HealthAs the Trump administration’s January deadline looms for states to enforce new Medicaid work requirements, some state lawmakers are turning the tables by pushing to publicly name the largest companies that have employees enrolled in the government program covering low-income and disabled people. California lawmakers seek to revive an expired…
HealthST. LOUIS — Missouri healthcare advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can’t afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses. Now she worries the cost of those drugs could rise — not because of…
HealthInitial concerns about the cancer risk of GLP-1 drugs have made an about-face. Roberto Pfeil/Picture Alliance via Getty ImagesIn the weeks around the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, my phone kept buzzing with alerts about GLP-1 drugs and cancer. The headlines were everywhere – from…
HealthSandro Botticelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSimonetta Vespucci is probably one of the most painted women of the Italian Renaissance. Sandro Botticelli is widely believed to have used her as his model for Venus, and she appears, transformed and idealised, across several of his most famous works. She died in…
HealthOn July 14, 2026, “Gus,” one of the most complete specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex, went to an as yet unidentified buyer for US$50.1 million. This auction at Sotheby’s set a record for most valuable fossil ever sold. Another dinosaur has entered the luxury collectibles market, a reminder that even Earth’s…
HealthA farmer gathers goat carcasses in drought-hit northeastern Kenya on Jan. 21, 2026. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty ImagesThe impacts of a strengthening El Niño and the lingering effects of the war in Iran highlight two separate and seemingly unrelated global hazards. But in the Greater Horn of Africa, an area…
HealthHeavy wildfire smoke from Canada's forests turn skies orange in Toronto and across parts of the U.S. in July 2026. Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesWildfire smoke from fires burning in Canada and northern Minnesota has been pouring across the Great Lakes and northeastern U.S. states, turning skies an eerie…
HealthNitrogen tanks holding tens of thousands of frozen embryos and eggs sit in a lab at New Hope Fertility Center in New York on Dec. 20, 2017. Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesAbout 100,000 babies were born through in vitro fertilization in 2024, according to the most recent…
HealthLetters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. A Tragic, Deadly Denial I read your article in The Washington Post about the woman whose Humana policy required prior authorization for a drug she’d been…
HealthThe KFF Health News Minute is available every Thursday via direct download or the RSS feed. July 16 Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: Some health plans are pocketing their enrollees’ drug discounts, while many Affordable Care Act insurers want to raise rates by double digits next year. 0:00 0:00 Download Volume Speed 0.5x 1x…
HealthErica Schwartz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expressed support for vaccines — including mRNA-based covid shots — in a Senate hearing on Wednesday, though she didn’t dispel concerns the agency has lost any independence from the White House. “I have been vaccinating…
HealthWhat kids are doing on tablets seems to matter more than how long they use them. PeopleImages/iStock via Getty ImagesConcerns surrounding young people’s screen time are widespread. Australia became the first country to ban social media for users under 16 in December 2025, and Denmark, France and the U.K. have…