Rebecca Adams

The FDA’s Big Shift The FDA's approach to collaborating with the public is shifting, as is its approach to how it handles reviews of new products in some cases. The changes are happening at the same time as a massive exo...

The FDA is experimenting with far shorter drug reviews on one hand, and discussing a much higher-than-usual bar for #vaccines on the other. Meanwhile, the agency has lost a significant amount of staffers with decades of expertise in the past year. Read my article here: wapo.st/4qlXJiD

Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed

Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed. Read this @kffhealthnews.org story here -- www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/h...

At least three people died after a flash flood struck a mountain village in New Mexico on Tuesday, according to officials. The emergency comes days after deadly floods in neighboring Texas left more than 100 people dead.

Watch the full video: 🎥 https://on.wsj.com/44LlTtw

RFK Jr. sent Congress 'medical disinformation' to defend COVID vaccine schedule change A document circulated to members of Congress misinterprets studies and cites debunked research, scientists say. It could influence congressional perceptions of vaccine safety.

In the middle of this wild week of other news, the amazing Jackie Fortiér and I were running down this story that published today on @npr.org and @kffhealthnews.org

Here's what happened, and why I think it's worth paying attention even with all of....this....going on 👇

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode! - KFF Health News The House’s gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or ...

Thanks to our loyal #WTHealth podcast listeners for sticking with us for 400 episodes! More to come from the smartest health reporters in Washington. :)
kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

lovely

They served the nation. Now, these veterans say they’re protesting to save it. Today in D.C., thousands of veterans are rallying against Trump’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs and his slashing of staff throughout the government.

Today in D.C., thousands of veterans are rallying against President Trump’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs and his slashing of staff throughout the government.

“I didn’t think I’d be doing this at my age, but I can’t stand by,” said Reed Radcliffe, 68, who spent two decades in the Navy.

DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts We obtained records showing how a Department of Government Efficiency staffer with no medical experience used artificial intelligence to identify which VA contracts to kill. “AI is absolutely the wron...

Read this @propublica.org story on how VA contracts were ID'd for cancellation. The DOGE programmer knew little abt veterans’ care & admits errors: "It's like that Office episode where Steve Carell drives into the lake because Google Maps says drive into the lake." www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Feds chop enforcement staff and halt rules meant to curb black lung in coal miners | CNN In early April, President Donald Trump gathered dozens of hard-hat-clad coal miners around him in the White House East Room. He joked about arm-wrestling them and announced he was signing executive or...

Read this @kffhealthnews.org story here about federal actions impacting black lung disease that coal miners suffer from. www.cnn.com/2025/05/26/h...

Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House - KFF Health News The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is e...

worth the wait - this week's #WTHealth podcast! With @alicemiranda.bsky.social, @annaedney.bsky.social, and @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social, plus @maryrziegler.bsky.social on her new personhood book!
kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

Local food banks have lost 1.4 million meals to Trump’s cuts As local food banks struggle to meet demand, the Trump administration has cut USDA funding meant to provide meals for those in need.

Just in the DC-Md-Va area, food banks have lost the funding for at least 1.4 million meals so far because of Pres. Trump's cuts. More info here in this story: www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Trump's big bill advances in rare weekend vote as conservative holdouts secure changes Republicans advanced their massive tax cut and border security package out of a key House committee during a rare Sunday night vote.

BREAKING: Trump's big bill advances out of committee in rare weekend vote as conservative holdouts let legislation move forward.

At Social Security, these are the days of the living dead In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.

"At Social Security, these are the days of the living dead"

Via @kffhealthnews.org for @cbsnews.com

www.cbsnews.com/news/social-...

In space, Venus flanks Earth on the left, with a hellfire greenhouse effect. Mars on the right, which long ago had running water. Today, it's bone dry. Something bad happened on each planet.

Seems like the wrong time to limit the Nation’s capacity to conduct climate research.

A DOGE Aide Involved in Dismantling Consumer Bureau Owns Stock in Companies That Could Benefit From the Cuts Gavin Kliger helped oversee mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while holding stock in companies that experts say likely stand to benefit from dismantling that agency — a potentia...

interesting article here: www.propublica.org/article/doge...

Republicans are twice as likely (1 in 5) as Democrats (1 in 10) to believe the measles shot is worse than the disease. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

I'm surprised that the number is that high for both parties.
Ace graphic on the risks from both by @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social

NIH funding cuts affect both red and blue states. The story below has details. (News organizations can republish this story and other @kffhealthnews.org stories for free under these guidelines: kffhealthnews.org/syndication)

Check out the story linked below

Measles misinformation is on the rise — and Americans are hearing it, survey finds Claims about the link between measles vaccines and autism, and about treatments for measles, appear to be more widely heard, according to a KFF survey released Wednesday.

Measles misinformation is on the rise — and Americans are hearing it, survey finds. Read the @arthurallen202.bsky.social story here - www.statnews.com/2025/04/23/m... via @statnews.com

Something has happened in the last three months that has led basically every economic forecaster to predict that inflation will be substantially higher than they previously thought.

Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard over campus activism The federal government says it is freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts to Harvard University.

BREAKING: Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard after the university defies its demands over campus protests.

This vaccine may protect against dementia, as well as a painful herpes zoster flare-up It’s been shown that reactivation of the chickenpox virus can lead to the accumulation of aberrant proteins associated with Alzheimer’s.

Getting vaccinated against shingles not only lowers the risk of infection, but may also offer some protection against dementia, a new study suggests.

Trump Says He’ll Stop Health Care Fraudsters. Last Time, He Let Them Walk. - KFF Health News In his first term, President Donald Trump granted pardons or clemency to more than 60 convicted fraudsters, including health care executives who defrauded Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dolla...

In his first term, President Trump granted pardons or clemency to more than 60 convicted fraudsters. Now, Trump says cracking down on fraud is a priority.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

What’s Lost: Trump Whacks Tiny Agency That Works To Make the Nation's Health Care Safer - KFF Health News The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality helped improve health care safety in a country where thousands die of medical errors each year. It was effectively dissolved Tuesday.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality helped improve health care safety in a country where thousands die of medical errors each year. It was effectively dissolved Tuesday.

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

American Health Gets a Pink Slip - KFF Health News The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and P...

On this week's #WTHealth podcast: All about the HHS cuts. With @laurenweberhp.bsky.social, @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social, and @rachelcohrs.bsky.social. Plus Julie Appleby with the latest @kffhealthnews.org "Bill of the Month."
kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast...

We talked with @julierovner.bsky.social of @kffhealthnews.org to unpack the sweeping cuts and reorganization at HHS.

Her take: "I really do feel like the purpose here is not to make things better. It’s to break it."

Listen to the full conversation: tradeoffs.org/2025/04/03/m...

Public Inspection: Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, etc. Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, etc.

Final rule is out - CMS chooses not to finalize the Medicare/Medicaid coverage of anti-obesity medications proposal from the NPRM. www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe.... I had written about that part of the proposed rule for Health Affairs here www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore....

NEWS: A federal judge has ordered the return of a Salvadoran man who the Trump administration admits was erroneously deported to his home country despite a court order saying he had credible fear of persecution.

This sets up a potential clash w the White House.

www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

Dow plunges 2,000 as sell-off for markets slams into a scarier gear following Trump's tariffs The worldwide sell-off for financial markets is slamming into an even higher, scarier gear. The S&P 500 tumbled 5.7% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2,054 points and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.5%.

BREAKING: Dow drops 2,000 as the U.S. market plunge deepens after China retaliates against President Trump's tariffs.

What’s lost: Trump whacks tiny agency that works to make the nation’s health care safer | CNN On April 1, the Trump administration slashed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, and fired roughly half of its remaining employees as part of a perplexing reorganization of the fe...

Sue Sheridan’s baby, Cal, suffered brain damage from undetected jaundice. Helen Haskell’s teen son, Lewis, died after surgery. Each woman became a safety research advocate. HHS gutted the organization that supported that research. Details in @kffhealthnews.org story here: www.cnn.com/2025/04/04/h...