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Ghana’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor, gavels the passing of the Bill despite a lack of quorum. Ghana’s Parliament passed one of the most extensive, repressive anti-LGBT laws in the world late Friday, introducing prison terms for people who simply identify as lesbian and gay – but human rights groups say there was no quorum when it did so. Only 32 of the 276 Members of Parliament were present when the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill was passed – apparently in haste to coincide with a conference of conservative African MPs being hosted by Ghana’s parliament from…
The 2025 reconciliation law, once called the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, conditions Medicaid eligibility for adults in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion group and enrollees in partial expansion waiver programs (Georgia and Wisconsin) on meeting work requirements starting January 1, 2027. Currently, 41 states (including DC) have expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA to nearly all adults with income up to 138% FPL ($21,597 for an individual in 2025). To implement Medicaid work requirements, states will need to make important policy and operational decisions, implement needed system upgrades or…
The 2025 reconciliation law requires states to condition Medicaid eligibility for adults in the ACA Medicaid expansion group on meeting work requirements starting January 1, 2027; however, states have the option to implement requirements sooner through a state plan amendment (SPA) or through an approved 1115 waiver. State Plan Amendments (SPAs) States may choose to implement work requirements prior to the required January 1, 2027 implementation date through a state plan amendment. Nebraska is the first state to announce that it will begin enforcing federal work requirements early through a state plan amendment, starting May 1, 2026. Two other states are also planning to implement…
A health worker administers the Merck vaccine to an Ebola contact during an outbreak of the Ebola Zaire virus in 2018. Three investigational vaccine candidates for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus are being “urgently accelerated towards clinical trials”, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced on Monday. There are no licensed vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus, and none are in clinical development. This is the strain of Ebola currently driving the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, with over 1000 suspected cases and 246 deaths. CEPI will invest up to $62 million “to back a portfolio…
China’s AI-driven long-term care expansion blends hyper-scale public funding with massive private-sector digital platforms. Artificial intelligence promises huge efficiency gains for strained health systems, but algorithmic surveillance in long-term care systems also introduces profound ethical dilemmas. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled a comprehensive consultation draft on global long-term care standards to ensure digital innovation is balanced with fundamental human rights. Across the world, countries are racing to build digital safety nets for their rapidly ageing populations amid overburdened healthcare systems. China is massively scaling up AI-driven long-term care insurance, with the system now covering over 300…
Launch event of the Global Action on Men’s Health report underway on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. GENEVA – The 79th World Health Assembly closed last Saturday after a long week of negotiations over the globe’s most pressing health crises: financing gaps, rare diseases, a workforce shortage counted in the millions, a string of wars and humanitarian emergencies, and dozens of other resolutions. Yet one policy area affecting half of the global population – men’s health – was, as almost every year, nowhere to be found on the agenda. For an assembly built to tackle the…
Within 24 hours of injecting the first dose of a weight loss medication she received following a visit with a telehealth doctor, Karleigh McClain was admitted to the hospital, she said. The 31-year-old compliance consultant from Hendersonville, Tennessee, said she couldn’t stop vomiting. “Sunday morning, it all hits,” McClain recalled, as she described what happened that weekend in January. “I can’t keep anything down.” McClain said she thought the dosage the telehealth company had prescribed seemed too high. She tried to contact her doctor, but when she didn’t get an immediate response, she said she called the company and a…
The Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal health agencies have become a political liability after a deadly outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship and the spread of an even more fearsome disease, Ebola, in Africa. At least that’s the way many Democrats see it. They have seized on the situation to charge that the U.S. is ill prepared to respond to outbreaks — let alone a pandemic — after President Donald Trump slashed jobs and funding for public health infrastructure and pandemic preparedness. Infectious disease specialists have called on the White House to reverse cuts and rejoin the World…
When Christine Wood received a $12,000 bill from Bristol Hospital, she thought it must be a mistake. It was more than she and her husband made in a month combined. “I’m freaking out,” said Wood, who lives in a 1,700-square-foot home in Terryville, a village just outside Bristol, Connecticut. “I don’t understand it.” Wood, 52, had weight loss surgery at Bristol Hospital in 2022, hoping it would help with her sleep apnea and the pain in her knees and back. Before scheduling the procedure, she checked with her insurer, she said, and was told the surgery would cost $5,000 out-of-pocket.…
Health workers in the DRC put together protective gear during an Ebola outbreak in 2019. A rare and deadly strain of the Ebola virus is spreading rapidly through a region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has never previously experienced the disease, pushing suspected cases past 1,000 this week amid severe logistical hurdles and mounting community resistance. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo version of the virus, has claimed at least 246 lives in the DRC since it first emerged in early May. Three Red Cross volunteers are among the dead after contracting the virus while managing…
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed recent warnings about research-grade peptides and new colorectal cancer screening guidelines on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on May 27. She also discussed the Ebola outbreak centered on the Democratic Republic of Congo and whether it’s expected to spread on May 26. KFF Health News On Air,Public Health,Cancer,EbolaCancer,Ebola#Gounder #Lowdown #Ebola #Peptides #Colorectal #Screenings1780133805
Note: The data on unwinding renewal outcomes presented below were last updated on September 12, 2024; since most states have now completed the Medicaid unwinding, the information will not be updated again. As of September 12, 2024 and with nearly complete unwinding data for most states: Over 25 million people were disenrolled (31% of completed renewals) and over 56 million people had their coverage renewed (69% of completed renewals). Disenrollment rates varied across states from 57% in Montana to 12% in North Carolina, driven by a variety of factors including differences in renewal policies and procedures as well as eligibility…
Montana will soon test whether cash-strapped and strained state health departments can carry out federal Medicaid work requirements without ending coverage for eligible adults. On July 1, Montana plans to become the second state after Nebraska to make Medicaid enrollees prove they’re working to keep their coverage. That’s six months ahead of the federal deadline for states to implement Medicaid work rules for millions of enrollees. That date is also the start of a new state budget year, as well as the deadline for Montana health officials to climb out of a previous Medicaid-driven spending deficit. Montana lawmakers underfunded the health agency when they set the state budget last year…
Steatotic liver disease, commonly known as fatty liver disease, is linked to the same risk factors that cause other leading NCDs – unhealthy diets, obesity, tobacco use and alcohol misuse. Steatotic liver disease (SLD) was recognized as a “missing piece” of the global noncommunicable disease response in a milestone World Health Assembly resolution last week. With countries making extraordinary progress in combating viral hepatitis, SLD, formerly known as fatty liver disease, is now the fastest-growing chronic liver disease – but far less recognized. Experts and advocates believe the new World Health Asssembly (WHA) decision will trigger more awareness and action…
On April 30, 2026, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein signed legislation that includes Medicaid policy changes and closes an estimated $319 million shortfall in funding for the state’s Medicaid program for FY 2026. Many of the legislation’s Medicaid policy changes are related to implementation of the 2025 federal reconciliation law. The 2025 reconciliation law requires states to condition Medicaid eligibility for adults in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion group and enrollees in partial expansion waiver programs (Georgia and Wisconsin) on meeting work requirements starting January 1, 2027. The 2025 reconciliation law also limits states’ ability to raise the state share of Medicaid spending through provider…
On April 10, 2025, several hours after finishing a hike in Sedona, Arizona, Jan Anderson started repeating herself. “Did we hike this morning?” she asked. “Yes, we hiked,” said her husband, Steve Francks. “And you did really well.” But 15 seconds later, she asked the same question: “Did we hike today?” Anderson, 65, a retired finance executive, doesn’t remember any of it. She can recall what happened that afternoon only because her husband started recording her on his cellphone. “I was just on this nonstop loop,” she said. Almost immediately, Francks knew something was wrong. “Jan was out of it,”…