Children's Health Archives - Page 4 of 42 - ��ýҕ�l Health News

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

Culture Wars Take Center Stage

Episode 429

Jan. 15, 2026

With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.

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A photo of Martha Santana-Chin smiling in front of a wall painted blue. The wall appears decorated for Thanksgiving: a string of pennants spells out "Give Thanks." Images of employees' heads are superimposed on turkeys.

GOP Cuts Will Cripple Medicaid Enrollment, Warns CEO of Largest Public Health Plan

Martha Santana-Chin, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, last year took the helm of L.A. Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan. She warns that looming federal cuts will push up to 650,000 people off L.A. Care’s Medicaid rolls by the end of 2028.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

Jan. 15, 2026

The Week in Brief

Vaccines Jettisoned by CDC Safeguarded Millions From Disease

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

By Arthur Allen and Jackie Fortiér

Jan. 9, 2026

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

New Year, Same Health Fight

Episode 428

Jan. 8, 2026

Congress returned from its break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy, the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.

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A woman holds a young child, who is wearing a tie-dye shirt and a bandage, on her hip

The CDC Just Sidelined These Childhood Vaccines. Here’s What They Prevent.

The CDC is recommending fewer childhood vaccines, although the ones it has jettisoned from the recommended schedule have successfully battled serious illness for years. Experts warn that if vaccine uptake falls, millions could be hospitalized — or worse — as a result of preventable diseases.

By Arthur Allen and Jackie Fortiér

Jan. 6, 2026

A mother holds her 3-year-old daughter in her arms on their porch. The daughter is wearing a big smile.

It’s the ‘Gold Standard’ in Autism Care. Why Are States Reining It In?

States facing yawning budget shortfalls have begun cutting Medicaid reimbursements for a wide variety of services. In some states, dramatic cuts are targeting therapies that many families of autistic people say are essential to caring for their loved ones.

By Bram Sable-Smith and Andrew Jones

Dec. 23, 2025

A building seen through the glass of a wind shield next to an outdoor bench. An etching in the glass reads "FDA" and the sign above the entrance to the building in the distance reads "Food and Drug Administration."

Inside the FDA’s Vaccine Uproar

An internal email claiming covid vaccines killed children triggered a formal response from a dozen past FDA commissioners. The email, sent by the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, outlines a framework that could have significant impact on the nation’s vaccine policies.

By Céline Gounder

Dec. 19, 2025

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

Time’s Up for Expanded ACA Tax Credits

Episode 427

Dec. 18, 2025

A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January. That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy Lawrence of Stat join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tony Leys, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, and the panel discusses the year’s biggest developments in health policy.

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Letters to the Editor

Readers Make Their Wish Lists, Checking Up on Health Care

��ýҕ�l Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Dec. 16, 2025

A photo of the CDC's ACIP panel in a room. A television broadcast camera is seen recording the meeting in the center of the frame.

Vaccine Panel’s Hepatitis B Vote Signals Further Turbulence for Immunization Policy, Public Trust

Clinicians and epidemiologists warn the decision to no longer recommend the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine could unravel decades of progress and expose newborns to a deadly, preventable disease.

By Céline Gounder

Dec. 12, 2025

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

Crunch Time for ACA Tax Credits

Episode 426

Dec. 11, 2025

Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin Jan. 1, and Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire and increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown professor Linda Blumberg about the GOP’s health plans.

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A photo of the ACIP hearing from the press section. Reporters type on laptops in the foreground. In front of them is a large TV screen showing Robert Malone speaking. The full panel is seen behind the screen.

In RFK Jr.’s Upside-Down World of Vaccines, Panel Votes To End Hepatitis B Shot at Birth

A session of a vaccine panel dominated by skeptics was chaotically at odds with past practices of the CDC, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described as a “cesspool of corruption.” His crew voted to end a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B.

By Arthur Allen

Dec. 5, 2025

An exterior photograph of an emergency entrance at a hospital at daybreak.

While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains

Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.

By Amy Maxmen

Dec. 5, 2025

Under Kennedy, America’s Health Department Is in the Business of Promoting Kennedy

Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services increasingly uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda. Interviews with over 20 former and current employees provide a look inside an agency where personality and politics steer communications with the public.

By Darius Tahir

Dec. 4, 2025

Newborn babies sleep in their cradles in a hospital nursery.

Trump Wants Americans To Make More Babies. Critics Say His Policies Won’t Help Raise Them.

The administration’s embrace of the pronatalist movement often doesn’t include support for programs traditionally associated with the health and well-being of women, children, and families.

By Stephanie Armour and Amanda Seitz

Dec. 3, 2025

A photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing.

RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.

A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.

By Jackie Fortiér

Dec. 2, 2025

A photo of a woman holding her toddler outside.

Bill of the Month

Not Serious Enough To Turn on the Siren, Toddler’s 39-Mile Ambulance Ride Still Cost Over $9,000

After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children’s hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.

By Tony Leys

Nov. 25, 2025

A photo of a young boy receiving a vaccine in his arm.

Kennedy Sharpens Vaccine Attacks, Without Scientific Backing

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that the aluminum ingredients in vaccines cause a variety of harmful reactions, from allergies to autism. Scientists say that’s wrong and warn of risks if they’re removed. Here are some of the basics.

By Céline Gounder

Nov. 24, 2025