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Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Double Blow: Drug Tariffs and Wage Hikes Threaten California’s Pharmacies
While Big Pharma seems ready to weather the tariff storm, independent pharmacists and makers of generic drugs — which account for 90% of U.S. prescriptions — see trouble ahead for patients.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits
GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade — mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn’t take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
RFK Jr.’s Hearing With Senate HELP Committee: A Live Discussion
KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner, Stephanie Armour, and Darius Tahir and KFF’s Jennifer Kates break down the biggest takeaways from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee as HHS secretary — and answer your questions.
Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts
Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.
Listen: Black Swimmers Make Waves Overcoming Fear and Old Perceptions
Segregation and lack of access have kept many Black Americans from learning to swim, which raises their risk of drowning. Groups across the country are working to teach more Black kids and adults the skills to save their lives, or someone else’s.
An Arm and a Leg: A Health Policy Veteran Puts 2025 in Perspective
Two stories from Washington, D.C., give listeners a sense of what changes the Trump administration has been making to health policy, with KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner and Arthur Allen.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid Is Hard — Even for the GOP
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade — as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
Watch: How the FDA Opens the Door to Risky Chemicals in America’s Food Supply
To a great extent, the FDA leaves it to food companies to determine whether their ingredients and additives are safe. Some chemicals and additives are tied to health risks while others are absent from product labels. Watch this video explainer to learn more.
An Arm and a Leg: Why ‘The Pitt’ Is Our Fave New Drama
An emergency room doctor says what the TV show “The Pitt” gets right about hospitals, including why they’re so crowded and the bills so high.