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The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nationās largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
People on Medicaid deemed āmedically frailā wonāt need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.
When a measles outbreak emerged in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in October, health officials announced that most cases were tied to one public charter school, where only 17% of the 605 students enrolled during the 2024-25 academic year provided documentation showing they had received their required vaccinations.
Average premium payments in the federal governmentās insurance program for its employees are set to jump more than 12% next year, on top of a 13.5% hike in 2025. The two-year increase is higher than many private employers and their workers are experiencing.
Under Trump policies, cancer registries in 2026 will have to classify sex data strictly as male, female, or unknown, a change scientists and advocates say will harm the health of one of the nationās most marginalized populations.
Eric Tennantās doctors recommended histotripsy, which would target, and potentially destroy, a cancerous tumor in his liver. But by the time his insurer approved the treatment, Tennant was no longer considered a good candidate. He died in September.
New details from health officials suggest the whooping-cough surge may be part of a national pattern driven by slipping vaccine coverage and waning immunity, with infants bearing the brunt of the consequences.
Fueled by covid backlash, a libertarian author created the Brownstone Institute in 2021. In recent months, people with ties to the group have catapulted to the highest levels of U.S. government, exercising significant authority over access to vaccines and scientific research.
As extreme weather wreaks havoc, the risk of dangerous mold looms. An estimated 47% of homes already have mold or dampness, leaving their residents exposed to mold spores and associated allergens that can cause respiratory problems.
About 1 in 4 American adults got a covid vaccine shot during the 2024-25 virus season, a fraction health care experts warn could be smaller this year as millions wrestle with conflicting advice from the government and trusted medical organizations about the value of a shot.
Immigrant victims of domestic violence have long encountered hurdles when seeking help from police and courts. The Trump administrationās immigration crackdown has made victims without legal status even more afraid to report abuse, advocacy groups say.
Good news for health care access this year includes new state laws to rein in prior authorization and medical debt collectors.
Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.
States from California to Texas say they rely on tens of millions in federal funding to help them prepare for the next pandemic, cyberattack, or mass-casualty catastrophe. The Trump administration wants to cut it.
Small-business owners and their employees, who make up nearly half of the Obamacare marketplace, are worried about their health care and their livelihoods as insurance prices surge. Republicans, who have long opposed Obamacare, are at odds over how to respond to upset from one of their partyās most loyal constituencies.
Clinicians and researchers are starting to embrace an effort to develop whatās known as āshame competenceā in physicians to combat burnout and prevent that uncomfortable emotion from being passed along to patients.
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