 2026
NIH Grant Disruptions Slow Down Breast Cancer Research

The Trump administration has made the future of federal funding for cancer research uncertain. At one groundbreaking breast cancer research lab, work that could save lives has slowed significantly.

By Martha Bebinger, WBUR

Feb. 3, 2026
Priced Out

When Health Insurance Costs More Than the Mortgage

As health care costs skyrocket and federal lawmakers pull back help on insurance premiums, more middle-income families are facing tough choices on health care.

By Renuka Rayasam

Feb. 2, 2026
Priced Out

It’s 2026 and You’re Uninsured. Now What?

Many Americans are expected to lose ACA or Medicaid coverage in coming months and years as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of enhanced pandemic-era subsidies that helped people afford Obamacare plans. Doctors and researchers say there are still ways to find affordable care.

By Renuka Rayasam

Feb. 2, 2026
Your Next Primary Care Doctor Could Be Online Only, Accessed Through an AI Tool

The largest hospital chain in Massachusetts is offering a new AI-assisted telehealth tool to patients who need primary care. Mass General Brigham says this and other AI tools can help relieve staff burnout and worker shortages, but some primary care physicians in the MGB system see it as a way to avoid fixing structural problems.

By Martha Bebinger, WBUR

Feb. 2, 2026
The Week in Brief

Trump’s Covid Views Don’t Track With Reality That Recent Studies Suggest

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Stephanie Armour

Jan. 30, 2026
‘I Can’t Tell You’: Attorneys, Relatives Struggle To Find Hospitalized ICE Detainees

Some hospitals are registering patients detained by federal immigration officers under pseudonyms and prohibiting staff from contacting family members. Attorneys and health care workers say the practices facilitate rights violations and create ethical concerns. Hospitals say they’re trying to protect patients.

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Jan. 30, 2026
Bill of the Month

Blurry Line Between Medical and Vision Insurance Leaves Patient With Unexpected Bill

A Wisconsin retiree with glaucoma needed her eyes examined. Her Medicare Advantage plan from UnitedHealthcare listed her optometrist’s clinic as in-network, but she learned the hard way that a clinic can be in-network and out-of-network at the same time.

By Tony Leys

Jan. 30, 2026
What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

The Hazards of ICE for Public Health

Episode 431

Jan. 29, 2026

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is not just roiling politics but also directly affecting the provision of health care, medical groups say. Meanwhile, in Washington, federal spending bills have been stalled by the fight over immigration enforcement funding after the shooting death of a second person in Minneapolis this month. Maya Goldman of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Listen Now
This Teen Never Got His Day in Vaccine Court. His Former Lawyer Now Advises RFK on Its Overhaul.

The federal government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was supposed to help patients with their medical bills while protecting vaccine supply. But allies of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are routinely transferring cases from that program to launch lawsuits against drugmakers.

By Maia Rosenfeld

Jan. 29, 2026
Medicare Advantage Insurers Face New Curbs on Overcharges in Trump Plan That Reins in Payments

Proposed Trump administration changes to federal Medicare Advantage payments would stop health insurers from mining patient data for extra medical diagnoses that generate more bills to taxpayers even without treatment.

By Fred Schulte

Jan. 29, 2026
When Suicidal Calls Come In, Who Answers? Georgia Crisis Line Response Rates Reveal Gaps

In Georgia, a high number of callers to the 988 crisis line hang up or disconnect before reaching a counselor. Many other calls are transferred out of state.

By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine, Healthbeat

Jan. 28, 2026
Trump Policies at Odds With Emerging Understanding of Covid’s Long-Term Harm

Studies increasingly offer insights into the health risks and burdens faced by people who have had covid infections. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has narrowed covid vaccine recommendations and cut research.

By Stephanie Armour

Jan. 27, 2026
Doctors Increasingly See AI Scribes in a Positive Light. But Hiccups Persist.

Patients say they find AI summaries of doctor visits user-friendly, but it’s not clear if their appointments are improving. In any case, doctors appear to be embracing the high-tech innovation.

By Michelle Andrews

Jan. 27, 2026
Watch: A Strange Checkup Bill Revealed a Firefighter’s Kids Were Mistakenly Uninsured

This installment of InvestigateTV and ��ýҕ�l Health News’ “Costly Care” series explores how administrative errors can leave patients on the hook for bills they shouldn’t owe — sometimes with few options to correct a problem they didn’t create.

By Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV

Jan. 27, 2026

Morning Briefing

Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 • 9:00 a.m. ET

Read all news summaries

Noticias en español

Incertidumbre política y recortes amenazan entrega de comidas de Medicaid que ayudan con la salud y el presupuesto

By Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, WBUR

Sept. 22, 2026
Tres medicamentos comunes que adultos mayores podrían estar usando en exceso

By Paula Span

Sept. 21, 2026
California estudia medidas de protección contra el calor en las cárceles. Pero no alcanzan estándares de espacios laborales

By Erin Rode, Capital & Main

Sept. 20, 2026
Sobreviviente de cáncer esperaba trabajar, pero le sacaron su cobertura de Medicaid por discapacidad

By Katheryn Houghton

Sept. 15, 2026
Una generación de niños sufre mientras Trump desestabiliza a familias inmigrantes

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Sept. 14, 2026