Medications at Risk From Strait of Hormuz Disruptions
The conflict involving Iran has disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, creating rising risks for the global pharmaceutical supply chain.
Health
100 stories
Democrats Call to Halt Federal Health Data Collection
By Amanda Seitz and Maia Rosenfeld April 21, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / KFF Health News Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Office of Personnel Management to withdraw a plan that would collect detailed medical records for...
Administration Deprioritizes Contraception as U.S. Births Fall
U.S. birth numbers fell again in 2025, continuing a longer-term downward trend. New CDC figures show about 3.6 million births last year, a roughly 1% decline from 2024, and a total fertility rate of 53.1 births per...
States Move to Enforce Longer Medicaid Work Rules
New federal rules now require most adults applying for Medicaid to document at least one month of work, schooling, or volunteer activity before gaining or keeping benefits. The law, part of the GOP One Big Beautiful...
Medicaid Work Rules Strain State Staffing and Access
Katie Crouch says calling her state Medicaid office often feels futile. "The first time, it'll ring interminably. Next time, it'll go to a voice mail that just hangs up on you," the 48-year-old Delaware resident said....
OPM Seeks Broad Access to Federal Workers' Medical Records
The Office of Personnel Management has asked health insurers to provide detailed medical data for millions of federal employees, retirees and their family members, according to a notice posted in December. The proposal...
Access to Care, High‑Speed Rail, and the Mardi Gras Indians
Part 1 — Restoring care for patients left behind Across many communities, clinic closures, provider departures and lapses in insurance leave people without reliable medical care. We revisited a clinic network known for...
Mobile Clinics Bridge Gaps in Dental and Vision Care
Remote Area Medical (RAM) runs pop‑up clinics that bring free dental, vision and basic medical services to people who can’t otherwise afford them. The nonprofit assembles volunteer dentists, doctors and medical students...
Volunteer Clinics Restore Health but Stymied by Licensing Rules
Each weekend across the United States, long lines of people form before dawn at pop-up clinics that offer free medical, dental and vision care. Run by Remote Area Medical (RAM), these volunteer-run events can be...
RAM Dentures Restore Lives in Knoxville
Dave Burge slept in his truck in freezing weather just to get a dental appointment. He needed dentures but didn’t have the money. Burge was one of more than 1,200 people who lined up — some waiting days — for a free...
RAM Clinics Provide Free Dental, Vision, Medical Care
Roughly one in three Americans say they have cut back on food, borrowed money, or reduced utility use to afford health care, a Gallup poll found. At the same time, federal policy moves have lowered prices on some drugs...
FDA approves Eli Lilly oral weight‑loss pill Foundayo
The FDA has approved Foundayo, an oral GLP‑1 weight‑loss drug from Eli Lilly, giving people who prefer pills an alternative to injectable therapies. Foundayo is the second oral GLP‑1 approved for weight management and...