KFF Health News

RFK Jr. Says He Helped Rescue Beagles; Orders Cruise Passenger To Stay Quarantined   Here’s what happened in healthcare this week: ➡️ RFK Jr. says he helped secure the transfer of the final 475 beagles out of a Wisconsin facility where they were bred for use in medical research. ➡️ RFK Jr. has ordered one of the cruise passengers exposed to hantavirus to stay in quarantine against her wishes and a CDC recommendation. ➡️ Infant mortality in the U-S fell to an all-time low in 2025 according to preliminary CDC data. Want more of the top healthcare and health policy issues each week? KFF Health News will be back with a weekly recap of the news you need to know about. 

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. https://lnkd.in/gQQc9J4A

New rules that require millions of Americans to work to access Medicaid are stricter than many expected. Plus, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act protects many people’s jobs — but there’s a big catch. The “KFF Health News Minute” brings original healthcare and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week. https://lnkd.in/gC-tg2zh

An estimated hundreds of thousands of children, many of them U.S. citizens, have been separated from a parent in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Their distress manifests in physical and mental health symptoms including developmental regression, stomachaches, sleep problems, and falling grades. Research points to long-term health consequences. https://lnkd.in/gqwkBiCU

Squeezed between their young children and aging parents, the sandwich generation is juggling a lot. KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discusses embracing her identity as a caregiver and which resources are available to Washington, D.C., residents caring for family members. https://lnkd.in/gHqXYKBZ

More Americans are getting — and surviving — cancer, with about 18 million survivors in the U.S. in 2025. But long after completing treatment, many face mental health challenges that go unaddressed. Two years after Morgan Newman was diagnosed with cancer, her scans were coming back clear. But the mental health effects lingered for years. The question kept circling: “What if the cancer is back?” https://lnkd.in/g-JGcAyA

Congressional Democrats are seeking to overturn a Trump administration rule they say will hamper Obamacare coverage. Whether they win or lose any floor vote, they’ll likely use it in campaign messaging ahead of the midterms. https://lnkd.in/gNAGmqGi

Tennessee pharmacies are making concentrated ivermectin pills available without requiring a doctor visit. Some claim ivermectin can treat covid, diabetes, and even cancer, though there’s no evidence it’s effective for those purposes. https://lnkd.in/gz3rupF4

More than half of people in their 40s are taking care of kids and have parents above retirement age. With early-onset cancer on the rise, prevention know-how is critical. We’re talking to you, sandwich generation. https://lnkd.in/dyH6isjf

Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, framed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program as “bold, creative plans” led by states. But as states have started to roll out their plans, federal officials control where and how the money is spent. “It was not our decision,” a Maine official said after the federal government nixed use of Rural Health Transformation Program funding for uninsured patients. https://lnkd.in/dH4ZuR32